However, reading interpretations of the good book on my X/twitter feed I feel that certain misunderstandings about the nature of the scriptures have recently caused a lack of ecumenical understanding.
One common mistake emanates from various Israeli accounts that state that Christianity must encompass Judeism and that because Our Lord is Jewish all Jewish Commandments must be respected equally to Christian ones. As Father Jack would say that would be an ecumenical matter but as far as I understand it there is nothing adjacent to Christianity in terms of alternative faiths. Christ says explicitly "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." — John 14:6 suggesting there is only one route (his) to redemption. It is true that in Matthew 5:17-20 explains that "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" but much of what was Mosaic Law was in effect abandoned by Christianity as not important when Christianity officially split from Judeism at the Council of Jerusalem (48-50AD) in Acts 15. This came about because dietary laws and rules around circumcision started to come in the way of the primary goal of Christianity that is spreading the Good News that Christ the saviour died and rose from the dead to save everyone's souls.
A common misconception then is that because Christianity and Judeism contain a shared heritage (so does Islam as an Abrahamic religion but let's skip that) then Christians are bound by the Old Testament/Torah to support Israel and Zionism. This is a profound misreading of the New Testament however which states in several places that Christianity has nothing to do with temporal power structures. The most notable example of this would be John 18:36 where Jesus explains "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” That is to say the primary function of Christianity is the prepartion and saviour of souls for their next life not the power structures of this one. For this reason Catholic Priests are banned from seeking political office Canon 285->287 (let's draw a veil over Cardinal Richelieu and the Anglical Bishops in the House of Lords). As Jesus explains in Matthew 22:20-22 "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s." That is not to say that Christians cannot support Israel or Zionism or any other Nationalist movement be it Plaid Cymru, Sinn Féin or the SNP but there is no obligation in Christianity to support any Nationlist movement. Neither is there any prohibition. It is a matter of personal choice... Ultimately Christians shuld be living their lives in preparation of the next life. The political shenanigans of this one should always be a secondary consideration to spreading the Good News.
I take this unusual detour into theology because everyone these days seems to be waving their Bible about but few seem to be reading it. Why, for example, does Russell Brand feel the need to take a Bible to Court with him every day? It is a mystery to me. After all, every Court has every holy book freely available so that you can take your oath on them despite Jesus's invocation not to swear any oaths in Matthew 5:34 : "do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." An invocation that has been widely ignored for 2000 years because Christ's words are ironically best spread by hypocrisy.
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