Tag Archives: Christian Zionism

Anglican priest denounces Christian Zionism as heresy

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At a time when there are so many heresies to choose from in Western Anglicanism, it’s tempting to think that selecting Christian Zionism – which, whether you agree with it or not, can hardly be counted heretical since it does not deny any foundational doctrine – is little more than yet another attempt to bash the only Middle Eastern country that bears any resemblance to a sane democracy – Israel.

Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek counsels the Anglican Church of Canada to “work to curb its political influence”. This would be a first for the ACoC since almost all it does normally is seek to exert, not curb, political influence; thankfully, it exhibits just as much impotence in this as in everything else.

From here:

The Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, the Palestinian Anglican who heads the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem, told a conference in Vancouver April 23 that Anglicans were instrumental in developing the doctrine of Christian Zionism over hundreds of years, and should now work to curb its political influence.

British Anglicans as early as the 16th century promoted the belief that the Jewish people must be restored to the Promised Land of Palestine to fulfill a biblical prophecy before the Second Coming of Christ, said Ateek.

His speech began a three-day conference organized by the Canadian Friends of Sabeel at St. Mary’s Kerrisdale in Vancouver. The conference, Seeking the Peace of Jerusalem, was co-sponsored by the Anglican Church of Canada, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the United Church of Canada and Friends of Sabeel North America.

[…..]

Theologically, Ateek said he objects to Christian Zionism—which he labelled “a Christian heresy”—on several grounds. It violates Christ’s message of love, justice and peace, he said. Its prophecy of the world ending in violence contradicts the view of a loving and merciful God. And it accepts, unquestionably, a tribalism evident in some parts of the Old Testament that is based on racial exclusivity.

To counter any possible objections that might be based on the Bible, Ateek advises selective use of the troublesome book; leave out the bits you don’t like:

He said that Anglicans should use the biblical text “as Jesus used it,” to convey messages of justice and love. He said that Jesus never quoted from books in the Hebrew scriptures of Numbers, Joshua or Judges or any passages that were “punitive, imperialistic or exclusionary.” Texts that appear to promote tribalism should be used carefully, if at all, said Ateek. He encouraged visits to Palestine and Israel so that people can “discover for themselves the reality on the ground.”

Ateek was introduced by Michael Ingham, well known for promoting unity, love and harmony in his former Diocese of New Westminster.

Anglican Church of Canada resolves to fight anti-Semitism

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Or perhaps it is creating a smoke screen to conceal from the unwary that, by loudly denouncing anti-Semitism, no one will notice that it is working quietly to undermine Israel.

Here you can learn the Anglican Church of Canada’s view on “what it means to be anti-Semitic in the contemporary context” – although, I can’t see why the contemporary context would be any different from any other context, so I am left with the uneasy suspicion that this is code for something unsavoury.

And here you can read one reaction to the Anglican Church of Canada’s sponsoring of a conference on “overcoming Christian Zionism”:

Later this month, Canadian Friends of Sabeel will hold a conference on “overcoming Christian Zionism.” Sabeel describes itself as an “ecumenical Palestinian liberation theology centre” that is “working for justice, peace and reconciliation in Palestine-Israel.” In reality, it is a group that promotes a misrepresentation of events in the Middle East. The conference slated for Vancouver is explicitly aimed at undermining Israel among its North American Christian supporters.

With Sizer on our side

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From here:

“With God on Our Side,” the new anti-Israel movie produced by an evangelical pastor and aimed at evangelical audiences, is touring America this month, with anti-Israel British Anglican priest Stephen Sizer in tow.  On October 27, it was originally going to be screened in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, doubtless hoping to appeal to young evangelical Congressional staffers, whose numbers and influence likely will increase in the new Congress.  Now, for whatever reason, it instead will screen at a Lutheran church on Capitol Hill.

