The Myth of ‘Judeo-Christian’ Civilization

American Evangelicals are mounting a fierce defense of Christian Zionism and the notion of “Judeo-Christian civilization.” 

This ideology treats Rabbinic Judaism as a precursor or partner to Christianity, rather than a departure from it. And it does so, in part, to justify an unwavering support for the modern State of Israel.

These errors distort both the Gospel and sacred history. They also fuel political agendas that lead to the persecution of Christians in the Holy Land.

Christ: The God of Israel

A striking example of this confusion surfaced recently in a tweet from conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza: “The problem with Replacement Theology is that it replaces the God of Israel, the God of the Old Testament. That is God the Father, the first person of the Trinity. God the Father is replaced, leaving only the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is not Christianity!”

D’Souza’s assertion betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Trinitarian theology. The God of the Old Testament is not “the Father.” The God revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures is the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—eternally one in essence and undivided.

The Trinity did not emerge at the Incarnation. It has always existed. The Cappadocian Fathers taught that God is three Persons in one divine nature from eternity. The Old Testament hints at this plurality: in Genesis 1:26, God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Likewise, in Isaiah 6:3, the seraphim cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy”—three times, foreshadowing the Triune God.

Moreover, the theophanies (i.e., direct manifestations of God in the Old Testament) are not appearances of God the Father. No: they are of the Second Person of the Trinity, the Preincarnate Logos, who would become incarnate as Jesus Christ. This is crucial. As Christ says, no one has seen the Father at any time (John 1:18). So, these encounters cannot be with the First Person of the Trinity.

Biblical proofs abound for Christ’s identity as the God of Israel. In John 8:58, Jesus declares, “Before Abraham was, I AM,” echoing Yahweh’s self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 3:14 as “I AM WHO I AM.” This claim so outraged His listeners that they sought to stone Him for blasphemy, recognizing it as an assertion of His divinity. The Apostle Paul reinforces this in 1 Corinthians 10:4, identifying the Rock that followed Israel in the wilderness as Christ Himself.

This has been the Church's view from the very first centuries, as evidenced by the writings of the Church Fathers. St. Justin Martyr, in his Dialogue with Trypho, mocks those who believe that the Old Testament theophanies refer to the First Person:

He who has but the smallest intelligence will not venture to assert that the Maker and Father of all things, having left all supercelestial matters, was visible on a little portion of the earth.

Rather, St. Justin argues that the Angel of the Lord who wrestled with Jacob and appeared in the burning bush was (and is!) God the Son.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons, in Against Heresies, explains that the Son is Himself the visible manifestation of the invisible Father. Expounding on John 1:18, St. Irenaeus declares:

Neither Moses, nor Elias, nor Ezekiel (who had all many celestial visions) saw God. What they did see were similitudes of the splendor of the Lord, and prophecies of things to come. It is manifest that the Father is indeed invisible, of whom also the Lord said, “No man has seen God at any time.” But His Word [i.e., the Logos], as He Himself willed it, and for the benefit of those who beheld, did show the Father’s brightness, and explained His purposes.

Scripture and the Fathers make it abundantly clear: the God of the Old Testament is the All-Holy Trinity. What’s more, the Person most intimately known by ancient Israel was not the Father but the Son.

Christians: The Seed of Abraham

Another prominent voice, former Governor Mike Huckabee, echoed this muddled thinking in a recent tweet: “My Christian faith is built on the foundation of Judaism and without it, Christianity would not exist.”

This sentiment, while well-intentioned, inverts the divine order. From an Orthodox viewpoint, Christianity does not “grow out of” Judaism as if it were a secondary branch. Yet it doesn’t replace Judaism, either. Rather, Christianity is the religion of the Old Testament brought to completion in the person of Jesus Christ, the full self-revelation of Yahweh.

The Old Covenant, given through Moses, pointed forward to the Messiah. When Christ came, He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 5:17), establishing the New Covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20). Part of this fulfillment was the inclusion of the Gentiles, as prophesied in Isaiah 49:6: “I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles.”

Thus, the “seed of Abraham” is not limited to ethnic Israel but encompasses all who are in Christ through faith (Gal. 3:29, cf. Gen. 12:3). St. Paul declares in Galatians 3:7, “Those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” In Romans 9:6-8, he distinguishes between physical descendants and the true “children of the promise.” The Church, therefore, is the New Israel, the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), comprising Jews and Gentiles united in baptism.

What we call “Judaism” today is more accurately known as Rabbinic Judaism. This is a relatively modern tradition, one that emerged after the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70. It was shaped by the rabbis who rejected Jesus as Messiah, breaking the Covenant as foretold in Daniel 9:27 and Hosea 3:4-5. This rejection led to a new sect—one distinct from the biblical faith of Abraham, Moses, and the prophets.

Unfortunately, it was this falling-away which Christ predicted when He said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away” (John 15:1-2). Likewise, St. Paul, when he imagines the Gentiles saying, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in” (Rom. 11:19).

Nevertheless, God’s mercy endures. Rabbinic Jews can be restored to the Covenant by acknowledging Christ as their Messiah and entering His Church through baptism.

The Church: God's Kingdom on Earth

Huckabee extends his claim: “Without the Judeo-Christian worldview, there would be no Western Civilization, and without Western Civilization, there would be no America.” This narrative stems from the flawed premise that Rabbinic Judaism precedes or undergirds Christianity.

In truth, what we call “Western civilization” owes its foundations to Christianity—the religion of the Old and New Testaments. Needless to say, Jews have contributed to this civilization as well! But so have pagans, atheists, etc. This doesn’t change the fact that Rabbinic Judaism as a religion has not exercised nearly the same influence on Western civilization that Christianity has. 

In a recent editorial, I argued that “Christian Zionism” is a heresy. Worse than that, it leads Evangelicals to simply ignore—if not cheer on—the destruction of indigenous Christian communities in the Holy Land. And for what? A misplaced sense of duty to the State of Israel. These Evangelicals should remember: the Church—and only the Church—is the Kingdom of God on Earth.

By the same token, Rabbinic Judaism holds no privileged status in orthodox Christian theology. It is akin to Samaritanism, Islam, or Bahai: non-Christian faiths that claim to be descended from Old-Testament figures.

Hopefully it goes without saying, but this perspective must not justify the persecution or marginalization of Jews. As Orthodox Christians, we are commanded to love our neighbors, honoring the image of God in every person. (The history of Christian civilization includes tragic failures in this regard.)

Those who might be tempted by Jew-hatred should study the life and writings of St. Maria of Paris and other Orthodox saints who gave their lives defending Jews during World War II. 

Nevertheless, we cannot permit these novel errors—born of 19th-century dispensationalism and modern geopolitics—to mislead us.

Jesus Christ is the God of Israel, and the Church is His Kingdom on Earth. There is no other God; there is no other Kingdom.

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