Barbara's Sharebook 

"Today's column is Part One in a series of articles concerning a very intimate and controversial subject: Christian Zionism." {In Real Change, a member of the North American Street Newspaper Association. Published weekly and sold by the poor and homeless of Seattle.}

 "...............Christian Zionism is the dominant belief of media and cultural Christianity in America. A Christian Zionist is a fully committed supporter of the Jewish right to the entirety of the land of Israel, including the West Bank, Gaza and, for some, all of the land between the Nile River in Egypt and the Euphrates in Iraq. {Emphases mine! BMT}

The belief emerges from a peculiar interpretation of the Bible that assumes that the scriptures contain a hidden code revealing a detailed prediction of events that will lead to the end of life as we know it. The good news of such an end becomes the advent of an entirely new creation, purified of all the unclean and unrighteous. Christian Zionism affirms that the Jews must reclaim their own purified land before the end-times clock can start. Most {but not all} Christian Zionists believe that today the end-times clock is about to start ticking. One implication being that those kids we all sent to school last week, are, in fact, the last generation before the end of time.

The theology of Christian Zionism has major implications for the political, economic and military policies of this nation. Whether or not you give a rip about such esoteric theological pontifications, the reality is that such pontifications have deeply influenced the right-wing of this country. Such pontifications are, for example, deeply embedded in the theology of many chaplains who serve in the armed forces, and who have indeed helped twist the minds and hearts of our military apparatus in our current undeclared holy war against Islam.

Christian Zionism is a movement of spiritual despair. It has political implications that justify violence, genocide and ethnic cleansing in a celebratory fantasy that they will glorify and please the Creator. In the months ahead, I will continue this series with growing specificity concerning the theological heresy of Christian Zionism. I will attempt to make the case that such a Christianity is the antithesis of the spirit of Jesus, and the Jewish tradition in which his teachings are rooted. Such a theology, I will argue, imperils the wellbeing of our nation and the political and economic health of all creation."

By Reverend Rich Lang, Seattle, Washington

I look forward to the future series! BMT