January 13, 2007

Making The World Safe For Jesus?

I continue to hear from lefties and Israelis that right-wing Christians support Israel because--and only because--the right-wing Christians believe that the State of Israel must be intact in order for Jesus Christ to return to the Earth. In other words, the argument is that Christians don't care about Israel or the well-being of the Jews per se, they only care about the Jews inasmuch as Jews are a necessary component of Jesus' plan for the Earth. The idea is, I suppose, that Jesus needs Israel, and so Christians need to make sure it's there when Jesus gets back.

Bill Maher argues that George W. Bush's support for Israel is based on this belief, though I've never heard W endorse it himself. Although I've heard this assertion from quite a number of lefties and Jews, I've never heard this from a Christian who believed it. I'm not saying there aren't Christians who believe this. I just haven't met any. Given this, I think it isn't a widespread viewpoint, but I don't know for sure.

Given the above, I have the following questions for our Christian readers:

Do you believe that Jesus Christ will adjust his plans to return to Earth based upon the current political situation in Israel? Put another way, do you believe that an adverse political climate in Israel might delay Christ's plans to return to Earth? Do you believe that Christians can hasten the timing of Christ's return by supporting Israel?

By Ragnar Danneskjold, Typical Bitter Gun-Clinger at 12:35 PM | |