Fr Josiah Trenham: Zionism is foreign to historic Christianity
What the video says
The speaker rejects Zionism as having any place in Christian faith, saying you could search in vain for 18 and a half centuries to find such teaching. He states the church is the fulfillment of everything in the Old Testament and that Paul calls the church the new Israel, made up of Jewish and Gentile believers from every tribe, tongue, people and nation.
He describes his own parish in Riverside County, saying its ethnic makeup should match the county's diversity of about 3 million people. He rejects the idea that the Old Testament continues without fulfillment, that a temple must be rebuilt, or that sacrifices and animal offerings must resume. Everything in the Old Testament, he says, was a picture of Christ, who told the Pharisees that the Scriptures bear witness to him.
Key moments
- 0:00 Zionism has no history in the Christian faith; you could search in vain for 18 and a half centuries to find such teaching.
- 0:00 The church is the fulfillment of everything in the Old Testament, and Paul calls the church the new Israel.
- 0:36 God's people are made up of Jewish and Gentile believers from every tribe, tongue, people and nation; it is not about ethnicity.
- 1:12 The speaker wants his Riverside County parish to reflect the county's ethnic distribution: 57% Hispanic, 11% African-American, about 30% Anglo.
- 1:45 The Old Testament came to fruition; there is no need to rebuild a temple, resume sacrifices, or restore the Aaronic priesthood.
- 1:45 Everything in the Old Testament is a type of Christ; he told the Pharisees the Scriptures bear witness to him.
Fr Josiah Trenham argues that Zionism has no place in Christian faith. He says you could search in vain for 18 and a half centuries to find such teaching in the Church. For him the question is settled by how the New Testament reads the Old: the church is the fulfillment of everything in the Old Testament, and Paul calls the church the new Israel.
God's people are Jewish and Gentile believers gathered from every tribe, tongue, people and nation, so membership in Israel is not a matter of ethnicity. He illustrates this with his own parish in Riverside County, which he says should reflect the ethnic makeup of the surrounding county of about 3 million people: 57% Hispanic, 11% African-American, and about 30% Anglo.
He then rejects the premises behind Christian Zionism. The Old Testament came to fruition in Christ, so there is no need to rebuild a temple in Jerusalem, resume animal sacrifices, or restore the Aaronic priesthood. Everything in the Old Testament was a picture of Christ, and Christ himself told the Pharisees that the Scriptures bear witness to him.
The post presents a patristic and sacramental reading of Israel in which promises made to Israel are fulfilled in the church rather than awaiting a future national restoration.
Main points
- Fr Josiah Trenham says Zionism has no history in Christian faith; you could search in vain for 18 and a half centuries to find such teaching.
- The church is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and Paul calls the church the new Israel.
- God's people come from every tribe, tongue, people and nation; it is not about ethnicity.
- His Riverside County parish should reflect the county's makeup: 57% Hispanic, 11% African-American, about 30% Anglo.
- There is no need to rebuild a temple, resume sacrifices, or restore the Aaronic priesthood, since the Old Testament is a type of Christ.