- Project 18:15
- Posts
- Saturday, October 14, 2023
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Christians Respond To War, Online and In Person
It's Saturday, October 14, 2023.
Today’s edition covers two angles of the Israel-Hamas war: the varied responses of Christians online, and the plights of Christians on the ground in Gaza and Israel. Also in this issue: other news, and a brief exposition of the phrase “all Israel will be saved.”
Of Christian Concern
CHRISTIANS ONLINE WEIGH IN ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Screenshots from Christians commenting on the Israel-Hamas war (links in the article).
This week Christians online responded in a number of ways to news of the Israel-Hamas war that broke out last weekend.
Some believers pointed to the events as a sign of the end times. Many engaged in the age-old debate about whether national ethnic Israel still has a special place in God’s plan. In that debate, one side argues that Israel as a nation no longer has particular importance because it’s been replaced by the Church (a position called “replacement theology” or “supersessionism”). The other side argues that Israel and the Church are separate entities to whom God has made distinct promises which are still to be fulfilled. Some suggested this week that replacement theology may be associated with anti-Jewish hostility.
In other responses to the war, some Christians voiced support for Israel destroying Hamas, while some objected to Israel’s offensive on Gaza, the neighboring strip of land that Hamas controls, calling it a genocide. Whether or not Israel’s now-ongoing bombings of Gaza are ethical has been hotly contested.
Still others made the observation that, in the West, widespread cultural support for Hamas over and against Israel comes from the same ideological root as support for the Black Lives Matter riots following George Floyd’s death in 2020. The ideology in this case is called “postcolonial theory,” one Christian writer explained, which is “the global version of critical race theory”—the ideology that divides groups into “oppressor” and “oppressed,” and unconditionally sides with the “oppressed.”
Christians’ reactions and opinions to the news from the Middle East will no doubt continue to develop as events unfold.
CHRISTIANS IN GAZA AND ISRAEL STRUGGLE IN THE MIDST OF WAR
An image of the destruction in the Gaza Strip, shared Thursday on social media by the Israeli Air Force.
There are Christians on both sides of the Israel-Gaza divide.
Of the more than 2 million people in Gaza, around 900 are Christians. There are only three churches: a Latin (Catholic) Church, a Greek Orthodox Church, and a Baptist Church. They live in dismal conditions.
The Gaza Strip, a self-governed territory beside Israel which the terrorist organization Hamas controls and operates from, is one of the most densely populated places in the world, with over 14,380 people per square mile. Even before the events of this week, less than 10% of water was suitable to drink, 30% of the population lived below the $1.90-a-day poverty line, and 80% relied on charity for food. Around half of the population are children. Hamas has taken resources donated for civilian welfare and repurposed them for terrorism, such as digging up European Union-funded water pipes to make rockets.
On Wednesday, the ministry S.A.L.A.M. interviewed Pastor Hanna Massad, who founded the Christian Mission to Gaza and served for 12 years as pastor of Gaza Baptist, the only evangelical church of the three. The minister revealed that many Christian families’ homes have now been destroyed or damaged in the Israel-Hamas war, and the surviving believers have fled to take refuge in church buildings. Their situation is dire.
In an email newsletter update yesterday, Massad stated that “almost all” Christian families have now had to evacuate their homes to take refuge in one of the two non-Baptist churches, since the Baptist church is too close to the main police station, a potential target. The Baptist church building has already sustained damage.
On the Israel side, Christians are still reeling, with the rest of the nation, from the attack last weekend, which left at least 1,200 dead and many more injured. Christian and Messianic Jewish ministries are taking action to provide humanitarian aid, and are requesting support.
The evangelistic organization Jews For Jesus outlines five ways everyone can help. First, stay up-to-date with reliable news sources who are on the ground and able to report as things develop, such as YNetNews.com, The Jerusalem Post, HaAretz, Arutz Sheva, and The Times of Israel. Second, reach out and show support for any Israeli friends you may have, since many have family members directly affected. Third, inform others of the situation—if you’re a Jew, by sharing what’s going on and what you’re experiencing, and if you’re a Christian, by helping your church be informed and positioned to help. Fourth, look for ways to publicly show solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people. Fifth, pray for the safety of hostages, for the Israeli military, for recovery of the wounded, for Gaza and its liberation from Hamas, for peace for innocent civilians, for provision for the displaced, for the safety of Jews worldwide, and that Israel would find hope in God.
