Is Christian Zionism good for the Jews?
Not every Jew thinks so.
In fact, Christian Zionists make many Jews crazy.
Why?
Worry No. 1: Christian Zionists believe all Jews need to be back in the land of Israel before Jesus can return.
Except it’s not true.
I once asked Ralph Reed, the prominent conservative activist and founder of the Christian Coalition, about this.
“Rabbi, I’ve been in church every Sunday of my life and I have never heard such a thing,” he said.
Some evangelical Christians believe the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 is part of the countdown toward redemption.
But many Jews believe the same thing. Check out the Jewish prayer for the state of Israel. It says that the state of Israel is the “beginning of the flowering of our redemption.”
And what if Christian Zionists believed that all of the Jews have to be back in the Land at the time of the Second Coming?
I’ll worry about that when the time comes.
Worry No. 2: Christian Zionists are far more conservative than Jews on most issues, especially gay marriage.
True. Some Christian Zionist leaders have made offensive statements — on all sorts of topics. Jewish leaders have hardly been reticent in condemning such statements.
Offensive stuff aside — do we need to agree with everyone on everything all the time?
Think of it this way. American Jews work with African-American leaders. Do they all agree with liberal Jewish views on, say, gay marriage? (Spoiler alert: They don’t.) But we march with them, and we work with them to heal society. We put those differences aside for a greater good.
In the same vein, some mainstream Protestant denominations have become aligned with anti-Israel movements. And yet, we march with their pastors, participate in interfaith Thanksgiving services, and build Habitat for Humanity houses together.
If you want a perfect friend, you will never have a friend.
Worry No. 3: Christian Zionists want to convert Jews to Christianity.
Actually, no — conversion is not on their agenda. They believe God has an eternal covenant with the Jewish people.
As a Christian Zionist leader said at the AIPAC conference last week (in front of a standing-room-only crowd): “We’re not planting seeds (of conversion); we’re just trying to break up the pavement.”
What’s the “pavement”?
It is the hardened relationship that has existed between Jews and Christians for 2,000 years. Christian Zionists are ashamed of that terrible history. They want to do everything they can to heal it. Pushing for conversion would not be helpful, and they know it.
That said: Many Christian Zionists really don’t understand Jews, or Judaism. They tend to think Judaism ended with the last page of the “Old Testament.” They have no concept of rabbinic literature — Talmud, Midrash, etc. They don’t really understand how contemporary Jews live their lives.
The good news: They want to learn. They can only do so if they are in conversation with “real” Jews, talking about “real” Judaism.
Worry No. 4: Christian Zionists tend to have right-wing views on Israel.
Yes — and this is where their theology becomes a problem.
If you take the Bible literally, then you will also tend to take the biblical map of Israel literally as well. And that means: Don’t give up an inch of land — even for peace. Pat Robertson actually said that Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke and that Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated because they pursued peace that would “divide God’s land.”
This comment goes beyond offensive; it is actually obscene.
Excuse me, Reverend Robertson (and others): Don’t crush me with that bearhug. Those are 18-year-old Israeli kids standing at checkpoints.
Israel is not a football team that we cheer on from the stands: “Hit ‘em again — harder, harder!”
Christian Zionism has a long and fascinating history. Shalom Goldman has written a wonderful book on the topic. Two British Christian Zionists — Lloyd George and Arthur Balfour — made Israel possible.
Johnny Cash was a Christian Zionist. He and his family visited Israel five times. He recorded an album of inspirational hymns about Israel and made films about his journeys to biblical sites.
Christian Zionists are not going away. Some people estimate there are 75 million evangelicals in the United States. Their churches are bursting at the seams (so maybe God has, in fact, blessed them).
Ninety percent of those churchgoers are pro-Israel. They give money to Israel. They visit Israel.
Do they believe everything that Jews believe — about faith, Scripture, and life? No.
They are, after all, evangelical Christians.
Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, atheists — they don’t agree with us on much of anything.
But we talk with them.
It’s time that Jews — especially liberal Jews — do the same thing.
Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Am of Bayonne, N.J., and the author of numerous books on Jewish spirituality and ethics, published by Jewish Lights Publishing and Jewish Publication Society. Reach him on Twitter @jeffsalkin.
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