University Press, Mar 9 2015, 199.
[28] Declaration of Independence,
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-declaration-of-the-establishment-of-the-state-of-israel
[29] David Novak, ‘Zionism and Judaism: A New Theory,’ Cambridge University Press, Mar 9 2015, 199.
[30] Ibid, 202.
[31] David Adams, ‘Middle East: Anglican ‘Peacemaker’ Calls for Christians to be Part of the Solution in Ending Israel-Palestine Conflict,’ Sight Magazine, March 22 2018, https://buildingthebridge.eu/common-ground/general/middle-east-anglican-peacemaker-calls-for-christians-to-be-part-of-the-solution-in-ending-israel-palestine-conflict/494
[32] Stephen Robert Sizer is the former vicar of the Anglican parish of Christ Church, Virginia Water, in Surrey, England. Sizer is known for his opposition to Christian Zionism, which is the basis of his 2004 PhD thesis and the focus of his published works. Sizer is the director of Peacemaker Trust, a registered charity dedicated to peace making.
[33] David Adams, ‘Middle East: Anglican ‘Peacemaker’ Calls for Christians to be Part of the Solution in Ending Israel-Palestine Conflict,’ Sight Magazine, March 22 2018, https://buildingthebridge.eu/common-ground/general/middle-east-anglican-peacemaker-calls-for-christians-to-be-part-of-the-solution-in-ending-israel-palestine-conflict/494
1 A Divine Surprise…
Not that long ago, in Barcelona, my American friend, an Evangelical Christian, jumped up from his chair in the hotel lobby to greet a dozen or so Israelis who were rushing out through the revolving door to catch the airport bus. To my surprise and I melted with embarrassment, he startled them with: "I'm Israeli too. As Christians we're Jews. I'm honored to meet you." And jubilantly he reached out to shake as many hands in genuine ‘brotherly love.' His idolized ‘Israeli brothers' responded subtly but unmistakably with disdain. But my friend, so thrilled to meet Israelis in the flesh, was enraptured in their presence.
Afterward, I snapped at him, "you're no Jew." My arrogance stemmed, I later realized, from my ignorance. "Only Jews are Jews" I persisted. "Christians aren't chosen. God has chosen the Jews as His own" – never mind that 65 percent of us1, have lost faith in Judaism and questions God's existence.
"Haven't you noticed their smirks; I bet they're laughing all the way to Tel Aviv." Inside of me, I felt a bit stepped on my toes. How could any other people think of themselves as being equal to people like me, whose Holier –than- thou eminence is biblically affirmed? Many of us might no longer believe in God, but we take our chosenness seriously. Once chosen, always chosen.
A few years later I encountered salvation, which reminds me of another story. My driver in Beijing told me he chose for Christianity. "Why,” I queried.
"Going to heaven, Chinese style is difficult; too many hoops. The Christian way takes one step. I just say ‘yes' to Jesus, and I'm saved, and I've got my ticket to heaven. That's it. Easy! "I don't think it's that easy," airing my doubts, but then I didn't know enough about Christianity to complicate matters, so I just left it at that.
Salvation Comes from ‘Salve,’ Ointment … the ‘Anointing’
Now I know better. The word, ‘salvation' is the most beautiful word in Christianity. It's part of the Divine Surprise. Jesus starts this new trend, preaching the new spirituality, the gospel of the Spiritual Kingdom of God (John Chapter 4), even to a woman at the well, a Samaritan:
"21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time will come when people will not worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship; but we Jews know whom we worship, because it is from the Jews that salvation comes.
23 But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants.
24 God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is (John 4: 21-24 Good News Bible Translation GNT).”
It turns out, my American colleague in Barcelona is ‘right' in the sense that every man, woman, and child everywhere on earth is now ‘chosen.’ We are all chosen or invited to enter into the spiritual Kingdom of God. Being God's 'Chosen,' despite our differences, is incredibly good news, that motivates us to dignify the other. Of course, God entrusts us with free will. What we do with our ‘chosenness' is our business, though God prefers that we align our will with His.
Christians are Newly Anointed - Appointed Jews?
Paradoxically, Christians are the ‘true' Jews. The true circumcision is the ‘new-birth,' a change of the heart. The Gentile followers of Jesus who acknowledge him as the Messiah are the people of Israel, the people of God contrary to the Judeans who reject him.2
How?
‘In Christ,' God has promised to bless the nations through Abraham's seed (Genesis 12: 1-3), and that seed is Christ. Both the Gospels' genealogies trace the human ancestry of Jesus to Abraham. ‘Abraham . . . is the spiritual father of all who believe' whether they are circumcised or uncircumcised, that is, whether they are Jews or Gentiles (Romans 4: 11-12 GNT).
" 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised. (Galatians 3: 29 GNT).3 "Today, [true] Israel is a spiritual designation, meaning believers in Jesus, whether they descent from Jacob or not."4 Wow!
The promised blessing – the Promised Land, the borderless Spiritual Kingdom of God – is given to all who are in Christ. The way to be ‘in Christ' is not by birth but by 'rebirth,' not physically by ancestry but spiritually by faith. What's more, in the English language, the word ‘salvation' sounds so much like the word ‘save.' Though figuratively connected, both words are distinct
