Oh, how I've been trying to avoid this topic. There are very few subjects about which I feel more conflicted, more off-balance or less articulate. But I'm going to turn around and try to face my fear, here. I've been encouraged by this wonderful, thoughtful, incredibly nuanced post by Judith Weiss at Kesher Talk, which has already inspired a most interesting conversation over there and which I hope will inspire many more.
On Wednesday, Pastor John Hagee of the Cornerstone Church and Christians United for Israel was the guest speaker at a One Jerusalem blogger conference call (in which I did not participate). I highly recommend that you listen to the audio archive, because different people heard different things in that call. But I heard exactly what Judith heard.
Listening to Pastor Hagee, I felt grateful that he recognizes the genuine existential threat to Israel, without being intimidated by political correctness; has the energy and and persistence and personal authority to convince and mobilize others to use political clout and monetary donations to support Israel; and exhibits genuine courage and humility by doing so in the face of both death threats from antisemites and ongoing suspicion from the Jewish community (both of which he describes in the conference call).
On the other hand …
Pastor Hagee’s intepretation of his religious imperatives leads him to be dismissive those of us who believe the re-instatement of a Jewish nation in Israel is more than legitimate, but think a Biblical justification is at best insufficient and at worst an impediment to the cause. In response to my question about whether the Biblical argument should be at least supplemented by the historical record, or appeals to self-determination, Pastor Hagee said, “When the house is on fire, you don’t argue about the color of the hose. We are fighting radical Islam. If you believe the Bible you are with us. If you don’t, you are not with us. I don’t have time to debate. There’s the Torah way and the wrong way.â€
Judith then went on to explain precisely what her problem is with this kind of approach.
If the main argument for the support of Israel is the authority of God, then using the authority of God to support the destruction of Israel (as with many Islamist theologians) can only be opposed by claiming “my God is bigger than yours.†This dispute can only be settled by the eschatalogical war that pastor Hagee ostensibly wants to avoid. And both assertions are meaningless to everyone who isn’t on board with the Bible Way (or Koran way).
Which ironically includes most Israelis. It also includes many secular gentiles who are adamant defenders of Israel, like fellow bloggers Mary and Michael and Charles and Glenn. And it includes me and other moderately religious people who think that God's will is not as transparent as Pastor Hagee makes it out to be, and that justifying foreign policy by divine decree violates the Establishment Clause.*
If I insist on privileging historical and political defenses of Israel which secular people can evaluate for themselves, Pastor Hagee would probably say I am arguing about the color of the hose. No, I am saying that his hose only couples with one type of firetruck and that is not the only firetruck lined up to douse the flames. You can bring your firefighting equipment to bear without dismissing the other equipment being deployed.
(See Judith's post for the *footnote.) Extremely well put, and I couldn't agree more. But allow me to add my own gloss on it. There's no getting around two facts. First, Israel's enemies have become very adept at using biblical justifications for Israel's existence as a club to beat us with. The argument has repeatedly been turned back on us so effectively that it's managed to make even many Bible-believers squeamish about their Israel advocacy. Does that mean the argument shouldn't be made? Of course not. But it can't be the last word. There are just too many people for whom it will never hold water. And many of them are ardent Zionists.
Which brings me to the second problem. The Bible-way-or-the-highway approach clearly tells potential Israel supporters who aren't Bible-believers to get lost, that we don't need them. Pastor Hagee said as much in so many words. That's alienating and it's counterproductive. And it's totally unnecessary. Again, Judith said it best in her own comments.
... [M]y case is based on history and culture. The only reason that is challenged is because of the 2000 year diaspora. Any other ethnic group on their ancestral grounds does not have to justify their habitation on theological grounds. Greece is Greek. Japan is Japanese. Ireland is Irish. If Jews hadn't been ethnically cleansed from our omeland at least 3 times, AND spawned 2 daughter religions whose claims depended on disenfranchising us, we would not be challenged now. Israel would be Jewish, no one would question it.
We know that the Jewish People were sovereign in their own land 2000 years ago. The Hebrew Bible is hardly our only source for that. We also know that no other people has ever called that land home since. Others may have lived there, prayed there, tilled the land there, fought there, but no one else has ever established a homeland there, created a culture, a language, a faith and an identity there. (And to those who claim they have, Israel has always expressed a willingness to share.) The dependence upon theological justification for the State of Israel ignores the fundmental right of self-determination that the world grants to every other civilization. It does more than ignore it, it threatens to negate it. And so, no, I can't work with someone who refuses to accept or even discuss Israel's right to exist on its own merit -- or on any grounds other than his or her particular interpretation of God's Will.
Pastor Hagee and other Christian Zionists have reached out continuously to the Jewish community in a generous, loving, sincere spirit for many years now, with no other apparent strings attached. Their efforts are very deeply appreciated. They have accomplished much that is good, true and praiseworthy, sometimes at considerable cost to themselves. And if this is the language in which they need to address their own constituency, then so be it. But I caution Israel advocates who believe they can afford to sacrifice their alliance with avowedly secular Jews (and non-Jews) in order to buy into the powerful juggernaut that Christian Zionism has the potential to become to think again.
There are two other elephants in this particular room, but I believe I'll leave it there for now, catch my breath and do some more pondering before I try to wrestle with them.
