Christianity’s Claims: A Kaleidoscope of Theologies

The return of Jews to Palestine presented Christianity with a complicated challenge. It raised theological issues that had appeared settled and dormant for centuries. Diverse and conflicting responses are unsurprising from a stream of monotheism long characterized by schisms related to authority, structures, beliefs, and practices that resulted in a variety of established churches and a multitude of “denominations.” Thus this chapter delineates several broad categories of response to the Zionist project. Some draw on positions formulated about seventeen centuries ago; others originate in beliefs articulated only in the last two centuries; still others are a product of twentieth century reckonings over the relationships between Christians and Jews, especially in the aftermath of the Holocaust. In addition to perspectives espoused by Christians living primarily in Europe and North America, I examine the more recent responses of Christians living in Palestine/Israel. It is they who directly encounter Jews who returned to establish a presence in the Holy Land and now have sovereignty over it.