Title: Albion and Ariel : British Puritanism and the birth of political Zionism /
Authors: Culver, Douglas J., 1938-
Publisher: P. Lang,
Year: 1995
Subjects: Christian Zionism Great Britain History.; Puritans England Doctrines History.; Jews Restoration History of doctrines.; Palestine In Christianity History of doctrines.
Abstract: No book in the western world has had such a compelling influence as the English Bible. No people took the Bible more seriously than the Puritans. The Bible ruled the Puritan mind, inflamed his imagination and demanded obedient belief in all its parts, including prophecy. Thus the biblical prophecies of a gloriously revivified Jewry restored to her ancient homeland began to powerfully evolve. At first, the idea was a spiritual-theological theme. A palpable dimension emerged in the ferment and struggles of the Puritan epoch; in 1948 the long process thus begun came to fruition; the nation of Israel was born.
Contents: Ch. I. Prolegomena. General Reasons for Undertaking the Study. Particular Reasons for Undertaking the Study. Dimensions of the Study. Nature of the Contribution -- Ch. II. Diaspora -- Restoration: Stark Reality -- Splendid Hope. The Singular Nature of the Birth of the Modern State of Israel. The Contribution of Great Britain. Temporary Reversal of Britain's Policy. Studies to Date. Scope of the Present Investigation. Introductory Considerations: Attachment to the Land. Early Attempts at Return. Analogous Jewish and Christian Views. Dramatic Change in Medieval Christian View. Revival of Millennial Expectations and Concomitant Doctrine of Jewish National Return. The Unique Situation in England -- Ch. III. Albion and Zion: The New Jerusalem. Religious Break with Rome. Reform the Church and Establish The Kingdom of Christ. The Telling Influence of the English Bible. The Parallel Struggle of Old Testament Israel and Puritan England. The Bible as an Imaginative Experience. The Certainty of Biblical Prophecy.