Christian Zionism and English National Identity, 1600–1850

310 Pages·2018·3.01 MB·English

by  Andrew Crome

Christianities in the Trans-Atlantic World
Christian Zionism and
English National Identity,
1600–1850
Andrew Crome
Christianities in the Trans-Atlantic World
Series Editors
Crawford Gribben
Department of History
Queen’s University Belfast
Belfast, UK
Scott Spurlock
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Glasgow
Glasgow, UK
Building upon the recent recovery of interest in religion in the early
modern trans-Atlantic world, this series offers fresh, lively and inter-
disciplinary perspectives on the broad view of its subject. Books in the
series will work strategically and systematically to address major but
under-studied or overly simplified themes in the religious and cultural
history of the trans-Atlantic. The series editorial board includes David
Bebbington (University of Stirling), John Coffey (University of
Leicester), Susan Hardman Moore (University of Edinburgh), Andrew
Holmes (Queen’s University Belfast), John Morrill (University of
Cambridge), Richard Muller (Calvin Theological Seminary), Mark Noll
(University of Notre Dame), Dana L. Robert (Boston University) and
Arthur Williamson (California State University, Sacramento).
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14892
Andrew Crome
Christian Zionism and
English National
Identity, 1600–1850
Andrew Crome
History, Geoffrey Manton Building
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester, UK
Christianities in the Trans-Atlantic World
ISBN 978-3-319-77193-9 ISBN 978-3-319-77194-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77194-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018939544
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A
cknowledgments
This book began as part of a 2011 postdoctoral fellowship at Trinity
College Dublin from the Irish Research Council (formerly Irish Research
Council for Humanities and Social Sciences). I’m grateful for their sup-
port in making this project possible. Further research in London, Oxford,
and Southampton was facilitated by a grant from the British Academy in
2015. Research funding from the University of Manchester and Manchester
Metropolitan University enabled me to access sources in various Scottish
libraries that contributed greatly to my conclusions. A short project work-
ing for the Centre for Jewish Studies (Manchester) in the Methodist
Archive at John Rylands Library also revealed some previously unknown
resources. I’m also grateful to the Church’s Ministry Among the Jewish
People for allowing me access to their archives, held at Oxford.
Some elements of Chap. 3 were previously published in the Journal of
Ecclesiastical History, and appear here thanks to the editors and Cambridge
University Press. Sections of Chap. 4 appeared in English Historical
Review, and are reproduced with kind permission from the editors and
Oxford University Press. Thanks as well to Molly Beck and Oliver Dyer
from Palgrave for their support throughout the publication process, and
to the anonymous reviewer for their helpful and encouraging comments.
Staff at a number of libraries and archives have been generous with their
time and support during various research trips. My thanks to those at the
John Rylands Library, Chetham’s Library, the British Library, National
Archives, Lambeth Palace Library, the National Library of Scotland,
Trinity College Dublin Library, and the Bodleian Library. Additional
thanks are due to the Special Collections departments at the Universities
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
of Aberdeen, Liverpool, Southampton, and St. Andrews. Coffee and con-
versations with Philip Alexander, Jonathan Downing, Graham Johnson,
Philip Lockley, Peter Nockles, Mark Sweetnam, and David Woodbridge
have provided numerous new avenues to explore. Crawford Gribben, my
postdoctoral mentor in Dublin, has been a consistent encouragement dur-
ing the writing of this book, as well as displaying admirable patience with
my forays into academic writing on aliens, animation, and small horses.
During the period I’ve worked on this book, I’ve been lucky enough to
work with fantastic colleagues in Religions and Theology at the University
of Manchester, and in History at Manchester Metropolitan University. In
particular, I’d like to thank Dan Garner, Ben Woods, Michael Hoelzl,
Daniel Langton, Todd Klutz, Craig Griffiths, Marie Molloy, Mercedes
Peñalba Sotorrío, Lloyd Strickland, Jonathan Spangler, and Rosamund
Oates for their encouragement at various points. The insight of my PhD
students Thomas Fretwell, Caroline Kaye, Daniel Stone, and Jonathan
Stubbs continues to inspire and suggest new ways to look at apocalyptic
themes.
On a personal level, my friends have been incredibly patient with me and
my gradual transformation into a hermit over the last six months of writing
this book. Jon Ainscough, Sam and Helen Carey, Stef Elstub, and Alison
Pimblott are all owed a drink now that I venture outside once again. Thanks
especially to Sharon Hall for her kindness and patience during 2017. My
parents continue to be a fantastic support and encouragement.
When I began writing this book in 2011, during President Barack
Obama’s first term, Christian Zionism seemed to be losing political influ-
ence. As I write this, in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s deci-
sion to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, it seems to be a
potent force once more. Whatever the future holds for Christian Zionism
as a political movement, my hope is that this book will provide readers
with a helpful analysis of its historical background and discontents.
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
2 “Shall They Return to Jerusalem Againe?”: Jewish
Restoration in Early Modern English Thought 29
3 “Honor Them Whom God Honoreth”: The Whitehall
Conference on Jewish Readmission, 1655 67
4 “See with Your Own Eyes, and Believe Your Bibles”:
The Jew Bill Controversy of 1753 105
5 “Ignorance, Infatuation, and, Perhaps, Insanity!”: Jewish
Restoration and National Crisis, 1793–1795 163
6 “ Direct the Eyes of the Jews to England”: The Jerusalem
Bishopric Controversy, 1840–1841 209
vii
viii CONTENTS
7 C onclusion 265
Select Bibliography 277
Index 301
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
On 3rd February 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over the
Western seaboard of the United States, scattering debris across a vast
region stretching from California to Texas. The combination of a design
flaw and an unfortunate set of circumstances on launch led to the shut-
tle over-heating on re-entry until the final, inevitable explosion. For some
observers, however, this explanation did not get at the root cause of the
disaster. The Columbia exploded, claimed Christian Zionist William
Koenig, to demonstrate God’s anger at the United States’ recent treat-
ment of Israel. According to Koenig, God blessed or cursed gentile nations
for the way they treated the Jews and the Jewish state. As President George
W. Bush’s government had favoured policies that sought peace with
Palestinian terrorists and the removal of Jews from land which was theirs
by divine right, so God had shown his displeasure by striking American
pride. The fact that early media reports mentioned debris found in
Palestine, Texas, was a clear sign that the Lord was trying to get America’s
attention.
Koenig based his reasoning on the promise made to Abraham in Genesis
12:3, where God told Abraham that he would be father of a great
nation. This implied that those who blessed Abraham would be blessed,
and those who cursed him would be cursed in turn. For Koenig this pro-
vided a straightforward way of understanding God’s providential purposes
in history. Individuals, and more particularly nations, could expect either
© The Author(s) 2018 1
A. Crome, Christian Zionism and English National Identity,
1600–1850, Christianities in the Trans-Atlantic World,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77194-6_1