The Reveal

I talk a lot about biblical literalism, and for good reason. You see, when someone takes the bible as the literal word of God, it can lead to all sorts of silly ideas, like Young Earth Creationism. It can also lead to very dangerous ideas like Christian Zionism. This particular brand of biblical literalism is especially dangerous because it is one that indulges apocalypticism - not only indulges it, but promotes it. It's one thing to try and fight science with a literal interpretation of Genesis, but it's a whole other thing altogether to use a literal interpretation of the bible to justify endorsing tyrannical colonialism through bloodshed and violence.

Now, there are probably quite a few of you who are unfamiliar with Christian Zionism and are wondering what the heck I'm talking about. To understand this particular mindset, we've got to start with the prophecies it's built on.  I'll spare you quoting bible verses here and simply offer you a summation of where they get their views. These prophecies are found in the books of Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Revelation, and what they amount to is a statement that the nation of Israel will be restored and that the Temple on the Mount will be rebuilt. These events are interpreted by them to be a sign of the end times or second coming of Christ. Nothing has fueled the flames of this belief more than the reestablishment of Israel following WWII in 1948. In the eyes of both the Jewish and Christian Zionist, this was the fulfillment of God's will.

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and an Unfulfillable One

You need a bit of understanding about history to see why one of these is a self-fulfilling prophecy and the other a virtual impossibility, but only a bit. So let's start with the first prophecy in relation to history and predicting a possible future:

1. The restoration of Israel

   If you do a bit of study, you'll find that following the original establishment of Israel, the Jewish people built a strong and well established presence in what is now the Arab region of the world. The city of Jerusalem has been fought over for well over 2,000 years. And Jewish presence in the region, from Egypt into what is modern day Europe, is very clear in both the written and archaeological records. Given these insights, it only makes sense to speculate that at some point Israel would be restored. Sorry Nostradamus... but I'm not impressed.

2. The rebuilding of the Temple on the Mount

   This prophecy is a lot more tricky to deal with. You see, the temple can't just be built anywhere. It has to be rebuilt on the same ground that the original temple was built on. The problem with this is that the spot where that temple must be built now houses the Muslim "holy place" known as The Dome of the Rock. The writer of this "prophecy" couldn't have possibly known this would happen, and if he had he most likely wouldn't have made this prediction at all. The fact is, in order for this to happen, an all-out war between Jews and Muslims must take place - and the Jews have to win.

A Clear and Present Danger

At the heart of this matter is the Jewish state of Israel, and inherent in that is the Israeli-Palestinian war. Now, some will object to my calling this a war, but the fact is that there are military forces engaged in armed combat that has resulted in massive loss of life on both sides and that most certainly should qualify as a war. Unlike men such as Chris Christie, I will not relabel the occupation of the West Bank as anything other than a military occupation. And I won't call the actions of Palestinian terrorist groups anything other than an act of war against Israel. When you get right down to it, both sides are merely killing each other over dirt - and human life should always be of greater value than dirt.

The part Christian Zionism plays in this is more subtle, and lies behind the scenes. You see, these Christian Zionists are the people who lobby the US government to offer support for Israel. They also spend a great deal of money supporting the Jewish Zionist movement and the utter destruction of any semblance of a Palestinian state - by any means necessary. The violence and unrest between Israel and Palestine, and in the middle east altogether, is simply fulfilment of "prophecy." The loss of life is just a sign of the end times and their hope is that it simply is an omen meant to signal the second coming of Jesus. Because of all this, there is a trail of money and blood that leads right back to the Christian Zionists. But worse than that, they've made all US citizens a party to a war that most of us want no part of by using their influence to have our government support the state of Israel in a conquest of middle-eastern dirt that has resulted in massive casualties on both sides. And all the while, these pompous biblical literalists sit back in their nice homes and stare at pictures of white Jesus on the wall hoping to soon shake his hand and be congratulated on their part in destroying this planet and society as a whole.

A Glass Parking Lot

If you watch or read any sort of news, even Fox News, you should well understand just how tense the situations in the middle east are right now. From Syria to Egypt, and everywhere in between, civil unrest seems to be the flavor of the day, and the Islamic hold in that region is tenuous... but very strong. If you understand this, then it should be clear that if there is one singular act that would spark an all-out war between the Islamic nations in the region and Israel, it would be for Israel to try and move even one piece of adornment from the Dome of the Rock. If they were to destroy it outright, the entire middle east would be a desert of blood - or a glass parking lot. And that is exactly what the Christian Zionists want.

If you need an example of just how influential this Zionist idea is in US government, you need only look to a recent meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas. At this meeting was billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is not only a Jewish Zionist, but is also a "super-donor," contributing millions to political campaigns and the men and women willing to pledge to support Israel no matter what and use their influence in office to try and force a governmental position in favor of Israel regardless of Israel's actions against others. Men such as Chris Christie and Scott Walker show up at events like this and cater to men such as Adelson, willing to sell not only their integrity as US public servants, but as US citizens.

A Common Enemy

I'm not the only one aware of this situation. Indeed, even many Christians have seen this movement for what it is. So I'll leave you with some words of one Reverend that has his eyes open - well, to this fact anyway.

Burgeoning Christian Zionist organizations such as the International Christian Embassy (ICEJ), Christian Friends of Israel (CFI) and Christians United for Israel (CUFI) wield considerable influence on Capitol Hill, claiming a support base in excess of 50 million true believers. This means there are now at least ten times as many Christian Zionists as Jewish Zionists. And their European cousins are no less active in the Zionist Hasbarafia, lobbying for Israel, attacking its critics and thwarting the peace process. The United States and Israel are often portrayed as Siamese twins, joined at the heart, sharing common historic, religious and political values.[2]

[1] from the song Aenema by the band TOOL
[2] http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35747.htm