Effort aims to counter Christian Zionism
Association will distribute a brochure saying the movement fosters hatred of Muslims and opposition to Mideast peace. A movement leader says the brochure presents a stereotype of Christian Zionists.
Before the year is up, nearly 45 million people will get more than a sermon at their churches -- they'll get a brochure titled "Why We Should Be Concerned About Christian Zionism."
The brochure says Christian Zionism "fosters fear and hatred of Muslims and non-Western Christians" and "can lead to the dehumanization of Israelis and Palestinians." Its distribution reflects the concerns of Christians who are trying to combat what they call the growing influence of Christian Zionism in the U.S.
"If we don't speak up against it -- Christian Zionism -- then people will think we don't care or that we agree with it," said the Rev. John Hubers, supervisor of mission programs in the Middle East and South Asia for the Reformed Church in America.
The Reformed Church in America is one of the 35 Christian church bodies that make up the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, which wrote the brochure and began distributing it this month.
"To say we're dehumanizing Israelis and Palestinians with our support for Israel dehumanizes us," said David Brog, executive director of Christians United for Israel, one of the most prominent Christian Zionist organizations in the United States. The group was started in 2006 by controversial televangelist John Hagee, senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio.
But what exactly do Christian Zionists believe?
Christian Zionists say they believe that the creation of Israel was ordained by God.
Detractors say Christian Zionism fosters the belief that the return of Jews to Israel has fulfilled one of the steps that will set the stage for Armageddon and the return of Jesus Christ to Earth. These detractors say Christian Zionists want to hasten that end time by promoting conflict in the Middle East.
About 20 million to 40 million people in the U.S. are Christian Zionists, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
The National Council of Churches includes more than 100,000 individual churches, made up of about 45 million churchgoers, and is hoping it can use its membership to curb the political and social influence of Christian Zionism, said Antonios Kireopoulos, the group's director of interfaith relations.
The brochure will be handed out in member churches.
As a resource for those churches, the council is also creating an analysis of parts of the Bible that Christian Zionists use to justify their views, he said.
