The Hebraic Style in Christian Nation-Building
Curated by: Hillary Kaell, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Rising numbers of Christians are integrating Jewish-like symbols, aesthetics, and rituals into their lives. This Hebraic style, as we call it here, is found across Christianity, but is most prevalent in evangelical and charismatic Protestantism. Proponents claim aspects of Jewish identity, or strong allyship with ‘the Jewish people,’ as intrinsic to Christian theology. It is often linked to biblical literalism and to the conviction that through biblical-type rituals believers can access the power and closeness to God that defined the earliest churches.
Among others, the Hebraic style appeals to people of Jewish ancestry who retain or reclaim their Jewishness as fulfilled through belief in Jesus; charismatic Christians who view Hebraic rituals as an access point for God’s blessings; biblical literalists who are searching for ‘authentic’ links to Jesus; and Christians who believe they have discovered a crypto or hidden Jewish lineage. The Hebraic style is often braided into local understandings of lineage and already contested identities, as a number of our contributions show.