Surprising new survey reveals a generational shift in Evangelical views toward Israel. - Joel C. Rosenberg

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog Surprising new survey reveals a generational shift in Evangelical views toward Israel. Leaders form “Alliance For The Peace of Jerusalem” to educate the Church on God’s love for Israel & the Palestinians. by joelcrosenberg (Washington, D.C.) -- This morning at the National Press Club, several colleagues and I released a ground-breaking new survey on "American Evangelical Attitudes Towards Israel and the Peace Process." Below, I've posted links to the survey, our analysis of the data, and articles that have already been published this morning. I had the honor of joining Scott McConnell, Dr. Mitch Glaser, Dr. Darrell Bock, Bishop Harry Jackson, Rev. Tony Suarez, Larry Ross and Kristin Cole in presenting and analyzing the data. We also announced the formation of a new organization -- the Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem -- with 25 prominent Evangelical seminary professors, Bible scholars, authors and ministry leaders. More on that to come. The following is the text of the prepared statement I made: Good morning, my name is Joel Rosenberg, and I am honored to join my colleagues today as one of the founding members of the “Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem.” We are, as you know, approaching the 70th anniversary of the rebirth of the State of Israel on May 14th, 1948. For many, this will be a season of thanksgiving to the God of Israel who made ancient promises to the Jewish people and is keeping those promises in modern times. For others, however, this will be a season of pain, resentment, even anger, for what they regard as al Nakba, “The Catastrophe.” For presidents and prime ministers, kings and their counselors, this is a season to try yet again to broker a just and comprehensive peace agreement. What season is it for Church? How should Christians approach this historic yet highly controversial year? What do Evangelicals, in particular, believe about Israel, the Palestinians and the peace process? Where are they getting their information? What are the gaps in their knowledge? How can followers of the Prince of Peace be effective ambassadors of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East, as we are called to be in the Scriptures?  What does it mean to obey Jesus’ command to love our neighbors and love our enemies? And as importantly, how can Christians discuss hot button theological and geopolitical issues in a thoughtful, respectful Biblical manner that builds the kind of unity Jesus speaks of in John chapter 17, rather than causing more discord and division? These are some of the questions the “Alliance For The Peace of Jerusalem” will be asking, as we believe this is precisely the conversation the Church needs to be having. I’d like to comment on the survey. But first, let me put my cards on the table. By heritage, I am Jewish on my father’s side, and Gentile on my mother’s side. By faith, I am an Evangelical -- I am a follower of Jesus. By age, I’m a part of Generation X, having been born in April of 1967. By citizenship, I am a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen. By residence, my wife and sons and I are Jerusalemites – we made Aliyah a few years ago and moved from the Washington, D.C. area to make our home in Israel, first in a community a bit north of Tel Aviv, and more recently in Jerusalem. As such, I can assure you this is not a theoretical exercise for me. This is personal. Never have I been more committed to praying for the peace of Jerusalem, or more passionate about educating Christians about God’s love and plan for the people of the Middle East, or more dedicated to mobilizing Christians to pray for and work for the peace of Jerusalem than I have been since moving to the Epicenter. I am grateful to my colleagues here, and to LifeWay Research, for this ground-breaking survey. I find the data fascinating, and I suspect pastors and ministry leaders, Bible college and seminary presidents and professors, students, lay leaders, the media and others will find it so, as well, particularly as we head into this momentous year. The good news here is very good – let me make three key points. First, despite all the beatings that Israel takes in the media, in academia, from the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement, and from various Replacement theologians and pastors, the survey reveals that American Evangelicals still have a remarkably deep love for Israel. Indeed, the survey overwhelmingly confirms that the people of Israel have no better or more loyal friends in the United States than Evangelical Christians. Fully eight-in-ten American Evangelicals believe that the Abrahamic Covenant was a promise God made for all time, that it was unconditional, that it could not be revoked – a mere 5% disagree. Fully eight-in-ten of American Evangelicals believe the rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948 is the fulfillment of Bible prophecy – only 20% think it was merely an interesting geopolitical event but unrelated to God keeping His promises. And nearly eight-in-ten Evangelicals (76%) believe that Christians should support Jewish people’s right to live in the sovereign state of Israel. The survey makes clear that Evangelical Christians of all ages, ethnicities, income levels and regions of the country overwhelmingly believe that God has made binding promises to Abraham and his descendants: To