Newsletter:
Vol. 5. Iss. 1
8 October2003
Christian Zionism in the Mainstream
Church
Reconsidering Chrisitian Zionism, Part III
Peter J. Miano
If Zionism is defined strictly in terms of a specific biblical interpretation or theological orientation, fewer than 20 percent of Jews in Israel could be so defined. Those excluded would include the vast majority of the Knesset, not to mention millions of grass roots, street level Jewish Zionists. Yet no one there makes the mistake of identifying Zionism exclusively with this fundamentalist Jewish minority. In Israel, fundamentalist Jewish Zionists are particularly active and exert enormous influence on the political processes of that nation. The influence of this fundamentalist Jewish minority in mainstream Israeli politics is widely recognized in Israel. It is disproportionate to their actual numbers. Most secular Israelis regard it as a nuisance, if not a danger to Israeli society. It is well studied and well understood within Israel. But without the cooperation of non-fundamentalist Israeli Zionists, the activism of the concentrated minority of fundamentalist Jewish Zionists in Israel would amount to very little. The same is true in American politics. In the United States, fundamentalist Christians represent not more than 30 percent of the Christian population. While the activism of this fundamentalist minority is highly effective, not to mention alarming, the success of promoting the Zionist agenda in America cannot be attributed solely to this dedicated minority.
On the contrary, in American churches and in American political
systems support for Israel and the Zionist agenda comes overwhelmingly from
mainstream, progressive Christians whether they identify themselves as Zionists
or not. Christian Zionism extends throughout mainstream churches and the biblical
academy, too.
Why, then, do concerned mainstream Christians equate Christian
Zionism exclusively with a minority of fundamentalist Christians who are heavily
influenced by dispensationalist theology? Why do mainstream Christians restrict
the definition of Christian Zionism solely to those who they consider to be
representative of a fringe group?
The answer to these questions is twofold.
First, it is easy to identify fundamentalist Christian Zionists,
due to their distinct biblical orientation. Second, it is difficult to identify
and critique mainstream Christian Zionism. Mainstream Christian Zionists are
usually progressive and liberal and are thus virtually immune to mainstream
Christian critique. However, just as in Israel where fundamentalist Jewish
Zionists cannot advance their agenda without the cooperation of secular Jewish
Zionists, so in the United States the Zionist Christian right needs—and gets—the
active support of mainstream, liberal Christians to support the State of Israel
at almost any cost. This mainstream support occurs in the halls of Congress,
in churches and in the biblical academy, all of which are overwhelmingly sympathetic
to the Zionist enterprise. U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Richard
Gephart (D-Missouri) is not a fundamentalist Christian. Neither is Sen. Hillary
Clinton (D-New York). Both are staunch supporters of the State of Israel for
the same reasons that Theodore Herzel was. They are illustrative of mainstream
Christian Zionists in Congress.
To illustrate my point further, I recently had a phone conversation
with Chris Wyman, an aide to Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Massachusetts). Sen. Kerry
is not a fundamentalist Christian. Yet, his support for the State of Israel
is almost unqualified. In the course of the conversation, Mr. Wyman asserted
that the senator’s support is rooted not in any biblical or theological orientation,
but in two simple suppositions. The first is his belief—or perhaps his aide’s
belief and uncritically adopted by the senator—that the Jewish people have
endured unparalleled persecution and therefore deserve a place of their own.
This is a variation of a fundamental supposition of all Zionism. It is frequently
expressed by Jewish and Christian Zionists alike, whether they are secular,
mainstream or fundamentalist. There is no Zionist who does not believe that
the Jewish people deserve a place of their own. This place is usually understood
to be a nation-state, just as other ethnic groups are organized into nation-states.
It is rare as hen’s teeth to find a Christian who questions this supposition.
The moral imperative of providing restitution to Jews for their unique experience
of suffering in the 20th century invigorates the political necessity of establishing
a Jewish State.
The second reason for Sen. Kerry’s support for Israel is his
belief that support for Jewish nationhood coincides with U.S. interests in
the region of the Middle East, where Israel is regarded by its supporters
as the only democracy. Mainstream Christian Zionism is defined by both sympathy
to the political necessity of supporting a distinctively Jewish state, invigorated
by sincere Christian sensitivity to the horrific suffering of Jewish people
and the perception that support for the State of Israel is harmonious with
U.S. national interests. These are variant expressions of the very ideas that
were articulated by Theodore Herzl in his blueprint for Zionism, Die Juden
Staat.
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