Hymn # 7,000 - Onward Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War

As Christmas approaches we envisage the serene nativity scene of baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Its a time of reflection and peace as two billion Christians focus on the reason they have Christmas and stop to celebrate the birth of their saviour. Theres no such reflection and peace in Gaza. Babies arent lying in soft cushioned mangers, they’re being maimed, murdered and orphaned. They certainly arent being celebrated and worshipped by Israelis nor millions of Christians. The silence of major Christian bodies and leaders regarding the genocide taking place not far from Bethlehem is so blatant as to be disgusting. What a horrible disconnect to be celebrating the birth of one person over two thousand years ago, but not holding precious the life of over 7,000 babies and children today just because they are Palestinian. A Christian childrens song is;

Jesus loves the little children all the children of the world Red and yellow, black and white All are precious in his sight Jesus loves the little children of the world.

I think they forgot to add the caveat -

Unless youre Palestinian, and then you dont count.

I’ve been to Bethlehem and it’s nothing like the warm and fuzzy description in the Bible. It’s under Occupation and parts of it are miserable with half-built houses because the supply of concrete for the Occupied Territories is scrupulously monitored by Israel. The roads are appalling and the checkpoints certainly do not contain three wise men. One young Israeli soldier was flicking her hair around, pouting and taking selfies while her colleague, also female, stuck her foot out in front of our car and snarled Papers without even looking at us. These young women had guns almost larger than themselves.

Both Islam and Judaism are currently being criticised from all sides. One only has to scratch the surface of social media to read hateful and ignorant comments aimed at both religions and their followers. I think at this Christmas time we should also take a look at strains of Christianity which, as often happens, flies under the radar of a religion that has its finger in the pie of Palestine-Israel. Christianity is too often viewed as the civilised faith, yet its a misnomer given its track record in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America et al.

A particular strain is Christian Zionism that is a term which some readers may not have heard of. Its confusing as it sounds like a conflation of Judaism with Christianity which are mutually exclusive beliefs. One is waiting for the first earthly visit of the Messiah, the other is waiting for the Messiah to return to earth. Both will fight for legitimacy to be the one true faith.

Certain followers of Christianity hold fast to a literal translation of the last book of the Bible, Revelation, and this includes the grim eschatological theology of End-Times. There are horrid stories of Armageddon where the world is blood soaked with evil and death. Christians will be spared because they would have already been caught up in the Rapture a reward for their devotion and belief in Christ. This hell on earth is initially to take place in Megiddo, Israel. Not only do Christian Zionists believe in the stories in Revelation, but so do many Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. The affinity and political actions which the faithful endorse for the State of Israel are based on this belief that Israel holds the key to their salvation, not JewsIsrael. They cling to hope in such events as the 1948 Nakba as proof that God was working towards his imminent return. This current devastation of Gaza is, to some, further proof that God is working towards his return as they remind themselves of verses such as Matthew 24:6-8, And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of warsFor nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

Christian Zionism is nothing new. One of the first major stirrings of organised Christian Zionism was in 1649 named the Cartwright Petition which was presented to the English Crown. This petition noted the urgent need to eventually return the Jews to a majority ruling of Judea and Samaria current day West Bank Palestine. The return of the Jews was believed to be a prerequisite for the return of Christ and Christian salvation. Christian Zionists were/are not concerned with Jewish souls but with their own theo-political agenda, which was to encourage all Jews in Europe to move to the holy land to pave the way for their own soul-saving. Its self-centred in the extreme.

We now have the mind-bogglingly cruel Netanyahu invoking biblical references to keep selling the idea to Christian Zionists that somehow God (pick whichever) is supporting Israels murderous actions in Gaza. Netanyahu knows well that his biblical undertones do not go unnoticed by those who believe that this current attempted annihilation of Gaza is all part of Gods plan. With deeply conservative and self-described ardent Christian Zionists like Americas Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo and the new House speaker, Mike Johnson lurking around the halls of power, its no wonder Netanyahu feels that U.S. Christians have Israels back. Pence and Pompeo positively grinned with glee when their own God-appointed leader, Donald Trump, moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018. This was also seen as proof that God is working towards his return.

