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British Israelism

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British Israelism (sometimes called Anglo-Israelism) is a Christian theology (though largely rejected by mainstream Christianity), based on the premise that many early British people, Europeans and/or their royal families were direct lineal descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel and in some cases of the Tribe of Judah. Most of the adherants base these ideas largely on their interpretation of Biblical passages relating to the historical Houses of Israel and Judah, and the Hebrew diaspora.

The theory was greatly expanded and promoted to justify the break of the Church of England from the authority of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church under King Henry VIII, by claiming that the English were among the Lost Tribes of Israel. The theory is largely disproven by modern DNA analysis showing that modern Jews are semitic (Middle Eastern) in origin but sharply divergent genetically from Britains or other Europeans.

Due to the Restorationist tendencies of the adherents, there has rarely been a central head, recognized leadership, or organizational structure to the movement. This has led to a diverse set of professions and beliefs ancillary to the genealogical claims. The ancillary doctrines held by some can often be contradictory to those held by others. In a similar fashion to Judaism and to a lesser degree Islam the central theme revolves around the genetic connection of the believers with Biblical characters such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Most strands of British Israelism agree that large numbers of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were taken captive by Sargon II, king of Assyria, upon the fall of Samaria in 721 BC, and forcibly transplanted to Assyria, as recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible[1], and claim that eventually these captives somehow migrated to Northern Europe, the British Isles, and with European colonization eventually North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere around the globe. Most advocates of British Israelism equate the White race as being the Lost Tribes of Israel, and many evidence racial hostility to Jews and other races as being not Israelites and therefore inferior in the sight of God.

Legend and folklore

Many early legends abound in ancient British folklore suggesting a link to the Holy Land. These include but are not limited to:

  1. The story that Joseph of Arimathea (Jesus' alleged uncle) traveled to Cornwall sometime after Christ's crucifixion and established an early Christian community,[2]
  2. Suggestions that the Stone of Scone might be Jacob's Pillar or Jacob's Pillow Stone,
  3. Legends that the Israelite prophet Jeremiah may have been the "Olam Fadlah" of Celtic lore,
  4. The legends of the Historia Regum Britanniae connecting Britain to the Mediterranian and Middle East and detailing early English genealogies.
  5. The coming of Brutus of Troy (Britis) to Great Britain after the burning of Troy and his alleged genealogy leading to the Israelite tribe of Benjamin,
  6. The Matter of Britain detailing the Arthurian Legend.
  7. The claims by Henry VIII to be descended from King Arthur,[3] who legend has it was the eighth generation from Joseph of Aramathea.[4]
  8. Claims that Jesus Christ visited Britain during the time period where the New Testament is silent about Jesus' life from around the age of 12 to the age of 30, including a hymn popularizing the idea which asks suggestively "And did the Holy Lamb of God look upon England's mountains green?"
  9. The claim that Saint Paul visited Britain.

Each of these legends have been incorporated into the British Israel belief. Regardless of the accuracy of the details of these legends, each of them are evidence of a belief by British people and those descended from them for hundreds and even thousands of years in a tangible genetic connection between the people of Britain and the people of the Holy land.

The Saka

The key component of British Israelism is their representation of the migrations of the Lost Tribes of Israel, although some advocates maintain that the Israelites originated as the Celts and migrated to the Middle East instead.

Believers of British Israel often suggest that the Behistun Inscription has provided an invaluable missing link. George Rawlinson, Sir Henry Rawlinson's younger brother, connected the Saka/Gimiri of the Behistun Inscription with deported Israelites:

We have reasonable grounds for regarding the Gimirri, or Cimmerians, who first appeared on the confines of Assyria and Media in the seventh century B.C., and the Sacae of the Behistun Rock, nearly two centuries later, as identical with the Beth-Khumree of Samaria, or the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel.[5]

Jehu kneeling at the feet of Shalmaneser III on the Black Obelisk.

