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10 Reforming the Church Foundations ✡

The Puritan poet John Milton wrote:
“There is no song comparable to the
song of Zion; no oration equal to those
of the prophets; and no politics like
those which Scripture teaches.”
Another slogan of the Reformers
was ‘semper reformanda’ – always
reforming. Like most movements for
change, many Reformers did not be-
lieve that the change in getting rid of
corrupt practices and deception from
within the Church had gone far enough.
In the UK and later in America these
Reformers were called Puritans; the
group who wanted to purify the Church
of England.
Although the term ‘Puritan’ is now
a derogatory term, without their un-
derstanding and teaching of Scripture
it is highly unlikely that a gathering
such as the Balfour celebration between
Christians and Jews would ever have folly of denying the essential Jewish- 500 years to the day after Martin Luther
taken place. The Puritans were essen- ness of the Bible. They showed how a nailed his 95 theses to the church door
tially (but not totally) the forerunners of literal interpretation of Scripture gave at Wittenberg, the Balfour Declaration
evangelicalism. a definite place to the existence and role was agreed in London
So what were the fundamental of the Jewish nation until the coming of
changes that Reformed and Puritan the Messiah. the Jewish people a right of return to
thinking brought to Christian and Jew- This of course had another impor- their National Homeland after nearly
ish relationships? First and foremost tant dimension in that it reinstated the 2,000 years in worldwide exile.
was the teaching that the whole Bible is prophetic vision contained throughout Furthermore, Goodman noted that
about a Jewish nation, in a Jewish land the Bible. This vision has inspired and this increasing favour towards the
with a Jewish capital – Jerusalem. Fur- Jewish community was not an isolated
ther, it was written by Jewish authors, ‘Many prophecies measure from the time of the Great War,
but for the benefit of all people in all but was ‘the cumulative act by British
nations. It was about a coming Jewish are contingent upon leaders from the middle of the 17th cen-
Messiah, who would usher in an era of tury, initiated by Oliver Cromwell, the
universal peace and harmony. Israel being back in Lord Protector’. In fact, as we have seen,
Until the time of the Reformation, its origins go back to the Reformation
Christians had been taught that the its own land with of the early 16th century.
only way to interpret the Scriptures was Like the Puritans, Cromwell does
to read them allegorically, and refer- Jerusalem as its not enjoy a good reputation, which is
ences to ‘Jews’ or ‘Israel’ were not to be rather unfair. Cromwell, who was a Pu-
taken literally, but ‘Jew’ or ‘Israel’ were capital.’ ritan, was at his political zenith in 1649.
to be replaced with the name ‘Christian’ An influential British couple in Am-
or ‘Church’. sterdam, the Cartwrights, appealed to
Whilst the Puritans and Reformers motivated many evangelicals down to him to allow the Jews to make ALIYAH
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acknowledged that some parts of the Bi- the present day, particularly because to Israel. They received a favourable
ble are obviously allegorical, they soon many of these prophecies are contin- response but, just as importantly, their
gave the sacred writings a historical and gent upon Israel being back in its own request began to prepare for the repeal
grammatical context which showed the land with Jerusalem as its capital. of the pernicious law which had banned
In 1942 journalist Paul Goodman, an Jews from Britain since 1290.
Dr David Elms is the UK early leader of the Zionist Federation Cromwell had quietly allowed a
director for the International wrote an article on the Anglo-Jewish small group of Sephardic Jewish traders
Christian Embassy Jerusalem. background to the Balfour Declaration. into London and in the 1650s Menasseh
ICEJ supports many aspects of
humanitarian aid to Israel, such He likened the British Government Ben Israel, a leading Rabbi in the Dutch
as the Aliyah programme and the holocaust of the Balfour era to Cyrus the king Jewish community, also approached
survivors’ home in Haifa, and has a vibrant of Persia. The decree of Cyrus in 539 Cromwell to ask if the Jews could be
social care department. ICEJ has branches BCE gave the right of return to Israel readmitted to England. From 1655 until
throughout the world. David has been in- for Jews from Babylonian captivity. In the Jewish Naturalisation Act of 1753
volved with joint programmes for Jewish and
Christian communities and has helped many a similar way, Goodman interpreted the preparation for total Jewish re-
churches come into an understanding of the the Balfour Declaration as the 20th admission into Britain had begun.
Jewish roots of the Christian faith. century counterpart, because it gave Cromwell’s Zionist sympathy could