Wednesday, September 11, 2013

An anti-Semitic leaflet published by a Presbyterian Church ...


The First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton, through the organization, Becoming the Children of Abraham, have planned a gathering for September 28, and advertised it with a leaflet (click on the "Christian Zionism - A Problem with a Solution” hyperlink) that begins:

World peace is in danger because some philosophies are having terrible unintended consequences. Zionism was a Jewish movement to find a safe haven from anti-Semitism. Christian Zionism evolved from prophetic ideas and beliefs about the end time. While well intended concepts, the results have become very dangerous. Zionists in Israel have created a state that wants racial purity. Many Zionists want native-born Christians to leave Israel. Christian Zionists in America support Israel because they believe this will accelerate the second coming of Christ. The conflicts in the Middle East have become more agitated because of this.”

After this paragraph, which will be the subject of my posting, they state that New Testament professor Gary Burge will be the speaker. For information on Burge please read, “Gary Burge: Palestine and Israel” and “My thoughts on the IPMN Symposium: Bible, Land and our Theological Challenge: A Presbyterian Conversation.* The paragraph above may have been written by Burge, but it may have been written by someone else at the church. While the author is unknown, the fact that it is anti-Semitic and untruthful can surely be seen by most readers.

World peace is in danger because of Zionism and Christian Zionism? Hardly. We have just experienced the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt with the counter effect of nearly forty Christian churches and many other Christian institutions being destroyed by MB supporters. We are still in the midst of a quandary over the Arab state of Syria where a dictator gassed his own people while at the same time radical Islamic groups are butchering other Arab citizens including the Christians who have existed in that land for almost two thousand years. And this does not even begin to cover other places in the world, such as North Korea, where both peace and human rights are elusive.

And looking at two other statements in this leaflet one sees glaring error. “Zionists in Israel have created a state that wants racial purity. Many Zionists want native-born Christians to leave Israel,” writes the author of the leaflet. However, the formation of Israel as a state was with the understanding that it would be a Jewish state. That is because the Jewish people have always experienced some form of persecution or discrimination in any nation they have lived in, including the United States. But that does not mean that there are no citizens of Israel who are non-Jews. There are Arab citizens in Israel who have voting rights and are members of the government.

Yes there are some discrimination problems in Israel as there has been and still is in the United States, but those are problems that both nations work on through a democratic process. On the other hand, there are countries like Saudi Arabia where no Jew is allowed and no Christian is safe. And yes, there are extremist settlers and Jewish groups that would undoubtedly like to rid Israel of native-born Christians, (of any Christian), but they are not the main-stream Israeli. The leaflets' blanket statement about Zionists and their desires is untruthful.

And then there is this, “Christian Zionists in America support Israel because they believe this will accelerate the second coming of Christ. Well, maybe some think so—but, while I am Reformed and not a dispensationalist nor a Christian Zionist, I have a friend who is. In fact he is one of the regional directors for John Hagee one of the most well known Christian Zionist. This is what my friend Victor Styrsky writes in his book, Honest to God: Christian Zionists Confront 10 Questions Jews Need Answered, about the second coming of Christ:

Evangelicals [includes Christian Zionists] have no eschatological teaching (end of days theology) that requires all Jews to be back in the land of Israel for a messianic visitation. Neither do evangelical Christians believe that there is anything we can do to hasten the return (or first visit, as my Jewish friends believe) of Messiah.

Evangelical Christian theology concerning the coming of Messiah is fairly united on the following points:

        1)   A date for the event has already been secured.
       2)  Only God the Father knows the time.
       3)      The coming of Messiah is imminent.”

After offering Mark 13:31-33, Styrsky writes:

This appointed time cannot and will not be hastened nor detained by our activities or lack thereof. A day has already been set and most evangelical Christians believe that the appearance of Christ is imminent.”

And then Styrsky points out that the biblical church believed also that the coming of Jesus was imminent.

That is fairly clear.

So to return to the most troubling part of the leaflet, that is, the statement that world peace is threatened by Zionism, in this day that statement is considered no different then anti-Semitism. World peace is not threatened by Zionism. It is threatened by philosophies that believe a Jewish State should not exist. The desire to rid the world of its only Jewish State (there are many Islamic states and some Christian states) is surely anti-Semitism and evil in its intent.


* To read an excellent article by Abraham Cooper and Yitzchok Adlerstein about a speech given by Gary Burge at the Checkpoint Conference in Bethlehem go to "Jeers and Loathing in Bethlehem." And please note that at the end of the article Cooper and Adlerstein have some good and kind words to say about some of the speakers at this often troubling conference. 







18 comments:

Timothy F Simpson said...

