Bible Study Blog - Israel, Palestine, Prophecy and History: Understanding Viewpoints of the Christian Left and Right

November 15, 2023

Bible Study Blog - Israel, Palestine, Prophecy and History: Understanding Viewpoints of the Christian Left and Right

Terminology

Christian Right – fundamentalist / evangelical / conservative Christians who allied with the Republican Party in the 1980s and tend to vote for Republican candidates. Some would consider Southern Baptists, the Assemblies of God, The Church of God, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, traditionalist Catholics, most televangelists, and most nondenominational congregations to belong to the Christian Right.

Christian Left – mainline Protestant / liberal / progressives who tend to vote for Democratic candidates. Some would consider the ELCA, Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, and a very small number of nondenominational congregations and urban, new start worshipping communities as belonging to the Christian Left.

Israel – the descendants or Israel/Jacob which includes modern Jews (and technically Christians). Can also refer to the geographic region we know as the Holy Land.

State of Israel – the political entity founded in 1948.

The State of Israel

Christian Right

God’s word commands Christians to support Israel, per Genesis 12:3a: “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse…”
When reading Scripture, “if plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense.” (Tim LaHaye)
Makes no distinction between biblical Israel and the State of Israel. Biblical Israel = State of Israel = Jews.
The territory established in the Old Testament belongs to the Jews. No one else has any claim upon the land. God’s Law trumps international law.
Christians and America must bless (the State of) Israel or fall under God’s curse.

The Christian Right fully embraces Christian Zionism

The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was mandated by God and is undeniable proof of the validity of the Bible.
Israel must be blessed and defended by Christians (and by America). Those who fail to do so are defying the will of God.
Israel and Jerusalem are the locus of end times prophecies, particularly Ezekiel 38-48 and Revelation 21:9—22:15. Simply put, Israel is where the action is.
Generally, there is no biblical support for a two-state solution. The Holy Land belongs to the Jews.

“When we support Israel, we are supporting the only nation that was created by an act of God. We are declaring that the Bible is true…. Yet if we touch Jerusalem, which is prophecy, America will lose the blessing of God and America will tragically lose the war on terrorism.” –Mike Evans of the Jerusalem Prayer Team.

Source: PalestinePortal.org

Christian Left

Highly supportive of a two-state solution, where borders are re-established according to the 1947 U.N. partition plan.

Views the ongoing conflict through the lens of power differentials.

In 1917, British Foreign Secretary James Balfour approved the creation of a national homeland for Jews in Palestine without any conversation or cooperation with Palestinians already living within the territory.
In 1947, the United Nations partitions British Mandatory Palestine into two separate states. Jewish leaders accept the proposal while Palestinian Arab leaders reject it.
Since the State of Israel was established in 1948, Western Powers have supported the buildup of Israel’s military, including the development of its nuclear weapons.
Israel is now a wealthy and militarily powerful nation, oppressing poorer Palestinians and depriving them of civil and human rights.
While condemning terrorist attacks committed against Israeli citizens, Israel continues to be seen as the aggressor, particularly given the buildup of settlements in the West Bank.
Many voices within the Christian Left speak of the State of Israel as an apartheid state, citing the Israeli construction of new settlements on Palestinian territories, security barriers, military checkpoints,
BDS Movement (Boycotts, Divestments, Sanctions) - a Palestinian-led movement applying political and economic pressure on the State of Israel through boycotts, divestments, and sanctions of Israeli corporations, banks, or institutions, as well as any economic entity doing business with them.

Incidentally, it was the Christian Left which advocated for the establishment of a Jewish State following the Holocaust, whereas the Christian Right viewed political advocacy of any kind as a distraction from the church’s true business of preaching the Gospel. In fact, the Christian Right did not embrace the State of Israel until Hal Lindsey published his groundbreaking book The Late Great Planet Earth, which placed Israel and Jerusalem at the center of biblical end times prophecy.

