Christian Zionism - New Life Tabernacle of Chattanooga

government, education etc., but it can describe a Christian who claims to
support the State of Israel for any reason.’ 37
Louis Hamada traces what he sees as the correlation between secular
Jewish Zionism and Christian Zionism:
‘The term Zionism refers to a political Jewish movement for the
establishment of a national homeland in Palestine for the Jews that
have been dispersed. On the other hand, a Christian Zionist is a
person who is more interested in helping God fulfill His prophetic plan
through the physical and political Israel, rather than helping Him fulfill
His evangelistic plan through the Body of Christ.’ 38
While Hamada is correct to observe that Christian Zionists essentially support
what was predominantly a secular and political movement, increasingly
Christian Zionists are now identifying with the religious elements which
dominate the Zionist agenda, especially among the settlers and Temple
Mount movement. Furthermore, Christian Zionism is considerably more
complex than Hamada suggests, with some leading agencies committed to
both a ‘prophetic plan’ as well as an ‘evangelistic plan’ for the Jewish people,
notably Jews for Jesus and the Churches Ministry Among Jewish People
(CMJ). Evangelicals, in particular, are increasingly polarised as to whether
Christian Zionism is biblical and orthodox or heretical and cultic. Colin
Chapman observes, ‘It is hard to think of another situation anywhere in the
world where politics have come to be so closely bound up with religion, and
where scriptures have such a profound effect on political action.’ 39
Riggans, for example, elaborates on the relationship between theology
and politics in Zionism:
‘A Biblical Zionism, which is surely the desire of every Christian, will be
fundamentally about God and His purposes. Thus Zionism, when seen
in a proper Christian perspective, will be understood as a branch of
theology, not of politics ... The State of Israel is only the beginning of
what God is doing for and through the Jewish people.’ 40
He goes on to suggest that Christians should not only support the idea of a
Jewish State, but also support its policies. ‘... in the most modest of ways I
37
38
39
Walter Riggans, Israel and Zionism, (London, Handsell, 1988), p19.
Louis Bahjat Hamada, Understanding the Arab World, (Nashville, Nelson, 1990), p189.
Chapman, op.cit., p304.
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