If I had to name one, persistent, mind-boggling issue that has divided so many conservative, evangelical Christians, it would be this one: Israel.
Unlike, say the creation vs. evolution controversy, women in ministry, etc., that some categorize as conservative vs. liberal splits, the question of what to think and do about national Israel defies simple labels. There is tremendous pressure from the surrounding culture to go in very opposite directions. On one side, are those who view Christianity as complicit in enabling, and even consciously encouraging, centuries of antisemitism. On the other side, are those who view Christianity as terribly narrow and closed-minded, urging Christians not to try to share their faith with the Jewish people.
Nowhere does the issue become more focused and heated among believers, than when it comes to the subject of the land of Israel, and the current Jewish nation state that exists there in the modern Middle East. To one extreme, are those who view any criticism of the nation of Israel as being hateful and antisemitic. On the other extreme, vocal support of the nation of Israel at the expense of spiritual concerns is sometimes viewed as a compromise on the centrality of Christ, diminishing the need to have Christ, and Christ alone, for salvation.
Israel can be deeply polarizing.
Call me naive, but I am a big believer in the need for Christians to have better and more civil conversations with one another, on emotionally-charged subjects like Israel. Otherwise, the consequences can be devastating. If Christians are unable to have frank and open dialogue with one another, without resorting to name-calling, then this brings ill repute upon the message of the Gospel to a watching world. In an effort to promote such open and brotherly discussion, I will soon embark on a multi-part blog series on the question of “Zionism,” and its relationship to Bible prophecy1.
As I have been studying Romans 9-11 over the past year or so, the theme of how a Christian should respond to “Zionism,” the Jewish desire to return to their ancestral homeland, pops up over and over again in my conversations with fellow believers. Keep an eye out for this upcoming blog series…. and keep your Bibles, and your minds, and your hearts open.
Do you want to get the conversation going? How about two movies that illustrate the tension in the discussion?
