Christian Zionism

Following on from my posts about the differences between spiritual Israel and literal Israel and the confusion many denominations have (see both HERE and HERE), Ethics Daily has a short article about Christian Zionism where he derides the idea, especially John Hagee's recent expeditions into literal fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies:

In the meantime, anyone with half-an-ounce of Bible knowledge is aware that none of the Old Testament prophecies regarding Israel are related to the modern nation and politics of Israel.

In relation to America's support of Jewish Zionism, he also mentions that Christians should be led by peace, not war:

I have read Bible translations in more than six languages and all of them stress peace over war. Call wars just, preventive or necessary, they are still hell on earth for all sides. Peace is the hallmark of Christ's message, even if some of his disciples still do not get it. Both their Christian faith and patriotism are misplaced.

I cannot agree with these two comments more.

Are JWs the last people to believe in replacement theology?

After years of Protestant churchianity teaching that Jews are still God's chosen people, Zionism, or even that God has "dual covenants" by which people can be saved (the Jewish and the Christian), it appears that now even that stronghold of replacement theology, the Roman Catholic Church, believes that Jews can be saved by their Old Testament covenant with God.

"Campaigns that target Jews for conversion are no longer theologically acceptable," said the now-retired cardinal, 83, who was president of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.
The Catholic Church taught that salvation is found only in Christ through the church, but Cardinal Cassidy said it now accepted that the Jews were saved by their (Old Testament) covenant with God.

It seems these days that Jehovah's Witnesses are the only religion left that teaches that salvation is only by having faith in Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice, and that the Israel of God is not literal Jews but Jesus' spiritual brothers.

Read more on the Catholic's change of heart at The Religious Write.

Thursday Babylon Blog Watch

Thusday Babylon Blog Watch is a weekly wrap-up of blog posts from various segments of Babylon the Great. This week we are having a "versus" theme, which highlights some of the fighting going on between various denominations.

Mormon vs Evangelical
Over at Mormon & Evangelical Conversations, an "ecumenical" blog reconcilling Mormons and Evangelicals, they discuss a DVD that an evangelical mission will aggressively distribute to Mormon homes in an attempt to persuade them that the Evangelical faith is closer to the truth than their own beliefs.

Zionist Evangelicals vs Non-Zionist Evangelicals
Spiritual Pathways Ministries crticises John Hagee (a strong pro-Zionist) for his Christian Zionist, "dual covenant" beliefs which state that natural Jews are saved without professing faith in Jesus.