Jerusalem 101: Making sense of the evangelical passion for Israel.

On Dec 6th 2017, President Donald Trump made a historic announcement by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and intending to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It has been compared in its significance to Israel being declared as a state in 1948. The United States was the first country to recognize Israel as a state on May 14th, 1948, under the leadership of President Harry Truman. Then as now, the President did so despite opposition from parts of his administration including the Secretary of State, and ally nations. 

Not many truly understand why evangelical Christians feel so strongly about the right of Jews to a Jewish state. Liberal host at MSNBC, Chris Mathews is a surprising example of this ignorance. He stated that Christians support Israel based on a 'mythical' belief that if Jews are all back in Israel, the second coming of Christ will be triggered. Unlike Islamic theology, Christian thought does not assign a role to Christians in forcing the hand of God to accelerate the second coming of the Messiah. The Bible says it is not for us to know the time or the hour. And God certainly does not need a helping hand when setting times and dates. 

As Apostle Paul explains, the church is grafted into the tree that had Israel as its natural branches. This vivid imagery is supposed to explain that Gentiles have been made partakers of the promises that God made to Israel. On this basis, Gentile Christians feel a kinship with Israel. They also understand that God is not done with Israel and His covenant with ethnic Israel will be fulfilled. 

The Old Testament assures readers that in the last days, there will be a regathering of the Jewish people to Israel. There are several Biblical prophecies that describe the efforts to dispossess Jews of their land, of their enemies’ determination to annihilate them, and how finally God Himself in the midst of all nations, comes to their rescue. 

In the centre of this divine series of events, is a tiny plot of land, in a nation the size of New Jersey. Revered by all 3 monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, this piece of real estate, is a perennial tinderbox. One of the oldest cities in the world, Jerusalem has been attacked, besieged, destroyed and then rebuilt multiple times. King David established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and his son Solomon built the first temple there. In AD 70, Jerusalem and the second temple were destroyed by the Romans, Jews were exiled from their land, and were scattered to the ends of the earth, again, in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Since then, Jews have yearned to return to their homeland, capturing that longing at the end of every Passover seder, with the traditional phrase, “next year in Jerusalem”. 

The fact is President Trump did nothing more than acknowledge a historical reality - Jerusalem has always been the capital of Israel. Under Israeli administration, lies the best hope for Muslims, Christians and Jews to worship freely and unhindered. Yet ironically, Jews are not allowed to pray on the temple mount, where the Al-Aqsa mosque now stands, despite having historical claim to that ground. Jews only have access to the wailing wall, believed to be the Western wall of the second Jewish temple, which was undertaken as a massive building project by King Herod before the dawn of the first century AD.

Arabs enjoy more freedom, personal liberties and opportunities for education, advancement and material success in Israel, than anywhere else in the Middle East. They occupy positions of power in the Knesset, the Supreme Court, and are employed as doctors, teachers and lawyers, owing to the secular and democratic fabric of Israeli society. It is not only accurate to strike off the contention around Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, but also righteous. 

Jerusalem is poised to become the prophesied 'cup of trembling', 'the burdensome stone', setting the stage for all nations gathering against it. The evangelical affiliation toward Israel is knit together by an appreciation of the historical claims of the Jews, the understanding that the free exercise of all religions is made possible by Israel’s democratic foundation, and the knowledge that compassion for Palestinians is best extended through support for an Israel that respects and protects their human rights, even at great cost to themselves. 

#Israel #DonaldTrump #WailingWall #TempleMount #Jerusalem 

I’ve decided to write more often.

I have been a very infrequent writer. My blog lies dormant for a good part of the year and only sees sporadic activity. Over the years, friends and readers have encouraged me to write more often. I have held back for several reasons, primary of which was the desire to treat my blog as a journal of personal reflections, unintended for public consumption. I was always surprised when someone told me they read and liked a particular post. 

But as I was going through some of my older posts on this blog, I read a comment by someone who noticed that I wasn’t writing as often and was appreciative of helping them discover the music of an artist I deeply admired (no prizes for guessing who I’m talking about). I received a handful of other messages on similar lines. 

