The Golden Age of Jewish-Christian Relations
Earlier
this summer, hundreds of Israelis packed the Jerusalem Cinematheque
theater for the premiere of the Six Day War documentary, “In Our Hands.”
The film traces the steps of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade through
firsthand interviews with IDF soldiers and historical battle
reenactments. Following the screening, an emotional curtain call
featured four of the now elderly paratroopers who appeared in the film.
They shuffled onto the stage to receive bouquets of flowers and a
standing ovation.
There was nothing unusual that evening to
distinguish this event from any of the other Six Day War commemoration
events that took place in Israel or abroad, except for the evening’s
host – Gordon Robertson, CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network
(CBN).
Robertson, who also served as the film’s executive
director, explained to the Jerusalem audience his motivation as a
Christian to make a film about Israel. “One of the guiding verses for me
in this whole project was Psalm 126: ‘Then they said among the nations,
the Lord has done great things for them.’ And I say to you, ‘The Lord
has done great things for you.’”
While the movie was produced by
CBN, which was founded by Gordon’s father and televangelist Pat
Robertson in 1961, it contained no overtly, or even covertly, Christian
messages.
“This is a film made by Christians, but it is not a
Christian film,” Erin Zimmerman, the film’s director, explained. “The
Six Day War is not a Christian story; it is first and foremost a Jewish
and Israeli story and I wanted to honor that.”
This
desire to honor Israel without strings attached and devoid of
proselytizing is one of the newest, and most welcome, trends in
Christian Zionism. The relationship between Christians and Jews is long
and complex, and a fascinating case study in how shifting theology
correlates to changes in behavior.
A short overview of some major
shifts in Christian beliefs toward Israel can explain this new era of
Christian Zionism marked by greater sensitivity and respect toward the
Jewish People.
Christianity emerged as an offshoot of Judaism
2,000 years ago, putting the two religions immediately at odds. Early
Church Fathers added pagan elements to recruit more local adherents,
thus widening the gap ‒ and animosity ‒ with the Jews.
When it
came to relating to Judaism, Christianity developed what has become
known as “replacement theology.” The idea is that, as a punishment for
rejecting Jesus, God replaced Israel with the Church and the original
Bible (Old Testament) with a new one. It didn’t take long for Jews to go
from being viewed as replaced to rejected, despised and, ultimately,
hated.
Christian love demanded that they try and convert the Jews,
but more often than not, Jews felt more wrath than grace. One could
draw a direct line from replacement theology to the blood libels, forced
conversions, inquisitions, and expulsions that shaped the Middle Ages.
During
the modern period, Christianity underwent an internal revolution known
as the Protestant Reformation, which paved the way for a new approach
for relating to Jews. In the 16th century, Martin Luther battled against
the Catholic Church and advocated for individuals to read the Bible,
made widely available for the first time through the newly invented
printing press, for themselves. No longer was biblical interpretation in
the hands of the ruling elite. Rather, everyone was encouraged to read
and understand God’s word for themselves, which they did in large
numbers.
It doesn’t take much of a bible scholar to recognize that
one theme appears on almost every page and in nearly every chapter of
this holy text ‒ that is the relationship between the land and the
people of Israel. With an open mind and in the absence of previously
held interpretations, a literal reading of the text started to lead some
Christians to begin viewing Jews differently.
For centuries, the
people of Israel had been relegated to sub-human status and the land of
Israel reduced to a metaphor. However, the age of enlightenment allowed
Christians to see the Jews as real people and, in the era of
exploration, they discovered that Israel was an actual place. More and
more Christians started reading the bible literally and saw the
prophecies of the return to Zion as being something within worldly
reach.
The Puritans were among the first Reformed Protestants who
began praying for a Jewish return to their homeland and were responsible
for introducing the idea of Jewish restoration to America. While
popular in England, as well, Restorationism (also described as Christian
Primitivism) struck a noticeable chord in the New World. US presidents
studied Hebrew, and American scholars traveled to Palestine to map out
the area and dig up archeological relics.
At
the time, Restorationism was steeped in replacement theology, which,
even in its benign form, calls for proselytizing the Jews. The
motivating force behind Christian efforts to restore the people to the
land was best summarized by the influential pastor Charles Spurgeon who
preached in 1864: “We look forward, then, for these two things. I am not
going to theorize upon which of them will come first ‒ whether they
shall be restored first, and converted afterward ‒ or converted first
and then restored. They are to be restored and they are to be converted,
too.”
Restorationists were among Theodor Herzl’s most ardent
supporters. The Reverend William Hechler, an Anglican clergyman,
dedicated his life to assisting Herzl upon reading “The Jewish State,”
which was published 12 years after his own treatise, “The Restoration of
the Jews to Palestine.” Hechler immediately began to introduce Herzl to
Europe’s leading political rulers, including German Kaiser Wilhelm,
Queen Victoria of England and the Sultan of Turkey. Appreciatively,
Herzl invited Hechler, in 1897, to the first World Zionist Congress in
Basel as a non-voting delegate and the “first Christian Zionist.”
