The Growing Divide Over Israel
A strain on unity
Israel and the ethnic adherents of the Jewish faith are quickly becoming a sharp dividing line, both within the Christian world and within the populace at large.
Studies in the last few years have begun to show a generational shift on Israel and Judaism in the population, and I believe this shift will be reflected in the pews, as well.
Older people view Israel as an ally. Younger people view them neutrally or even as an enemy. With each new headline that gap seems to be growing, particularly since the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
The recent exchange between Senator Ted Cruz and podcaster Tucker Carlson a few weeks ago was the latest headline grabber in the escalating debate, and you can check out that link for my breakdown of what the Bible teaches regarding our duty to Israel.
I wrote this article at the height of the Iran escalation but decided to hold off until things cooled down a bit to open this discussion. Where to stand on Israel and the Jewish nation is on the back burner for now, but it will almost certainly rise again numerous times in the coming years.
This feels a bit strange to write, and you might wonder why it even warrants mentioning. But, I’m trying to give you, the reader, a head start on what will be one of the defining social and political divides of our time. Most people have no idea how hard the tide is turning on this issue. Young people on TikTok, X, and Instagram are seeing Israel and the Jews in an entirely different light than their parents and grandparents who watch Fox or CNN.
However, it's not a binary support/no support when it comes to Israel.
I see 5 different stances on Israel among the conservative Christian world.*
1. The Dispensationalists
Dispensationalists believe that the church is merely a placeholder and that in the end, Jesus will unite with His true people, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s biological descendants. For this reason, they believe all nations have a duty to bless and protect Israel. Ambassador Mike Huckabee seemed to draw on this doctrine in his message to President Trump urging involvement in the recent Israel-Iran conflict.
2. The NeoCons
This group holds a geopolitical position rather than a religious one, a position based on the idea of ensuring the world has regimes that are favorable to us, our desires, and our allies. This was the driving ideology of the Bush administrations, and it continued on to a degree in the Obama administration. Since Israel is claimed to be “our greatest ally,” we should always root for and support them in their conflicts, the thinking goes.
Many conservative Christians who are not Dispensationalist in their theology still closely align with the Dispies on practical grounds.
3. The Non-Interventionists
Israel’s business and Iran’s business are not our business, the thinking goes. George Washington warned us about entangling allegiances, and feeling the need to jump in to every conflict either as backup or to do the fighting for another nation is not wise.
4. The Noticers
This group are non-interventionists who point out that many government officials as well as numerous influential media talking heads on both sides of the aisle (like Ben Shapiro and Jon Stewart, for example) share a Jewish heritage and therefore have divided loyalties in a conflict such as this—seemingly favoring ethnic/religious loyalty over their American loyalty. This group and the following are growing exponentially due to the younger generations.
5. The NeoNazis
The people who think it's a shame Germany didn't get the job done, to be blunt.
That’s how broad the spectrum runs—all the way from “these are God’s chosen people who must be protected at all costs” to “they are evil and must be removed.”
As we’re seeing in the news, what to do about Israel’s foreign conflicts seems poised to become one of the defining issues of our day. It represents a seismic shift as one generation passes the baton to the next.
It might feel weird to talk about, but this spectrum has grown from being almost exclusively 1s and 2s in GWOT-era conservative churches to adding many, many 3s in the Ron Paul era and now more 4s and some 5s with each passing day.
Right wing Baptists and Presbyterians have already seen a significant rift on this issue, as prominent voices like Doug Wilson and James White are entrenched in a long-running battle with those who once seemed set to become their ideological successors, such as Stephen Wolfe and the folks out of Ogden, UT.
One blogger suggested churches should add a question about Jewish conspiracies to their potential member interviews to weed out any potential 4s and 5s. The other side speaks regularly about the “post-war consensus” and their concerns with Zionism. The divide is only going to grow.
So… what do we do?
As you can see, this spectrum is broad. And the problem we have is, on any given Sunday a church could have representatives of all five groups in the pews.
