Pentecostalism & Zionism: Faith, Conditioning & the Politics of Palestine

DEC 2, 202570 MIN

Pentecostalism & Zionism: Faith, Conditioning & the Politics of Palestine

DEC 2, 202570 MIN

Description

We step into the charged, intimate territory of religion, politics and the stories we were raised to believe, and ask how aspects of Pentecostal conditioning continue to shape how many of us understand Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East today. We begin with the lessons we absorbed long before we had language for them: Zion as a sacred homeland, Jews as “God’s chosen people,” Muslims as enemies in spiritual warfare, and Israel as a nation that could never be questioned without risking blasphemy. We trace how church services, sermons, youth camps and worship songs shaped a political worldview long before we voted, read widely, or understood the stakes. From there, we widen the lens. Aiwan recalls her childhood Pentecostal formation: the unquestioned reverence for Israel, and the anti-Muslim narratives woven into some spiritual teachings. She then reflects on her pilgrimage to the Holy Lands - from being baptised in the River Jordan, to standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee - and how the holiness of those spaces blurred the violence and dispossession occurring in the present day. Together, we ask what it means to inherit a theology that centres on people’s chosenness at the expense of others’ humanity. Along the way, we confront the fear many Christians carry: the fear of questioning Israel; the fear of “dishonouring God”; the fear of being seen as anti-Semitic simply for naming state violence. We explore how Christian Zionism blurs spiritual devotion with geopolitical allegiance, and what it looks like to unlearn those scripts with clarity, compassion and courage.     This is not a geopolitical debate. Recorded on 19 August 2025, it is a discussion about how faith shapes our inner world, how conditioning influences what we think is right or wrong, and what it means to find honesty at a holy crossroad. It is about learning our minds, unlearning what no longer fits, and staying open to the full story of building faith in humanity. 🎧 In this episode:<ul><li>Pentecostal conditioning: the scriptures, sermons and spiritual warfare narratives that shaped our worldviews</li><li>‘God’s chosen people’ alongside anti-Semitic teaching: how reverence, hostility and identity became entangled.</li><li>Christian Zionism 101: what Pentecostals believe about Israel and the why behind these beliefs</li><li>Pilgrimage stories: baptisms, holy sites and how sacred awe masked political reality</li><li>The fear of blasphemy: why questioning Israel felt spiritually dangerous</li><li>Palestine in the present: state violence, dispossession and the inherited blind spots many of us were raised with</li><li>Why religion is never “just religion”: faith as a political education and as banal cultural backdrop</li><li>Unlearning with compassion: how to dismantle harmful scripts without dishonouring personal history</li></ul> 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: <a href="https://youtu.be/vf84RUtOtgc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/vf84RUtOtgc</a> 🔁 Share with someone exploring faith, politics or deconstruction 📬 Reflections or stories to share? [email protected] ⚠️ Content note: discussion includes anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim narratives, state violence, and theological indoctrination.Please rate, review and subscribe for weekly episodes.Connect with us on:<ul><li><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@rigourandflow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rigourandflow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li><li><a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/company/rigourandflow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a href="www.aiaistudios.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AiAi Studios</a></li><li><a href="www.rootsandrigour.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Roots & Rigour</a></li></ul> This is an <a href="https://open.acast.com/networks/67d57addaaba807fb7eb365a/shows/67d57d23b3ef7ea352b50da3/www.aiaistudios.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AiAi Studios</a> Production©AiAi Studios 2025<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.