Why have the Jews been vilified and persecuted in Christendom? The answer to that question lies in the 2,000 year history of a religious tradition that appropriated an ancient proto-Rabbinic figure (Jesus) and deified him, much to the astonishment of the main body of the Jews. The continuing existence of the Jews has been an affront to Christians throughout the history of the church because they (the Jews) are a reminder that Christian claims to being the “new Israel” are the result of a creative (Pauline) misreading of Jewish scripture—and not the only possible interpretation of that scripture, nor even the best interpretation.
And then, of course, there is Islam. Christians find themselves between a rock and a hard place: the Jews were supposed to recognize in Rabbi Jesus their awaited Messiah (which they have failed and refused to do) and Islam was never supposed to happen (the Messiah was supposed to return with the heavenly hosts to usher in his 1,000 year reign). For those who have bought into this eschatological vision, the credibility of the whole enterprise is at stake. Therefore, like Judaism, Islam is a problem for many Christians.
Fortunately, the embarrassment of unfulfilled prophecy has led the vast majority of Christians to conveniently forget that such eschatological hopes were ever entertained by the first generations in the church. But we find ourselves living in an era of increasing eschatological impatience on the part of a radical fringe that, unfortunately, has seized the levers of power in the United States (e.g., Pompeo and Pence). And the State of Israel is a (willing) pawn in their game: to instigate Armageddon and bring Christ to the Temple Mount. Of course, the Israelis don’t share the eschatological expectations of the Christian Zionist crowd, but they are happy to accept their financial contributions, military assistance (including nuclear weaponry), and political support. As for the Christian eschaton, they’ll take their chances...
But what strange bedfellows! After all, Christian Zionism and Antisemitism are two sides of the same coin. The Israelis must know this, but political expedience drives policy. And the policy, it seems, is to divest the indigenous people of Palestine (the majority of whom are Muslim) from their ancestral homeland. Why? So that Jews can have a safe haven from Christian Antisemitism...
If one were to write a novel with such a plot-line, it would never be published. Too implausible. But truth is stranger than fiction.
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