I got to thinking that if my reflections, personal as they might be, can help someone at a juncture in their lives, or even merely resonate with them, at a single point in their day, it’s a meaningful difference I can make, that I do not want to miss out on. I do not overestimate my meagre abilities in any way, but it would do no good for me in hiding them, and bring no glory to my Creator in suppressing them. 

So, I’d like to talk more. Share more. And perhaps, influence more. 

Another conversation - Is Your Soul Getting Chipped Away?

I talk about what I'm reading at the moment, the recent death of Christian apologist, Nabeel Qureshi, the kind of church I think one should be a part of, and well...wanting some lightning and thunder.

Thank you, Ps. Priji.

Is Your Soul Getting Chipped Away?

To be or not to be: A Bible prophecy buff

We come across two extremes in Christendom today with regard to the subject of Bible prophecy. 

One approach ignores it altogether, deeming prophecy irrelevant to modern life as a Christian. The other overemphasizes it, to the point where more fundamental doctrines are forgotten and prophetic timelines play an outsized importance in all discussions.

Neither represent the mindset of believers in the New Testament churches.

I can’t open YouTube without yet another video announcing the impending Gog-Magog war. It’s almost as if a group of believers think that merely by stoking feverish interest, the second coming of Christ will be expedited. As if God the Father would determine the best time for his Son to re-enter history, this time as Judge and Avenger, blazing with glory and power, based on the sum total of views, likes and shares. Conspiracy theorists vie to come out with startling pronouncements. The title of their videos are pure click-bait, too often suspensefuly unveiling the name of the antichrist and the exact date of his return. The variety of positions is staggering, ranging not only from the traditional camps of pre-tribulation vs post-tribulation rapture, but to several devious offshoots with zero Biblical grounding, such as the so-called ‘blood moons theory’.

Recently, the self-proclaimed doomsday prophets went into overdrive, after the July 2017 attacks on Israeli policemen on the temple mount in Jerusalem. Several theorists heralded the coming of Christ, as an imminent occurrence. They proclaimed that the building blocks of the third Jewish temple were being laid, even as the video was buffering.

This is certainly not to say that these aren’t fascinating times to live in, especially for believing Christians awaiting the return of their Lord and Savior. We do seem to be hurtling toward the fulfilment of several Old and New Testament prophecies.

Ever since the creation of an independent state of Israel for the Jewish people on May 14, 1948 – events have seemed to occur at a rapid pace. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed “Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children”.

After nearly 2000 years, God gathered his people, the Jews, and brought them back to their homeland in Palestine. He kept His promise. It took a long time coming, but it wasn’t a moment late. That event was a linchpin for a build-up of tensions around the world, and particularly in the Middle East.

On the other end of the spectrum, is a dangerously foolish disregard for God’s prophetic calendar. Several mega churches do not teach prophecy from the pulpit; others like Rick Warren have branded it a distraction. This egregious error lulls Christians into a naïve sense of well-being, content to believe that God’s entire agenda is to prosper them on this earth. Another unbiblical teaching within certain Charismatic churches, is the Kingdom Now theology, which promulgates that God’s kingdom and His control will be re-established here on earth through His reliance on a special group of believers. They deny that the rapture of believers will occur. They adopt an activist stance toward the problems of this world, seek to overrun social and governmental institutions, and oppose separation between church and state.

In this context, it is indeed right to ask if there is a balance that can be struck between expecting the world to burst into flames at any moment, and a wilful ignorance of the abundance of prophecies in the Bible, and taught by Christ to His disciples.

Yes, the world is a tinderbox, ready to ignite violently at the flaring provocations among nations.

Yes, the stage is being set for a new world order, and people are looking for a persuasive deliverer to usher in peace.

But no -  Christians do not need a hard-line stance on times, dates and hours. 

They do not need to be militant in defending their view of the rapture and the second coming of Christ, when the Bible is not explicit about the sequence of several events and their time-frames.

They do however, need to be vigilant, and with sanctified wisdom rightly search the Scriptures and interpret the signs of the times. Jesus implored his disciples to learn this lesson from the fig tree – “As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that He is near, right at the door”. 

We should be active in good works, prompt in repentance, and alert as we prepare ourselves for the persecution that surely lies ahead.

