Evangelicals and Jews Together - An Unlikely Alliance

The National Review ^ | 4/5/02 | Rod Dreher

[Bobby777]

Evangelicals and Jews Together - An Unlikely Alliance

not to anyone who's read Romans 9, 10 and 11 with a clear understanding ...

Bobby

Tribulation.Com

[Honestfreedom]

>It may sound strange, but it's true: Aside from Jews, the strongest American supporters of Israel are Evangelical Christians, many of whom fervently believe God has granted the Jewish people a divine right to rule over historic Palestine.<

Veronica, small mistatement there. I am not sure Jews are more supportive of Israel than Evangelical Christians.

[RaceBannon]

Hmmm...

[FiddlePig]

Evangelical Christians have ALWAYS supported Israel (and the Jews). In fact NO nation has welcomed Jews like the U.S.A. Remember the covenent between Abraham and G-d: Genesis 12:3: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you..." I believe one reason America has prospered is that we have kept the Abrahamic (Old) covenent. G-d does NOT break his promises, HE means what He says!!! Nations who have persecuted the Jews have/will end up in ruins, cursed by Almighty G-d!!! Remember Jesus came to FULFIL the law (covenent) not to do away with it.

[Stefan Stackhouse]

One need not buy into the whole dispensationalist schema to recognize that God may not be finished in his dealings with the Jewish people, and that they yet have a role to play in the drama still to come. In any case, it is difficult to see why any follower of the Jewish messiah would not want to maintain a friendly stance toward our Lord's fellow countrymen. As for the Palestinian Christians: yes, I do have sympathy for them. However, I find it very hard to believe that they would fare better under the muslim Arabs than under the Jewish Israelis. My understanding is that the reason they have been leaving is that they have been the ones to suffer the most from the radical backlash by the extremist muslims. They are naive if they think that they will be allowed to even continue living should the Israelis ever be driven into the sea.

[marron]

I grew up in a church that does not accept rapture, or dispensationalism, but we were (and i am) 100% behind the state of Israel. Our support is political, but as the article suggests, it also goes way beyond political.

There has always been, as the article suggests, a strong tendency to believe that the church had inherited the promises of God to Israel. Furthermore, there is a messianic streak in Americans in general, and I think many American churches have had the belief, state or unstated, that America was heir to these promises, sort-of an American version of British Israelism.

That is because in part because of our own, rather exceptional history, and also because prior to 1948, no one could imagine that Israel could ever come back to life. Without Israel, the biblical promises made no sense, unless someone else (us, for example) had somehow inherited those promises.

Of course, 1948 changed all that.

But I would say that, below the surface, many Americans still, in their gut, believe they are God's chosen people. Our politics and our daily discourse is soaked with the belief in our blessed uniqueness. The resurrection of Israel didn't change that, they just see Israel as their "fellow" chosen. Thus, the almost unbreakable loyalty toward Israel on the part of American Christians, including secular, unchurched Christians.

[weikel]

Im not religious but nations that persecute Jews do tend to end up in the crapper historically probably because they lose a highly educated and intelligent portion of their population now they are starting to vote Republican too.

[veronica]

FYI.

[ken5050]

Absolutely true, but what is ironic about the story is that the vast majority of American Jews...the Reformed and the Conservative, don't have a clue as to what Evangelical Christianity is, and why it is a fervent supporter of Israel....indeed, reformed Jewry tends to regard Evangelicals as almost as wacky as, well..dare I say it?....Orthodox Jews..

[berned]

As I've said on many other threads, for 18 centuries, people "allegorized" the book of Revelation, saying that the Israel, Jerusalem, and Temple spoken of in Revelation were just a "spiritual Israel", "The Israel of the mind", "The Israel inside you and me" and other such claptrap.

They didn't believe that God could pull off bringing Israel back to it's Abrahamic homeland. How shocked they were on May 14th, 1948! Now watch in amazement as God rebuilds His Temple, right on the Temple Mount, against "insurmountable" odds.

[L,TOWM]

Great article, and as a Jesus Freak myself, there is little I disagreed with.

I am not a hard core dispensationalist, but I do believe that G-d has not forgotten or forsaken the apple of his eye.

I had hoped to post a link that has been on our church's web site. It is a recorded beautiful testimony of a former Israeli citizen (now a leader in our church) that saw several buddies killed by a Hamas terrorist when he was in the IDF and a former Hamas terrorist. These men have found brotherhood in Christ. Our web site is moving at the moment, so it will posted some other time...

[white_wolf]

The only problem with Dispensationalism is the idea of the Rapture. There is only ONE Second Coming, not two. Christians will go through the end times and will be on earth when Christ returns. The Pre-trib Rapture is a dangerous myth. Christians will suffer, but will triumph through Christ.

