Christian Zionism—a movement based on the belief that support of Israel, and Israeli ownership of and residence in Jerusalem, is a prerequisite for Christ’s return—has been a significant substratum within theologies and ecclesiologies of many churches in the US and Europe for centuries. Since the 1970s, US-based Christian Zionism organizations, encouraged by and collaborating with the Israeli government, have used a significant amount of resources to spread the movement into other regions of the world, including Africa. In many African countries, Christian Zionism combines perniciously with Prosperity Gospel preaching, interpreting Genesis 12:3 as a divine map to gain blessings—material and otherwise—through complete and uncritical support for the modern-day State of Israel. Many African governments have come to understand that this support is lucrative--and coercive. African officials working with Israel learn that openly supporting Palestine will result in their partnerships with Israel being discontinued.
Contributors to this interdisciplinary volume analyze the meaning and ramifications of the emergence of Christian Zionist ideologies in Africa and its churches, in interfaith work, in politics, in law, and in the use and abuse of power between peoples of different races, histories, economic strength, and influence on the international stage.
Publisher: Fortress Academic
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 274
Cover
Christian Zionism in Africa
Christian Zionism in Africa
Copyright
Contents
Foreword
Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Part I: History, Law, and Politics
Chapter 1
Onward Christian Soldiers
The Historical Development of Christian Zionism
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 2
Historicizing Zionism from Gospel Songs in East Africa, Late 1980s to the Present
Gospel Songs and Their Historical Contexts
Gospel Music and Zionist Messages
Imagining the Future and Zion in Gospel Songs
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 3
Assessing the Legal Realities of Zionism in Africa
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 4
Apartheid and Christian Zionism
The Situation in the West Bank
Inhuman Behavior and Human Rights Violations to Impose the Apartheid System
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 5
“Brand Jesus”
The Rise of the Prosperity Gospel
Israel is the Path to Prosperity
Brand Jesus in Ghana
The Politics Behind Israel’s “Blessings”
“The Battle Is the Lord’s”
Africa is the Future of Christianity
Translating into Government Policy?
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Part II: Biblical and Theological Aspects and Impacts
Chapter 6
Christian Zionism
Historical Developments in Church–Israel Relations
Analysis of Zionist Inclinations in Africa: Some Thoughts
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 7
Describing Christian Zionism as Heresy
Three Rules about Heresy
Going Beyond the Charge of Heresy
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 8
Paul’s Inclusive Christianity as a Means against Xenophobic, Anti-Semitic, and Anti-Immigrant Ideologies in the Twenty-First Century
African Christologies Confronting Ethnocentrism
Pauline Promotion of Global Coexistence and Solidarity
Paul’s Hermeneutical Principle of Inclusivity as a Tool for Encountering Anti-Semitism, Anti-immigrant Feeling, and Ethnocentrism in Africa
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 9
Race, Power, and Theology
Race
Power
Theology
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Part II: Ministry in the Church
Chapter 10
Christian Zionism in Tanzania
The Emergence of Christian Zionism in Tanzania
Christian Zionism’s Use of Theology and Doctrine as Method
The ELCT-ECD, Christian Zionism, and Mercantile Interests
The ELCT and Zionism in the Future: Contextual Engagement of the Biblical Text
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 11
The New Christian Zionism in Africa
African Christian Zionism and the Politics of Zionism
Christian Zionism in Africa from a Missiological Perspective
Christian Zionism in Africa in Interreligious Perspective
Africa and the Liberation of the Jews
Jews and the Liberation of Africans
An African Vision of Community as Neighborhood
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 12
Empire and African Initiated Churches
Israel’s Quest for New Friends
Selling Lies in Exchange for Votes
At Stake: The Integrity of Christianity
At Stake: The Spirit of Africa
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 13
Zionism, the Palestinian Call, and the Meaning of the Land
A Human Rights Disaster
A Modern Heresy
A Theology of Land
An Evolving Construct
Set Your House in Order
A Kairos Call
Gospels that Feast on Death
Church Struggle, Global Movement
This Is Bigger than Palestine
Notes
Bibliography
For Further Reading
Index
About the Editor and Contributors
