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Although Christian Zionism is a newly born phenomenon on the political scene, it finds strong roots in the past ages. Some believe Christian Zionism was born with Protestantism. The Protestants changed the stature of the Jew in the Catholic Church, therefore, they were praised as the brothers and nephews of Jesus Christ. As Puritans entered the new world, ground was paved for the growth of Christian Zionism as a definable current which adopted a key role in the social and political dealings of the United States.
Publish Date : 15:55 - 2016 December 07


Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. The term began to be used in the mid-20th century, superseding Christian Restorationism.


In the book Christian Zionism published by the Islamic Revolution Documents Center, a part about the historical roots of Christian Zionism and its influence over the domestic and foreign policies of the US, the presidential elections in the US in particular, reads: in 1492 Christopher Columbus who was seeking a way from the West to Asia, reached the Caribbean’s and found the chance to discover the Americas, thanks to the unsparing support of a group of Marranos.


Marranos is a term used for those Jews living in Iberia who converted or were forced to convert to Christianity yet continued to practice Judaism in secret. The term specifically refers to the accusation of Crypto-Judaism, whereas the term Converso was used for the wider Convert population. The term came into later use in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree, which outlawed the practice of Judaism in Spain and required all remaining Jews to convert or leave. From then on secret practice of Judaism in Spain was known as "Marranism".


Since that time, then colonials of Europe, i.e. Spain, Protugal, Holland, France, and England, each tried one way or another to gain part of the American land. Do to so, each of the countries tried to form colonies in America. One of the most prominent colonies that was formed in America was the 13 English colonies by the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Years later, these moved on to form an independent entity as was named the United States of America.


 The culture and faith that dominated these colonies was Puritanism. The penetration of Puritanism in the primary colonies was so deep as to have Encyclopedia Britannica write: There was no colony over which the Puritan influence was not more powerful from one to another. An estimation goes that 85 percent of the primary Thirteen Colonies’ churches were Puritan in nature.


The theology of Puritans was one of the Old Testament. The Encyclopaedia of "Jews, Judaism and Zionism" writes: Puritanism, whose moral codes are entirely based on the Old Testament, is considered an English Jewism.


The Encyclopaedia of "Jews, Judaism and Zionism" also writes of Puritans under the entry of Judaizers as: Judaizers are people who although they are not Jews, they use parts or the entire of it in their life, or they are people who call themselves Jews.


They staged the first Puritan colony in American in 1620 under the name Massachusetts. The Puritans were so enthralled by the Old Testament that initially they intended to give the name New Israel to America. In his book Year 501: The Conquest Continues points to this enthrallment of the Puritans and points out that in fact Puritans’ excitement over entering the New World was so great that they would call America the promised land and would consider themselves the select clan who had escaped the tyranny of time’s Pharaoh (James I of England) and should wipe America of the Canaanites (the Indians and first residents of America) and establish a civilization which would inspire other societies.


As Puritans set foot in the New World, ground was paved for the growth of Christian Zionism. With the dawn of the 20th century, Christian Zionism turned into a definable current to play a prominent role in political and social affairs of the United States. On the domestic front, the current tried to rebuild the American society on the Evangelical rules. Accordingly, Christian Zionists tired tried to launch an extensive campaign for ethically conservative politicians to be elected. Thus, Christian Zionists played active role in, among others, the 1980 presidential election, which ended in victory.


After Reagan won the election, thanks to support from Christian Zionists, this group managed to boost their influence in the White House. In fact, shoulder to shoulder with Reagan in the White House, personages from the Christian Zionist society played a great role in forming the policies of the Republicans in social sphere. During the two terms of the Reagan administration, Falwell and his colleagues did not only have access to all policy making committees in the government and the Republican wing, Mr. Reagan himself used to see the group as really a part of his government.


Thus, Christian Zionists grasped the opportunity and did all they could to steer the government to counter such phenomena as abortion and homosexuality.


On the international front, also, Christian Zionism tried to steer the country in the direction of its own goals, one of the most important of which was to form the Israeli state before the return of Christ, something that had roots in the group’s fatalistic beliefs. In fact Christian Zionists support the claim that the Zionist regime should control the entire land under dispute between Palestinians and Israelis. Therefore, Christian Zionism has influenced the United State’s foreign policy regarding the creation, development, and also all out support for the Zionist government as its main foreign policy goal. Accordingly, the current has tried by forming numerous organizations and committees to mobilize the public and pressuring the government and the Congress to provide for the interests of the Zionist government. A few of the organizations are the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, the Moral Majority, and Christians United for Israel.





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