You clearly don't understand the meaning of the term antisemitism. Antisemite s hate all Jews every where. This is not about hatred of any Jews. It is political and theological opposition to a particular modern manifestation of Judaism that is even opposed by other Jews. You are badly misinformed on this point and yiur characterization is slanderous.

Viola Larson said...

Timothy, in our time anti-Zionism is easily equated with anti-Semitism. and saying that Zionism is dangerous and that world peace is in danger because of Zionism is anti-Semitism. That is saying that having a Jewish state is a danger to world peace.

Anonymous said...

It is sad to see anti-Semitism being promulgated now at Wheaton College and through 'the Layman' giving positive reviews of Burges books by a pro Palestinian Academic Ken Bailley. Then there is Stephen Sizer, the reformed Anglican whose writings are endorsed and have been promoted by his mentor John Stott. No wonder the entire Christian community in the Middle East holds the same views as Burges and Sizer as is evident in the signatories of the Kairos statement. It is well that the USA has John Hagee and his theological advisor Victor Styrsky who evidently knows 'the things that make for peace'. Trevor M

Viola Larson said...

Trevor,

It is important to point out that many well known Christians have given endorsements to other's books without knowing everything about the other's beliefs. The book of Burge's that Bailey reviewed can be helpful. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

And there are often times when I disagree with Christian Zionism. For an understanding of the difference between Reformed beliefs and Christian Zionism read my articles on Stephen Sizer. I am critiquing his views of Christian Zionism. Sometimes I agree sometimes I do not.

Start here: http://naminghisgrace.blogspot.com/search/label/Stephen%20Sizer

You will need to scroll down to #1 and then scroll up for 2 & 3.

And I would doubt seriously that Stott would endorse the Kairos Document since it pushes for a non-Jewish state.

If you comment again you will need to add your full name, city and state.

Viola Larson said...

Timothy, as a friend put it, "this is how anti-Zionism morphs into anti-Semitism": http://www.jta.org/2013/09/13/news-opinion/world/jewish-teenagers-attacked-for-occupying-paris-sports-court

Viola Larson said...

Trevor for all I have said and you have said, the real point is that Zionism is not a danger to world peace and I do not believe that either Stott nor Bailey would think so either.

Timothy F Simpson said...

Viola, you are way, way off base here. Just Google "Jewish Anti-Zionism." There are Jews all over the world, including Jews within the state of Israel, who are self-identified as anti-Zionists. Are you going to say that these people are antisemites? That's absolutely absurd. You are simply repeating Israeli government propaganda created expressly for gullible evangelicals. Your position is incontrovertibly at odds with basic facts of modern Jewish history, about which I happen to be an expert (it was the subject of one my doctoral comps). There are now and there always have been significant numbers of anti-Zionist Jews. You owe this man apology, plain and simple.

Viola Larson said...

Timothy,
Anti-Zionist Jews may or may not be anti-Semites. There are Anti-Zionist Jews who protest because of their view that the State of Israel should not have been created until the Messiah comes. The Jews who live in Iran, and are sadly used by that government, hold to that belief.

There are anti-Semitic Jews such as Gilad Atzmon who is even disparaged by Ali Abunimah.

And of course their are those who disagree with some Israeli policies but are still Zionist like Benny Morris.

And there are others who I do disagree with who may or may not be anti-Semites.

But the important point here is that to say that world peace is in danger because of Zionism is anti-Semitism. It is not different then the times when so many in Europe and in particularly Germany accused the Jews of disturbing the peace of the world.

Timothy F Simpson said...

Viola, comparisons to Hitler are outrageously ahistorical, which only lessens your credibility. The Zionists have nuclear weapons, refuse to sign the non-proliferation treaty and have several million Palestinians penned up like animals in the West Bank, thousands of acres of which they steal from the owners every year. No one is trying to get the Zionists to do anything other than live under international law. Such facile comparisons dishonor the actual suffering of people who knew what real antisemitism looked like, using a quite serious accusation to score cheap political points. Whatever short-term solution you think you are offering in making such outlandish charges will ultimately be undone by their falsity as well as by their co-optation for partisan ends.

Anonymous said...

Timothy: Yes, there are anti-Zionist Jews. Like Gilad Atzmon, some of them slop over into anti-Semitism. Others, like Jewish Voice for Peace, simply lie, obfuscate, ideologize, and otherwise speak dishonestly about Israel, the Palestinians, and the conflict. Though they aren't anti-Semitic, they offer lots of fodder for those who hate Jews.

Part of the problem is that you don't seem to understand how Viola is using the term "anti-Semitic." She never applies it in this post to a person. She applies it to the statements in the poster, which are hateful as well as untrue.