God has indeed appointed individual believers and His church, to act as the preservative to societal decay, the salve for hardened eyes, and the balm for aching souls. 

Even as we stand ready to shed blood, sweat and tears in the service of our servant Leader, it’s important to be assured of this truth - this world is never going to know real peace, until the Prince of peace returns. 

The voice of the broken

This last month, I was shocked at the news of the passing of Chester Charles Bennington, the frontman for Linkin Park. I’m usually not taken aback by celebrity deaths, since I am too removed from the entertainment scene to feel a connection either to the lifestyle or its inhabitants. This however, was different. I felt sick and shaken, especially because he committed suicide. He hung himself in his home.

Linkin Park released their debut album in 2000. I first heard of them and came across ‘Hybrid Theory’ when I was in junior college, at age 16. The album was a huge commercial success but I never would have guessed this was the band’s debut effort. The lead singer was a skinny, bespectacled, bejeweled, earnest looking guy, with one of the most unique voices ever.

When I was in college, kids branded themselves metal-heads and considered the mosh-pit as an exclusive club, entry into which was determined by the heaviness of the rock bands one was ‘influenced by’. I never quite understood the tribalism of college kids and found myself swimming against the tide, in more respects than one.  

When I first listened to the Hybrid Theory cassette – yes, a cassette. CDs were just becoming popular and not everyone had a CD player - they seemed to me to be yet another band seeking popularity based on manufactured angst. As I went down the playlist, I was fascinated by the unusual combination of lyrical depth, melodic composition, and vocal firepower. Chester’s range was incredible – from low whispers, to soulful croons to feral screams. His heart was truly in it, in the fullest sense of the term.

I enjoyed their next album as well, Meteora. ‘Crawling’, ‘Numb’ and ‘In the End’ became increasingly popular and went on to become their most recognized songs. Although I liked the popular numbers, my preferred songs were the lesser known ones like ‘This is my December’. The lyrics were heartfelt and moving -

“And I'd give it all away

Just to have somewhere

To go to

Give it all away

To have someone

To come home to”

Chester would have been in his early thirties, when his star was rising in the 2000s. At that time, I had no idea of Chester Bennington’s personal story. Not even the vaguest idea about his searing pain, his unrelenting heartache and the demons he fought on a daily basis.  I read his biography only after his death, and then, many of the haunting lyrics he had penned, came flooding back and made awful sense.

After college, I moved on from Linkin Park, and save for some singles like ‘What I’ve done’ largely lost touch with their work. ‘What I’ve done’ was striking, with lyrics drenched in despair but lurching toward hope. Much like he was trying to find God, he sang “let mercy come and wash away what I've done". 

In the end, though, he gave in to the demons who vied for his life. Through his life, with gut-wrenching frequency, he felt like giving up, throwing in the towel and severing the last thread of sanity he was hanging on to. Always inching one step closer to the edge. In the land of the living, death stalked him unremittingly -

“I'll face myself to cross out what I've become

Erase myself

And let go of what I've done”    

                                                                    

#chesterbennington #linkinpark #hybridtheory #meteora

                      

The curious case of the handsome Jesus

I recently finished watching A.D. Kingdom and Empire. It’s a fascinating, fast-paced mini-series on the events that occurred after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Over 12 episodes, the viewer is taken through the experiences of the disciples, the birth of the early Christian church, the spread of Christianity, and looms over the events that led to the eventual destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

It depicts the escalating tensions between the early followers of Jesus and the religious system of the day, in a gripping style. It does take liberties to fill in gaps between the chapters of the Gospels, and in some instances, does not portray Biblical incidents in true context. That being said, it is eminently watchable and will rouse a desire to better understand the roots of the early Christian church.

The series is produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, who also produced the Bible mini-series telecast on the History channel, and the movie ‘Son of God’.

As a kid, I enjoyed watching movies on the life of Jesus and have fond memories of viewing them with my family. Those were early years; I continued watching the newer movies made on Jesus and happily, never grew tired of them.

A strange trend emerged as Hollywood decided on a bigger say in the genre – the appearances of the men cast for the role of Jesus grew more and more striking. 

From the sculpted Jim Caviezel, to the traffic-stopping Diogo Morgado, 

to the blinding Juan Pablo di Pace.

