Today’s edition covers whether Christian support for Israel is shifting, a paranormal investigator’s death, an exposé of Dr. Michael Brown’s alleged abuse cover-up, the two different orders of Jesus’ temptations, and more.

“Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.” (Proverbs 4:14)

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IS CHRISTIAN SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL WANING?

In a heated exchange during a recent interview with journalist Tucker Carlson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz explained the basis for his support of Israel: God tells Israel in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse…”

“And from my perspective,” Cruz said, “I want to be on the blessing side.”

Carlson challenged the senator’s interpretation of the verse. “Is the nation God’s referring to in Genesis, is that the same as the country run by Benjamin Netanyahu right now?”

“Yes,” Cruz said.

Israel has long found support among American Christians, many of whom draw a direct connection between the biblical nation and the modern nation state.

Is that seemingly unconditional support changing? Some recent occurrences suggest it may be. Here are a few.

A recent CNN/ORC poll (read: reliability uncertain) found that only 27 percent of Americans think the Israeli government’s military actions against Hamas have been fully justified, down from 50 percent in 2023. This drop, to whatever extent it is accurate, would certainly include many professing Christians, who constitute between 60 and 64 percent of the population. (Note, of course, that only 4 percent of American adults have a biblical worldview.)

A deep search with the AI chatbot Grok suggests Christian support for Israel in recent years remains high among older generations but is waning significantly among younger believers:

Other indications that unconditional or uncritical support may be starting to slip are some recent actions by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Huckabee is a Christian and a self-described “unapologetic, unreformed Zionist.” He is about as pro-Israel as they come. Still, he has taken strong stances on recent events in Israel. Christianity Today reports:

Notably, many will recall Trump dropping the “F-bomb” on both Israel and Iran last month for apparent violations of a ceasefire agreement: “You know, we basically have two countries who have been fighting for so long that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.” Maybe a lasting political effect of that moment will be more openness for even Israel’s greatest allies to call balls and strikes. Time will tell.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 27:6)

→ Joel Berry of The Babylon Bee sparked debate this week with the claim that “there are only about 200 professed Catholics still living in Gaza and they all support Hamas.” He argues that whatever “true Christian faith” exists in Gaza, “it’s all underground.” His reasoning: “Anyone allowed by Hamas to practice openly is allowed to do so only because they aid and support the terror regime.” Many online took issue with this perspective, though some came to his defense.

→ Scientists found collagen in a dinosaur fossil dated 70 million years old, causing them to reevaluate their beliefs about collagen preservation, but apparently no hint at reevaluating their dating methods. Christian content creator Divinely Designed commented, “Collagen cannot survive millions of years. The most logical conclusion is that dinosaurs did not live millions of years ago. The Bible is true. All of it.”

→ Over 120 pastors responded to a State of the Bible flash poll, with 54 percent stating that young adults in their communities are definitely or probably showing more interest in the Bible. Likewise, 57 percent said they are definitely or probably seeing more men show up to church.

→ Dan Rivera, the senior lead investigator of the New England Society for Paranormal Research (NESPR), was found dead in his hotel room while touring with the infamous, allegedly possessed rag doll Annabelle popularized by “The Conjuring” horror film franchise. Investigators report it was a “natural” death, and “Nothing unusual or suspicious was observed at the scene.” The coroner confirmed that the Annabelle doll was not present in the room. The autopsy has yet to be released.

→ An excavation crew from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discovered the first known depictions of the Old Testament heroines Deborah and Jael in a mosaic panel of the ancient synagogue in Huqoq,  an ancient Jewish village in Israel’s Lower Galilee region.

Recent notable content of Christian interest.*

→ Dr. Michael Brown’s Cover-Up: Mike Winger and Ron Cantor present evidence for allegations that popular charismatic teacher Dr. Michael Brown has engaged and continues to engage in a decades-long cover-up of two different inappropriate extramarital relationships more than 20 years ago. (Video)

→ National Right to Life LIES: The Foundation to Abolish Abortion fact checks National Right to Life, arguing the pro-life organization is wrong to claim that Kentucky is “abortion-free.” (Article)

→ Truth and Creation Order: Southern Seminary president Al Mohler interviews legal scholar Robert P. George, a Catholic, about his new book Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth. The conversation ranges from natural law to abortion to results-oriented jurisprudence, and more. (Video)

The Order of Christ’s Temptations

Have you ever noticed that Matthew and Luke, the two gospels that detail the devil’s temptations of Christ, describe the three temptations in a different order?

In Matthew 4:1-11, it’s as follows:

In Luke 4:1-13, it’s this:

Some skeptics have called this incongruence a contradiction. Is it?

No. First, consider that the gospels are ancient biographies. This genre of literature was less concerned with chronological precision than modern biographies. Events were often arranged by other methods, such as theme.

In the case of the temptations, LivingWithFaith.org suggests, the difference in arrangement is “very likely” accounted for by the different goals and audiences of the gospel writers. A well-attested understanding is that Matthew was written to a Jewish audience, and Luke to a Gentile (Greek) audience, which impacted their storytelling choices.

In both cases, the temptations are arranged to increase in intensity.

In Luke, on the other hand:

Matthew probably preserves the actual chronological order, as it uses “chronological markers” in the narrative:

Either way, as with ancient biographies generally, the order of the temptations is clearly less important than their content and our Lord’s responses.