Books

BOOK REVIEW: Zion’s Christian Soliders? The Bible, Israel and the Church

I have frequently shied away from the topic of Israel for a variety of reasons.

1) Its highly controversial among Christians, particularly in the US

2) I’m embarrassed by The Left Behind books

3) I’m not a theologian or eschatologist and the issues seem highly complex

However, as I continue to ponder the implications of the unquestioned support of Israel as a means of justifying war in the Middle East, I grow disturbed at the implications for global Christians. Enter: Zion’s Christian Soldiers by Stephen Sizer. In his book, Sizer addresses the claims of Christian Zionism and its ties to the conservative religious right. He claims,

It is time to speak out because Christian Zionism has become a formidable and dangerous movement. By portraying the modern state of Israel as God’s chosen people on earth, the role of the church has been reduced in the eyes of many to providing moral and biblical justification for Israel’s colonization of Palestine. Those who oppose her are demonized. While not all Christian Zionists endorse the apocalyptic views of Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye, the movement as a whole is nevertheless leading the West, and the church with it, into a confrontation with Islam. Using biblical terminology to justify a pre-emptive global war against the ‘axis of evil’ merely reinforces stereotypes, fuels extremism, incites fundamentalism and increases the likelihood of nuclear war.

Sizer then spends the next six chapters delving into the details of what the Bible says about literalism, Israel, the Promised Land, Jerusalem, the temple, and Armageddon. At times, I found his arguments a bit difficult to follow (more likely due to issues in my brain, not his), and the charts slightly difficult to understand given my lack of theological training and the complexity of the topic. In spite of my own inability to understand, for those interested in examining an alternative perspective to Christian Zionism, his work is well researched, supported and organized.

As a global Christian, the issues brought up in Sizer’s book stir significant concern within. He asks difficult questions regarding US foreign policy:

· Is the way we view Israel and the church assisting or hindering God’s plan?

· Are we ‘doing justice and loving mercy’ in the Middle East, or are we exacerbating tensions?

· Are we walking in the way of peace or are we hindering reconciliation between Arabs and Israelis?

He ultimately claims that Christian Zionism is:

an exclusive theology driving a political agenda which elevates one nation over others, rather than an inclusive theology centered on Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. In its worst forms, Christian Zionism uses the Bible to justify racial superiority, land expropriation, home demolitions, population transfer, colonial settlements, the denial of international law, and the dehumanization of Arabs. It fuels not only Islamophobia but also anti-Semitism and Islamist retaliation against Christians.

Strong statements to be sure. I’m a bit of a newbie to this discussion, so I’d love some comments on this. Sizer’s claims resonate strongly with me and strike chords of deep discomfort I’ve had all along watching US foreign policy in the Middle East. It was a relief to read a perspective which stands against to the prevailing American Christian views.

(Note: If you disagree and are so inclined to comment, I would request you to be kind. I certainly understand the explosiveness of the issue, yet have no interest in vengeful or demeaning dialogue. If you are so inclined to comment in such a spirit, please visit other sites. Constructive feedback is welcome.)

1 thought on “BOOK REVIEW: Zion’s Christian Soliders? The Bible, Israel and the Church”

  1. Good day to you,

    Stephan Sizer’s campaign only scratches the surface of the overall Zionist agenda. The underlying Zionist issues are very dark and diabolical. The state of Israel that is run by Zionists, and AIPAC who is the instigator pulling all the strings, use bribery and blackmail to influence US politicians to fight Zionist wars, not only in Palestine and the Middle East, but all over the world.

    I read in the news that the US has recently launched an offensive at some locations in Iran. The war may be escalated there before Trump is inaugurated on 6 Jan. so that the excuse can be “we have advanced to far with the war and it can’t be stopped”.

    The Zionists arranged for Jewish thugs in New York City in the early 20th Century to instigate the Bolchevik Revolution in Russia and financed its success. They also drew the US into WWI, WWII, Vietnam, etc. Every modern war has been directly or indirectly influenced by a Jewish lobby in the US government. The war today between Russia and Ukraine is instigated by Zionists using US tax dollars to supply Ukraine with armaments from the US military industrial complex, and troop support. Russia is being used to clear out the goyim inhabitants of Ukraine to make room for an Ashkenzi Jewish colony to replace them (modern day Ukraine was once Kazaria). Wars in the last few hundred years have been of Zionist construct to fulfil their depopulation agenda, and not to mention what the vaccines have done so far. This is all to fulfil the plan written in The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.

    The Zionist state of Israel have plans to build a temple, a third temple, where the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque stand on the temple mount in Jerusalem to compensate, as the Rabbi’s claim, for the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in 70 AD. How does one think that a third temple is going to be built where the Muslims have their mosque and dome? I hate to imagine what the outcome of that will be. It appears this decision is dependant upon Trump since he moved the US Embassy in 2018 from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem during his first tenure as president. Even gold coins were minted to commemorate the event of the embassy move, featuring the faces of Trump and Cyrus, the messianic deliver who freed Judah from Babylonian captivity in 520 AD. I think there is going to be a lot of fireworks shortly.

    If one is inclined to think Trump was elected. They need to think again. There is no more free and fair elections in the US and countries where electronic voting machines and mail-in ballots are used for elections or rather selections. Even though he won by a huge margin, as there was really no one else but the commie Harris, there is enough evidence that Trump would endorse another vaccine mandate, and is a big supporter of the Zionist state of Israel, and most likely a Zionist himself. We do know that He converted to Judaism before or during his first term in office.

    The Zionists captured the US government over a hundred years ago, if not more, and for a very long time most politicians on both sides of the political aisle have been bought, blackmailed and paid for.

    Getting back to Stephen Sizer book. I believe he has done a tremendous amount of good by opening the eyes of Christians, and even comforting Muslims with the truth of Scripture who think that Christians are hypocrites who condone the death of Arabs in Palestine which Zionist Jews have committed.

    We can only pray to the Lord that things will change for the better.

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