Darrell W. Conder's

Things You've Never Heard In Church:

British Israelism:
the lie that won't die!

Go to any website trying to sell you their secrets for making the big $$$, and you'll discover that one of the key ingredients is finding a niche and filling it—the big fish in a little pond approach. It's great advice because, no matter the market, it's a proven money maker. In other words, in a town filled with Chinese restaurants you're more likely to make the big $$$ if you open an Italian ristorante.

As the wild world of religious kookery will attest, the above lesson wasn't lost on Christian entrepreneurs: To make the big $$$ they 1) needed to find a niche; 2) add liberal doses of nutty theology; and 3) hire an accountant. Hey, if a ding-a-ling like Wayne Bent can convince a group of sheep that he is the messiah, get them to move to New Mexico and live in a commune he calls "Strong City" and give him all their worldly goods, then anyone can make the big $$$ thumping a bible! Religion, if it's packaged right, will always sell!

Now, to all you would-be prophets, messiahs, televangelists, apostles, high priests and common garden variety men of God, I'm going to reveal a money-making religious niche that is a sure-fire $$$ generator. Granted, it's in the realm of wack-o religion, but what the hay! As Jesse James and Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker would surely agree, money is money!

Okay, here goes: it's something called British Israelism (BI), and I know it's a sure $$$ maker because I was brought up in a Christian cult whose wack-o leader used BI as a springboard to wealth and success. In fact, the old darling died in 1986 autocratically ruling his $200 million Pasadena, California religious empire, and those who have followed in his footsteps are still mopping up $$$ using his BI doctrine! But before you consider this $$$ opportunity, I should fill in some details.

Although it was lurking in the shadows a long time before, in the mid to late nineteenth century the theory that the British people descended from the so-called lost ten tribes of Israel (hence British Israelism) took root in a big way. In its heyday, so goes the claim, even Queen Victoria was a believer, which may be true since for decades an elaborate, but bogus genealogical chart tracing HM back to King David of Israel proudly hung in Windsor Castle.1 It was during this time that millions of Anglo-Saxons worldwide came to believe in the "truth" of British Israelism. The theory's profitability was such that something called the British-Israel-World Federation was incorporated in London and is, in fact, still in business selling a variety of books, although in much reduced circumstances.

In a nutshell (no pun intended) the "proof" of British Israelism is the bible, which is explained in this excerpt from the BI website: "[British Israelism is] composed of those independent groups of Bible students who, coming from the various orthodox, evangelical and generally Protestant streams of Christianity, wished to promote and sustain this approach to explain and interpret Biblical themes, because it was supportive of the contention that God has honoured His Word in prophecy, concerning the nations of Israel."

To understand this statement, you'll have to recall some Sunday school lessons: 1) God promised Abraham that his descendants would be great. 2) This was fulfilled when he raised up the twelve tribes of Israel and made them into a kingdom. 3) David was anointed king over Israel and God promised he'd never lack a man to sit on his throne. 4) In time, ten of the twelve tribes broke away from the house of David, forming the kingdom of Israel. 5) The remaining two tribes became the kingdom of Judah. 6) Because of sin, God destroyed the kingdom of Israel and scattered the survivors among the nations, making them "lost" to history. 7) Biblical prophecy foretells that in the end time God will restore the missing ten tribes.

That last point forms the nucleus of BI: British Israeliters declare that the descendants of the ten tribes have to be physically on earth because God does not lie and prophecy must be fulfilled.

On page 119 of his book, The Secret Of The Hittites, historian C.W. Ceram gives us some valuable insight when he tells us the truth about how history is recorded. First he explains that historians give the impression "that what they have written is strictly scientific and literally so." But, he adds, "nothing could be further from the truth! ... Chronicles, reports, deeds, charters, letters, traditions of all sorts are subjected to careful scrutiny. Scientific methods are used to determine the origin, genuineness, and value of the available material. But the selection of sources still rests upon the discretion of the individual historian. What he chooses as relevant depends upon his conception of the period he is studying. In this the historian is limited by his own temperament and guided by the spirit of his age."2

In other words, the "truth" of history depends on whether or not the "historian" has an agenda—a point that every responsible person should consider whether they are reading a history book, a newspaper, or indeed their bible!

The Stone of Scone
With a blatant agenda, during the nineteenth century British Israeliters ran amuck through ancient and not-so-ancient history books seeking tidbits to shore up their various theories. Among those theories are that the British royal family sits on the literal throne of the ancient Israelite King David; the ancient Stone of Scone, on which all but one British monarchs have been crowned since Edward II, is actually Jacob's pillar stone—the one on which Jacob dreamed his dream as told in Genesis 28:22; at Christ's second coming he will sit on this literal throne rock ruling over a reconstituted 12 tribes of Israel; and most importantly the "key" to understanding all biblical prophecy hinges on unreservedly accepting British Israelism.

By using selective historical and archeological records, and by culling quotations from famous historians—many if not most being taken out of context—to the uninitiated the British Israeliters seemingly make their case. A good example of this deception is the writings of one H.B. Colquhoun who declared that there were three Israelite migrations into ancient Greece. (Yes, BI claims that the ancient Greeks were Israel's Semitic kinfolk!) Colquhoun's "evidence" was gleaned from Sir Walter Raleigh's History of World, which was published in circa 1586, and from the History of the World by Petavius, which was published in ca. 1630. With these in hand, he wrote: "The first [migration] circa 1636 B.C., the time of Joseph's death. The second circa 1456 B.C., when Israel was in the wilderness. The third cir. 1296 B.C., when Jabin, King of Canaan, afflicted Israel, and Dan abode in ships and Asher in his seaports (Judges v, 17)."3

Typical of BI writers, Mr. Colquhoun offers absolutely no evidence—no archeological finds, nor clay tablets, nor ancient scrolls—just supposition built on the reputations of men who never, ever made a racial connection between Israel and Anglo-Saxondom. Moreover, he quoted books that the average person could never find, unless they happened to live across the street from the British Library. I know whereof I speak (I've always wanted to use that phrase in a sentence!) because back in 1993 I was dye-in-the-wool British Israeliter and founded a publishing house/book store that specialized in reproducing and selling BI material. I brag not when I say that at one time I had one of the largest private libraries of BI books to be found anywhere in my part of the world, and a thriving business.

Also, at the time, I was fortunate to be living within a block of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) Office Building in Salt Lake City, which housed their church library. I say "fortunate" because a cornerstone of the Mormon doctrine centers on the so-called lost ten tribes of Israel, and that translated to their church library collecting just about everything available on the subject. (Note: LDS doctrine does not promote a connection between the Anglo-Saxons and ancient Israel. Instead, founder Joseph Smith's theology taught that native American tribes descend from the "lost ten tribes" and that their skin had darkened because of their supposed sins against God.)4

The Theory Unravels
I mention the above because in 1994 I decided to use my book collection to research and then publish a mega-history of the "lost ten tribes of Israel," which I intended to sell via my bookstore. Although it started as a sincere undertaking, in the end it proved to be my undoing.

To cut to the chase, after writing some 500 pages of research into a rough draft manuscript, the whole theory came unraveled before my eyes.

Granted, there are undeniable historical connections between ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Europe, and numerous respected historians have documented these. Indeed, it is absurd to think that ever-expanding great empires like those of ancient Sumer, Assyria and Babylon would fail to take the short trip across the Black Sea into Eastern Europe and establish colonies, and archaeological discoveries proves that these empires did just that. This evidence is why renowned Anglo-Saxon historians, like Sharon Turner, have conclusively connected the ancient Anglo-Saxons to ancient Persia and Assyria, so we need not go down that road.5 But to make the leap that those ancient Europeans were remnants of the so-called lost ten tribes of Israel, is to abandon (or at least ride rough-shod over) both history and reason.

Boiled down to the essentials, belief in British Israelism takes "faith," which is to say one must ignore facts and unreservedly accept the bible as God's word.

This formula is made plain by a well-known BI promoter, named Yair Davidy, an Israeli who founded something in Jerusalem he calls Brit-Am. On his web homepage he writes: "The evidence that Brit-Am relies upon is Biblical in the light of Rabbinical Commentary supplemented by secular studies." In other words, Davidy states that "secular" history is used when and where it conveniently fits bible prophecy. As one reads through the stacks of BI books and articles, they find this to be the position of virtually all BI advocates. It is no exaggeration to say that the theory of British Israelism falls flat on its face without a rock-solid faith in divinely-inspired scripture. Without the key ingredient of faith, BI is finis! Kaput!

This means that any educated argument about the "lost ten tribes of Israel" must first answer the question of whether or not the Tanakh (the Torah, Nevi'im, and Kethuvim, or Old Testament) is divine. Is the bible God's word, or no?

The truth is that few, if any, BI enthusiasts have ever bothered to actually prove the bible. On blind faith they have accepted Western tradition that the bible is God's word, and that is why they skip this vital question and start scouring history to find odd scraps to shore up their theories. Ironically these same people would be the first to holler to high heaven if such a method were applied in any other situation, which indeed they have done when Roman Catholicism has tried to pass off some of its dubious "evidence" as historical fact.

To research anything with an agenda is more than just reckless, it is intellectual criminality—a betrayal of one's own abilities! This is all the more so with a supposedly serious study of the bible since the potential outcome could prove fatal.

That last point is why I admonish that one should not waste an ounce of energy examining the theories of British Israelism until first proving the origins of the bible. This approach is not only honest, it is biblical since that much quoted source warns that only a fool answereth a matter before he heareth it! (Proverbs 18:13)

The long and short of the matter is if the bible is proven deficient, then British Israelism may be unceremoniously dumped onto the nearest dung heap along with the theory's promoters.

My advice to anyone, Christian or otherwise, is to prove all things and hold fast that which is good—thank you very much Paul! As for those of you who want to use the British Israelism niche in the free-for-all world of religious $$$ making, I will now give you the last sure-fire ingredient: LOSE YOUR SCRUPLES!

ENDNOTES:

1. Arnold Kellet in his book Isms and Ologies states that a 1942 letter to the College of Arms in London questioning the authenticity of this genealogical chart, received the following reply from Archibald G.B. Russell, the Lancaster Herald: "I beg to inform you that the genealogical table purporting to show the present King's [George VI] descent from David is wholly bogus and I feel confident that no officer of the College of Arms would affirm its authenticity." London: Epworth Press, 1965, p. 77.

2. Ceram, C. W. The Secret of the Hittites; the Discovery of an Ancient Empire. (New York, Alfred A. Knopf: 1956), p. 119. "C.W. Ceram" is a pseudonym used by Kurt W. Marek. Marek was born in WWI Berlin and earned his living as a newspaperman, a drama critic and even a publisher before turning his many talents to writing. Gods, Graves, and Scholars was his first and most famous book.

3. Colquhoun, H.B. Our Descent from Israel Proved by Cumulative Evidence. (Glasgow: John Brown & Gray [1940]), pp. 1-2.)

4. "10. II Nephi 5:21 shows that during their first 19 years in America, Laman and Lemuel (two of Lehi's sons), along with their descendants and followers, turned dark-skinned because of disobedience. This phenomenal change of skin color is seen throughout the B. of M. [Book of Mormon]. In III Nephi 2:11-16, the dark-skinned Lamanites (Native Americans) turned white within one year as a result of accepting the true gospel. But in the 1981 edition of the Book of Mormon, II Nephi 30:6 has been changed to say that converted Lamanites become 'pure' instead of 'white' like the previous editions said. After 150 years of Mormonism, perhaps LDS leaders noticed that Native Americans do not become white when they become Mormons! Since both Nephites and Lamanites changed color according to their righteousness or unrighteousness throughout the B. of M. [Book of Mormon], Native Americans should still turn white and LDS apostates should turn dark if Mormon 9:9-10 and 19 are true." http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/mclaims4.htm

5. Sharon Turner became one of the earliest scholars to document Anglo-Saxon historical manuscripts in the Cottonian collection at the British Museum. Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons was written between 1799 and 1805 under the influence of Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. It is in this work that Turner shows the ancient Scythians as the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxons, which British Israelite promoters use in a way Turner never intended.