The inscription connects the people known in Old Persian and Elamite as Saka, Sacae or Scythian with the people known in Babylonian as Gimirri or Cimmerian. This is important because the Assyrians referred to the Northern Kingdom of Israel in their records as the "House of Khumri", named after Israel's King Omri of the 8th century BCE. Phonetically "Khumri", "Omri", and "Gimiri" are similar.[6]

It should be made clear from the start that the terms 'Cimmerian' and 'Scythian' were interchangeable: in Akkadian the name Iskuzai (Asguzai) occurs only exceptionally. Gimirrai (Gamir) was the normal designation for 'Cimmerians' as well as 'Scythians' in Akkadian.[7]

The archeologist E. Raymond Capt asserted that there were similarities between King Jehu's pointed Saka style headdress and that of the captive Saka king seen to the far right on the Behistun Inscription as shown in the photo of the Black Obelisk to the right.[8] King Jehu of Israel was a successor to King Omri of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

General overview

Adherents of British Israelism assert that the Saka-Scythians migrated north and west after the Persian King Cyrus the Great conquered the city of Babylon. According to the Biblical account, the Israelites were captives of the Assyrians, and adherents assume that the Israelites somehow escaped captivity.

Adherents suggest that Scythians were forced further north and west by migrating / invading Sarmatians. The Sarmatians were also called “Scythians” by the Greeks. To differentiate between the two, Herodotus suggests that the former “Scythians” were called "Germain Scythians" (meaning "True Scythian"), while the Sarmatians were still merely called “Scythians”. This theory suggests the term "Germain Scythian" is synonymous with "Germanii". or in modern times "Germanic" or "German".

The ancient scholars Bede and Tacitus both agree[9] that before the time of Christ German and Teutonic tribes began to migrate to the British Isles forcing the early Britons to the western portion of Britain. The earliest of these Germanic settlers were the Angles and Jutes beginning before the time of Christ, followed by the "Great Saxon Invasion" (between 450 and 600 AD), and culminating with the "Danish Conquest" (787-1070 AD). This Germanic element came to Britain from the same region in which the Scythians had settled in Northern Europe, and brought with them laws, and customs remarkably similar to the ancient Israelites.[10] Some of these customs, laws and traditions were codified by Alfred the Great in his famous "Dooms" (see Doom Book ), which were a nearly direct quote from Exodus chapters 20 through 23. According to William Blackstone in his famous "Commentaries on the Laws of England", the Dooms and these ancient customs became the cornerstone of British Common Law.[11]

Late nineteenth-century Celtic language scholar John Rhys suggested

...the (Celtic) Kymry were for some time indifferently called Cambria or Cumbria, the Welsh word on which they are based being, as now written, Cymru ... and is there pronounced nearly as an Englishman would treat it if spelled Kumry or KUMRI.'].[12]

Rhys argued that both Celts and the Scythians came from an area south-east of the Black Sea, and migrated westward to the coast of Europe, comparing the name of the Welsh for themselves, Cymry, with the name of the Cimmerians "Kumri". He suggested the names Iberia for Spain, and Hibernia for Ireland were connected to a variation of "Hebrew" and that this was evidenced in philology. [13]

Some researchers[who?] suggest that the burial customs of the Scythians and Vikings also show similarities to ancient Israelites, for which many have argued a common origin in support of British Israelism.[14]

Theology involves claim of racial lineage

As with Judaism, British Israelism asserts theologically-related claims of a genetic link to the early Israelites. As such, it is based on a genealogical construct. This belief is typically confined to the geo-political status or the prophetical identity of the nation, not to the individual's superiority or salvation status with God.

Due to the disorganized structure of the movement, other elements of belief and key doctrines may be embraced by individual adherents. These elements occasionally take on extreme forms, as exemplified by the Christian Identity Movement with some of its historic roots in British-Israelism, but the core belief of British Israelism is that the Anglo-Saxon peoples of Britain and Northern Europe have a direct genetic connection to the Ancient Israelites mentioned in the Bible.

Growth and spread of belief

Although British-Israelists will cite various ancient manuscripts to show an ancient origin for British Israelism, the belief appears to have gained momentum since the English Revolution and especially during the "Restorationist" movement (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries). John Sadler published The Rights of the Kingdom in 1649. However it was in the late 1700s during a religious climate of Millenarianism that it became a distinct ideology thanks to the preaching and writings of two men, Richard Brothers and John Wilson. Other books from this period detailing this theory were Ezra Stiles' The United States elevated to Glory and Honor, published in 1783 and Richard Brothers' A Revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times, published in 1794. Also cited as an original work is Rev. John Wilson's Our Israelitish Origins which was originally published during the 1840s. Brothers was certainly the first of the two to begin to expound his version of British-Israelism, but many have suggested he lacked credibility due to his alleged mental illness and extreme tendencies. Wilson, on the other hand, developed the idea using Scripture and history combined with logic and reason.

Wilson’s ideas were to be refined and new ideas developed, well into the second half of the nineteenth century. Wilson had already begun to spread his message by public lecture, but no formal organizations or movement was formed under his leadership. British Israelism was seen as amusing to some, fascinating to others, but it did not seem to develop any sort of organizational structure until the late half of the nineteenth century at the hands of, Edward Hine and Edward Wheeler Bird.

In 1919 the British-Israel-World Federation was founded in London near Buckingham Palace. During this time many prominent British citizens patronized this organization. Perhaps one of the most notable of these members being the Prime Minister of New Zealand at the time William Massey. This organization continues to this day with its main headquarters located in Bishop Auckland in Co. Durham. It continues to maintain local chapters throughout the British Isles and throughout the world.

Modern adherents

The late Professor Roger Rusk (1906 - 1994), brother of former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, was a prominent teacher of British Israelism. He spent 13 years as a public school teacher, and 28 years as a professor at the University of Tennessee, where he held the position as Emeritus Professor of Physics. He was also a member of American Physical Society and the Tennessee Academy of Science.

Pastor Arnold Murray, of the Shepherd’s Chapel, a registered non-profit organization in the State of Arkansas, also embraces the British Israel belief. His teaching is broadcast regularly via satellite.

Some groups that follow the original teaching of Herbert W. Armstrong adhere to this doctrine. Armstrong was the founder and Pastor-General of the Radio Church of God from its foundation around 1934, through its re-naming in 1968 as the Worldwide Church of God, until a week before his death in 1986. Armstrong did not reference the works of other advocates of this theory. On the fourth page of his book, The United States and Britain in Prophecy (1980), he maintained that this theory is a master key to understanding Biblical end-time prophecy. The current Worldwide Church of God has abandoned this doctrine and offers a detailed explanation of the doctrine's origin and abandonment at their official website. [15]

In Britain, the theology of British Israelism has been taught by a few small Pentecostal churches including the (now-defunct) Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship, an early offshoot of the Elim Pentecostal Church (which, however, does not hold to the British Israel doctrine). In London the Orange Street Congregational Church[16] also teaches a form of British Israelism. In Australia, the Christian Revival Crusade, founded by Leo Harris once but no longer teaches this theology. However, its prominent offshoot the Revival Centres International and its own various offshoots continue to teach the doctrine.

Some have suggested that the references made in the Scottish Declaration of Arbroath to the ancient nation of Israel infers that the authors of the Declaration believed in a racial connection between the Scots and the ancient Israelites.

Due to the expansive nature of the British Empire, believers in British Israelism spread worldwide but is most prevalent in the Commonwealth nations including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Belize. Nations with large populations of British and Northern European descendants such as the United States, South Africa, Ireland, and Argentina also contain groups of believers in British Israelism. Although no comprehensive database exists, it is now possible that there are more who embrace this belief outside of Britain, than within it.

Critics of this theory

Critics of this theory state that the Assyrian chronicles of the time claim that only a small number of Israelites were deported.[citation needed]

Many critics question the authenticity of the ancient sources cited by those espousing British Israelism.[citation needed] These critics suggest that British Israelism should be classified as a new religious movement.

