Wednesday, May 26, 2021

American Evangelicals and US Foreign Policy in the ME: Exposing and Overcoming Missional Blind Spots | MJ Bryant

Here is an important study on political theology for American evangelicals engaged in the Middle East. Posted at the website of Nabeel Jabbour https://www.nabeeljabbour.com/american-evangelicals:

American Evangelical Christians often express a desire for Muslims in the Middle East to hear and believe the gospel of Jesus. Many will financially support missionaries who travel to the region to share the gospel with Muslims, while simultaneously giving their support to violent military actions and destabilizing political policies in that very same region. Perhaps it does not occur to them that the political policies they support are often counterproductive to the mission of God in the region.

Download the full document here: PDF | EPUB | KINDLE

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Christian Zionism and the Restoration of Israel: How Should We Interpret the Scriptures? | Chapman 2021

In light of recent events this book could not be more timely: Christian Zionism and the Restoration of Israel: How Should We Interpret the Scriptures? by Colin Chapman, 2021. The book description:

How should Christians today understand the many promises and prophecies in the Old Testament about the future of Israel and its land? Are Christian Zionists justified in believing that these have been fulfilled in the return of Jews to their land since the 1880s and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948? This book discusses all the key texts about the restoration of Israel that are quoted in these debates, questioning the Christian Zionist interpretation and offering an alternative. This is followed by a detailed study of two important Old Testament texts dealing with the future of Israel, Ezekiel 33–47 and Zechariah 9–13, understanding them in their original context and exploring how they are interpreted in the New Testament. This is no theoretical, ivory-tower debate. We are dealing here with the most bitter and protracted conflict of the last 150 years; and the way we interpret the Bible has profound political consequences.

The endorsement from Gary Burge:

The church is awash with books about Israel and Christian Zionism written by unreliable and ill-informed nonexperts. Colin Chapman is one of the few international scholars who can address these troubling discussions with authority. He begins with a goldmine of answers for the ten central questions surrounding this religious-political movement. From there he studies the Old Testament prophets' view of the restoration of Israel. As with Chapman's other books on Jerusalem and modern Israel, this volume is grounded in well-reasoned biblical argument and matured wisdom anchored in his long career in the Middle East. Anyone who is drawn to issues of Israel and the Bible needs to have this valuable book close in hand.

Buy the book on Amazon.