I've Been Quoted in The Times

Well, the Church Times anyway. But first some background.

Last year I was invited to attend a consultation hosted by Concordis International (a conflict resolution charity working mainly in Sudan) exploring the British churches' response to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Attendees of the consultation, held at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, on 19 September came from across the theological spectrum with a range of views on the conflict, and also included several historians and political analysts. Various papers were delivered and I was asked to present a paper setting out my theological position on Israel (see below).

An outcome of the meeting was the suggestion that a booklet be produced setting out the various views expressed as a resource for Christians wanting to learn more about the issues, to be circulated among British churches. Contributions express a range of views towards Israel, and my motivation was to provide an alternative viewpoint for readers to consider (my focus, by the way, is upon covenant rather than land, primarily challenging supercessionism). Concordis have now produced 2500 copies of the booklet, which was launched at an event in London last week, where I was invited  to be one of thee panelists contributing to a discussion chaired by the Rt. Hon.Viscount Brentford of Concordis International.

This week, Church Times published a story on the current disagreements between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations, going on to refer to the British churches and Concordis' booklet. Anyway, having been quoted (albeit a rather modest quote, blink and you'll miss it), I'm now sitting back confidently awaiting the urgent calls from the Times of London, Daily Telegraph and Independent, indeed the New York Times and the Washington Post too!

Seriously, though, please take a look at the Concordis booklet and pass on the details to anyone you think might be interested. Aside from the pdf version Concordis may have some printed copies available for distribution if you ask.

Resources
A Christian View of Israel. Original paper I delivered at the Sept 2009 Concordis event

Concordis booklet: British Churches and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict