How Peace in the Middle East Will Eventually Come About

My friend Olivier Melnick has posted a comment on his Times of Israel blog in which he looks at the recent conflict and where we go from here. It is interesting and worth a read. But I especially like how he wraps up the piece with a little bit of theology, noting briefly how peace will, eventually come to that part of the world:

As I see it, the current cease-fire might last until the end of September simply because it would serve its purpose into further painting the Palestinians as complying victims seeking a peaceful solution. In the meantime, of course, Hamas will regroup and rearm, making itself ready for the next round of their jihad.

Rabbi Moses Maimonides said in the twelfth of his thirteen articles of Jewish faith: “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry nonetheless, I wait everyday for his coming.”

I would concur with Maimonides in his yearning for the Messiah and the messianic age for the simple reason that only under the banner of Mashiach Sar Shalom will we all see real peace. It will be a peace that includes the absence of war but also goes way beyond that concept to incorporate peace between men and between mankind and Hashem. Isaiah spoke of that redeemer in several places but especially in chapters 52:13-53:12 where Mashiach is described in a powerful and graphic way as having to come for his people once to atone for their sins (Mashiach ben Yosef) and once again to establish His kingdom on earth (Mashiach ben David).

So, in spite of all the cease-fires broken or respected, I declare that I wholeheartedly believe with perfect faith in the coming back of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry nonetheless, I wait everyday for his coming.

The full article is available over at Times of Israel.

Christians and Modern Israel: Theologically complicated? Maybe. Ethically? Not so much

Source: BBC Online

Once again conflict in the Middle East raises that perennial question: How should Christians view and respond to the modern State of Israel? Debate focuses on several issues Western Christianity has traditionally grappled with, for example, the sanctity of life, when is war justified, theodicy (why God allows suffering), and what did Christ mean when He taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers”.

Yet that same Christ, or Messiah (“Christ” is derived from the Greek for “Messiah”, Hebrew “Mashiach”) was Jewish, from a nation God called His own. And one day this Jewish Messiah will return, not like before, as a lamb led meekly to His death, but as Conquering King, a Davidic King. This and their theological view that God retains a plan for the Jewish people likewise shape how some Christians view today’s Jewish state. Add to that a long, shameful history of the Church’s maltreatment of the Jews and brutal anti-Semitism and it becomes clear that Christians need to get this issue right.

Christian theology exploring Israel and the Jewish people tends to focus on discussions such as who are the people of God, whether God retains a plan and purpose for them, who owns the land, and the role, if any, of Israel in eschatology (theology of the end times). Yet for theologically uninitiated Christians it can all be quite complex, even bewildering. Few have the time, resources or in some cases even the inclination to grapple with, for example, concepts such as supersessionism (whether hard or soft, punitive, economic, or whatever), covenant theology versus dispensationalism, or the number, nature and present status of the Old Testament covenants. In a busy, time-precious, postmodern-influenced world, people seek short, simple, sometimes emotive, yet definitely compelling narratives that quickly communicate their beliefs and values.

When Are Some Fatalities More Newsworthy Than Others?

In the last few weeks major media outlets have, between them, broadcast thousands upon thousands of hours of footage of the Gaza conflict. Yet coverage of the Syrian civil war, a far more bloody and destructive conflict, has been far less forthcoming. This would appear to be somewhat disproportionate given how last week roughly the same number of people (1,700) were killed in Syria as throughout the entire four-week Gaza war. 

The Islamic State terror (a.k.a ISIL/ISIS) is engaged in wholesale slaughter in the most brutal manner of Iraqis and now Kurds. Yet up until now there seems to have been only cursory media interest, which seems by and large to focus on what this means for the re-mapping of the region, rather than the very real horrors experienced first-hand by ordinary men, women and children. There has also been a notable silence on how radicalised protesters across Europe have openly waved ISIS flags at anti-Israel events. It seems hardly insignificant that some people living among us openly eulogise a terror organisation that regularly saws off people's heads and hands with kitchen knives, but if the media's (lack of) focus on the issue is anything to go by, it would appear this should not concern us unduly. 

Last month, when thousands of Christians were ejected from Mosul, Iraq, by ISIS jihadis it barely raised a squeak in the news. Indeed, some Americans first learned of it on Facebook because of a notable absence of reports on the issue in mainstream media. Related to this exodus is the current, tenuous situation of the Yazidi religion, currently under siege from ISIS with many taking refuge on a mountain top (where people are right now dying of thirst). It seems strange that up to 50,000 Yazidis will almost certainly die if ISIS gets their hands on them, yet up until now these Iraqis seem to have fared only slightly better than their Christian neighbours in the media's grand scheme of things.