How Christians can still love Israel
17-09-2025
Opinion
Jacob Hoekman, RD
People express support for Israel during a demonstration. Photo EPA, Bo Amstrup
Opinion
Public opinion about Israel is changing rapidly. What little goodwill the state still had is evaporating in the blink of an eye. For more and more people, it is no longer possible to explain how you can support a state that uses so much violence with so little prospect of peace. Israel is rapidly becoming an international pariah.
For Christians who were raised with the Biblical view of the Jews as God’s chosen people, this is often difficult to accept. They continue to support Israel’s policies, no matter what. And they see the hatred against Israel as nothing more than Biblical confirmation that they are right.
After previous critical contributions about Israeli policies, I received responses along the same lines: it is the Bible itself that provides the decisive argument for supporting modern Israel. Who are we, then, to question that?
Replacement theology
But is that really true? Is support for Netanyahu’s policy in Gaza the only possible outcome for those who take the Bible seriously? In recent months, I have researched this topic as part of a theological study at an American university. I hope that some elements of this research can contribute to the debate on this subject.
The broad outline of church history is not that complicated. Generally, both the Eastern and Western churches have usually adhered to a certain form of replacement theology, in which the Christian church is regarded, to a greater or lesser extent, as the new Israel.
This does not always mean that Jews were treated badly (although that was often the case), but it does mean that Israel as a people was mainly assigned an instrumental position. In other words, Israel did not exist for itself, but served another, higher purpose. That higher purpose is to bring forth Christ and thus reach the nations. Now, after Christ’s coming, Israel no longer has a special position.
Chosen people
Nowadays, this replacement theology is still visible in some Christian communities. But at the same time, another powerful undercurrent has developed, especially in recent decades. Its representatives emphasise other texts, for example, that God’s promises to Israel are “irrevocable”, as stated in Romans 11. In other words, the Jewish people are not only instrumental in blessing others, but also remain God’s special, chosen people. The Jews are and remain the apple of God’s eye, and whoever touches them touches God Himself.
And that brings us to the responses I received to previous articles. Can you fully uphold the continuing chosen status of the Jewish people and still be highly critical of the modern state of Israel? When it comes down to it, in my experience, the aforementioned critics usually say: No. That is not possible. Or at least, it does not happen in practice.
These people can benefit from a theology that, on the one hand, gives ample space to Israel’s unique and enduring position in the Bible, but on the other hand, does not pretend that the modern state is one and the same as the people of Israel. Moreover, such a theology should not get stuck on Israel, but should focus on Christ – for both Jews and non-Jews.
A warm heart for the people of Israel quickly translates into unwavering support for the modern state.
That may sound logical, but it turns out to be disappointing in practice. A warm heart for the people of Israel quickly translates into unwavering support for the modern state – whatever that state does. This attitude is regularly found in circles around the organisation Christians for Israel, for example.
One-liners
Nevertheless, there are theologians who are not satisfied with this. In the Netherlands, they are often relatively unknown, although there is a foundation, the Jules Isaac Foundation, which pursues a fully-fledged Christian theology in which Israel retains a central place without directly translating this into political terms. The chairman, Jeroen Bol, has often said there is an urgent need for a theological alternative to replacement theology. That alternative must go deeper than easy one-liners about the fulfilment of prophecies that are then applied to the current state.
Internationally, Messianic Jewish theologian Mark Kinzer is a particularly influential figure in this regard. He emphasises how the growing group of Messianic Jews is shaping God’s enduring covenant with Israel, but is reluctant to use overly grandiose language when referring to the secular state of Israel.
American theologian Kendall Soulen has also done groundbreaking theological work and emphasises that the Jews, like the nations, retain their uniqueness in God’s plan. But that does not automatically mean that modern Israel as a state plays a special role in God’s plan, he argues. “I hope that secular Zionism will prove to be an instrument of peace, and I also hope that the state of Israel will be. But I don’t know; in fact, I sometimes fear that it will not.” Christians can certainly support Israel, he said earlier in an interview, but he himself readily admits that he does so mainly for “secular reasons”.
In short, anyone who wants to avoid any hint of replacement theology has options. Moreover, anyone who wants to establish a healthy distance between a theology of Israel and the modern state of Israel can also do so in a theologically responsible manner. It is possible to truly love the people of Israel without the people of Gaza having to suffer as a result.
This article was translated by CNE.news and published by the Dutch daily Reformatorisch Dagblad on September 6, 2025
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