Christians need to be able to agree to disagree on some things, but there is no world in which 1 and 5 get along, obviously. I personally believe churches should speak against both in unwavering terms, as both inevitably end in mass deaths.
I suspect most people would be okay with a blanket dismissal of the 5s, yet would balk at the idea of the 1s also being excluded.
But not only is dispensationalism an ahistorical doctrine that twists Scripture into making Jesus a bigamist (married to Israel and the church simultaneously). It’s also a doctrine that regularly roots for war and would have no qualms about launching World War III as it sees such a conflict as a necessary opening salvo to the end times. It is not an exaggeration to say that many of the 1s want to see a higher death toll than even the 5s do.
As for the rest—2, 3, and 4 can strongly disagree, but they’re debating facts and how to interpret press coverage rather than reading from entirely different Bibles. That doesn’t mean unity among them will be easy, though.
2s are fairly cozy with 1s. We don’t have many dispensationalists as such in the churches of Christ, but aside from the “chosen people” rhetoric, the groups’ views often align. So, with 2s and 4s in the same pews, you’ll have people who view Israel and the Jewish people as our “cousins” of sorts in Abraham, and people who view them with a high degree of skepticism, even seeing them as opponents of the church. The 2s view Islam as our greatest threat. The 4s view Israel and Judaism as just as opposed to the church as Islam (or even more so).
This is where the real divide is going to be
I suspect many older Christians are going to be shocked to find out what some of their church’s young people believe about Israel and their role in world conflicts, as well as the influence of the Jewish people.
You might think I’m absolutely insane for even suggesting as much, but if you haven’t seen the oncoming wave, then I’m just the first to notify you of a debate that is only getting bigger.
Lumping the 4s in with 5s and writing them off entirely is a mistake, as that will effectively cut off many young people and push them into the arms of the 5s. There is going to have to be a lot of patience and grace given, as we do not have to agree on these things to be in fellowship.
It also would be foolish for the church to try to come up with an official position on every conflict. We should urge Christians to be the peacemakers we are called to be (Matthew 5:9) and pray that all war can be avoided, while acknowledging that’s not always possible.
And, we should teach that the true Israel is the church which combines both Jew and Gentile (Romans 2:28-29) and that Jesus has only one covenant bride (Ephesians 5:25-27). But a sermon on whether we should advocate for involvement in Gaza, Iran, Ukraine, or anywhere else is not fitting for the pulpit, in my opinion.
I write all of this to say, keep an eye out. Know the lay of the land, and be ready to have some conversations. This battleground in the generational divide could be a bumpy one.
*While there is a loud pro-Hamas crowd among young people being stirred up on apps like TikTok, I don’t think they will have much of a voice in this debate in conservative churches.
For a Scriptural breakdown on the state of Israel and the Jewish people in God’s plans today, check out my video on the matter.
Notes
Book previews start soon for You Are Saved: The Christian’s Assurance! The editing and cover design processes are underway and I’ll have content from both to share in the coming weeks. I’m ecstatic to get this one out.
Chapters will go up here for supporting subscribers, so be sure to upgrade if you want the sneak peeks!
And, quotes and progress updates will go up on the book’s Facebook page. In fact, I just posted a short preview there last night - go check it out!
The possibility exists that there are people of Jewish descent who are Christians. Jews largely rejected Christ in favor of the old law. The old law's purpose was to bring us to Christ, it was nailed to the cross. Without the blood of Jesus one is lost. I do not regard Israel in a religious context except they are a group of people in need of salvation. They are a very important ally militarily.
Thank you Jack for addressing the elephant in the room. Every church will have this issue among their members. We do, we are very small older group. On some levels it clearly is a Biblical issue -- with the dispensational influence. Many within our churches have read Left Behind books. Thank you for analyzing this more thoroughly with your 5 camps. This issue has real potential to divide us again! We need to address it as Biblically as possible. But we will be labeled as antisemitic from all the hype in the media. Good thoughts Jack!