Stephen Sizer: The Vicar Who Took On Christian Zionism

For two decades, the vicar of a parish in Surrey was one of the most recognisable Christian critics of Christian Zionism, the belief held by many evangelical Christians that the modern State of Israel fulfils biblical prophecy and deserves unconditional support.

The scholar-priest

Stephen Sizer served as vicar of Christ Church, Virginia Water, in Surrey from the late 1990s until 2017. He wrote his doctoral research on the history and theology of Christian Zionism, and turned it into two widely read books:

• *Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon?* (2004), a history of the movement from its roots in nineteenth-century British dispensationalism to its influence on American politics.
• *Zion's Christian Soldiers?* (2007), a more accessible critique of the biblical arguments used to support it.

His central argument was theological. The New Testament, he argued, redefines the promises made to Abraham around faith in Christ rather than land or ethnicity. On that reading, reading modern Middle East politics as the fulfilment of prophecy is a misuse of scripture. He also argued that Christian Zionism had real political consequences, encouraging uncritical support for Israeli policies and indifference to Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians.

Influence

Sizer's books were widely read in churches in Britain and beyond, and he spoke frequently at conferences, in the Middle East and on television. He was associated with networks of Palestinian Christians and Western evangelicals, such as the Christ at the Checkpoint conferences in Bethlehem, which questioned the dominant evangelical view of Israel.

Controversy

His work also drew strong criticism. Jewish organisations and some fellow clergy accused him of associating with antisemitic websites and figures. In 2015 he shared on social media a link to an article suggesting Israeli involvement in the September 11 attacks. After a complaint, his bishop barred him from writing or speaking about the Middle East, and he later stepped down from his parish.

Legacy

Sizer's career illustrates both the strength and the risks of the debate he entered. His scholarship helped put Christian Zionism on the agenda of churches that had rarely examined it. His later conduct showed how quickly criticism of a political theology can collide with antisemitism when boundaries are not carefully kept.