Bible Science Forum

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Critiquing Christian Antisemitism by JD Hall

JD Hall critiques the intertwining of American evangelicalism and support for Israel, positing that such allegiance is often strategically influenced rather than biblically grounded. His book, Critiquing Christian Antisemitism, challenges Christian-Zionism, arguing for open theological discourse and the centrality of Christ in salvation over ethnic or national claims.

John Gideon Hartnett
7–10 minutes
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JD Hall (JD @LostMyHats on X.com) is the founder of Insight to Incite, a Substack platform that describes itself as offering Open Source Intelligence Analysis from an evangelical perspective. The site targets what it calls “Christian insurgents, political dissidents, and cultural conquistadors,” positioning itself as a voice challenging mainstream evangelical narratives — particularly regarding U.S. foreign policy, Israel, and religious identity.

Hall’s work critically examines the relationship between American evangelical Christianity and the State of Israel, arguing that much of the support for Israel among evangelicals is not biblically grounded but strategically manufactured through foreign influence operations. His critiques often focus on how theological language is weaponized to suppress dissent and equate policy criticism with antisemitism.

I am currently reading his book Critiquing Christian Antisemitism, which I recommend. It was written as a refutation of Christian-Zionism theology of the Western (primarily American) evangelical church.

JD Hall subtitled his book “Examining the Interfaith Diplomacy of Dr. Michael Brown”. I am not particularly knowledgeable of Michael Brown’s viewpoint but from what I have read so far it seems much like similar Christian-Zionist viewpoints, which promote that any criticism of Israel, political Israel, Zionism or Judaism, is antisemitic, which I strongly disagree with.

Any religion or political ideology should be open to fair criticism. It is protected free speech. That has nothing to do with criticism of any ethnic, racial, national or religious group nor advocating violence, hatred or aggression against them, which I abhor.

The following are a few quotes, mostly from the Preface. These will give you an idea of content of the book. My emphases added in bold.

What has happened in the last century is the birth of a new civil religion that pretends to be an extension of the Old Testament but is in fact a repudiation of the New. Dispensational Zionism has taken root in the evangelical imagination to the point that many Christians cannot tell the difference between biblical prophecy and political propaganda. They have been told that God has two peoples and two plans, one for the Church and one for the Jews. They have been taught that the promises of the prophets belong not to the people who are united to Christ but to a nation that has rejected Him. They have been persuaded that geography dictates theology and that their faithfulness to God is measured not by obedience to Christ but by allegiance to the modern State of Israel.

This is not a secondary issue. It is not a harmless quirk of eschatology. It is a fundamental distortion of the Gospel that undermines the sufficiency of Christ and the unity of His Church. If the Jews remain God’s chosen people apart from faith, then the cross did not fulfill the covenant. If modern Israel is the true Zion, then the resurrection did not establish the kingdom. If God’s plan for the world still revolves around ethnic lineage and national territory, then the New Testament is not the fulfillment of the Old but an interruption of it. p. 13

Zion was always meant to be the place where God dwells with His people, and in the incarnation that promise became flesh. The prophets spoke of a restored Jerusalem where God Himself would rule, and the apostles tell us plainly that this rule now rests in Christ who reigns from heaven. The restoration of Zion was never about armies reclaiming territory but about Christ reclaiming sinners and building them into a spiritual house. p.14

Our age faces a new form of Judaizing, one that does not require Christians to keep kosher or be circumcised but does require them to submit their theology to a nation that denies Christ. pp.14-15

The Gospel calls all men everywhere to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, including the Jews. Any system that excuses Jewish unbelief by appealing to a future ethnic revival is not proclaiming the Gospel but postponing it.

This book is not an esoteric debate. It is not a disagreement over minor interpretive choices. It concerns the very nature of the kingdom of God, the identity of the people of God, and the role of Christ in salvation. pp.14-15

Rabbinic Judaism is a post temple religious tradition that does not operate under the Mosaic covenant. It is defined by its relationship to the Talmud, which Christians have always treated as a distinct religious authority. To evaluate Rabbinic claims is not an attack on a people but an evaluation of a theological system. Christians do this with Islam, Roman Catholicism, secularism, Hinduism, and every other worldview. The idea that one may not analyze the claims of Rabbinic Judaism without being guilty of antisemitism is historically unsupportable and theologically unsound. The early church spent centuries arguing against Rabbinic interpretations of Scripture, and no one accused the apostles of hatred for doing so.

Brown also presents a particular view of Israel’s political significance. He treats the modern State of Israel as though it were a direct extension of the biblical covenant community. Critics who question this identification are treated as people who deny Israel’s right to exist. That is a false equivalence. One can affirm the right of any nation to exist without accepting the theological claim that it holds ongoing covenantal authority. p.53

The New Testament provides the solution to the entire discussion. Scripture teaches that Christ is the fulfillment of the promises. Scripture teaches that the dividing wall has been broken down. Scripture teaches that the people of God consist of those united to Christ by faith. Scripture teaches that in Him there is no distinction that determines covenantal standing. These truths do not diminish the historical significance of ancient Israel or the dignity of Jewish individuals. They simply place every nation and every person on equal footing before Christ. p.54

I am a few chapters into the book at the time of writing this. So far it has been a very good and worthwhile read. JD Hall’s style of writing, including his eloquent descriptive form, cuts through the propaganda and lies. In a clear and simple manner he untangles the usual tropes and clichés. Like for example that any criticism of the Israeli government is antisemitism.

Equating criticism of Zionism with antisemitism is equally disingenuous. They are not even in the same category. Such propaganda is an attempt to shut down an criticism of political Zionism. After 75 years Zionism and Rabbinic Judaism have turned Israel into an apartheid society of hatred against all non-Jews especially the indigenous Palestinian Arabs.

And Rabbinic Judaism has nothing in common with the doctrines of Jesus Christ. As much as water mixes with oil the Christian faith has in common with the modern Jewish faith derived from the Babylonian Talmud.

Christian-Zionism itself is a cultic modern invention. From the early church until the early 1800’s (before JN Darby) the church held a view that did not include political Zionism and a national state of Israel as of any importance whatsoever. The gospel of Jesus Christ does not depend on that, but only on the atoning grace He delivered from the cross. Christ is King, and His kingdom is now, in the hearts of all those who believe regardless of ethnic origin.

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