Postel is a synthetic expression of the Renaissance, which was marked by the rediscovery of occultism and its appropriation by the elites.
In the previous article, we explored how Guillaume Postel (1510 – 1581), a former Jesuit and Kabbalist, likely stands as the earliest Christian Zionist, with Christian Zionism itself emerging from the fusion of Kabbalah and Christianity. Since this ideology deeply permeated Protestantism, it is valuable to examine Postel’s interactions with the Protestant movement.
Postel enjoyed considerable regard among Protestants. He maintained a friendship and correspondence with Melanchthon, a key associate of Luther. His major work, De orbis terrae concordia, was published in Basel, a hub of Protestant thought where he had many allies. His ideas also left a mark on certain groups: according to William Bouwsma, author of Concordia Mundi: The Career and Thought of Guillaume Postel, Postel influenced a covert Protestant sect known as the Family of Love (or Familia Caritatis), which eventually shaped the Quakers. Bouwsma observes that Postel’s prophetic concepts made modest ripples among “German sectaries, […] certain lesser writers in Elizabethan England, […] a small following in France, and even […] an occasional savant like [the Lutheran] Tycho Brahe.” Considering that among these “lesser writers” were figures like John Dee and his adherents—who held influential positions in Elizabethan England—it becomes evident that Postel’s impact was not insignificant within Protestant circles and in England specifically.
Despite Protestant appreciation, Postel never sought to convert to Protestantism. In his work Alcorani seu legis Mahometi et euangelistarum concordiæ liber, he even likens Protestants to Muslims—a viewpoint that was not uncommon during that era due to prevalent unitarian beliefs which regarded Jesus as an important figure but denied his divinity. In this way, Postel reflected the medieval notion of labeling Muslims as Arian heretics rather than adherents of a distinct faith.
For Postel, the essential aspect of Catholicism was its universal scope. His vision aimed at uniting all humanity under one faith, centered in Jerusalem—the sole site on Earth where the “Shekhinah” (the feminine divine emanation in Kabbalah) was fully present. He saw this as a reunification, since all world religions originate from and point back to a shared divine source.
Readers familiar with René Guénon and traditionalism will recognize familiar themes here. This philosophical current, embraced by figures like Steve Bannon, Brazil’s Olavo de Carvalho, and the multipolarity advocate Alexandre Dugin, holds that Western civilization lost its connection to primordial Tradition during the Middle Ages and must rediscover it through Eastern wisdom to regain its authenticity.
Indeed, Postel’s ideas anticipated Guénon’s during the Renaissance. Bouwsma summarizes this vision: “The theory begins with the proposition that truth is eternal; hence it must have been expressed to the first man. Then from Adam, hidden in ‘the holy language,’ it was passed down orally (hence cabala) to Enoch. This ‘seventh prince of the world,’ of whom it is written that he walked with God, wrote down at least part of the tradition […] and handed it down to his descendants, from whom it finally reached Noah. After the Deluge, with the separation of Noah’s sons to repopulate the world, the tradition split into several strains, and it was at this point that the distinction between the common and esoteric traditions appeared. In the East a common teaching was passed on by Shem and survives in the Hebrew Scriptures. […] In the West both sorts of teaching also found expression; the common teaching was represented by the druids, the esoteric tradition by the sibyls.” Ultimately, all is part of Tradition, whether it be Greek sibyls or Hebrew prophets.
Postel’s assertion that the Druids’ traditional wisdom held equal weight to Christian teachings supported his critique of Rome outlined in the previous piece. According to him, the Gauls preserved Tradition more faithfully than the Romans, so that a “Christianity” rooted in Druidic knowledge would surpass Roman Catholicism. Given his pronounced anti-Roman stance and religious relativism, choosing Catholicism was a strategic move: it made more sense to engage with the largest, oldest institution that also shared a universalist vision rather than with the transient Protestant churches and sects, despite their openness to him.
Traditionalism opposes Protestantism, with Guénon viewing the latter as merely bourgeois morality stripped of true Tradition. Yet, Postel simultaneously shares affinities with both Protestantism and traditionalism. All three reject the Catholic status quo—agreeing that Christianity became corrupted in the Middle Ages and now only faintly resembles its original form. The key divergence is that Protestants forsake universalism to establish a new church aiming to restore primitive Christianity, whereas Postel and Western traditionalists choose to infiltrate Catholicism to steer its enduring global influence.
For instance, the Epstein Files revealed that Steve Bannon plotted with Epstein to depose Francis and was pleased when Epstein dubbed him an “honorary Jew,” instead of a Christian. Likewise, the late Olavo de Carvalho not only spread American right-wing conspiracy theories about Francis (like the Pachamama scandal) but also disparaged several popes, the papacy itself, and even urged Catholics to verbally assault conservative figures such as Cardinal D. Odilo Scherer. Carvalho himself was a Zionist intent on infusing Brazilian Catholicism with Zionist ideas.
Ultimately, Postel embodies a Renaissance synthesis characterized by the revival of occult knowledge appropriated by the elite. This ushered in a cultural revolution challenging Catholic dominance, with Kabbalah—which literally means “tradition” in Hebrew—playing a central role. Consequently, both Traditionalism and Protestantism, linked to Renaissance currents, draw from Kabbalah, the wellspring of Zionism, thereby connecting Postel to Steve Bannon. However, this Renaissance ethos alone does not predetermine Zionism, since not every Protestant or traditionalist embraces Zionist ideology.
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