My ignorance of Jews and church history

Sometimes we must come face-to-face with our own ignorance. Confronting one’s own ignorance is not for the faint-hearted. You must be willing to become vulnerable and to allow yourself to be judged by a skeptical world.

I am a Christian Zionist who was ignorant of church history. Ignorant, that is, until the recent rise in antisemitism on American soil that compelled me to dig a little deeper into church history and to seek an understanding as to why there are so many Jewish atheists in academia, some of whom come across as antisemitic and anti-Israel. Why?

Silly me never took the time to really contemplate the well-known fact that the 6 million Jewish deaths under the Holocaust occurred in Christian Europe. I have laid awake wondering how followers of Jesus Christ, a Jewish Messiah, have allowed such evil to take place around them. Why did the majority of Protestant and Catholic churches fail the Jews? Why was it left to Dietrich Bonhoffer and Martin Niemoller to sound the alarms? Why did Martin Luther, Saint John Chrysostom and even St. Augustine fail the Jews? Was it because of the language of Romans 13:1 (NIV), which states: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God”?  

It turns out that the culprit is and was “Replacement Theology.” Replacement Theology argues that the Christian Church replaced the special status once held by Jews. According to the theory, the Jews rejected and killed Jesus and in turn, Jesus rejected the Jews and replaced them with the Christian church. Although the theory was fraught with scriptural contradictions, it became the dominant view in western nations for far too long. Fortunately, most Christians have rejected “Replacement Theology” and have instead embraced the theory of dispensationalism that holds an opposite view.  

Dispensationalism grew out of the teachings of John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, a movement that started in 1827 and gradually replaced the antisemitism inherent in Replacement Theory. Yet there remain Christians in America who argue that the Jews of Israel are not the heirs of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Those who reject Israel are quick to defend Hamas and express sympathy for the Palestinians and disdain for the Jewish people wherever they reside. 

To that end, I find that I qualify as a Christian Zionist since my love for Israel and the Jewish people grows out of my appreciation for the Judeo-Christian Bible. It is my Christian faith that encourages me to love and pray for the Jewish people. We are told in Psalm 122:6 (NIV) to “Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.” I pray not to prosper but because Israel is the apple of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8) and deep down, I have always had an affinity for the Jewish people and a secret desire to be a bloodline descendant of Abraham if I could do so and preserve my Christianity.

As I write these words, I hope that more Christian churches will become historical in their teachings, especially at this moment of great crisis. Israel is our friend in the Middle East, and we must stand with her. To stand tall, we must seek knowledge and grow in our faith and understanding of God’s plan for Israel and the world.