Major
shifts in Christian theology vis-à- vis Israel continued into the 20th
century because of the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of
Israel. Many Christians recognized the Holocaust as the bitter
culmination of centuries of Christian antisemitism, which led to
soul-searching throughout the Church. Christian thinkers recognized the
perils inherent in replacement theology as playing an active role in the
Holocaust and began to question this theology seriously for the first
time.
The establishment of the State of Israel and its
hard-to-explain successes chipped away at replacement theology from the
opposite direction. Christians began asking themselves: If God had
rejected Israel, then how come the Jews are so successful making the
deserts bloom and defending themselves from their enemies? The
perception that many biblical promises were being fulfilled seemed like
clear and convincing evidence that God had not broken His covenant with
Israel, after all.
In recent decades, Christian Zionist leaders
and organizations have emerged all over the world. In addition to their
political and philanthropic support of Israel, Christian leaders are,
more significantly, for the first time publicly rejecting replacement
theology.
Perhaps the best-known group, the International
Christian Embassy Jerusalem, has a lengthy essay on their website
explaining why they renounce replacement theology. Similarly, Pastor
John Hagee has used his influential ministry, Christians United for
Israel, to unreservedly, “expose the lies of replacement theology.”
To be sure, these Christian Zionist voices are still a minority within the Church.
Nevertheless, we have entered a new age of Jewish-Christian relations.
Chris
Mitchell, CBN’s Middle East bureau chief, said “In Our Hands” doesn’t
ever mention Jesus, a quote from the New Testament or push a Christian
agenda. In that way, “I feel that the movie is a gift to the Jewish
people honoring the soldiers who fought in the Six Day War and the Jews
who waited over two millennia to return to Jerusalem.”
I asked
Mitchell if CBN would have been as sensitive had the movie been released
upon the 25th anniversary of the 1967 war in the early 1980s. He said,
“There has definitely been a remarkable development of deeper
relationships between Jews and Christians in recent years. A greater
understanding of the Jewish community and getting to know each other
better has led to more sensitivity.”
Christian theology has
shifted since its inception and has never been as respectful toward the
Jewish people than it is now. The growth of Christian Zionism is a
direct outcome of this change, so it is no wonder that Israel is
enjoying unparalleled support from large segments of Christianity. After
2,000 years, Christian-Jewish relations are entering a new, golden era
of restoration without replacement.
Reprinted with author’s permission from The Jerusalem Post
this summer, hundreds of Israelis packed the Jerusalem Cinematheque
theater for the premiere of the Six Day War documentary, “In Our Hands.”
The film traces the steps of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade through
firsthand interviews with IDF soldiers and historical battle
reenactments. Following the screening, an emotional curtain call
featured four of the now elderly paratroopers who appeared in the film.
They shuffled onto the stage to receive bouquets of flowers and a
standing ovation.
There was nothing unusual that evening to
distinguish this event from any of the other Six Day War commemoration
events that took place in Israel or abroad, except for the evening’s
host – Gordon Robertson, CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network
(CBN).
Robertson, who also served as the film’s executive
director, explained to the Jerusalem audience his motivation as a
Christian to make a film about Israel. “One of the guiding verses for me
in this whole project was Psalm 126: ‘Then they said among the nations,
the Lord has done great things for them.’ And I say to you, ‘The Lord
has done great things for you.’”
While the movie was produced by
CBN, which was founded by Gordon’s father and televangelist Pat
Robertson in 1961, it contained no overtly, or even covertly, Christian
messages.
“This is a film made by Christians, but it is not a
Christian film,” Erin Zimmerman, the film’s director, explained. “The
Six Day War is not a Christian story; it is first and foremost a Jewish
and Israeli story and I wanted to honor that.”
This
desire to honor Israel without strings attached and devoid of
proselytizing is one of the newest, and most welcome, trends in
Christian Zionism. The relationship between Christians and Jews is long
and complex, and a fascinating case study in how shifting theology
correlates to changes in behavior.
A short overview of some major
shifts in Christian beliefs toward Israel can explain this new era of
Christian Zionism marked by greater sensitivity and respect toward the
Jewish People.
Christianity emerged as an offshoot of Judaism
2,000 years ago, putting the two religions immediately at odds. Early
Church Fathers added pagan elements to recruit more local adherents,
thus widening the gap ‒ and animosity ‒ with the Jews.
When it
came to relating to Judaism, Christianity developed what has become
known as “replacement theology.” The idea is that, as a punishment for
rejecting Jesus, God replaced Israel with the Church and the original
Bible (Old Testament) with a new one. It didn’t take long for Jews to go
from being viewed as replaced to rejected, despised and, ultimately,
hated.
Christian love demanded that they try and convert the Jews,
but more often than not, Jews felt more wrath than grace. One could
draw a direct line from replacement theology to the blood libels, forced
conversions, inquisitions, and expulsions that shaped the Middle Ages.