As a child, I used to wonder why the Bible did not include a more detailed description of Jesus’ physical qualities. If the Bible described how tall he was, what the color of his eyes were, what his build was like, wouldn’t that put all speculation to rest? Now we have people molding Jesus per their own imaginations. Some claim he was white, some black, and some brown.

On the other hand, there’s also the most common picture of Jesus we’ve all seen. Almost universally, Jesus is shown as a light-skinned, lean man, with flowing robes, holding a lamb serenely and looking forlorn with a halo around his head. Where did that image come from? At some point, we created a sissified Jesus (as Voddie Baucham puts it), who looks like an ethereal supermodel, with silky smooth shampooed hair, manicured hands which haven’t seen a day’s work and feet softened from walking on roses.

Years later, in a moment of clarity, I realized why the Bible was silent about Jesus’ physical attributes. In stark contrast to His portrayals, the Bible leads us to believe that the historical Jesus was actually plain-looking and unremarkable, as stated by Isaiah – “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Yet, we think of Him as a pinnacle of male attractiveness in all our depictions and imaginations of Him.

Imagine how many mothers would have desired the perfect baby, how many men would have chased the ideal look, and how many women would have pursued the textbook man, in their quest to look like, or be with, a reflection of Jesus.  

That Jesus was “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering’ is glossed over or completely forgotten. The Holy Spirit was intentional in allowing minimal details of Jesus’ appearance in the Bible, since He is never meant to be the standard of beauty, but instead the model for character and godliness, for life on earth. As the Bible makes abundantly clear, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

There are no accidents or oversights in the Bible – we ought to recognize and absorb the gravity of the simple truth behind the silence of Jesus’ appearance. It will also open our eyes to other realities – First, looking beyond people’s external appearance and valuing them as fellow beings made in the image of God, with intrinsic worth. And second, having a renewed understanding of beauty – by discarding the chase to look younger, lighter, or shinier, and instead cultivating the authentic beauty of character, virtue and a gentle spirit.

The Great Gift of Upbringing

I was walking across the living room when the newspaper caught my eye. My Mother had drawn strokes around a section for emphasis. Curious, I leaned in, to read ‘Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action has an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent’.

I can easily imagine what must have been going through her mind.

I turned a year older. As my parents hugged and then prayed for and blessed me, I was reminded of the newspaper clipping and saw with clarity, that I grew into the woman I am today, because my parents took their roles seriously.

My Mom and Dad – Papa and Mummy, are two of the most God-fearing, hard-working, and compassionate human beings I have ever known. Through want or plenty, their girls were raised to believe that they had a purpose for their lives, were deeply loved, and had unique worth. We were trained to think clearly on morality, to give a reason for our hope, and constantly reminded that life did not lie in the abundance of possessions. 

My earliest lessons on Godliness came from my home. We were pointed toward the God who cared not only about how we worship Him, but also how we treat others as image-bearers of God. We were taught to reflect level-headedness and sobriety, in a world where success was equated with frenetic accumulation of wealth. I was exposed to the Biblical conception of sexual morality and why God’s sexual ethic was not a set of rigid codes, meant to bind our freedom, but entirely for our good, releasing us to enjoy genuine satisfaction and fulfilment.

My parents exemplified the values they taught and strove to be our role models. When they fell short, they were quick to rise again, conscious that their children were watching them closely. "Train your children in the way they should go, and when they are older, they will not depart from it". The impact of such training has become clearer, as I’ve grown older.

One of my earliest memories which left an impression on me, happened when I was probably 10-12 years old. We were one of 4 families on the third-floor of our aging building. Since both of my parents worked, my mother did not have many opportunities to mingle with the neighbors, except on the weekends or the occasional friendly greeting on working days. And this is what makes what I’m about to narrate even more remarkable.  We returned home one evening, picked up by our Mother, to a scene of crying and wailing on the floor we resided on. A kin of one of the neighbors had passed away and the body was placed in their living room with their relatives milling about. Mum rushed to open our door and attempted to find out what transpired, while offering to help. Streams of complete strangers were in our living room or in the vicinity of our flat and my mother was handing out water. 

