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Why, then, have so many Christians sought out Jerusalem and other biblical sites? Christian pilgrimage is fundamentally concerned with rediscovering origins. Many Christian pilgrims have voiced their longing to "walk where Jesus walked." Roman Catholics have set up Stations of the Cross to draw such walkers through the scenes of Jesus' life. Perhaps such pilgrims feel as did the fourth-century theologian Jerome, who said,  "One may only truly understand the Holy Scriptures after looking upon Judea with one's own eyes."

Christians have had other reasons for journeying to the Holy Lands. During the Middle Ages, when Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem reached its high tide, Bernard of Clairvaux linked pilgrimage to crusade to help with the war effort. When the Crusades failed, Boniface VIII briefly offered indulgences to pilgrims if they would come to Rome, promising them heaven in return for their money. It was this development that sixteenth-century Reformers reacted to, in some cases rejecting pilgrimage altogether.  But in the twentieth century, Protestant interest in traveling to Jerusalem resurged with the establishment of Israel and easier access to holy sites.

In forms both strange and familiar, pilgrimage retains a secure place in all three monotheistic religions.  If its survival in spite of Jerusalem's tumultuous history is any indication, even the current conflict in the Middle East won't hinder pilgrims from any of these faiths from seeking out "God's country."

Steven Gertz is editorial coordinator for Christian History magazine. This article is heavily indebted to Harry Partin's "Pilgrimage to Jerusalem: Jewish, Christian, Muslim" (Encounter, 46:1 Winter 1985).

More Christian History, including a list of events that occurred this week in the church's past, is available at ChristianHistory.net.Subscriptions to the quarterly print magazine are also available.

For essays on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, see Jerusalem: Its Sanctity and Centrality to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, edited by Lee I. Levine (New York: Continuum, 1999).

Christian History Corner appears every Friday at ChristianityToday.com. Previous editions include:

Play Me That Hot Puritan Love Song | A little-read book of the Bible reminds us of the astonishing intimacy we enjoy with Christ (Feb. 14, 2003)

Iraq's Christians Caught in the Middle, Again | If the looming war breaks out, 350,000 Iraqi Christians will be caught in a West-East conflict eerily similar to 4th-century events. (Feb. 7, 2003)

Finding God in a Box | Have archaeological discoveries like the James ossuary served or obscured the quest to verify the Bible? (Jan. 31, 2003)

Sex, Politics, and the Bible | Some words just don't mean what they used to (Jan. 24, 2003)

Caveat Gyrator (Elvis Priestly, Part II) | So you've got an evangelistic pop-culture act ready for prime time. Here's a historical pause for reflection. (Jan. 17, 2003)

From Oratorios to Elvis | Pop culture has been coming to a church near you for hundreds of years (Jan. 10, 2003)

The Christian DNA of Modern Genetics | Though open to frightening ethical abuse, genetics has been a Christian vocation since Gregor Mendel did his famous pea-plant experiments in the mid-nineteenth century (Jan. 3, 2003)

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February (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47