Christians and Jews

A few weeks back, Rod Dreher of National Review posted a great article on Evangelicals and Christians Together. He discussed how there is great support among evangelicals for Israel because many believe in a special role for Israel prior to the second coming. According to this argument, Israel must survive in order to play her special part in this end-times drama, thus evangelicals strongly support Israel over her Arab enemies.

This is true, but overly simplistic.

Many evangelicals, like myself, have a different (non-dispensational) view of the end times that does not assume a massive Jewish conversion (although we would love to see it) nor any special role for Israel. Rather than welcoming the rebuilding of the temple and a resumption of animal sacrifices, we would view such a development as an abomination. Nevertheless, many of us without a eschatological basis to support Israel still do so for the obvious political reasons: she is a proven friend, the only democracy in the region, and her enemies despise us.

Many Jews recognize (I have heard them say it) that the scarcity of anti-Semitism in the United States (relative to Europe or anywhere else) is because of our Christian heritage, not in spite of it. As the U.S. becomes more secularized, I fear we will start to see an increase in ugly European style bigotry. Pray for our country.

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