The Plot to Divide American Evangelicals

Tucker Carlson calls it deceptive. Candace Owens thinks it’s “wonderful” to finally debate it. Ian Carroll, a fringe content creator on the rise, is going viral by saying Jews hatched it.

They’re referring to the Scofield Bible, a widely influential 1909 edition that added commentary alongside the Scriptures. In his note on Genesis 12:3 — “I will bless them that bless thee” — Scofield wrote: “It has invariably fared ill with the people who have persecuted the Jew — well with those who have protected him. The future will still more remarkably prove this principle.”

In other words, Scofield was saying that history shows God punishes those who harm the Jewish people and blesses those who protect them, framing antisemitism as a violation of God’s will.

So, why bring up a hundred-year-old Bible now? And why is that one-off comment so notable?

For starters, this loose coalition of anti-Israel (and often openly antisemitic) influencers believes the Scofield Bible brainwashed the 70 percent of evangelicals who currently support Israel — with many pointing to that one line as evidence. Of course, they ignore that support for a Jewish return to Israel goes back hundreds of years in Protestant history, long before the Scofield Bible.

In America, the largest bloc of support for Israel comes from Evangelicals. It’s not hard to see that the anti-Israel coalition on the right wants to reduce this support by using social media clips and videos to appeal to young Evangelicals. The attack on the Scofield Bible, and in a greater sense, pro-Israel values, is just one way to divide them.

Their claim that the Scofield Bible was Jewish-funded propaganda is meant to portray Evangelicals as pawns, manipulated by Jews and Zionists. (In reality, the man who published the Scofield Bible through Oxford University Press was simply a Bible publisher, not some operative funded by Zionists to publish Scofield. He printed many editions of the Bible, not just Scofield’s.)

And in an even broader sense, their effort aims to make Evangelicals question their own history and biblical foundations. As part of that effort, they’ve begun promoting a revised version of major world events — like World War II — not as a fight between good and evil, but as a hidden war against Christians.

They assert that the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima were not merely acts of war, but deliberate assaults on Christian populations. It seems like the goal here is to cast doubt on even the most established historical narratives, softening the ground for more fringe claims, like the Scofield Bible being a Zionist plot.

In tying this idea to the present, the anti-Israel right also frames Evangelical support for Israel as a betrayal of Christians abroad by cherry-picking — or in some cases, outright inventing — instances where Christian misfortune can be tied to Zionism.

There’s a noticeable silence about the global persecution of Christians, as most of it is committed by Islamists. But when they can blame Zionism, they can claim that American support for Israel comes at the cost of Christian suffering.

These ideas have only accelerated since October 7, 2023. And this faction on the right is influential and growing.

I spoke with Luke Moon, founder of the Philos Project — an organization uniting Christians at home and abroad and advocating for pluralism in the Middle East — about this trend.

Ari: I’ve been seeing all over online and on the fringe right — from people like Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens — they're all upset with Christians in America who support Israel.

They're talking about theories like Evangelicals being manipulated by a Rothschild-funded Scofield Bible or accusing them of blindly following foreign governments and neocons agendas pushing for war.

There's a lot going on, and I know you've thought about this. Can you briefly describe the situation as you see it?

Luke: Yeah, I mean, aside from the calls I’ve gotten from the Rothschilds, Bilderbergers, and the Illuminati — just kidding — it’s a real issue. What’s surprising is how fast it’s gone from fringe to more mainstream.

Nick Fuentes was always on the outer edge of discourse, but now, with Candace and Tucker, these views are becoming more accepted on the right.

A few years ago, the Goyim Defense League was distributing antisemitic flyers. That kind of ideology has now crept into parts of the conservative world. Just last week, I talked to a conservative guy who casually brought up that Pornhub was founded by a Jew. I asked, “Have you checked out the Irish or French?” — I mean, people are people.

(Editors note: It was not founded by a Jew)

Luke: There’s this weird obsession with Jews that’s become more normalized than I expected.

Ari: I agree. There was a time when Nick Fuentes seemed like just a staunch America First guy with some antisemitic undertones. But then, the mask came off. Now, they're openly attacking Christians in America who support Israel — especially Evangelicals.

What’s the goal? Is it to divide Christians and weaken support for Israel?

Luke: Yes, exactly. Christian support for Israel is the last major line of support. The left has largely dropped that support — LGBT groups, Black progressives, etc., especially after October 7. If they can undermine the Christians, then they can isolate Israel completely.

Could Qatar or other countries be funding this messaging? Maybe. But even if not, it’s clear they want to break that last line of defense.

Ari: One of their arguments is that Christians support Israel because of the Scofield Bible, which they claim was manipulated by Jews to brainwash Christians.

But the reality is that Christian Zionism predates that. Can you explain where the actual roots of that support come from?

Luke: Yeah. Christian Zionism is older than 1948. Many Christian pastors believed the restoration of Israel was a significant biblical event — similar to the Jews returning from Babylon.

In fact, a Christian pastor who became friends with Herzl helped push the Zionist movement. He was the only non-Jew at the first Zionist Congress. So it’s not just about Schofield or Darby. Most Christians in America don’t even follow those theologies.

Polls show that 70–80 percent of older Evangelicals support Israel. Even among Gen Z, it’s still above 50 percent.

I personally don’t own a Scofield Bible. I recently thought of buying one just to see what the fuss was about — apparently, it’s the source of all my Zionism!

Ari: I looked into that, too. Tucker’s first dive into this topic was maybe eight months ago when he posted a video asking if the Scofield Bible brainwashed Christians into supporting Zionism.

Another argument is that Christians in America are betraying their own people by not focusing on Christians suffering in Israel or the Middle East. But those same critics aren't talking about Christians being massacred elsewhere. What's your take on that?

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