make them a nation. To give them a Land. And to make them a blessing to the rest of the world. What’s more, the survey finds that Evangelicals believe that God is in the process of keeping His promises – that He is graciously and mercifully bringing the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel after 2,000 years of exile, and rebuilding the State of Israel in the heart of the Middle East, against all odds, despite violent opposition, and despite of our flaws and mistakes and sins. This is not only tremendously encouraging – it is surprisingly so. Honestly, I did not expect the numbers to be this good. Second, the survey found that American Evangelicals not only love Israel, but they also want to obey Jesus’ command to love Israel’s neighbors. Consider several data points: 59% of Evangelicals believe Christians should do more to love and care for Palestinian people, and fully 66% of younger Evangelicals believe this. 73% are concerned for the safety of Christians in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority This is also encouraging, and to some may be somewhat counter-intuitive. Too often, we hear an “either/or” tone in the way Christian leaders speak about their love for Israel or the Palestinians. Some pastors express a great love and zeal for one side, yet either ignore or speak quite unkindly or disrespectfully of the other. But the God of the Bible is not “either/or.” He is “both/and.” He loves Jews and He loves Arabs. He loves Israelis and He loves Palestinians, and Jordanians, and Egyptians and all the people of the Middle East. So must the Church. As an Israeli Evangelical, I’m working hard to build friendships with my Palestinian neighbors and others in the region. Last month, I had the honor of leading a delegation of American Evangelical leaders to Egypt and Jordan. We had working meetings with Egyptian President el-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah. We met with senior Islamic leaders. We visited a refugee camp of some 80,000 Syrian refugees. We also met with dozens of senior Arab Christian pastors and ministry leaders in Egypt and Jordan. After that, I spent several days with about 150 Palestinian pastors and ministry leaders and their wives. Building friendships. Listening to their needs and concerns. Praying with and for them. Why? Because the Psalmist said, “Seek peace and pursue it.” Because Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” We might not agree on every theological or geopolitical issue, including – and sometimes especially – God’s plans and purposes for Israel and the Jewish people. But that’s okay. God does not require us to have uniform views. But He does call us to unity. He does ask if we who love Israel will also love and honor and respect and listen to our Arab and Persian and Kurdish brothers and sisters? The Church needs to do a better job loving the Arab and Muslim people. I’m convinced we can. And I’m encouraged that the survey picked up a desire by Evangelicals to do better in this regard. Third, Americans Evangelicals aren’t convinced they understand enough about God’s plans and purposes for Israel, and they want to know more. No fewer than seven-in-ten American Evangelicals (72%) say they want to know more about what the Bible teaches about Israel’s future. Amen – this is a need pastors and ministry leaders and seminaries and Bible colleges can and should address, and it’s an area my colleagues and I stand and this new “Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem” stand ready to assist. So this is the good news. But there is some bad news – or, let us say, challenging news – in the data as well, specifically when it comes to younger Evangelicals. Millennials are sending the Church a sobering message. They’re not against Israel. Not yet. Not at all. But the survey makes it clear that many of them really don’t understand Israel’s place in the biblical narrative. Thus, their support for Israel is nearly 20 points less than their parents and grandparents. Now, extrapolate that going forward. Unless the Church gives younger believers a healthy, balanced, solidly biblical understanding of God’s love and plan for Israel, overall Evangelical support for the Jewish State could very well plummet over the next decade as Millennials represent an ever-larger percentage of the overall Church body. That said, when I look at the totality of the survey results, I’m cautiously optimistic. I’ve agreed to be part of the founding leadership council of “Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem” because I see a real need to educate the Church – and particularly younger Evangelicals – about God’s love and plan for both Israel and her Arab and Persian neighbors, and to mobilize them to seek peace, pray for peace, and be peacemakers in a dark and troubled region. Thank you. Read the document, "Evangelical Attitudes Toward Israel Research Study." Read the full survey with extensive data and cross-tabs. Read article, "Surprising new survey reveals a generational shift in Evangelical views Toward Israel. Leaders Unveil LifeWay Research Study, Form Alliance to Educate the Church on Israel’s Critical Past and Future Roles." (Religion News Service) Read article, "New Survey: Young Evangelicals Less Unconditionally Supportive of Israel, More Sympathetic Toward Palestinians." (Haaretz) Read an article, "Support of Israel Wanes Among Younger Evangelicals." (LifeWay Research) joelcrosenberg | December 4, 2017 at 5:33 pm | Categories: Epicenter | URL: https://wp.me/piWZ7-8CL

