As the Israel-Hamas war rages on, its impact upon Christianity in the Western world continues to resonate.
Because the majority of Christians in the United States identify as Evangelicals, their actions and beliefs have an unique influence upon broader society. Unfortunately, many American Evangelicals have begun to believe and spread lies which not only damages the witness of all Christ-followers, but also has the potential to endanger and harm innocent individuals whom Jesus identified as our neighbors.
Cruel Intentions
As I’ve written about previously, studies show that people who identify as Evangelicals overwhelmingly consume media and develop an artificial emotional bond, demonstrating “trust” with programs and personalities they favor. Many of these choices promote opinions that misrepresent scripture, and sometimes propagate racism, religious intolerance, and unabashed hatred.
For example, October 16th during a segment on Fox News Channel’s program The Five, host/commentator Jesse Watters suggested Hamas is representative of all Palestinians.
“I don’t like how people try to differentiate between the Palestinians and Hamas,” Watters said. “To me, I see people with guns. That’s Hamas. The people without the guns are the Palestinians. They believe the same thing.” He continued, “The Palestinians hire Hamas to run their government. You poll them; they all love killing Jews. It’s in their charter. They say they believe in suicide bombings.”
Using the same reasoning, there would be no point in making a distinction between the Nazi party and any other German living in the 1930s and 40s. It would mean Benjamin Netanyahu’s politics reflect that of all Jews worldwide, and whomever is elected as President of the United States must be representative of all American sentiment. Despite the blatant inaccuracy of Watters’ statements, similar sentiments immediately began proliferating on social media by a strong representation of Evangelicals.
Some would claim that to suggest a large number of Evangelicals are spreading such lies is to commit the exact same fallacy as Watters. However, evidence that Evangelicals have historically shared disinformation on social media is overwhelming. Because Evangelicals trust media sources that they perceive reinforces their worldview, they are also statistically far more likely than other Christians to believe and spread disinformation.
The reality is that these individuals are abandoning the love that Jesus taught, lived, bled, and died to example.
Get Your Facts Straight
Many American Evangelicals believe that the Israel-Hamas War bears upon apocalyptic passages in scripture that some believe foretell the future. Subsequently, they have embraced a warped dispensationalism devoid of biblical scholarship.
At best, these perspectives loosely connect isolated scripture fragments like found poetry to manufacture an extrabiblical eschatological narrative. At worst, it parrots the bad storytelling of the fictional Left Behind book series that bears more resemblance to toilet paper than anything found in scripture.
Many of these bad ideas stem from an issue I wrote about previously, how many Christians mistakenly conflate the biblical Israelites with the modern nation of Israel that is presently engaged in war with Hamas.
Currently making the rounds on social media is a quote shared by Evangelicals misattributed to the columnist and pundit Charles Krauthammer that was actually authored by historian Barbara Tuchman. She wrote in The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam that Israel “has confounded persecution and outlived exile to become the only nation in the world that is governing itself in the same territory, under the same name, and with the same religion and same language as it did three thousand years ago.”
Unfortunately, this quote is not factually correct.
The Israelites of the Old Testament were a group of people who were descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel. Their language, though sharing a core vocabulary with Modern Hebrew, was extremely different in many ways.
The Old Testament kingdom of Israel referred to the united monarchy under King Saul, King David, and King Solomon, as well as the subsequent divided kingdoms of Israel (northern) and Judah (southern). The southern kingdom (Israel) was destroyed around 720 BC, when it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Subsequently, Jewish revolts led to Judah’s destruction in 586 BC under the rule of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. Although Judah was reconstituted when some Jews eventually returned to the Promised Land post exile, they eventually lost their independence despite multiple conflicts and rebellions, and continued to scatter. Eventually the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70.
Over the centuries, Jewish people have migrated across the globe. As of 2023, a minority of the global population of individuals with Jewish heritage live in Israel, while the remainder reside in diverse locales such as the United States, France, Canada, the UK, Argentina, Russia, Germany, Australia, and Brazil.
The parliamentary democracy that we today call Israel is a modern political entity. Founded in 1948 in the aftermath of World War II, Israel was established as the result of a United Nations resolution. Though Judaism remains the religion of the majority in Israel, there are a significant number of Muslims, Christians, and people of other faiths. Researchers have noted that Israeli society is religiously fractured. Israel’s government is secular, not Jewish, relying upon a multi-party system, an elected parliament, and a prime minister functioning as the head of the government. Other countries such as India, Italy, Japan, and South Korea have an identical form of government.
Though there are Jews in Israel, the nation of Israel that exists today is not the same entity as what is represented in scripture whatsoever. But even that is irrelevant:
In his letter to the Galatian church, Paul argues that the covenants God extended to the Israelites are dependent upon faith in Jesus rather than any other factor, such as geography, governmental alliance, race, or even gender:
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29, NIV)
Specifically, Paul opines that it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or Gentile to become an heir to God’s covenant promises.
When Christians twist scripture to idolatrize Judaism and the modern nation of Israel, we are guilty of much worse than poor theology: we disenfranchise literally anyone else in the world who has faith in Jesus.
You Don’t Have to Pick a Side
You and I are surrounded by voices in media describing horrendous atrocities and tragedies from this war. While it may seem easy to keep a tally of who did what, the end sum is the same: people are suffering and dying.
That’s why racist rants like what Jesse Watters vomited are harmful, because such vitriol dehumanizes suffering women and children and equates them with terrorists.
As Christ-followers, we should be less concerned with who is morally superior and more disturbed by innocent people who are suffering. It is called compassion, and by the way, that is the way of Jesus.
Christ’s teachings and actions throughout the New Testament consistently emphasize compassion, love, and care for the vulnerable and marginalized. Jesus frequently prioritized compassion for innocent victims over any assessment of moral superiority.
Several aspects of his teachings support this perspective:
- In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus taught others to show mercy and compassion to those in need. The Samaritan, considered an enemy by the wounded man, still offers help and care. This story underscores the principle of helping those who are suffering, regardless of their background or affiliation.
- Jesus famously quoted the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Our neighbor encompasses “any other person” or “anyone in our midst,” regardless of their nationality or religion. In the New Testament, the term used in Greek is “plēsion” (πλησίον) which is an adverb transformed into a noun, denoting “the one nearby.” According to Jesus, we display authentic love for our neighbor when we are compelled by compassion to attend to their needs, even when it entails personal sacrifices or inconveniences.
- Jesus advocated for forgiveness and turning the other cheek when wronged. These teachings emphasize the importance of peace, reconciliation, and a non-judgmental attitude in situations of conflict.
- Throughout his ministry, Jesus spent time with and cared for those considered outcasts or sinners by society. He displayed a commitment to helping those who were marginalized or suffering, irrespective of their background.
- Jesus explicitly opposed the idea of “an eye for an eye” and promoted a message of non-violence and reconciliation, challenging others to “love your enemies.”
These teachings demonstrate Jesus’ commitment to caring for those who are suffering and in need, regardless of their affiliation or the circumstances of a war or conflict.
Your Heart Is the Battlefield
The Israel-Hamas war will continue to stir significant debate and no doubt will lead to the spread of disinformation and the conflation of biblical teachings with contemporary politics. But each of us has a choice to focus our attention and resources upon compassion, love, and care for the vulnerable and marginalized, as exemplified by Jesus’ teachings.
Compassion transcends national and religious boundaries, as demonstrated by the principles of the Good Samaritan and the command to love our neighbor. A peaceful and just world where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect begins not in Gaza, Israel, Palestine, or even the Middle East but in you.
Your heart is the real battlefield. Don’t let the enemy win.
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