The poster includes this line: "Zionists in Israel have created a state that wants racial purity." That is not simply misinformed, nor is it simply disagreement with "a particular modern manifestation of Judaism." It is an out-and-out lie that suggests that Zionists are essentially Nazis operating under the Star of David. You can try to parse that as not being anti-Semitic, but I doubt you'll make headway with anyone outside the fever swamps of the extreme left and right.

David Fischler
Woodbridge, VA

Anonymous said...

"...have several million Palestinians penned up like animals in the West Bank."

Speaking of lessening your credibility to score cheap political points. You really ought to stop getting your talking points from Electronic Intifada and the IPMN.

David Fischler
Woodbridge, VA

Viola Larson said...

Timothy,
My statement was not about Hitler in particular but about the anti-Semitism that arose during that period--it helped to feed what did happen but it was an attitude that might never have grown into the Holocaust but for the rise of a dictator who shared the views.

It might interest you to know, I hope anyway, that some European Jews are calling for the Jews to leave Europe today because of the rise of anti-Semitism there. There is real fear. And it is just such statements as those on the leaflet that are feeding the anti-Semitism.

Here is one very academic article, "You Only Live Twice," If you look on the side there are others. See http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2013/08/you-only-live-twice/

It is a long article but worth the read.

Timothy F Simpson said...

David, I get my "talking points" from years of academic research as well visiting Palestine, talking to its residents, including the pastors of its churches, and by standing in front of the wall behind which the Israelis annexed more than 100 square miles of someone else's land.

Timothy F Simpson said...

Viola, I'm not arguing that there isn't very real antisemitism in the world. It's in Europe and the US. what I am saying is that you undermine any attempt you highlight what is actual antisemitism when you conflate it with opposition to Zionism, which is simply a political goal and ideology of certain Jews. You bristle when anyone conflates your opposition to the ordination of gays and lesbians with homophobia, but then turn right around and make the same kind of ill-informed, broad-brush accusation against people who are anti-Zionists. I am a Christian pastor, but my PhD is in the Hebrew Bible. I have been a member of my local Jewish Community Alliance for almost 15 years. My kids went to the after-school program there, they played on the JCA basketball and swim teams, they went to summer camp there every year. But I believe Zionism is very dangerous. The Zionists have nuclear weapons and won't sign nonproliferation agreements. They are serial violators of human rights and international law. They are oppressing millions of Palestinians. That oppression is the number one source of conflict in the Middle East for the US. yet pointing these things out makes me an antisemite?? Something that will morph into another Holocaust? That's the "slippery slope fallacy" employed in its most egregious fashion. The Israeli press, a considerable minority of which is left of center, publishes statements like what I just said all the time. Most Americans have no idea of the vigor of such public political debate, so your charge of antisemitism leverages our national ignorance. But for those of us who are deeply aware of this conversation WITHIN JUDAISM, going well back into the 19th century, hearing it it described as "antisemitism" is just incredibly wrong.

Viola Larson said...

Timothy, the leaflet and its content is anti-Semitic because it states that Zionism is a danger to world peace and that the Zionists in Israel want racial purity. As for you I will let your words speak for themselves

Anonymous said...

Timothy: It needs to be noted that at no point in your responses to Viola or me do you indicate any problem with the statements on the poster. Even if they aren't anti-Semitic (a questionable proposition), they are nevertheless odious. Do you agree with it that Israel is a state "seeking racial purity"?

You lean a lot on your credentials and personal experience. I can't match the credentials (not that I need to), but I been to the West Bank several times, and the claim that the Palestinians there are "penned up like animals" is ludicrous. I don't deny that Israel has made mistakes, some grievous, in its treatment of the Palestinians. I think the security barrier, for instance, should have followed the Green Line, and that the settlements never should have been built. But your claim, reminiscent (deliberately) of Nazi concentration camps, is ridiculous.

"I believe Zionism is very dangerous." Zionism is the intellectual basis for the movement for a Jewish national homeland. Apparently Jews are the only people in the world who are to be denied such a homeland, given that such a thing is "very dangerous." Instead, they'll just have to put up with kicked from pillar to post, and threatened with the occasional pogrom, by the Gentiles (Muslims, Christians, secularists) who so graciously allow them to live in their countries, at least until they don't.

David Fischler
Woodbridge, VA

Anonymous said...

In my previous comment, " (deliberately)" should have been followed by a question mark (deliberately?). I don't claim to know whether Timothy meant to conjour up this image deliberately or not.

David Fischler
Woodbridge, VA

Anonymous said...

If any of these concepts originate from the very erroneous doctrine of "Covenant Theology" then i put no faith in them.