Incredible Proof for Why You Should Have Faith in the Bible - Paul Strand CBN News

Incredible Proof for Why You Should Have Faith in the Bible

12-22-2015  Paul Strand  CBN News

WASHINGTON -- These days, many Christians, especially college-age students, face having their faith in God and the Bible questioned if not downright assaulted.

Dr. Jonathan Morrow teaches Christian students how to defend their faith at the Impact 360 Institute in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

He knows how tough it is for Christians at secular institutions.

"Sometimes they're going to have a professor that's going to outright challenge why they believe what they believe and say, 'Look, what you believe is actually a fairytale,'" Morrow said.

Check below this story for eight extra videos of lively conversation and teaching on why you can trust the Bible.  Bible experts also explore how Christianity rests on a deep and substantial bedrock of fact.

But Morrow and two more of the world's top biblical experts told CBN News there's good reason for believers to have faith in your faith.

Dr. Darrell Bock teaches at the Dallas Theological Seminary and co-wroteTruth Matters.

"The faith is very, very defendable," Bock said. "That's why it's lasted 2,000 years."

Overwhelming Evidence

Josh McDowell wrote one of the most authoritative defenses of the Bible with Evidence That Demands a Verdict and its sequel The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.

He pointed to how even respected "non-believers" wrote about Jesus.

"There are 16 total historians apart from Scripture that reference Christ," he said. "Almost everything about Christ we can find without ever going to the New Testament."

McDowell writes extensively about this in his newest books God-Breathedand 77 FAQs About God and the Bible.

Morrow points out in his book Questioning the Bible there's more evidence that Jesus lived than Julius Caesar, yet no one doubts Caesar existed.

"When you're doing history, you want early and you want eyewitnesses. And the gospel writers give you both," Morrow explained.

"They investigated everything carefully. They have the ring of truth to them. They include embarrassing details," he continued.

One supposition of scholars is the closer in time a writer was to events, the more likely his account is accurate.

Josh McDowell, Dr. Jonathan Morrow, Dr. Darrell Bock

Morrow pointed out respected biblical writers Paul and Luke interviewed the apostles and knew many others who witnessed Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

And the writers Peter, John, and James actually lived with Jesus.

"John said, 'What our eyes have seen, what our ears have heard, what our hands have handled is what we're declaring to you,'" McDowell said. "In other words, 'We're eyewitnesses.'"

More Accurate than Any Other Document

McDowell explained another understanding among scholars.

"The closer the manuscript to the original, the less chance of error or miscopy," he said.

Current surviving Bible manuscripts get closer to the original work than any other manuscripts from the ancient world.

"We've got manuscripts and fragments that show up within 35 or 40 years of the time when they were written," Morrow said of these biblical survivors.

"Why does that matter? It means there's not enough time for error and mythology to corrupt the message of what's going on there," he said.

But doubters scoff at those while readily accepting manuscripts of Greek and Roman histories that were created hundreds of years after the originals.

"When you look at Greek and Roman historians like Herodotus and Tacitus and Livy, those (oldest surviving manuscripts) are hundreds of years later - 500, 600, 700 years after the fact," Morrow said.

McDowell pointed out a second rule among scholars of ancient works.

"The more manuscripts you have, the easier it is to reconstruct the original," he said.

When it comes to the Bible, the surviving ancient copies or pieces of it way outnumber all other ancient works.

McDowell said there are "66,420 some manuscripts and scrolls" for the Bible.

Second place goes to Homer's The Illiad, with just 1,827. Most ancient works have far few intact remnants.

"We do trust Homer. How much more should we trust the New Testament documents?" Morrow asked.

Really 400,000 Mistakes?

With so many more copies produced by thousands of scribes across the centuries, it's no surprise there'd be occasional errors.

