Opinion Editorials, July 2011

Michelle Bachmann's Christian Zionism:

Epidemic Bubble of Discordant Faith 

By Charles E Carlson 

Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, July 18, 2011

The wave of Judeo-Christianity, popularly know as Christian Zionism, seems to be a prerequisite to  American presidential candidates today.  It can be best thought of as an acquired mental illness because it results in discordant actions among those who admit to having it.  Unfortunately some are in public office, and then it becomes the business of each of us.  Christian Zionism has grown so large that it is fair to call it a religious bubble, and is the number one enabler of the economic and moral dilemma that faces the USA and other north American states.   

Most victims of Christian Zionism, like those who develop a tragic eating disorder known as Anorexia Nervosa, can not see their illness and need help to recover from it.   I am told by professionals who treat them, that many Anorexics victims will eventually starve themselves to death if not treated, and most are said to resist treatment.  It is has finally been acknowledged to be a disease even thought it is self induced, and I do not pretend to have a clinical replantation.  But I do know what causes Christian Zionism.  It is taught, and no one is born with it, but it is a sickness because those who have it cannot see it nor can most seem to get over it without some outside help or tutorage.  It is a social problem because those who have it act in ways that are often discordant with and anathema to the well being of the rest of the population in several distinct ways.

Christian Zionists cannot see the lack of common sense they portray to others, and they overlook multiple Bible inconsistencies  taught to them by their spiritual leaders, who tell them they and Zionists are the beautiful members of God's society, and all others are ugly by comparison.  What makes Christian Zionism so dangerous is that it is promotion by those who benefit from it politically, and by institutionalized recruitment by those who profit from it directly, the leaders.  It now inflects as much as 33% of USA voters.  

Anorexia nervosa seems to serves no one, but Christian Zionism serves one important national political end, it enables serial wars that serve the interests of investment bankers, Warmakers, and that state of Israel.  It is in turn supported by persons, powers, and a media that would not for a moment believe one word of what Christian Zionists teach.  Most obvious among these promoters are the Israel Lobby and the Serial War lobby, which overlap.

Because Christian Zionist is a mental illness, and not a coherent faith, it allow little tolerates nor debate.  This is evident from  many personal letter and calls I have received since I began writing about it many years ago.  One recent reader wrote of the painful and inexplicable separation that developed between himself and two long time male friends who each distanced from him without a word, no longer returning phone calls or answering e-mails, over discussion of what seemed to him to be a normal political questions.  My reader finally realized the nerve he had hit, without knowing it, was Christian Zionism, though he never directly addressed that topic to his friend.  Many readers have told us painfully about close family members who stop communicating all together once the subject of the state of Israel is broached in religious context, sometimes broken  over a single offhanded statement.  

My own family was characterized by heated partisan political argument about Democrats and Republicans at family gathering.  But these did not drive the family apart, rather it brought a vitality to gatherings that drew them back together at every opportunity.  The arguments were strident but instructional and thought shaping for younger onlookers.  Some of us looked forward to maturity when our views might be heard in these family harangues.  But no such honing of views can exist in a setting where even one Christian Zionist is present.  Far from crating kinship and love within the family, it creates separation. 

Most Republican party candidates appear to cater to, if they are not themselves Judeo-Christians, because so many votes are at stake.  Michelle Bachmann from Minnesota, is said to be a serious candidate for US President and is a living example of discordant and bazaar thinker, but she will resonate with some 70 million Americas who are know to be influence by the the Judeo-Christian illness.  Here are some of her words from he own website that should be carefully examined: (Endnote 1)

*"Most American recognize that Israelis and American are two sides to the same coin because we share the same values...we even share the same mission, to be a light to the nations.. " 

*"We learned that our Christian Faith is rooted in Judaism."  Without the laws of Moses, without the Temple (at Jerusalem) there would have been no sermon on the mount."

*"It was this love for Israel and the Jewish state" that brought me to volunteer for a kibbutz in 1974

*"Upholding American values"...means "we must stand with Israel."  "I stand with Israel... "our policies in the Middle East must be guided by this imperative."

It is clear to this author that Bachmann can not function in national office under oath because her first commitment is to another flag, not to USA, to  another people, not to Americans first.  Other irrational belief common to and defining Christian Zionist that she might or might not admit to, and that are incompatible with following a traditional Jesus Christ, include:  

*Wars are just, if they are Israel's wars...

*The present world will be destroyed by God to punish the evil doers, and the Christ followers will be save and ushered into a spiritual kingdom, the rest left behind.

*The state of Israel is God's fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies (Jesus too).

This bubble is about to burst, as all bubbles do.  Fortunately for the Americas, Judeo-Christianity is coming apart at the seams from its own weaknesses.  Next time, the end of Judeo-Christianity, based on a study by the Pew Forum

Endnote:

1)  Running for US President

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7cMxE1oFf0

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