You can help fund essential support to Christians in Gaza, including food and medical assistance, here. You can help fund emergency food, supplies, and other support to Israeli military and civilians, through Jews For Jesus (here) and/or through One For Israel (here).
Also Noteworthy
→ Human rights experts condemned Türkiye’s increasing mistreatment of religious minorities, especially Christians, during a panel hosted by ADF International last week. In a statement, the legal advocacy organization notes, “The number of Christians in Türkiye has diminished from 20 percent to 0.2 percent of the population in the last 100 years.”
→ Pastor Dusty Deevers, a popular and vocal abortion abolitionist, won the Republican primary election on Tuesday in his bid for a state Senate seat in Oklahoma.
→ The EMW Women’s Surgical Center, an abortion clinic in Louisville, KY which was blocked from performing surgical abortions last year, renewed their license with intent to challenge Kentucky’s abortion laws when the Kentucky Supreme Court changes next year.
→ Parents Television and Media Council released a report this month stressing the scarcity of family friendly programming on popular streaming services, reporting “there’s at least 268% more adult-only entertainment on streaming platforms than there is content that’s suitable for families.” See the report for detailed insights.
Content Catch-Up
Recent, notable content by Christian creators.*
→ Are Altar Calls Manipulative?: In a video on the YouTube channel For the Gospel, Costa Hinn and Dr. Steven J. Lawson discuss whether altar calls after a sermon are emotionally manipulative or lead to true conversions. (Video)
→ A Christian Response To The War: Apologist David Wood interviews Jewish Christian biblical scholar Dr. Michael Brown on how Christians should respond to the Israel-Hamas conflict. (Video)
→ Should Christians Have a “Warrior Mindset”?: The Apologia Studios hosts talk with guest Bill Rapier about whether Christians can be faithful while maintaining a “warrior” mindset, particularly in evangelism. (Video)
*Not necessarily an endorsement
The Bible, Briefly
All Israel Will Be Saved
(Photo: Anna Tarazevich)
“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved…” (Romans 11:25-26a)
Though the apostle Paul writes elsewhere (Romans 4:12) that Abraham is the father of all who believe (i.e., everyone who has faith in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile), it is clear that the term “Israel” in Romans 11:25-26 refers only to ethnic Jews. This is clear, for one, because “Israel” and “Gentiles” are explicitly treated as distinct categories: “a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” That means “Israel” in this case cannot include Gentiles.
So, what does Paul say about these two different groups? He says that Israel (ethnic Jews, taken as a group) has been partially hardened against the gospel. Why “partially”? Because there are and always have been Jews who believe in Jesus. As he states in 11:5, “at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.” Paul himself was a member of that remnant (“For I myself am an Israelite,” 11:1).
But in 11:25 he reveals that this partial rejection of the gospel is only temporary. It will last “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” In other words, Israel as a whole will come to true faith in God, through Jesus Christ, once all of the Gentiles who will be saved have been saved. That’s how “all Israel will be saved.”
It’s not that every Jew who ever lived will be saved. No one can be saved apart from faith in Christ (Acts 4:12; Hebrews 11:6), and many Jews throughout history have already died apart from that faith. Rather, it’s that at the end of time, the Jews who are living will, as a whole, recognize and submit to Jesus as Lord.
In the meantime, Paul warns Gentile believers to not be arrogant toward the Jews, because Gentile believers were grafted into them, the people of God, like branches into an olive tree (11:17-18). Though many of the Jews are “branches” who were “broken off,” they can be grafted back in: “So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. …And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again” (Romans 11:20c-23).
Learned something new? Share it.
If you got value out of this briefing, please forward this email or share this link with a friend. If you have comments or suggestions, submit them here.
More Christians should know more. Spread the knowledge.
Your feedback is vital. The success of this project depends on hearing from you, the reader, with your thoughts and ideas about how this digest can best serve you. Please reply to this email to let us know how we’re doing, and what we can do better.
Why "18:15"? The name Project 18:15 is based on Proverbs 18:15: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” The aim is for this weekly email—a Christian news briefing, a Bible study, and a Church history lesson rolled into one—to be one way you keep abreast of current events and acquire knowledge you might not acquire elsewhere.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright (C) " target="_blank">unsubscribe
Reply