Waning evangelical support for Israel tied to rejection of dispensationalism

Dale M. Coulter, writing today for First Things, observes that waning support for the state of Israel among American evangelicals may be indicative of a shift in theological perspective.

While there is no doubt a push for greater recognition of Palestinian Christians among certain evangelical groups, a key issue that has yet to be addressed is the role of dispensationalism and its view of the End. When John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel is a prominent advocate of a rapture theology, one can be sure dispensationalism is in the background. There is a theological issue at stake in this debate that offers a backdrop for the political debate. Evangelicals who want greater support for Israel ignore this issue at their peril.

Placing the theological foundation of any support for Israel within a dispensational framework is problematic because it weds the issue to a highly debated and controversial theological position. In brief, dispensationalism maintains a clear distinction between Israel and the church although Progressive Dispensationalism sees both as part of the one people of God. God has not forsaken his covenant with the natural descendants of Abraham. The consummation of Christian salvation history will begin with a secret rapture of the church, the point of which is for God to fulfill his plan for Israel. Historical events such as the foundation of the modern state of Israel are viewed as prophetic clues to the approaching of the end.

As understood by John Hagee, Christian Zionism is framed in terms of end-time prophecy. In addition, Hagee weds together biblical texts about blessing Israel to a prosperity message, saying that doing the former will bring the latter. He also suggests that any deviation in support for the state of Israel will lead to divine judgment. Again, this is shaky terrain.

No Reformed person worth their salt theologically would go near dispensationalism or prosperity theology although a “Calvinist” occupying the space between theological worlds might. Even within Pentecostal circles rapture theology is not universally embraced. Premillennialism, the belief that at his second coming Jesus will set up an earthly kingdom is fairly standard, but there is room for divergence on a secret rapture of the church.

The point is that the future of evangelical support for Israel cannot rest upon a theological foundation that divides many Evangelicals from one another. It would not surprise me to discover that there is a correlation between waning support for Israel and a rejection of the rapture theology behind dispensationalism.

The remainder of the article wanders into the weeds with some speculation about the development of "an Evangelical theology of Judaism." Catholics, Orthodox, and some mainline Protestant groups have apparently done a better job of engaging practicing Jews at a deeper theological level, to the point, at times, of making evangelicals nervous about their commitment to the centrality of Christ as the only way to salvation.

Pros and cons of supporting Israel aside, however, the growing rejection of dispensationalism is a welcome sign of theological maturation by many evangelicals. John Hagee's history of fomenting "end times" hysteria and his latest fabrication surrounding the "four blood moons" ought to place him outside the pale of orthodoxy even among the most sectarian of evangelical groups. Russell D. Moore has plotted a more sane (although, I would argue, not yet fully satisfactory) course for future evangelical excursions into the study of last things and, as head of the influential Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, he will likely have a lot more say in plotting that course than will the fast fading figure known not so affectionately as "Dr. Armageddon."

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Post Rapture Pet Care

Gary DeMar is always keeping a close eye out for dispensationalist-inspired silliness. Here's what he found at Post Rapture Pet Care.

Do you wonder what is going to happen to your pets when Jesus descends from Heaven to re-unite the Church with the Father taking all Christians - dead and alive - up to Heaven? Will your pets be left behind with no-one to care for them?

Have no fear! We at Post Rapture Pet Care are confirmed atheists and as such will be part of the left behind when the time comes. Just because we are atheists doesn't mean we are not animal lovers. We adore all kind of pets and would love to look after your pets after you are gone.

For a small donation of £69.99 pounds, we will make sure your pets are well fed and taken care of long after you and your family have been taken up.

We have representatives in the South East of England and also in the North East of Scotland so can accommodate for most areas of the country giving you peace of mind whereever you are.

