After leaving its original cradle, the Christian Church often took an ambiguous stance towards Israel and the Jews. As this book reminds us, Catholics, Reformed, Lutherans and Orthodox have all written dark pages in history, and many persecutions, not the least, have taken place in so-called Christian countries. They either killed Christ, or the Church replaced Israel in God’s plan (replacement theology).
Even today, since the creation of the new State of Israel in 1948 and the return of the Jews to their homeland, the casual observer of the international scene can still observe this ambivalence. For, beyond the eschatological aspects and the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the return of the Jews to their homeland, it is striking to note how sensitive the question of Israel remains even within Christian churches (and often even within the same denomination or confession, if not within the same family), with positions that are often radically opposed.
Between supporters of replacement theology and Zionism, there seems to be a total lack of understanding. And then there are the supporters of the Palestinian cause, where the political dimension sometimes competes with the ideological.
Marc Früh’s book takes an original approach. Indeed, most books on Israel deal with the subject from a particular angle or period. Here, we are invited to travel through some 30 centuries of history. This chronology enables us to look beyond our respective positions and take an overall view of the history of Israel, the Jewish people and the nations. Each of us is invited, perhaps beyond our own prejudices, to listen to history and to understand, also in this field, what the Spirit wants to say to the Church today, and therefore to each of us.
500 years before our era, the prophet Zechariah wrote (ch.12.2-3 LS): Behold, I will make Jerusalem a stupefying cup for all the peoples around, and also for Judah in the siege of Jerusalem. In that day, I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all those who lift it up will be bruised; and all the nations of the earth will gather against it. So the stakes are high, whichever way we look at it.
Daniel Rivaud,
Pastor, founder of the Protestant Evangelical Committee
for Human Dignity