Jeff, thanks for taking the time to illuminate some of this.

At least a little of the evangelical support comes from end-times prophecy and the belief that Israel represents (or will represent) “God’s chosen people”. For some Christians, this has led to an attitude of “I’m a Christian, therefore I support Israel.”

So it sounds like I'm not necessarily hallucinating WRT a tie-in between evangelical (sounds like that's the right term?) beliefs, end-times and Israel.

One of the notable things is that in the bible, the end-times are prophesied to come when Israel is at peace and walls are no longer necessary (my paraphrasing here). Until recently, this has really made no sense as there was no Israel. Now it makes more sense, though of course Israel is certainly not at peace. Some see the possibility that removing the threat of Iraq being the first step toward this peace coming about. I am inclined to view the situation this way, though I don’t believe bringing peace to Israel should be our nation’s motivation in attacking Iraq. I should also point out that there are some evangelicals who don’t believe that the Israel of today corresponds to the Israel spoken about in these prophecies (i.e. the name is the same, but the people are different).

Interesting that last point. That whole interpretation thing.

There are at least two major views of eschatology

Show's how rusty I am....had to run over to dictionary.com!

Likewise, I discovered that there is a Dispensationalism Web Site , where I found:

"Dispensationalism is a term that describes a system of theology, or a set of guidelines for interpreting scripture that lead to some specific conclusions about God, Israel, the Church, and the Endtimes."


How exactly this translates into the U.S. foreign policy I’m not certain, but this is clearly a driving force among evangelicals.

So, one guess is that some of those evangelical-Israel connections were there but maybe weren't as apparent (to me, anyway) until things got bad recently and expressions of support got louder, more noticable...

As far as evangelicals and conspiracies go, I think that’s a little bit far. More likely there is a pattern of thinking that has developed certain attitudes toward Israel that influence Christian decision makers.

I am wary of getting into a conspiracy mindset. By definition, conspiracies are pursued in secret. The fact that I don't understand how some of this works doesn't mean that it is secretive or conspiratorial. I am more of the "pattern of thinking" way of thinking myself.

(Interesting, though, I just finished reading two things: the book "The Bureau and the Mole" about Robert Hansen and an article in Harpers subtitled "Undercover among America's secret theocrats". The first detailed Hansen's ironic/weird membership in, and some of the controversies surrounding, Opus Dei; the second was about the Fellowship Foundation aka "The Family". Neither of these was very reassuring from the standpoint of diminishing conspiracy anxieties!)

Much of what I see, though, is in the "pattern of thinking" vein, or something like cognitive dissonance. That being said (and you know my irreligious constitution) the prevalence of divinely-inspired patterns of thinking in the current White House, DoJ, and elsewhere doesn't help me sleep better at night!

[tangent]
In a recent thread there was debate about whether the administration was invading Iraq so that its pals (Richard Perle?) could make money. I don't see folks sitting around saying "Let's invade Iraq so we can make money." I see folks formulating other rationale for things like invasions and then making a bundle of money is sometimes seen as a happy coincidence.
[/tangent]

I should emphasize that I’m speaking a great deal out of ignorance here, but I do understand at least a few of the underlying issues.

More than a few, it seems. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

[by the way: That book I mentioned earlier was in some ways a real stinker. I usually enjoy Stone's writing, but Damascus Gate was a tough read with a confused plot line and characters. I only read it because it was the last book I had on a long vacation in May 2001. I remember it, though, because it tried to examine Israel and the place of Jerusalem in ways I hadn't seen before -- and it also drew some characters and movements that immediately jumped back from memory on 9/11]