This is not a joke. We feel very strongly about pet care and want to offer the best possible services to British pet owners. Feel free to get in touch at pets@postrapturepetcare.com for more info.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up, Part MMXXXVIII

It began in the early 1830's with the delusional dreaming of a sickly, shamelessly exploited 15-year-old girl. A little over 170 years later, the absurd premise has played itself out to its logical, absurd conclusion.

If millions of Christians suddenly disappear from the face of the Earth as the opening act for Armageddon, Threat Level thinks most nonbelievers will be too busy freaking the hell out to check their e-mail. But if they do log in, now they can be treated to some post-Rapture needling from their missing friends and loved ones, courtesy of web startup YouveBeenLeftBehind.com.

For just $40 a year, believers can arrange for up to 62 people to get a final message exactly six days after the Rapture, that day when -- according to Christian end times dogma -- Christians will be swept up to heaven, while doubters are left behind to suffer seven years of Tribulation under a global government headed by the Antichrist.

"You've Been Left Behind gives you one last opportunity to reach your lost family and friends for Christ," reads the website, which is purportedly run "by Christians, for Christians." The domain name is registered through an anonymous proxy service, presumably to protect the proprietors from the Forces of Darkness, and not because they're up to anything shady.

The e-mails will be triggered when three of the site's five Christian staffers "scattered around the U.S." fail to log in for six days in a row -- a system that incorporates a nice margin of safety, should two of the proprietors turn out to be unrepentant sinners or atheists.

Reflections on Two Centuries of Desperation

Regular readers here will not be surprised to learn that I believe one of the most blatant examples of the preaching of "cheap grace" is the elaborate mythology of Hal Lindsey, John Hagee, Tim LaHaye, and other purveyors of dispensational premillennialism. This grievous hodgepodge of gnosticism, dualism, sensationalism, and escapism has been infecting the evangelical wing of the Christian faith for nearly two centuries. Although apparently in its death throes, it continues to command a large and devoted following because, at its root, it speaks to a deep felt, albeit unredeemed, human need. On the occasion of John Hagee's endorsement of John McCain, Anthony Sacramone reflects on the enduring popularity of "parsing the end times."

For those of you who have not been counting down to Armageddon since that concatenation of false prophecy The Late Great Planet Earth hit bookstores back in 1970, John Hagee’s ministry consists of oversize illustrations of who-is-going-to-invade-Israel before the always imminent Rapture sweeps all true Christians into the clouds with Jesus until the tribulation period, in which the Antichrist pursues some unfortunate economic policies until Christ returns again and establishes his 1,000-year reign on earth until Satan is loosed again to wreak havoc until Christ returns again again and Satan is finally thrown into the lake of fire with his minions and this guy Earl.

Everybody got that? Lots of killing, Rapture, clouds with Jesus (return 1A), Antichrist, Jesus returns (1B), lions and lambs, Satan loosed, Jesus returns (2), The End. (For a more interminably drawn-out version of this scenario, see the Left Behind books, movies, and videogames, which turn the bloodfest that is the end of history into madcap fun for the whole family—and a great Sunday school tool, too!)

The only thing wrong with this parsing of the End Times is that its biblical foundation is based on one or two badly misinterpreted verses of Scripture and a desperate need to hurry divine judgment before an awful reality sets in—sometimes life does not get any better. It bespeaks a now two-centuries-old desperation on the part of some folk who are having a hard time of it and just want out—or at the very least want to be vindicated for their beliefs in the face of so much unbelief. I do not doubt the genuineness of their faith, only the vacuity of some super-preachers’ dividing of the Word.

As N.T. Wright ably demonstrates in his new book, Surprised by Hope, there is work to be done here on the Third Rock from the Sun that is intrinsically linked to the coming Kingdom of God—and not just in terms of evangelism. Oh, and there is only one return of Christ, not two.

In a presidential election year in which we may well have to decide between the lesser of two evils, it is hardly comforting to know that the presumptive Republican nominee now has the endorsement of the man affectionately known as "Dr. Armageddon."