Tag: Christian Zionism

Cyrus Ingerson Scofield

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Here is a challenge for readers inclined to dumpster dive into the dark side of human nature. Put these three pieces together: Ted Cruz, the war in Gaza, and a man by the name of Cyrus Ingerson Scofield.

Give up?

Let’s begin with the last piece, a man better known as C. I. Scofield. For those of you, who like me, who emerged from a childhood saturated in Fundamentalist, Biblical Christianity, the name “Scofield” might ring a bell. (more…)

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A few op-eds have been published on Counter-Currents which roundly proclaimed that Zionism is done and dusted.

“The forecast is looking pretty cloudy for Zion,” wrote Beau Albrecht.

“A Post-Jewish Question Plan of Action” is the title of Morris van de Camp’s contribution to this topic, as if the era of Jewish power were already well and truly behind us. (more…)

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Defining Christian Zionism and Dispensationalism

It’s difficult to imagine Western Christianity these days without its zealous, almost unshakeable support for Israel. A curious position, one might think, given the historical theological stances and attitudes of most of Christianity. (more…)

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People know in the abstract that the Boomers are passing on and that the Zoomers are coming of voting age. But they do not seem to really understand or internalize what this means politically and are thus living in a past that is already gone. (more…)

Peter was martyred by Nero sometime between 64 and 67. Peter’s martyrdom is not mentioned in Acts, which implies that Acts had already been published and distributed.

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Part 3 of 3 (Part 1 here, Part 2 here)

The early vs. late Debate

Biblical scholars are divided over when the Synoptic Gospels and the Book of Revelation were written. John’s Gospel is certainly later, and may even have been written after Revelation, but the debate does not address when John was written, since that gospel is so different from the others. (more…)

The Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD changed the religious order of the Roman Empire.

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Part 1 of 3 (Part 2 here)

Theology matters. The ideas arising from how religious thinkers have connected things in scripture drive a great deal of social policy. The outcomes of these policies can be good or bad. Societies that follow a Calvinist interpretation of Christianity, for example, tend to be wealthy. (more…)

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. . . I can hardly wish any man better than he would seriously consider what he does with his time; how and to what ends he employs it; and what returns he makes to God, his neighbor, and himself for it. Will he never have a ledger for this? This is the greatest wisdom and work of life. — William Penn (more…)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Matt Gaetz conspiring to destroy Kevin McCarthy.

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We use case studies in law and business to learn about how rules and principles work in real life. This is apparently not so in politics — or at least Republican politics. Trump’s victory in 2016 should be the model for any Republican candidate who is serious about winning, especially since that victory was buttressed by a string of defeats both before and after it.

The special elections earlier this month continued the trend of the GOP snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Andy Beshear, the incumbent white Democrat who is the Governor of Kentucky, defeated his black Republican opponent, Daniel Cameron. (more…)

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Hamas fighters attacked Israeli military positions and settlements near Gaza on October 7 and took the Israelis completely by surprise. Around 1,400 Israelis, many of them soldiers, were killed, and hundreds of Israeli civilians were taken captive to be used as barter in the eventual ceasefire negotiations. (more…)

Peter’s vision was a rejection of Jewish influence upon Christianity.

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Part 2 of 2 (Part 1 here)

The Damnatio Memoriae of Lucius Aelius Sejanus and the Jews of the Roman Empire

During Jesus’ ministry, the Emperor of Rome was Tiberius Caesar, but the government of Rome was administered by Lucius Aelius Sejanus. Pontius Pilate, a client of Sejanus and the husband of Ceasar Augustus’ granddaughter, was Governor of Judea. Herod Antipas was the tetrarch of Galilee. (more…)

The Council of Jerusalem is the decisive meeting in which the separation between Christians and Jews was ratified.

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Part 1 of 2 (Part 2 here)

But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. (more…)

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After several weeks of not having a Speaker of the House, the GOP have finally settled on a replacement for the deposed Kevin McCarthy. The lucky winner is Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Johnson was first elected to Congress in 2016, which makes him the least experienced Speaker since John G. Carlisle in 1883. (more…)

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Amy Kaplan
Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2018

It is well known that Zionist Jews used their incredible influence upon American society and the Truman administration to achieve American recognition and support for the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. It is likewise known that Christian Zionists continue to support Israel to the furthest degree which the highly limited white Christian influence upon America goes. (more…)