Showing posts with label Christian Mission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Mission. Show all posts

Monday, May 11, 2015

Israel Initiates Christian Mission - "Covenant Journey"

Israel Initiates Christian Mission - "Covenant Journey"

Monday, May 11, 2015 |  David Lazarus   ISRAEL TODAY
Israel has initiated a mission intended to raise up a generation of Christian leaders who will support Israel. “It is critical to bring the next generation of leaders in the Christian community to Israel,” declared Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer at the annual Christian Solidarity Event at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC.
The new program, titled “Covenant Journey,” is modeled in part after the highly successful Birthright project that has brought over 500,000 young Jewish Americans to Israel. Already this summer the Covenant Journey program is bringing hundreds of Christians student leaders to Israel. Organizers are now in the planning stages to bring thousands more young Christians over the next few years in order to begin building bridges with Israel and Israelis.
“There's one thing better than standing with Israel, and that's standing in Israel. If they walk in the places where the patriarchs and the prophets and the kings and that young Rabbi from the Galilee walked, then they will stand with Israel here and they will strengthen their Christian identity,” said Dermer.
Students will be able to join the Covenant Journey for only $500 thanks to subsidization by Christian donors, including Museum of the Bible and the Philos Project.
“Visiting the Holy Land—where Abraham journeyed and gave birth to the nation of Israel, David conquered Goliath, and the Prophets and Apostles wrote and lived—and walking where Jesus gave his ministry, is without question, a life-changing experience. As young adults experience Israel firsthand, their faith is strengthened, their knowledge of the Bible is increased and their understanding of the connection between the Bible and the Land of Israel is put on solid ground. It will create a foundational platform from which they can become goodwill ambassadors for Israel and the Jewish people, and the Covenant Journey participants will never be the same,” said Steve Green, chairman of the board for Museum of the Bible and a keynote speaker at the Israeli Embassy event.
The other keynote speaker, Paul Singer, added that "by enabling Christian students to visit the land of Israel and see it firsthand, Covenant Journey is raising up a generation that will not only be stronger in their faith, but will also be introduced to the real-life people who live there. The students will discover ancient Israel and modern Israel at the same time. And for me, as Jew, that’s huge. At this point, Covenant Journey has become part of my journey, and I’m proud to say that I support everything that it stands for. I truly believe that Jews, Christians and all of Western civilization will be reaping the fruit of this project for years to come."
Covenant Journey will be choosing students based on their recognized Christian leadership roles on campus as well as their desire to become advocates for Israel. Students participating in the 11-day mission will learn about biblical history and experience the reality of everyday life in modern-day Israel. Participants will then be able to serve as ambassadors of goodwill for Israel by sharing what they have experienced and learned in Israel on their campuses, in churches and in their future leadership roles.
PHOTO: Pro-Israel Christian student activist Chloe Valdary caused a stir last year when accused pro-Palestinian propagandists of misappropriating the rhetoric of the black civil rights movement in America.
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Friday, April 18, 2014

'Jewish School Sends Disciples on a Christian Mission'

'Jewish School Sends Disciples on a Christian Mission'

Friday, April 18, 2014 |  David Lazarus  ISRAEL TODAY
That was the headline hidden away in the archives of a 1966 edition of the popular Hebrew newspaper Haaretz. It is a fascinating inside look at what happened when an Israeli university required students to read the "dangerous" New Testament.
The full article appears in the April 2014 issue of Israel Today Magazine.
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Monday, April 8, 2013

The Missionary Doctor and the Jews, Medicine in Tiberias 100 Years Ago

The Missionary Doctor and the Jews,
Medicine in Tiberias 100 Years Ago

Dr. Herbert Torrance visits Tiberias residents
The University of Dundee medical school in Scotland has posted the photos taken by two missionary doctors who established a hospital in Tiberias.  Below is the university's own description:
The Torrance collection, which includes thousands of photographs and color slides of Israel, Palestine and medical illnesses, has now been fully updated on our online catalogue. The photographs were taken by David Torrance and his son Herbert  Torrance who established a hospital in Tiberius in 1885 which lasted for over a hundred years helping the local communities.
Jewish patient in bed (circa 1930)
In recent months we posted several photo essays on the hospital, including incredible pictures dating back over 100 years.

But we were intrigued by a Christian Mission -- albeit a hospital -- in the midst of the very traditional Jewish residents of Tiberias.

We found an answer on a Hebrew Internet site by Avshalom Shachar called "נופים ותרבויות --Vistas and Cultures."
The Jews initially banned [cherem] the hospital, and rabbis prohibited their disciples from being aided in the place because of its missionary nature. However, the outbreak of cholera in the city in 1902 caused hundreds of casualties (including the doctor's wife) and led many Jews to seek out the services of the hospital and Dr. Torrance who, despite his wife's death, continued to treat patients diligently and earned great respect.
When Dr. Torrance died in 1923, the rabbi of Tiberias eulogized him: "Tiberias was blessed with three things: the Sea of Galilee, the Tiberias hot springs, and Dr. Torrance."

http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2013/04/the-missionary-doctor-and-jews-medicine.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IsraelsHistory-APictureADaybeta+%28Israel%27s+History+-+a+Picture+a+Day+%28Beta%29%29
Jewish and Arab boy, bladder stone cases (1933)