N4

OVERVIEW
William Eugene Blackstone is a largely forgotten figure of 19th century American life, but his
particular brand of Christian faith subsequently helped to launch an important movement of
evangelical America in the 20th century, namely, Christian Zionism. A unique mix of traditional
evangelical piety, Bible prophecy, dispensational eschatology (end times teaching), and a belief
in (facilitating) the restoration of Jews back to their ancestral lands (in his day then known as
Palestine), WEB combined all of these elements to become a public humanitarian voice for
Jewish relief from persecution in Europe (Russia in particular) and full restoration to Palestine.
Once engaged in this process, he would spend the rest of his adult life lobbying important
American public and political figures to save Jews and promote their restoration. Your task in
this assignment is to explain the ideas, beliefs, and events that would shape his life and influence
as a Christian Zionist, including his impact on the Jewish Zionist movement that would find its
most popular base of American support, like today, among evangelical Christians like him. You
are also encouraged to comment on what you believe are some of the more important
consequences of his thought and theology on US foreign policy in the Middle East today.