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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
As I write, news is flowing into my e-mail inbox from Israel and Palestine. One item of special interest today: The Israeli Supreme Court has clarified the rules about Messianic Jews (Jews who believe in Jesus) immigrating to Israel. They've made a fine distinction: Those who were raised as religious Jews and later on came to faith in Jesus are not allowed to immigrate under the Law of Return. But people with Jewish ancestry who were not raised as Jews and who now follow Jesus are allowed to make aliyeh. That's a fine first step that implicitly acknowledges that someone can be Jewish and believe in Jesus at the same time. Another item: Jimmy Carter, ex-President and free-lance diplomat, is reporting that Hamas leadership has told him that they would recognize Israel's right to exist and be happy to live next door to a Jewish state—if the Israelis would pull back to their pre-1967 borders. Is that another hopeful sign? Well, it would require Israel to give up more than the remaining settlements in the West Bank. It would also mean they would have to cede control of East Jerusalem (including the Old City) to a new Palestinian state. My personal hunch? Israel will never give up the Old City of Jerusalem. That means that Hamas leadership is confident that its seemingly conciliatory words won't really require them to change. Remember, in the days of Yasser Arafat, the PLO leader would make similar conciliatory noises when speaking English to Western diplomats and reporters, and then say something quite different in Arabic when speaking to his own people. I don't think I'm at all unusual among evangelical Protestants in paying attention to such items as they flow across the internet (as in Jimmy Carter's news) and through the blogosphere (as in the case of the Supreme Court opinion on Messianic Jews). Ever since the days of the colonial Puritans, American evangelicals have had a special interest in the Jews, Jerusalem, and the last days. But that isolated Puritan interest never developed into geopolitical realities. It wasn't until the 1870s that visits to America by the English evangelical John Nelson Darby sparked new interest in the Jews and the possibility of their return to Israel. In "How Evangelicals Became Israel's Best Friend," historian Timothy P. Weber tells of what happened from Darby's time up to Israel's 50th anniversary in 1998. As Israel now approaches its 60th anniversary, be sure to read Weber's helpful history and explore the other articles about Israel listed below from Christianity Today and Books & Culture. And finally, if your historical interest runs back to the time of Constantine, discover just how the Holy Land became "holy" for Christians by reading the articles from the winter 2008 issue of Christian History & Biography.  David Neff, Editor-in-Chief Christianity Today E-mail: CTLibrary@ChristianityToday.com advertisement
 How Evangelicals Became Israel's Best FriendIn the last 50 years, Israel has needed all the friends it can get, and evangelicals have been loyal and productive supporters. In its fiftieth anniversary year, the State of Israel has no better friends than American evangelicals. So it seemed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he addressed the Voices United for Israel Conference in Washington, D.C., in April 1998. Most of the 3,000 in attendance were evangelicals, including Ralph Reed of the Christian Coalition, Kay Arthur of Precept Ministries, Jane Hanson of Women's Aglow, and Brandt Gustavson of the National Religious Broadcasters. (Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson supported the conference but did not attend.) | Click to continue | Related Articles: Was Israel a Mistake? Three views (including former President Carter's). What It Means to Love Israel Beware giving the nation too much theological meaning and the Jews too little. Opinion Roundup: The Evangelical View of Israel? Evangelicals are more diverse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than we are led to believe.
 LeadershipDangerous Blessings A theology of God's abundance and our hunger for more.  Christianity TodayForgetting God Why decadence drives out discipline.  Christian History & BiographyA Deadly Give and Take Crusaders fought many terrible battles in the Middle East, but Muslims started—and won—the war.  Books & CultureA Mythical Jewishness Is modernity a Jewish creation?
Good Question: Forgiving the Unrepentant Q: Can I forgive those who have betrayed me if they are not repentant? Answer Christian News & Research Newsletter (from CTLibrary.com) Delivered free via e-mail to subscribers twice each month. We encourage you to distribute this newsletter freely and ask only that you not change its contents.
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