But critics claim there are some 400,000 mistakes or "variants" in the Bible.

Such a claim steams Bock, McDowell, and Morrow.

"Ninety-nine percent of those 400,000 or so number evaporate as simple spelling errors, word order," Morrow said.

"Like 'honor' spelled h-o-n-o-r -or 'honour' spelled h-o-n-o-u-r," McDowell explained.

"But none of those, those texts that are in question, affect any central teaching of Christian doctrine or practice," Morrow insisted.

Bock explained many of the so-called contradictions in the Bible are just different ways of telling the same story.

"And difference does not equal contradiction. It's just difference," Bock said. "One text may be more precise than another, but they'll both be accurate."

For instance, one Gospel talks about Jesus and His disciples coming upon two demoniacs in a graveyard, but another Gospel speaks of one demoniac there.

A simple explanation is one writer shared the raw fact two demoniacs were present. The other writer only mentioned the one demoniac because he wanted to concentrate on that one for a particular reason.

Another example: one Gospel says Judas hanged himself while another says he fell to the ground and his insides spilled out.

A look at the area where it's thought Judas died has trees above and on rocky cliffs with jagged rocks below. Judas could have hanged himself and then the branch broke or the rope came unknotted and his body crashed to the rocks, splitting open.

Meticulous Copy Process

Doubters have a hard time believing that the Bibles we read today could accurately reflect the actual words written by the authors so many centuries ago.

But McDowell explained how for Jewish scribes, copying books like Genesis and Exodus was holy work and strictly controlled.

"Four-thousand regulations the scribe had to follow to guarantee accuracy," he said.

McDowell brought to CBN News a massive scroll from the Middle Ages owned by a Jewish village in Europe.

In producing such a scroll, the scribes would have needed about three years to carefully ink its 300,000-plus letters. Then a man known as a "counter" would come check their lettering meticulously.

"They knew what the center was, in Leviticus 11," McDowell explained. "And they would count 159,402, hoping the next one, 403, was a center letter. If it wasn't, they couldn't use it."

Monks had tight rules for copying as well.

Archaeology: The Bible's Best Friend

Another reason to trust the Bible: archaeology and related research have time and again shown the Bible is true and the skeptics to be wrong.

"Archaeology has probably cleared up already over half of all what appeared to be alleged discrepancies in the Scriptures," McDowell said.

Skeptics used say there's no record of a Nazareth, so the New Testament can't be true. They'd point out there was no proof of the oft-mentioned Hittites, so the Old Testament can't be true.

Archaeology and associated research have since shown both existed.

"Now you can go to Harvard or anywhere else and study the Hittite language," McDowell said.

Finally there's the proof of logic. After Jesus' death, the apostles kept pointing to the shared knowledge everyone around them had, even their opponents.

McDowell paraphrased the logic, "You know what I'm talking about. You were there."

A Truth Worth Dying For

McDowell pointed out that dying for the Gospel would have been a crazy thing to do if you were making the whole story of Jesus' miracles and resurrection up.

"They appeal to their opponents for the facts of which they talk about. To me, that's one of the best tests of truth historically," McDowell stated.

Finally, Bock asked what better proof the earliest disciples weren't making it all up than the fact they almost all were martyred for it?

"You don't die knowingly for something that you know you made up," he said.

Watch more evidence below. 

View on CBN News here: Proof of the Bible

Josh McDowell's Startling Evidence for the BibleLeading Bible expert Josh McDowell shows us some of the oldest remnants of the New Testament in existence. He explains why such old fragments are leading us to the most accurate Bibles in almost 2,000 years. He also shares painful personal testimony about horrible abuse in his younger years and how the Bible helped him recover. 

Josh McDowell: Nowhere Near 400,000 Manuscript MistakesBiblical expert McDowell explains why there are nowhere close to 400,000 mistakes in the Bible like critics allege. And he shares how a "tsunami of manuscripts" just being discovered is clearing up what few mistakes there actually are. 

Josh McDowell: Apparent Contradictions, Discrepancies DisappearingBiblical expert Joshua McDowell says modern research and archaeology are steadily shrinking the list of alleged contradictions and discrepancies that fueled Bible doubters for centuries.