In the Catholic Church, disagreements are commonplace over a whole range of issues, be they political, social, economic, religious or historical, but at the end of the day these differences of opinion can be resolved through amicable discussion, prayer and a sense of fellowship and family in Christ. There is one issue, however, that divides so deeply that it has the potential to create permanent separation, and this is the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
It is impossible to understand the Bible with its narrative about the plan that God has for mankind without understanding the role of Israel as a people and a Nation. The Jews have been at the center of all that God does, beginning with the call of Abraham up to the book of Malachi at the end of the Old Testament; and they remain the center throughout the period of the first Christian century recorded in the New Testament.
Everything began with Abraham. The vocation of Abraham is the biblical foundation for Israel's key role in the divine plan of salvation. Genesis 12:1–3 refers to the call of Abraham and to God's promise to him as a permanent covenant for all his offspring. The Lord said to Abram, "... and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, andin you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Something terrible happened. Very soon after the beginning of Church history, the Gentiles became the majority among the believers, and they rejected God's divine strategy. For the Evil One, it must have been clear: if this unity between Jews and Gentiles were to continue, his reign over mankind would finally be lost. Already, the key victory over evil and death had been won when Jesus died on the cross and rose again. However, as long as Satan can hinder the unity between Jews and Gentiles in the Messiah, the fruit of redemption—the social dimension of healing and restoration—cannot be fully realized.
One day, the Emperor of Prussia, Frederick II the Great (1712-86)—an agnostic and disciple of the Enlightenment movement—was discussing with his personal physician various problems related to late 18th century. Finally, he confronted the doctor with a frank question, "Is there any substantial reasoning for the existence of a personal God?" The physician replied, without hesitation, "The Jews, my king, the Jews!"
Today, the Messianic Jewish Movement is establishing itself—relatively small, yet spiritually strong. There are up to 150,000 Messianic Jews worldwide. Within their congregations, perhaps another 200,000 partly Jewish or Gentile relatives and friends have found a spiritual home. Their influence on both Jewish and Christian societies is far greater than one might expect. The faith of these Messianic Jews is expressed with deep conviction, dedication, and passion for the Lord.
The history of the Catholic Church's relationship with the Jews has been tragic across centuries. Jews were made second-class citizens, isolated into ghettos, and forced into conversion and baptism. Baptized Jews were often treated like prisoners, subjected to the controlling system of the so-called "Holy Inquisition."
The Messianic Movement is not inauthentic; on the contrary, it is a challenge to the Christian world to reconsider its theological foundations. The Christian Churches are confronted with an unexpected partner. This means that their presence compels us to think and to act decisively differently in the future than we have in the past.
It was a hot summer day in 1995 when young Rabbi Marty Waldman, Secretary General of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC), was sitting in his office in Dallas, Texas, preparing a teaching on Acts 15—about the Council in Jerusalem. There, he had a "vision." Rabbi Marty saw a need for another Council in Jerusalem. This Second Council should revisit and redress the outcomes of the First. This time, the Gentiles would have to welcome back the Jews as their Older Brothers.
In keeping with our name as an initiative, we hope for a final unity of Jew and Gentile—expressed in something like a solemn convocation, reminiscent of the First Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15. This, in a sense, represents the ultimate goal of the TJCII initiative.
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We know that God gave Israel the land but there is no mention of his taking it back again forever. Can we Christians exclude that what is happening in our day, that is, the return of Israel to the land of its fathers, is not connected in some way, still a mystery to us, to this providential order which concerns the chosen people and which is carried out even through human error and excess as happens in the Church itself?"
The Christian population of the areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) has sharply declined in recent decades, as tens of thousands have abandoned their holy sites and ancestral properties to live abroad. Those who remain comprise a beleaguered and dwindling minority. In sharp contrast, Israel's Christian community has prospered and grown by at least 270 percent since the founding of the state.
On the one hand, as Catholics we wish to remain faithful to the Church's mission of evangelization. On the other hand, we also wish to be mindful of the difficult history of Jewish-Christian relations, and be respectful and appreciative of the Jewish faith, customs, and traditions as a God-given heritage that should be preserved and cherished.
Dr. André Villeneuve discusses the role of Israel in the age of the Church on Michael Lofton's "Reason and Theology" podcast. Topics include God's covenant with Israel, supersessionism, the idea of the Church as "new Israel", Israel's role in the age of the Church, the modern state of Israel, Zionism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Israel's role in regard to Jesus' Second Coming.
The Hidden Roots of the Crisis of the Church in the Holy Land: In the troubled Holy Land, divided and torn by conflict, local Church leaders and Christians of all colors often claim to speak a tireless message of justice, reconciliation and peace. If only more people would listen to this message - so they claim - it would surely dramatically improve the prospects for peace between the conflicting parties in the region. But is this true?
Ariel Ben Ami's and Mark Kinzer's reactions to my study regarding the different ways of understanding Israel have been important and I have appreciated the richness of their contents, albeit correcting some opinions I had expressed.
While most Evangelical Protestants are generally friendly to the Jewish people and the State of Israel, there is a small band of Evangelical pastors and professors who want to line up all Evangelicals unilaterally on the Palestinian side. The most egregious example may be Anglican vicar Stephen Sizer, whose has chummed up with the likes of Naturei Karta and Iranian President Ahmadinejad. But Gary Burge probably wields the greater influence.
Who is the true Father of Zionism — Theodor Herzl, or God himself? Long before the nineteenth century, God declared Zion his eternal dwelling and promised to return his people there. Here is the complete biblical witness — 177 occurrences of "Zion" across the entire canon of Scripture.
I often hear Catholics talking about going on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and I must confess that something lightly irritates me about this terminology. It seems that whenever Catholics talk about visiting the land of the Bible, they almost invariably call it “the Holy Land” and rarely “Israel.”
On the heels of the Gaza disengagement, which was intended to empower the Palestinian Authority to improve the lives of its people, few journalists have reported on the acutely trying times facing the Christians residing in areas "governed" by the Palestinian Authority. Professor Justus Reid Weiner, Scholar in Residence at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, provides an in-depth look into the nearly uninterrupted persecution of Christians throughout the decade since the Oslo peace process began. Read Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society.
