3 ms·
Not every Christian is a Zionist and not every Christian is an evangelical. And not every Christian ascribes to the same eschatological belief. It’s a mistake
by kcplate 3y ago
Not every Christian is a Zionist and not every Christian is an evangelical. And not every Christian ascribes to the same eschatological belief. It’s a mistake to paint Christians and Christianity with a broad brush.
There is also a distinction that should be made between political Zionism and religious Zionism. I am a Christian, I hold a preterist eschatological viewpoint and don’t belong to an “evangelical” church. As such the restoration of Israel in 1948 has ZERO theological meaning to me. However, can I accept the creation of Israel in 1948 a politically valid political event? Sure, the established world authority of the time made it happen and did it for a reason. To me the current conflict is just like many—-over land, money, and power. So I believe that Israel has a right to exist because the world authority gave it that right in 1948. In that sense I am a political Zionist.
That makes me definitely not the same as a Christian who believes the restoration of Israel in 1948 is a sign post pointing to a ton of biblical prophecy culminating in an apocalypse with the current conflict having a supernatural meaning with a theological side that must be taken to scare people into a belief system. Those are religious zionists with a futurism eschatology. We may both believe that Israel should exist, but we don’t believe in the same “why”.
- woodruffw 3y agoI didn’t say that every Christian is a Zionist. I linked to a statistic that shows that the overwhelming majority of evangelicals are Zionists because they believe the Jews need to be slaughtered in the holy land to bring back the messiah. It’s entirely possible for you to be the kind of non-evangelical, Christian “political” Zionist that this doesn’t apply to. But that doesn’t change the statistic, and it doesn’t change Musk’s audience.
- kcplate 3y agoYour original post didn’t specify evangelicals, you used the phrase “christian eschatologists” and defined it much too broadly which is what I am commenting on. Perhaps you meant “evangelicals” and used the wrong word. Perhaps it was intentional and you simply misunderstood the difference. Either way I wanted to provide context against the generalization/stereotype your post created.
- pauldenton 3y agoIf they wanted Israelis to be slaughtered wouldn't you be hearing evangelicals saying we need to cut all military aid to Israel, and wouldn't we see these Evangelicals teaming up with left wing progressives who also want to cut military support and Arms shipments to Israel?
- kcplate 3y agoI suspect that the commenter believes that by having a futurist end times belief that contains a prophecy predicting a Jewish slaughter to motivate conversion of the remnant Jews to be fulfilled as a stepping stone for their desire for a new heaven and new earth amounts to anti-semitism.