The ELCA’s Peace Not Walls Campaign

(http://www.elca.org/peacenotwalls)

The ELCA’s Peace Not Walls campaign espouses most of the principles of the Christian Left and denounce Christian Zionist or Christian Right “beliefs and actions which:”

elevate our nation or any nation or people to the role of God.
find ultimate security in weapons and warfare.
ordain the inherent right of one people, race, or civilization to rule over others.
promise a perfect, peaceful society through the efforts of a self-sufficient humanity.
despair of any possibility for peace.

The Basics

The ELCA has a longstanding relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, which operates schools and hospitals serving Christian and Muslim Palestinians. Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) is the first and only hospital to provide radiation therapy for cancer patients in the Palestinian territories and the only medical facility in the West Bank offering pediatric kidney dialysis.
Calls for an end to all forms of violent conflict on both sides and the establishment of a viable, independent Palestinian state, as well as a secure Israel. Other demands include:

The immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian areas
Establishing an international peacekeeping presence in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza
The removal of walls and barriers on Palestinian lands
The removal of all settlements beyond 1967 borders and a halt to all new constructions of settlements on the West Bank

From Peace Not Walls to SAMUD: For Justice in Palestine and Israel.

A recent study conducted by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area desk of ELCA Service and Justice found that the Peace Not Walls language framed the conflict as an equal conflict between two equal sides, rather than the unjust occupation and deprivation of human rights by the wealthier and more powerful State of Israel.
In naming Palestine, the ELCA stands against the state of Israel’s attempts to erase Palestinian state identity; by naming Palestine first the ELCA points toward the reality of a current imbalance of justice and power.
Condemns the Israeli diplomatic and commercial efforts to “normalize” relations with countries in the MENA region through initiatives such as the Abraham Accords, which draw international attention away from the occupations.
Emphasizes the importance of preserving the multifaith character of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and Israel is crucial in ensuring that Palestinian Christians and Muslims have a future in the Holy Land. Palestinian Christians both preserve the Indigenous roots of the global Christian church and play a unique and irreplaceable role in Palestinian culture and civil society.
Recognizes the disproportionate losses to life and livelihoods suffered by Palestinians in comparison to Israeli citizens amid the ongoing violence.
Describes Israeli occupations of Palestine with the terms Apartheid and Settler Colonialism but stops short of denouncing Israel as guilty of either one.
Recommends the ELCA partner with BDS and divest investments, pensions and retirement funds from institutions deemed as participating in the abuse of Palestinian human rights.
Samud, an Arabic word meaning “steadfastness,” is a term widely used to signify Palestinian resistance to the dehumanization and injustice of the Israeli occupation.

My take on Peace Not Walls or SAMUD

PNW/Samud Views the conflict through the eyes / perspectives of Lutherans and Christians who have been living in the holy land for generations. Neither the Christian Right nor the Christian Left pays much attention to Christians living within the region who are caught in the middle of the conflict.
The actions of the State of Israel condemned within PNW/Samud are undertaken by rightwing hardliners, of which President Benjamin Netanyahu is a main figurehead. Settlement construction is not supported by all Israelis. It is not fair to lump in the actions of a political party or movement with the whole citizenry of a nation.
PNW/Samud views this conflict exclusively in terms oppressors and the oppressed. Unfortunately, this perspective provides no consideration to governments and well-funded terrorist organizations (including Hamas) which seek the complete destruction of the State of Israel.
PNW/Samud says little about Jews being one of the most persecuted racial minorities in human history.
“If the Arabs put down their weapons, there'd be peace. If the Jews put down their weapons, there'd be no more Jews in the Middle East.”
Western efforts in establishing Western-style democracies in Middle Eastern countries have consistently failed.
The widespread influence of extremist groups on both sides of the conflict makes the achievement of the above goals extremely difficult. It should be noted that high-ranking leaders including Egyptian President Anwar Saddat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin were assassinated by extremists within their own countries because of their peace-making leadership.