American Heresy: Christian Zionism and the Scriptural Response

Abstract

Christian Zionism is an increasingly pervasive heresy that has sprung up and flourished in the American Evangelical zeitgeist. While it is primarily an American Protestant issue, Lutherans in this country are not immune to its dogmas, which often claim to be based on scriptural principles and a high regard for the Bible and God’s promises. And as charismatic preachers who espouse Zionist doctrine become ever more accessible in media, it is easy to see why members of even Lutheran churches need a Scriptural defense against it. The goal of this paper is to provide such a defense. First, the paper examines the status quo and how we got here, looking at the current state of affairs and tracing the history of Christian Zionism in America. Second, this paper presents the Scripture’s response to the various claims made by Christian Zionists. Ultimately, we see that Christian Zionism is a theology of glory that reads too much into a small number of passages, completely ignores the central message of the Scriptures, and finally cannot hold water when examined under scrutiny. The appendix is intended to be printed as a sort of “reference page” when looking at the various claims that Christian Zionists make. It provides concise scriptural responses that might be useful to pastors or lay people.