CHRISTIAN ZIONISM AMONG EVANGELICALS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY by Willem Laurens Hornstra MS (University of Utrecht) MA (University of the Nations) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Wales Second Edition 2007 Oxford Centre for Mission Studies Hornstra, WL 2007 Christian Zionism among Evangelicals in the Federal Republic of Germany . This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Keine Bearbeitung 2.0 Deutschland Lizenzvertrag (Attribution-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 2.0 Germany License). To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/de/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA. You are free to Share (to copy, distribute, display, and perform) the work, under the following conditions: Attribution . You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (you must name the author, the title, and the website where this work is available: http://www.sbsgermany.de/wilrens). Noncommercial . You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works . You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. ‘Christian Zionism among Evangelicals in the Federal Republic of Germany’ Willem Laurens Hornstra OCMS, PhD ABSTRACT Christian Zionism is usually studied within an Anglo-American context. This thesis examines the movement in Germany after 1945. Its emergence from Restorationism, its development, and its present state are described. The movement was not imported from abroad, but to a large extent has German roots. Analyses of ideaSpektrum , the weekly news magazine of the Evangelical Alliance, and of Evangelical books in German dealing with Israel and the end times explore the broader Evangelical context. German Evangelicals have a more moderate approach to Israel than Americans, but also display a narrower spectrum of views. No institutional voice promotes a non-Zionist position. There exists a large reservoir of pro-Israel sentiments and beliefs, exemplified in the common phrase ‘solidarity with Israel’, but this frequently falls short of a fully developed Christian Zionism. Based on the literature surveyed, a model of the Christian Zionist system of ideas is developed to explain its coherence and persuasive power. In the resulting narrative, an Israel-centred retelling of the Biblical story and world history, Israel fulfils numerous functions and becomes an object of admiration or even veneration. The model shows that the Jewish-Christian past is far more important in Christian Zionism than commonly recognized. Dispensationalism is less important, at least outside of the United States. In neo-Pentecostal circles, Christian Zionism takes on a number of unique characteristics, warranting the distinction of a Charismatic variety of Christian Zionism. It is particularly through this variety that Christian Zionist publications and other activities have increased dramatically since 1990, leading to an ‘Israel boom’ after the ‘prophecy boom’ of the 1970s. The final chapter offers an Evangelical critique of the movement and of the observed structures of popular Evangelical thought, in which interpretation of Scripture and of world events is often dictated by an established tradition more than by anything else. ii TABLE OF CONTENT LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION x PREFACE x ABBREVIATIONS xi 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Concepts and Definitions 2 1.2 Theoretical Considerations, Approach, and Research Questions 5 2 THE GERMAN CONTEXT 9 2.1 The Evangelical Movement in Germany 9 2.1.1 Numbers and Strength of Christian Zionism 13 2.1.2 Setting the Stage: Developments in eschatology 14 2.1.3 Setting the Stage: Evangelicals in the Third Reich 15 2.2 Germany and Israel 16 3 SOULS ON FIRE: THE EMERGENCE, DEVELOPMENT, AND ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN ZIONISM IN GERMANY 21 3.1 The Late 1940s and the 1950s 21 3.1.1 Earliest Publications 21 3.1.2 Abram Poljak and the Reichsbruderschaft 23 3.1.3 Evangelische Marienschwesternschaft 25 3.1.4 Liebeswerk Israel ‘Zedakah’ 27 3.2 The 1960s 28 3.2.1 Mary Hajos 28 3.2.2 Paul Taine and Feigenbaum 30 3.2.3 Shlomo Hizak and the Jerusalem Bible Center 31 3.2.4 Friedrich Hänssler and Hänssler Verlag 32 3.3 The 1970s 33 3.3.1 Samuel Külling 33 3.3.2 Rudolf Pfisterer 34 3.3.3 David Jaffin 34 3.3.4 Marius Baar 35 iii 3.3.5 Wim Malgo and Mitternachtsruf 36 3.3.6 Ludwig Schneider, Israel-Hilfe, and Jesus-Haus 38 3.3.6.1 Israel-Dienste and Jesus in der Welt 39 3.3.6.2 Gerhard Bially and Charisma 40 3.3.7 Fritz May and Christen für Israel (CfI) 41 3.3.8 Friedrich Vogel and Bibel-Center Breckerfeld 42 3.3.9 Klaus Moshe Pülz and ZeLeM 43 3.3.10 Herbert Hillel Goldberg and LeMa’an Zion 44 3.3.11 Arbeitskreis Israel eV 44 3.3.12 Dienste in Israel 44 3.3.13 Declarations by Evangelical Organizations Not Focused on Israel 45 3.4 The 1980s 47 3.4.1 Steve