15AR20-16

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AR 20:16 - "Anyone could be a 'Gentile Jew'"

Apologia Report 20:16 (1,245)

May 6, 2015

In this issue:

MESSIANIC JUDAISM - U.S. pentecostals' and charismatics' cultivation of Christian Zionism

ROMAN CATHOLICISM - Catholic/evangelical missiological tensions

WORLD RELIGIONS - why Paul Metzger's Connecting Christ "goes beyond most apologetics books"

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MESSIANIC JUDAISM

"The Pentecostalization of Christian Zionism" by Joseph Williams (Asst. Professor of Religion, Rutgers) -- the abstract begins: "This essay highlights U.S. pentecostals' and charismatics' cultivation of more experiential forms of identification with Jews and with Israel that in turn played a crucial role in the global growth of Christian Zionism. ... Building on the emergent mythology in the midcentury U.S. of a shared 'Judeo-Christian tradition,' adherents increasingly stressed their religious and cultural (as opposed to racial) connections with God's 'chosen people.' And by the late twentieth century, the 1960s counterculture, a burgeoning emphasis on the therapeutic, and growing religious diversity all facilitated pentecostals' and charismatics' renewed experimentation with 'exotic' Israel-themed rituals. Significantly, believers' appropriation of Jewish-based religious practices and identities transcended nationalistic categories, and reinforced post-American sensibilities in important respects. As such, U.S.-based evangelists and broadcast ministries were able to disseminate pentecostalized expressions of Christian Zionism well beyond North America, and help catalyze a transnational, global movement." (The aforementioned rituals include "worship songs with references to Zion, the blowing of shofars, Jewish-style dancing, extensive use of banners with Jewish symbolism, not to mention songs sung in Hebrew.")

Regarding Christian Zionism in the U.S., Williams discusses Pat Robertson (The 700 Club) and the Texas-based pastor John Hagee (Cornerstone Church), noting that they "garner most of the attention." He mentions that a study "published in the mid-1990s confirmed that among late-twentieth-century evangelicals, pentecostal and charismatic leaders reflected the highest levels of political support for Israel. The same study also identified a direct correlation between staunch Christian Zionism and believers' embrace of premillennial eschatology."

Williams notes "the pageantry incorporated into Hagee's CUFI [Christians United for Israel] events" which have featured "high-profile political players including Joe Lieberman, Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, Sam Brownback, Glenn Beck, as well as Benjamin Netanyahu via satellite" and in which "participants borrowed Jewish and Israel-themed ritual forms." The "social cohesion fostered by [these] rituals often occurs precisely because of the emphasis on shared symbols as opposed to more explicit beliefs" and have "helped bridge the various theological divisions. ... Caught up in shared ritual expressions of support for Israel, believers could set aside, at least temporarily, debates over proselytization efforts among Jews, the relevance of specific premillennial frameworks for understanding Israel's import, or the role of the United States during the end-times."

Discussing the "experiential forms of Christian Zionism," Williams notes that "believers' pursuit of authentic religious identity and experience tied to the Hebraic roots of Christianity did not require a U.S. context to thrive. ... Scholars have oft-noted the way which pentecostals' prioritization of divine encounters over doctrine lent their movement a remarkable flexibility, and contributed to its 'innate ability to make itself at home in almost any context.' In a very similar fashion, believers' experience-based expressions of Christian Zionism translated well across cultures, and were easily accessible to anyone, regardless of nationality."

Williams offers as an example of the Feast of Tabernacles event sponsored by the pentecostal and charismatic-led International Christian Embassy Jerusalem in which "half of the three thousand attendees ... hailed from thirty-three different countries." He adds that "in 2007 organizers reported that more than seven thousand participants from ninety different countries traveled to participate in the festivities." Specific individuals mentioned include Jonathan Cahn, Louis Kaplan, Jonathan Bernis, and Sid Roth.

A portion of "A ten-country survey of pentecostals on four different continents conducted by Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life <www.goo.gl/v9uKr3>... gauged respondents' support for Israel in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The gap between pentecostals and 'non-renewalist' Christians on this query was high in the U.S., with 60% of pentecostals sympathizing with Israel compared to 40% of non-renewalists, but a similar pattern held in other parts of the world."

Williams concludes: "American pentecostals' and charismatics' appropriation of Jewish-themed ritual forms and identities bolstered Christian Zionism's ability to replicate itself around the world. Like their American counterparts, believers across the globe wanted to know that they too were God's chosen. Most pentecostals and charismatics attracted to Israel-themed rituals may not have gone as far as Jack Hayford, a prominent California pastor and leader in the pentecostal Foursquare denomination, who declared: 'I see myself as Jewish spiritually. I see myself as a gentile Jew.' Even so, by adopting Jewish-themed rituals and identities that reinforced an intimate sense of connection with Jews and Israel, believers participated in a transnational tradition with deep roots in pentecostal circles. Anyone, it turns out, could be a "gentile Jew." Church History, 84:1 - 2015, pp159-194.

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ROMAN CATHOLICISM

Evangelical Mission in Co-operation with Catholics: A Study of Evangelical Missiological Tensions, by Paul M. Miller [1] -- John Nyquist begins his review: "Paul Miller's work is a very well-researched study of a controversial movement that surfaced shortly after the conclusion of Vatican II. In recent missiological terms, this is not a typical example of ecumenism. The author is a former missionary of Youth With a Mission in Europe. His burden is 'to contribute to the construction of a missiological approach to Catholicism that enables Evangelicalism to be both effective and biblically faithful.' ...

"The study begins with a very helpful description of the historical setting. Then the author introduces the philosophical center of his work: two detailed case studies.... These two studies are then compared with a benchmark work of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).... It must also be noted that the author is candid and straightforward about the limitations of a European context, as well as a mixture of opinions on the WEA committee.

"Wisely, the author selects four theologians to evaluate the discussion: one Catholic priest, two members of the WEA commission (one from Latin America and the other from the UK), and a Baptist president of an evangelical seminary in the USA. A thread throughout the text is that the Roman Catholic Church has indeed undergone significant changes as a result of Vatican II. Thus, the crucial issues of works-faith, Trent's anathemas, and imputed/infused righteousness are to be viewed in a new light." Missiology, 43:1 - 2015, pp90-91.

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WORLD RELIGIONS

Connecting Christ: How to Discuss Jesus in a World of Diverse Paths, by Paul Louis Metzger ("professor of theology and theology of culture at Multnomah Bible Seminary") [2] -- reviewer C. Philip Slate reports that the subject matter includes "the expected: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism ... [the] unexpected are Mormonism, Nietzschean atheism, and Neo-Paganism." Also included are "Hot Topics" such as "'all roads lead to Rome [God]', Hell, modern science and religion, homosexuality and marriage, and the perception that Evangelicals are either 'nice though naïve,' or religious fascists. ...

"Perhaps the most unique feature of Metzger's work [are the] responses to the author's approaches ... from representatives of the religious groups addressed.... This component of the book goes beyond most apologetics books and strikes modern younger readers as fair-minded and irenic." Missiology, 43:1 - 2015, p89.

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Evangelical Mission in Co-operation with Catholics: A Study of Evangelical Missiological Tensions, by Paul M. Miller (Wipf & Stock, 2013, paperback, 317 pages) <www.goo.gl/Dw4EBD>

2 - Connecting Christ: How to Discuss Jesus in a World of Diverse Paths, by Paul Louis Metzger (T. Nelson, 2012, paperback, 352 pages) <www.goo.gl/CKKgNp>

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