The Evangelical Left is anxious to neutralize evangelicals as America’s typically most pro-Israel demographic, especially by focusing on the plight of Palestinian Christians, who are portrayed as victims exclusively of Israeli oppression.  “With God on Our Side,” predictably, portrays pro-Israel Christians as mindless zealots indifferent to Palestinian suffering and exploiting Israeli Jews as merely tools for precipitating the Second Coming.  Hapless quotes from Christian Zionists are contrasted with thoughtful articulations from Palestinian Christians and other pro-Palestinian advocates.

Anglican priest Stephen Sizer, prominently featured in the film, bewails Christian Zionism on his website:   “Aspects of this belief system lead some Christians in the West to give uncritical support to Israeli government policies, even those that privilege Jews at the expense of Palestinians, leading to great suffering among Muslim and Christian Palestinians alike and threatening Israel’s security as a whole.”

Rev. Stephen Sizer is upset with evangelical Christians who support Israel based on what he calls Christian Zionism, a belief that the Jews’ return to the Holy Land and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. I don’t find that idea unpersuasive; I do find Stephen Sizer’s crusade against it lacking in honesty. It seems to me that he is engaged in political agitation thinly concealed by a veil of religious sanctimony.

While Israel isn’t perfect, there are plenty of political reasons to support it, the main one being that it is an oasis of democracy in a desert of vicious tyrannies.

Anglican vicar complains to police to shut down blogger

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Rev. Stephen Sizer is an evangelical Anglican vicar who can’t – and, considering he is an Anglican vicar, this is such a surprise – help getting tangled up in politics. He is opposed to Christian Zionism, believing that it plays a negative part in the politics of the Middle East; having read some of what he has written, I am unconvinced. Rev. Sizer sounds like a relatively typical Anglican leftist politician-manqué who has the expected knee-jerk bias in favour of Palestine and against Israel.

I have little doubt that the using of his calling as an Anglican priest to dabble in politics – for that is what this is – does little for the Gospel, angers Jews and provides ammunition to Islamists who, given half a chance would destroy the West, including Rev. Sizer.

Seismic Shock is a blog  that regularly criticises Rev. Sizer. The particular accusation that has resulted in Sizer’s complaining to the police, is that Sizer has knowingly associated with Islamic terrorists and Holocaust deniers. The police paid the blogger a visit for a “friendly chat” about his blog.

Rev. Sizer, by resorting to bullying instead of publicising facts that exonerate him of Seismic Shock’s accusations, has reinforced the suspicion that there are no facts that exonerate him.

From Harry’s Place:

As some people have noticed, I’ve been rather quiet in blogging about the Reverend Stephen Sizer’s activities of late.

After all, what more can be said of a man who forwards emails from Holocaust deniers, shares platforms with Holocaust deniers, and shamelessly flaunts his anti-Zionist theology before Iran’s apocalyptic Holocaust-denying regime? As Iranian pastors are arrested and house churches closed down, why is the Khomeinist regime translating Sizer’s book on Christian Zionism into Farsi? How many more times can I point all this out?

Yet there’s another reason why I’ve been quiet, and whilst I’ve held my tongue and my pen for a while, now is time to speak.

At 10am on Sunday 29th November 2009, I received a visit from two policemen regarding my activities in running the Seismic Shock blog. (Does exposing a vicar’s associations with extremists make me a criminal?, I wondered initially). A sergeant from the Horsforth Police related to me that he had received complaints via Surrey Police from Rev Sizer and from Dr Anthony McRoy – a lecturer at the Wales Evangelical School of Theology – who both objected to being associated with terrorists and Holocaust deniers.

(Context: Sizer has associated with some very nasty terrorists and Holocaust deniers; McRoy has delivered a paper at a Khomeinist theological conference in Iran comparing Hezbollah’s struggle against Israel via suicide bombing with the Christian’s struggle against sin via the atoning death of Jesus, and describes the world’s most prominent Holocaust denier as an “intelligent, humble, charismatic, and charming” man who “gives quick, extensive and intelligent answers to any question, mixed with genial humour”).