I love documentaries.  I always have.  A well-done documentary can entertain and educate.  Honestly, it seems like we are living in a golden age of documentary making at present.  There are a number of fascinating ones out there, and it seems as if the bar has been raised in terms of quality and the ability to engage and hold the viewer’s attention.  I recently saw one that has stayed with me and continues to cause me to think and chew on its central thesis, not least because it is one that I have experienced and, to some extent, still do.  It is called, “With God On Our Side.”

Porter Speakman, Jr.’s “With God On Our Side” is a consideration of Christian Zionism.  Specifically it is a consideration of the kind of approach seen in someone like John Hagee (who figures prominently in the film).  In short, Christian Zionism is the idea that the covenant God made with Israel in Genesis applies to the modern state of Israel.  Therefore, to stand with the modern state of Israel is to stand with God.  Conversely, to fail to stand with Israel, or to stand against them, is to stand against God.  This is why you see a heavy focus on Israel in certain segments of Evangelical Protestantism today along with a seeming inability to critique any of Israel’s actions.  This kind of thinking usually goes hand-in-hand with premillennial dispensationalism and its emphasis on the reestablishment of Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy.

That summary is woefully inadequate, to be sure, but I think that’s a fairly faithful articulation of the gist of Zionism.  I should know.  I was exposed to a pretty heavy dose of this kind of thinking as a kid, primarily through the Scofield Reference Bible and the general church culture in which I grew up.  What is more, it is fairly pervasive in conservative Protestantism, perhaps especially in the South.

I should perhaps go ahead and share where I currently am on the issue.  In short, I am somewhat conflicted.  Paul speaks of a “partial hardening” of Israel in Romans 11:25, a term that would seem to suggest that the Jews will indeed experience a revival at some point in the future.  This idea being presented by an apostle is significant, because it means there is still a significant place for national Israel.  What is more, the question of the continuing and literal fulfillment of the covenants with Israel, particularly regarding the land, is an interesting and intriguing one, especially in the light of Christ as the fulfillment of the promises made to Israel.  I do not claim to have all of this figured out, but I can say I have an instinctive reaction against anything that would dilute this fact:  the covenants reach their fulfillment in Christ.

All of this is a much bigger issue than this post can tackle, but I raise these considerations simply to say that I, along with many others, stand in a position of respect and admiration for the Jewish people without adopting the approach of some of the more radical expressions of Christian Zionism.  By “radical” I am referring to a mentality that seems incapable of critiquing the actions of modern Israel and that thinks the Church should be supportive of Israel in whatever she does.  On the other hand, I should say that the left’s demagoguery concerning Israel (see Noam Chomsky, among others) and its labeling of anything Israel does as “terrorism,” even acts meant to defend itself against terrorism, strikes me as naive and overly simplistic. In short, I try to be objective and biblical, though the issues can be murky and muddled at times when we view the modern situation.

Christian Zionism is the focus of “With God On Our Side.”  It is seeking to show that this kind of thinking has led some evangelicals to minimize, overlook, or even be incapable of seeing some of the actions of modern Israel as questionable or wrong.  What is more, and most tragically, it prizes national Israel over segments of the Church, particularly the Church in modern day Palestine.

I suppose this last point is what has affected me most.  I have long thought about the fact that there are Christians, that there is an expression of the Church, on the other side of the wall.  Furthermore, I have often wondered what Palestinian Christians must think of Western Zionism.  The thought has long troubled me, and I have long thought that, whatever our position as Christians on modern Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might be, I am first and foremost bound in solidarity by the blood of Christ to Christians on either side of that conflict.  Put another way, the cross of Christ means that I have more in common with a Palestinian Christian than I do with a non-Christian Israeli.

This not a geo-political position per se.  It is a theological position.  But it is a theological position that must inform my politics.

The documentary does a fantastic job of exposing some of the blind spots and muddled thinking of Christian Zionism in the West, particularly in the way that it keeps us from standing with the Christians in the region.  The filmmakers interview Palestinian pastors and church leaders and let us hear their voices.  It is a painful thing to hear.  For instance, it is staggering to hear a Palestinian pastor speak of being invited to a Dallas, TX, church and of having a man pull away his hand and turn from him in disgust when the man realized that the pastor was a Palestinian Christian and not a Jewish Christian.  That is simply unbelievable.  It is devastatingly wrong.

I repeat:  this documentary should be seen.

Has it answered all of my questions?  No.  But has it given a critical and seldom-heard voice to a neglected part of the Church of the Lord Jesus?  Absolutely it has.  And it has left this viewer with a powerful reminder:  whatever our politics may be, if it leads us to turn a blind eye to suffering followers of Jesus, it cannot be right.

Now, is it possible to have a fundamental respect for Israel and even to stand with Israel and yet not neglect the suffering people of Palestine (Christian or not, I should add)?  It is indeed.  But that cannot be done with the type of overly-simplistic and highly-naive thinking that categorizes a great deal of the conservative Protestant world that I call my home.