“Christian Zionism” is a term that blends both political and theological perspectives, and it is considered dangerous by some because of the profound implications these combined ideologies have on real-world events and policies.
In pursuit of deeper understanding, I attended the Presbyterian Church (USA) “Christianity without Christian Zionism” gathering and listened to the keynote address by Robert O. Smith. Since 2002, Smith has dedicated his life to exposing and challenging Christian Zionism.
He shared an anecdote from the olive harvest in the northern West Bank during the second intifada, where he and others faced the threat of violence, including situations where Israeli soldiers or settlers, at times shouting in Russian, pointed M-16 rifles at them. For Smith, who serves as vice president, dean of academic affairs and associate professor at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, these experiences underscored the real-life consequences of Christian Zionism.
Robert O. Smith
As their trip concluded, Smith responded to a CNN report on the massive sales of the latest installment in the Left Behind book series, which popularizes rapture theology — a perspective that shaped Smith’s own childhood. When a fellow traveler asked, “Isn’t this just another way of reading the Bible?” Smith replied, “But it’s not just another way,” emphasizing that this way of reading Scripture has life-and-death consequences for people they had just met.
Smith’s journey led him to Waco, Texas, where he studied under Mark Ellis at Baylor University. Ellis was one of the first Jewish thinkers who engaged directly with Palestinians, lifting up their concerns. Although Ellis expressed frustration with Mainline denominational thinkers for simply condemning their fundamentalist opponents, Smith decided to critically examine Christian Zionism for a course paper.
Initially, Smith viewed Christian Zionism as an outgrowth of dispensationalist rapture theology, dating to the mid-1800s. Over time, however, he refined his definition: “Christian Zionism is political action informed by specific Christian commitments to promote or preserve Jewish control over the geographic area now comprising Israel and Palestine.”
Here are some of his insights:
- Christian Zionism is much older than many realize; the earliest documented example dates back to 1649.
- It is a set of ideas and commitments that Christianity itself must acknowledge and address.
- Christian Zionist ideas are woven into the foundational identity of the United States, particularly through the Puritans, and remain a permanent feature of the cultural landscape.
- Jewish political Zionism, a movement from 1892, could not have succeeded without centuries of Christian Zionist ideological development beforehand.
- The Reformation’s version of Christian Zionism demonstrates its capacity to construct Jews and Muslims for Christian purposes, fueling intra-Christian disputes over who is right about Jesus — often with destructive consequences.
Smith noted that while these are academic observations, the real-world implications are dire — particularly in light of ongoing genocide in Gaza. He called for Mainline churches to engage in broad conversations confronting Christian Zionism.
Through ongoing conversations, including those with Palestinian pastor and theologian Mitri Raheb, Smith came to see parallels between the experiences of Palestinians since the rise of political Zionism and those of Native Americans in the United States. He drew connections with events such as the 1948 Nakba and the 1967 war, relating them to the histories of Native American groups like his own Chickasaw Nation. In his view, settler colonialism is a recurring global phenomenon, and Christian Zionism drives this narrative both in North America and in Palestine/Israel.
“Christian Zionism transforms reality into mythology, disregarding real human cost for the sake of its vision of the future.”
According to Smith, Christian Zionism transforms reality into mythology, disregarding real human cost for the sake of its vision of the future. He recounted numerous conversations with Palestinians trying to understand why Western Christians act the way they do when it comes to Palestine and Israel, often asking, “Why do they seem so casually dismissive of our suffering?”
Smith distinguished between evangelical and liberal Christian Zionists only in tone — one may be more gleeful, the other more resigned — but both, he argued, are equally responsible for three years of genocide and more than 100 years of war on Palestine.
He stated, “The primary distinction between evangelical and liberal Christian Zionists is that Palestinians are either gleefully or sadly marked for expulsion, eradication and death. Make no mistake, both forms are equally responsible for the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
Regardless of whether the focus is on rebuilding a third temple for rapture theology or on justifying policies out of a post-Holocaust commitment to Jewish protection, both evangelical and liberal Christian Zionism lead to the same policy advice: Unwavering support for the state of Israel.
With an estimated 30 million Christian Zionists in the United States, Christians here “must begin looking at themselves and asking hard questions,” Smith said. “The fierce urgency of this moment demands that we consider what it will take to not only bind up the wounds of the victims, but to heal and cease the evil itself.”
“What would it look like if the great moderate middle of this country were moved to action?” he wondered.
In 1964, the activist Mario Savio was asked what it would take to move people to mass action.
“There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you sick at heart that you can’t take part” he said. “And you’ve got to put your bodies on the gears and upon the wheels, the levers, upon all the apparatus — and you’ve got to make it stop.”
Smith wonders, “When will our churches’ lack of full confrontation with Christian Zionism and settler genocide become so odious it can no longer be tolerated? When will we realize that theology does matter for the well-being of the world? When will we realize we have been indicted?”
Paul Seebeck
Paul Seebeck is an ordained Presbyterian minister. He began his professional career in broadcasting working as a television anchor, reporter and producer, as well as a radio talk show host and religion reporter. He served as a storyteller for the national Presbyterian church in Louisville from 2009-2022.