Critics suggest any similarities between British and European Culture and that of the Israelites are only coincidence.[citation needed]

Some critics have questioned the alleged references to ancient Israel in the Scottish Declaration of Arbroath. They suggest the Declaration does not explicitly claim descent from the "people of Israel". Critics insist the reference is likely making a comparison between, on the one hand, the Scots making an exodus across a sea from the barbarism of Spain, and entering their own "promised land" of Scotland; and on the other hand, the Biblical exodus of the Israelites from Egypt across a sea into the promised land of Israel. These critics assert such a comparison could be based equally well on the Scots' seeing themselves as a Christian nation and therefore chosen of God, as on the supposition that Scots actually believed they were literally descended from the Israelites.

Some have suggested that British Israelism belongs in the category of Pseudohistory.[citation needed] These same critics have suggested the justification for these claims rests in contrary DNA evidence.[citation needed]

Key writings and people

Early books connecting British Israelism to North America include:

Other books connecting British Israelism to North America include:

Key people include:

  • Richard Brothers (1757–1824) was well known as both an early believer and teacher of this theory concerning the Lost Ten Tribes.
  • William H. Poole was a minister known for his 1889 book titled Anglo-Israel or the Saxon Race?: Proved to be the Lost Tribes of Israel.
  • J. H. Allen authored Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright which many have claimed formed the basis of a later foundation for the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong on this same subject.
  • C. A. L. Totten Professor of Military Tactics at Yale, wrote countless articles and books advocating British Israelism, including a 26 volume series entitled "Our Race".

Early books refuting the historical and theological basis of Anglo-Israelism include:

References

  1. ^ II Kings chap. 17 & 18
  2. ^ Traditions of Glastonbury by E. Raymond Capt Artisan Publishers
  3. ^ Francine Roche (1 January 2007). The Battle of the Books: An Attack on Nationalism. Accessed 2007-05-02.
  4. ^ Traditions of Glastonbury by E. Raymond Capt Artisan Publishers
  5. ^ George Rawlinson, note in his translation of History of Herodotus, Book VII, p. 378
  6. ^ E. Raymond Capt, Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets Artisan Pub, 1985 ISBN 0-934666-15-6
  7. ^ Maurits Nanning Van Loon. "Urartian Art. Its Distinctive Traits in the Light of New Excavations", Istanbul, 1966. p. 16
  8. ^ E. Raymond Capt, Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets Artisan Pub, 1985 ISBN 0-934666-15-6
  9. ^ English Constitutional History from the Teutonic Conquest to The Present Time by Thomas Pitt Taswell-Langmead B.C.L., OXON., Stanhope prizeman in the University, 1866; Vinerian scholar in the University, 1867; and late professor of Constitutional Law and History, University College, London. Third Edition revised throughout, with notes and appendices, by C. H. E. Carmichael, M.A., OXON., Taylorian Scholar in the University, 1862; corresponding member of the Society of Comparative Legislation, Paris. Published by London: Stevens and Haynes, Bell Yard, Temple Bar. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., The Riverside Press, Cambridge. MDCCCLXXXVI Chapter 1,
  10. ^ La constitution de la Marche parait dans Tacite see also Tac. Germ. c. vii. Compare Tacitus' description of the Saxon "Mark" system with the ownership and societal definitions contained in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deut.
  11. ^ Commentaries on the Laws of England by Willian Blackstone First Edition 1765 - 1769 Vol 1 section 3
  12. ^ Early Celtic Britain pg 142. by Sir John Rhys
  13. ^ Early Celtic Britain pg 150 & 162-3
  14. ^ They Came A Viking E. Raymond Capt M.A., A.I.A.,F.S.A. Scot.
  15. ^ How Anglo-Israelism Entered Seventh-day Churches of God. 1999 Worldwide Church of God explanation of the historical origin of British Israelism doctrine within its fellowship. Accessed July 19, 2007.
  16. ^ Orange Street Congregational Church, retrieved 19 May 2007.

See also

Compare with

External links

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