During
the modern period, Christianity underwent an internal revolution known
as the Protestant Reformation, which paved the way for a new approach
for relating to Jews. In the 16th century, Martin Luther battled against
the Catholic Church and advocated for individuals to read the Bible,
made widely available for the first time through the newly invented
printing press, for themselves. No longer was biblical interpretation in
the hands of the ruling elite. Rather, everyone was encouraged to read
and understand God’s word for themselves, which they did in large
numbers.
It doesn’t take much of a bible scholar to recognize that
one theme appears on almost every page and in nearly every chapter of
this holy text ‒ that is the relationship between the land and the
people of Israel. With an open mind and in the absence of previously
held interpretations, a literal reading of the text started to lead some
Christians to begin viewing Jews differently.
For centuries, the
people of Israel had been relegated to sub-human status and the land of
Israel reduced to a metaphor. However, the age of enlightenment allowed
Christians to see the Jews as real people and, in the era of
exploration, they discovered that Israel was an actual place. More and
more Christians started reading the bible literally and saw the
prophecies of the return to Zion as being something within worldly
reach.
The Puritans were among the first Reformed Protestants who
began praying for a Jewish return to their homeland and were responsible
for introducing the idea of Jewish restoration to America. While
popular in England, as well, Restorationism (also described as Christian
Primitivism) struck a noticeable chord in the New World. US presidents
studied Hebrew, and American scholars traveled to Palestine to map out
the area and dig up archeological relics.
At
the time, Restorationism was steeped in replacement theology, which,
even in its benign form, calls for proselytizing the Jews. The
motivating force behind Christian efforts to restore the people to the
land was best summarized by the influential pastor Charles Spurgeon who
preached in 1864: “We look forward, then, for these two things. I am not
going to theorize upon which of them will come first ‒ whether they
shall be restored first, and converted afterward ‒ or converted first
and then restored. They are to be restored and they are to be converted,
too.”
Restorationists were among Theodor Herzl’s most ardent
supporters. The Reverend William Hechler, an Anglican clergyman,
dedicated his life to assisting Herzl upon reading “The Jewish State,”
which was published 12 years after his own treatise, “The Restoration of
the Jews to Palestine.” Hechler immediately began to introduce Herzl to
Europe’s leading political rulers, including German Kaiser Wilhelm,
Queen Victoria of England and the Sultan of Turkey. Appreciatively,
Herzl invited Hechler, in 1897, to the first World Zionist Congress in
Basel as a non-voting delegate and the “first Christian Zionist.”
Major
shifts in Christian theology vis-à- vis Israel continued into the 20th
century because of the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of
Israel. Many Christians recognized the Holocaust as the bitter
culmination of centuries of Christian antisemitism, which led to
soul-searching throughout the Church. Christian thinkers recognized the
perils inherent in replacement theology as playing an active role in the
Holocaust and began to question this theology seriously for the first
time.
The establishment of the State of Israel and its
hard-to-explain successes chipped away at replacement theology from the
opposite direction. Christians began asking themselves: If God had
rejected Israel, then how come the Jews are so successful making the
deserts bloom and defending themselves from their enemies? The
perception that many biblical promises were being fulfilled seemed like
clear and convincing evidence that God had not broken His covenant with
Israel, after all.
In recent decades, Christian Zionist leaders
and organizations have emerged all over the world. In addition to their
political and philanthropic support of Israel, Christian leaders are,
more significantly, for the first time publicly rejecting replacement
theology.
Perhaps the best-known group, the International
Christian Embassy Jerusalem, has a lengthy essay on their website
explaining why they renounce replacement theology. Similarly, Pastor
John Hagee has used his influential ministry, Christians United for
Israel, to unreservedly, “expose the lies of replacement theology.”
To be sure, these Christian Zionist voices are still a minority within the Church.
Nevertheless, we have entered a new age of Jewish-Christian relations.
Chris
Mitchell, CBN’s Middle East bureau chief, said “In Our Hands” doesn’t
ever mention Jesus, a quote from the New Testament or push a Christian
agenda. In that way, “I feel that the movie is a gift to the Jewish
people honoring the soldiers who fought in the Six Day War and the Jews
who waited over two millennia to return to Jerusalem.”
I asked
Mitchell if CBN would have been as sensitive had the movie been released
upon the 25th anniversary of the 1967 war in the early 1980s. He said,
“There has definitely been a remarkable development of deeper
relationships between Jews and Christians in recent years. A greater
understanding of the Jewish community and getting to know each other
better has led to more sensitivity.”
Christian theology has
shifted since its inception and has never been as respectful toward the
Jewish people than it is now. The growth of Christian Zionism is a
direct outcome of this change, so it is no wonder that Israel is
enjoying unparalleled support from large segments of Christianity. After
2,000 years, Christian-Jewish relations are entering a new, golden era
of restoration without replacement.
Reprinted with author’s permission from The Jerusalem Post
Read
more at
https://www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/Restoration-without-replacement-Golden-age-of-Jewish-Christian-relations-504245#j3EHDx7bDlWKsQ0D.99
The Golden Age of Jewish-Christian Relations – Israel News – Re-Shared and administered by Aaron Halim
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