Israel doesn't enrapture all evangelicals
Before you jump to conclusions, please understand that all evangelicals don't think alike, and our foreign policy position in the Middle East is beginning to expose a great divide among Christians that many of us had never imagined.
Perhaps you've heard about some of the prominent ministers, particularly several high-profile televangelists, who have sworn allegiance to the state of Israel because of their views on biblical prophecy. They include Pat Robertson, John Hagee and the late Jerry Falwell.
This week, a small group of evangelical leaders, including a well-known North Texas pastor, will meet in the offices of the U.S. State Department to discuss their concerns about the continuing crisis surrounding Israel and the Palestinians.
That meeting is a direct result of a letter that 33 evangelical leaders sent to President Bush in July. One of the signatories, and one of the main architects of the message, is Bob Roberts, pastor of NorthWood Church in Keller and a veteran of extensive mission work in Southeast Asia and Afghanistan.
The letter began by complimenting the president for trying to "reinvigorate" negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis and for his recommendation of a "two-state" solution.
"We also write to correct a serious misperception among some people including some U.S. policymakers that all American evangelicals are opposed to a two-state solution and creation of a new Palestinian state that includes the vast majority of the West Bank," they wrote. "Nothing could be further from the truth. We, who sign this letter, represent large numbers of evangelicals throughout the U.S. who support justice for both Israelis and Palestinians. We hope this support will embolden you and your administration to proceed confidently and forthrightly in negotiations with both sides in the region."
Unless you're one of those Christians who spends a lot more time thinking about the "rapture" than I do, you probably don't know the word eschatology. Roberts defines it as "the study of the last days -- how we view the second coming of Christ."
The interpretation of eschatology is at the center of the divide among evangelical Christians.
For about 18 centuries, Roberts explains, theologians taught that Jesus was coming back and that Christians should get ready. That's pretty simple.
In more recent times, however, many evangelicals have preached that Israel had to be a state again, possessing the land that is Palestine. And if you don't love and protect the Israeli state, you are, in effect, delaying Christ's return.
A lot of people who believe that helped elect George W. Bush president.
But other evangelicals, some of whom may also have voted for Bush, have a different interpretation of Scripture. Such views led to the letter to the president on this very divisive issue.
"Historical honesty compels us to recognize that both Israelis and Palestinians have legitimate rights stretching back for millennia to the lands of Israel/Palestine," the letter stated. "Both Israelis and Palestinians have committed violence and injustice against each other. The only way to bring the tragic cycle of violence to an end is for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a just, lasting agreement that guarantees both sides viable, independent, secure states. To achieve that goal, both sides must give up some of their competing, incompatible claims. Israelis and Palestinians must both accept each other's right to exist."
Before Roberts left for Washington, he told me that he had spoken at the U.S-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, earlier this year and had emphasized that people of God need to get along with one another. He was well-received by Islamic leaders, he said.
"I told them I support the Jews, but I also support the Palestinians," he said.
Roberts believes that the Bush administration has been listening too much to that other group of evangelicals.
"I believe it's scary -- real scary," he said. "When you have speculative theology pushing our foreign policy, that's real scary."
Noting that the religious leaders who will meet in Washington this week are not going there to develop policy, Roberts said: "Faith leaders have to be involved in this process.
"These are faith issues, and the reason diplomats can't deal with them is that they don't understand faith."
In his efforts in southern Afghanistan -- building water projects, schools and clinics -- Roberts has worked with many imams. And although he said he doesn't agree with Muslims on everything, politically or spiritually, he insists that the Christian community must work with the Islamic community to bring about peace in the Middle East.
"We're doing a pathetic thing of showing God's love, and we've got to do a massive redirect," he said.
I pray that they can change some hearts and minds in Washington, and that this administration once again will become seriously engaged in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Otherwise, all of us should get prepared for Armageddon.