Lightle 47 3.4.2 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) 48 3.4.3 Arie Ben Israel and Ruf zur Versöhnung (RzV) 49 3.4.4 Ludwig Schneider and Nachrichten aus Israel (NAI) 51 3.4.5 Fürbitte für Deutschland (FFD) 52 3.5 The 1990s and Beyond 53 3.5.1 Gustav Scheller and Ebenezer 53 3.5.2 Waltraud Keil and Die Brücke Berlin-Jerusalem 55 3.5.3 Harald Eckert and Christliche Freunde Israels (CFRI) 55 3.5.4 Israel Heute – Christen an der Seite Israels 56 3.5.5 Winfried Amelung and Sächsische Israelfreunde 57 3.5.6 KEP, Israelnetz, and Johannes Gerloff 57 3.5.7 Karl-Heinz Geppert and Arbeitskreis Israel (AKI) 58 3.5.8 Philippus-Dienst and D-Netz 59 3.5.9 Important Secondary Advocates 59 3.5.10 Christliches Forum für Israel 61 3.5.11 National Israel Prayer Conference in Altensteig 62 3.5.12 Institut für Israelogie 62 3.6 Synthesis: From Restorationism to Modern Christian Zionism 63 4 IDEASPEKTRUM: ECHO AND VOICE 70 4.1 Frequency and Nature of Reporting on Israel 71 4.1.1 Methodology and Definitions 71 4.1.2 Results and Discussion 80 4.1.2.1 Contributions Dealing with Jews and Jewish Issues 80 4.1.2.2 ‘Neutral’ Contributions 80 4.1.2.3 ‘Pro-Israel’ Contributions 80 4.1.2.4 ‘Alternative’ Contributions 81 4.1.2.5 Overall Development 81 4.1.2.6 Comparison with Other Topics 82 4.2 ‘Opinion’ Articles 84 iv 4.3 People and Organizations in ideaSpektrum 88 4.3.1 Organizations Not Focused on Israel 91 4.3.2 The Evangelical Alliance 95 4.4 Book Reviews 98 4.5 Recent Developments in Reporting 98 4.5.1 Conclusions from the Debate 102 4.6 Conclusions 102 5 BOOK ANALYSIS: A NEVER-ENDING BUT CHANGING STREAM 104 5.1 Selection of Books 104 5.2 Questionnaire 106 5.2.1 General Questions 106 5.2.2 End Times or Israel (Scale: eeA, eeB, ei, ie, ii) 106 5.2.3 Christian Zionism (Scale: Type 0-6) 107 5.2.4 Dispensationalism (Scale: 0, ?, 1, 2) 108 5.2.5 Importance of Dimensions (Scale: 1-5) 108 5.2.6 Apocalyptic (Scale: 1-4) 108 5.3 Results and Discussion 109 5.3.1 Historical Development 109 5.3.1.1 Nationalities of Authors 109 5.3.1.2 End-time (ee, ei) and Israel (ie, ii) Books 114 5.3.1.3 Restorationism and Christian Zionism (Type 0-6) 114 5.3.1.4 Discussion: Two Waves 115 5.3.2 Dispensationalism and Other Factors 116 5.3.2.1 Dispensationalism 116 5.3.2.2 Three Dimensions 123 5.3.3 Germany in International Comparison 124 5.3.3.1 End-time (eeA, eeB, ei) and Israel (ie, ii) Books 124 5.3.3.2 Restorationism and Christian Zionism (Type 0-6) 124 5.3.3.3 Dispensationalism 124 5.3.3.4 Three Dimensions 128 5.3.3.5 Apocalyptic 128 5.3.3.6 Discussion: Germany in international comparison 128 5.3.4 Typology 129 5.4 Conclusions 130 6 UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN ZIONISM: ITS SYSTEM OF IDEAS 132 6.1 Dimension 1: Hermeneutics, Biblical theology, and eschatology 133 6.2 Dimension 2: The history of Jewish-Christian relations 135 6.3 Dimension 3: A particular reading of Middle East history 138 6.4 Antagonists 144 v 6.5 A Drama in Three Acts 146 6.6 Functions of Israel 147 6.7 Restorationism versus Christian Zionism 151 6.8 A Charismatic-Pentecostal Variety of Christian Zionism 153 6.8.1 Parallel Restoration 154 6.8.2 The Great Schism and the One New Man 154 6.8.3 Messianic Jews 155 6.8.4 Israel’s Special Role 156 6.8.5 ‘Greater Riches’ World Revival 156 6.8.6 A New, Extravagant, and Positive Eschatology 157 6.8.7 Prophecy 157 6.8.8 Intercession 159 6.8.9 Identifying or Representative Repentance 160 6.8.10 Reconciliation 163 6.8.11 Conclusion to 6.8 163 7 CONCLUSIONS AND CRITIQUE 164 7.1 Conclusions 164 7.2 A Critique of Christian Zionism and Its Critics 166 7.2.1 Heresy, Therefore Anathema? 166 7.2.2 Hermeneutical Basis, Biblical Theology, and Eschatology 167 7.2.2.1 Literalism 167 7.2.2.2 End-Time Thinking 168 7.2.2.3 Fulfilment of Prophecy 171 7.2.2.4 The Land 172 7.2.2.5 The Ethical Questions 173 7.2.2.6 The People of God 174 7.2.3 Jewish-Christian Relations 177 7.2.4 The Middle East Dimension 182 7.2.5 Functions and Mission 183 7.2.6 Towards an Evangelical Alternative: Ethnic universalism 185 7.3 A Critique of Popular Evangelical Thought: The element of tradition 187 7.3.1 Evangelicals (Christian Zionists) and the Bible 188 7.3.2 Evangelicals (Christian Zionists) and the World 191 7.3.3 A Potential Remedy 196 APPENDIX: BOOKS INCLUDED IN THE BOOK ANALYSIS (CHAPTER FIVE) 198 REFERENCES 206 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE 4.1 NUMBER OF CONTRIBUTIONS IN IDEASPEKTRUM DEALING WITH JEWISH PEOPLE AND ISSUES, BUT NOT WITH ISRAEL 75 TABLE 4.2 NUMBER OF ‘NEUTRAL’ CONTRIBUTIONS IN IDEASPEKTRUM 76 TABLE 4.3 NUMBER OF ‘PRO-ISRAEL’ CONTRIBUTIONS IN IDEASPEKTRUM 77 TABLE 4.4 NUMBER OF ‘PRO-ISRAEL’ CONTRIBUTIONS IN IDEASPEKTRUM, BY SUBCATEGORY 78 TABLE 4.5 NUMBER OF ‘ALTERNATIVE’ CONTRIBUTIONS IN IDEASPEKTRUM 79 TABLE 4.6 NUMBER OF PAGES IN IDEASPEKTRUM ON WHICH A TERM APPEARS 84 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIG.