Blogger Edmund Standing has some interesting background on connections between the British National Party and extreme right-wing (in fact, wacko-wing) Christian groups, with insight into why the BNP and other Eurofascists claim to be pro-Israel: Gott mit uns: British fascists and ‘Christian’ racism.

Following the recent leak of the BNP membership list, it may have come as a surprise to find that some members were listed as active Christians. Among these, we find a ‘“Born Again” Protestant Christian’, a ‘Devout Christian lay preacher’, a ‘Minister of Religion’, a ‘Member of the Assemblies of God Pentecostal Church’, and a ‘Practising Catholic’. One member lists himself as a member of the ‘British Israel World Federation’ and another as ‘Founder/organiser of Durham British-Israel Fellowship’.

The founder and organiser of Durham British-Israel Fellowship can be safely named as Colin Farquhar, for he is quite public about his support of the BNP and happy to advertise his home address as the contact point for the Fellowship. In addition to believing that ‘[t]he theory of evolution is based on tales, not on fact’, Farquhar also holds some unusual views on the identity of the Biblical Israelites and is rabidly anti-Catholic. In an article posted on a ‘British Israelism’ website, he states:

Let us also pray for, and warn Christians within the Protestant Church to shun the works of darkness and the institutions of Satan no matter what holy guise they appear to be shrouded in.

Let us warn them especially regarding the deceitfulness, error and darkness of the Antichrist Roman Catholic Church; and those organisations such as the World Council of Churches and Churches Together that seek to bring about unity with this Satanic institution.

In order to unravel the bizarre beliefs of Farquhar and the other (listed) BNP member of the British Israel World Federation (BIWF), let’s first have a look at what the BIWF teaches.

Founded in 1919, and currently Registered Charity No. 208079, the BIWF is an organisation that promotes an esoteric interpretation of the Bible, in particular of ‘prophetic’ passages in the Old Testament, which was first popularised in the ‘glory days’ of the British Empire. According to the theory of British Israelism, the British, and other European peoples, are in reality the so-called ‘lost tribes’ of Israel, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who were expelled during the Assyrian Captivity. It is claimed, meanwhile, that the Kingdom of Judah went on to make up modern day Jewry, although Jews are deemed by many to be ‘ethnically mixed’ and consequently no longer ‘pure’ Israelites.

This pseudo-historical belief system allows white nationalists to claim that the Bible is a book written by Europeans, about Europeans, and for Europeans, for according to this theory, Europeans are the Biblical Israelites. British Israelism, then, is a ‘Christian’ religion that promotes Eurocentricism and opposes ‘race mixing’ as an affront to ‘God’s plan’.

(Hat tip: jaunte.)