Scripture, Hermeneutics, and the Middle East

  Sponsors: Rob Dalrymple and Bruce Fisk

The focus of this study group is on the biblical texts and hermeneutical approaches that inform various theologies of the Land and People of God, with interest in how these theologies shape contemporary Christian responses to Middle East realities and conflicts, with particular concern for Israel and Palestine. For more information, please contact Rob Dalrymple ([email protected]) and Bruce Fisk ([email protected]).

4:00 to 6:00 pm
11/18/2023
Conference Room 3

2023 Israel and the Church: Complement, Fulfillment or Replacement? The focus of our second IBR session will be the relationship between Israel and the Church. New Testament authors grappled with the relationship between Jacob’s descendants and the community of Jesus’ followers, as did their earliest interpreters. Post-Holocaust Biblical scholarship continues to reckon with the Church’s long history of anti-Judaism, supersessionism, and Christian antisemitism, as scholars continue to debate the central biblical texts and themes relevant to understanding the relationship between ethnic Israel and the Church. Among the questions panelists will address are these: Did NT authors view the increasingly Gentile church as Abraham’s offspring? Did they see Gentiles in Christ as incorporated into Israel and heirs to covenantal promises? Do some NT texts suggest the Church “completes,” “fulfills” and/or “supersedes” the Jews in God’s plan? Did NT authors espouse Jewish restoration nationalism? Did NT authors reserve some covenant blessings (e.g., possessing the Land) for ethnic Israel apart from Jesus’ community? What role or benefits, if any, does Israel have today in light of promises made to her in the OT? How do various construals of the church's relationship to Israel influence contemporary Christian assessments of modern Israel and its territorial claims in the Holy Land? For more information, contact Rob Dalrymple ([email protected]) and Bruce Fisk ([email protected]).

Rob Dalrymple, Determinetruth Ministries, Presiding

Rob Dalrymple, Determinetruth Ministries, Welcome (5 min)

Michael Bird, Ridley Melbourne, Panelist (5 min)

Richard Harvey, All Nations Christian College (UK), Panelist (5 min)

Joel Willitts, North Park University, Panelist (5 min)

Roundtable Discussion (30 min)

Break (5 min)

Roundtable Discussion (30 min)

Alicia Jackson, Vanguard University of Southern California, Presiding

Discussion (20 min)