What hope do poor Gazans/Palestinians have with the behemoth of not only successive pro-Israel U.S. administrations, but also the 70 million+ Evangelicals and Christian Zionists braying for the End-Times. The only end times at this stage is looking like the end of Gaza unless sane and humane leaders and people on the streets demand a stop to this violence. When can we expect some humanity from these Christian zealot fundamentalists? Along with U.S. politicians they behave as if they live on a different planet from the rest of us and their bullying, violence and thuggery will not affect them on planet America-Israel.

Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is another worrying body of extreme Christian Zionists who support Israelno matter what. John Hagee is the leader and has made no bones about his fervent desire to see more Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. CUFI has openly funded illegal settlement projects against international condemnation. Millions of Christian dollars flow into the Occupied Territories for Jewish settlers to benefit from. Groups like CUFI rely on a fait accompli attitude. They trust that people have short memories and once the settlements are built, objection will be forgotten. But it isnt, as this article highlights. Not a care or thought is spared by Hagee and his congregation for the Palestinians who are attacked, murdered and have their homes bombed by the IDF. Is there a shred of regret for Gazan deaths? One may ask, where is their Christ in all this? Is he looking down, pleased and encouraged by support from his followers as they sit back and watch 7,000 of God’s children murdered? I wonder how someone of faith can settle in their mind the decimation of other humans who are supposedly all God’s children.

Christian Zionism isn’t just a faith of humble God-fearing old folk, it is a political juggernaut - make no mistake. If you thought that Judaism or Islam were the troubling faiths on our planet right now, you only need to do a bit of research and reading into Christian Zionism to come away feeling alarmed by this strain of Christianity that is rising up in a not dissimilar fashion to the c.1500s and the Reformation where Christian might and force ran roughshod over all of Europe. The ghastly violence inflicted by Christians (mostly on other Christians) is now Christian Zionists and Evangelicals triumphantly watching the violence inflicted heartlessly on the majority Muslims in Palestine. Christianity has had lots of practice in violence throughout world history, far more than Islam or Judaism.

There are millions of U.S. Christians who support Israel and tens of millions more worldwide. Thats many, many more than Jews who support Zionism. These are dire statistics for the Palestinians. What hope for an oppressed people when hundreds of millions around the world care more for an unproven entity in the sky and his promises of heaven than the proven horrors of hell on earth. Becoming deliriously giddy at the prospect of End-Times is inhumane and appalling.

Many Christian Zionists like the Three Mikes (Dystopian Musketeers) hold fast to a book that was written over 2,000 years ago and cling especially to Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee [Israel] and curse them that curseth thee. Curseth indeed. Palestine is cursed by being in an oil rich region and a monotheistic quagmire that everybody seems to want a slice of. Numerically, Palestine is mostly cursed by Christian Zionists plus the United States Administrations which value votes from the massive Evangelical, Pentecostal and Christian voting bloc and cares little to nothing for humanity especially if youre Palestinian and Muslim.

Religion strikes again even after it has proven that the warring, hatred and claim to ultimate truth does no favours to anyone on this planet. When will we wake up to the horrors in the name of religion? Atheists are too often viewed as dissenters who have no moral compass. I have yet to hear someone commit such heinous crimes as the Israeli government is committing in Gaza and proclaim, I do this in the name of atheism.

While religions fight to the death due to unproven divine teachings and impose their beliefs on our world, we will forever be in dire straits. We need to get wise to the ghastly ramifications of religious faith. As of 9th December 2023:

17,487 killed (of which 7,729 were children. 5,153 women) 46,480 injured (of which 8,663 are children. 6,327 women) 7,780 missing.

Thousands have been left homeless, traumatised and scarred for life. When a natural disaster strikes, the world jumps in to help. When an unnatural disaster strikes where are they?

Religious comfort does not outweigh nor justify its violence.