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by not loving their lives even unto death."

[OldFriend]

Recently, Reform jewry has moved sharply to the right. Their numbers were dropping dramatically and they realized it was because they had cast out just about every tradition and were left with nothingness. It isn't so much the Orthodox who are looked upon as 'far out there' but the Hasidim who are for the most part ignored and ridiculed by most of the other jewish groups. They received practically no support during the Dinkins era 'pogrum'.

[geros]

The article is wrong on one thing: it was not Darby's dispensationalist interpretation which triggered an understanding of Israel's continuing role in Bible Prophecy and history. It's plain for anyone reading the book of Romans.

[ken5050]

Reformed Jewery in America is dying, primarily as a result interfaith marriages.....in the Northeast, it's fashionable only for the big bar or bat mitzvah, and twice a year on the high holy days..any other times, the parking lots in the temples can be used for roller blading...

[denydenydeny]

When paleos use the derisive code word "Amen Corner" they are, whether they know it or not, talking about millions of American Christians.

[geros]

The so-called Christians (non-evangelicals) in the Middle East came up with the following anti-Israel statement in recent years:

The Following Statement was adopted by the Standing Conference of Middle Eastern Christian & Muslim Religious Leaders at their meeting in Englewood, New Jersey on Wednesday, November 8, 2000

The recent wave of violence in the Middle East is of grave concern. We condemn the violence, especially the excessive use of force by Israeli forces that has resulted in the killing of over 150 and the injury of 3,000 Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including Jerusalem.

The demonstrations and protests that have been taking place in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, represent the collective expression by the Palestinian people against the long years of occupation and the difficulties of their daily lives under Israeli occupation.

The protests have been an expression of deep frustration with the failure of the peace process to bring about better living conditions and a final peace settlement, including the long-awaited establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

They have been an expression of their determination to protect their holy places. They have been an expression in defense of their inalienable rights and their land.

Regrettably, the Palestinian people continue to be denied the ability to restore even their minimum rights as a people, including the right to self-determination. We express our solidarity with the Palestinian people, who have been the victims of a long and unjust military occupation, and we call for the realization of their rights.

We express our deep concern and strong feelings regarding the sacred religious sites in Occupied East Jerusalem. We stress the importance of Jerusalem and the need to ensure respect for all holy sites. Any final solution must ensure the freedom of access and of worship for all believers of the three monotheistic religions. Any solution must also ensure Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem.

We believe that what is required now is an immediate cessation by Israel of the excessive, indiscriminate and unjustified use of force against the Palestinian people. The Israeli siege on the Palestinian people and the Palestinian land must be terminated. To restore calm, the understanding reached at the Sharm EI-Sheikh Summit must be implemented. Only then can there be any true resumption of the peace process between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides. Such a process must require a sincere desire for peace and a full commitment on the part of all parties to its realization.

We believe that in order to resolve this tragic conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis, the UN Resolutions 242, 338 and 425 (concerning the farmlands of Shib'aa Lebanon) must be fully implemented because they express the will of the international community. In addition, we strongly believe that Resolution 194 and the Geneva Convention of 1949, namely Article IV, give the Palestinian refugees, whether they are in Lebanon or Syria, etc. the right to return to their homes and land which they have inhabited from time immemorial. The right of refugees to return home is a most sacred right and it should be respected.

As for the role of the United States in the Middle East peace process, we stress our disappointment with the adoption by our American Congress of the very unfair and very biased resolution #426 against the leadership of the Palestinian people. We demand a more balanced American position reflective of American traditions and the wishes of more than five million Arab-Americans in support of human rights, justice and international law. Such a position would enable the United States to play a truly objective and supportive role as a sponsor of the peace process.

In conclusion, our support for the Middle East peace process is unwavering. Our support for the rights of the Palestinian people and their efforts to realize those rights, including their right to an independent state, is unwavering as well. The time has come for justice and peace to prevail in the Holy Land and the realization of the rights of the Palestinian people as well as security for all states in the region.

The Most Reverend Metropolitan PHILIP, Chairman Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

The Most Reverend Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America

The Right Reverend Bishop Stephen Doueihi Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn Imam Fadhel AI-Sahlani Imam AI-Khoei Islamic Center, Jamaica, NY

The Most Reverend John A. Elya Eparch of Newton, Melkite Diocese of Newton

Very Reverend Chorepiscopus John Meno For The Most Reverend Archbishop Cyril Aphrem Karim Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church for the Eastern United States

Sheikh Sami T. Merhi, Chairman The Druze Council of North America

Sheikh Hamad Ahmad Chebli Islamic Society of Central New Jersey

[STD]

Pseudo-Ephram preached Rapture in 160 BC