Despite needing to set about her night with dinner and chores, and exhausted after a long working day, our flat was open until the crowd’s flow began to ebb. Startlingly, not one of the other neighbors opened their doors a crack – the families who chatted and socialized were full of excuses that night. Someone was pregnant and the death was inauspicious. People had their preferred superstition or reason. Yet, my Mother served rank strangers whom she would never see again and what was amazing was that she did it without the expectation of gratitude. In fact, it is quite likely that the neighbor who suffered the tragedy was oblivious to my Mother’s acts of kindness.

That night left an indelible mark. It was too early for me to begin thinking about my legacy, but I knew that was the life I wanted to live. It was the most natural thing then, for me to reach out to those less fortunate, while living my own life, with a loose hand on material possessions. I was able to help people financially, or meet their material lack in a way that would not have been core to me, if my parents did not bring home the value of generosity, kindness and compassion, making it real, alive and breathing, and not merely paying it lip-service.

The next incident is a recent one. I was witness to a road accident on my daily commute to work. A young girl lay writhing on the road in agony, after tumbling from her bike and subsequently being overrun by a car, on a chaotic highway.

While some turned away, I was able to help her into my ride and get her to an emergency room; waiting and holding her hand, as she was given emergency care, and wheeled into and out of several test rooms. I spoke to her Father, who was immobile with shock, keeping him apprised, until he was able to arrive with relatives. I will never forget the moment the elderly man grasped my hand with tears in his eyes, and thanked me. But strikingly enough, he saved his most effusive gratitude for the parents who raised me.

No matter one’s religious affiliation, human beings, intrinsically understand that children are the reflection of their parents. The best and most accurate evaluation of a man’s character will always be his children.

In the Old Testament, Eli, the priest was punished because he failed to rein in his children’s wickedness. Even David, who is known as a righteous king, bore the consequences of turning his face away instead of rebuking his children, and of course, lived to suffer the tragic pain of their failures.

It is then, a universal law, that children are the sum and substance of their upbringing. Whether Indian or American, wealthy or destitute, highly educated or illiterate.

It’s a lesson I can never forget, and I will forever be grateful to my loving parents, who walked down the narrow path themselves, before pointing it to their children, as worthy of following. It was a great gift indeed, my upbringing - the gift that keeps on giving. 

A Shout-out to The Bible Project

So, I thought I could write one of those short posts of the kind that the biggies release to their millions of followers, who hang on to every word that leaves their pens. And although I am neither a star nor have more than 1 follower (yes, you, Mum), I wanted to write this (somewhat) short note on a unique and commendable piece of work that I came across. Besides, if Seth Godin can quip on his blog once a day with random thoughts, so can I, no?

The Bible Project is a series of short clips, around 5 minutes long, on the various books of the Bible. Well, they started with covering the books, but have moved on to making videos on themes, word studies, and concepts such as ‘The Holiness of God’, 'The Image of God', 'Animated Explanation of the Law', 'Animated Explanation of Heaven and Earth', to name only a few. It is a spectacular effort to break down the most complex of theological issues into simple (but not simplistic) ideas.

As an example, check out their video on the ‘Book of Leviticus’. Not for the faint-hearted, this book covers a lot of details on rituals, ceremonies, festivals, and even treatment of diseases and bodily fluids. Leviticus is not an easy read and most Christians struggle to understand the purpose, appreciate the symbolism or grasp the context in which this book was written, and subsequently preserved within the Word of God. The Bible Project creates an engaging outline of Leviticus, systematically organizing the contents of the book into thematic parts, while pointing to its central mission. Again, in no way, is the video dumbed-down or even attempts to sanitize some of the difficulties we face while reading passages from the Old Testament.

Another masterful case is the video on the 'Book of Job'. It carried a more profound exposition on human suffering, than I have often heard, preached.

These short videos are an absolute must-watch. Whether you’re a new Christian, a wandering seeker or have had a long walk with Christ, these videos from the Bible Project will whet your appetite to read the Bible systematically, and help you visualize an underlying thread linking chapter and book. Significantly, it will give you a deep insight into the essential continuity, unity and oneness between the God of the Old and New Testaments. I have heard it said that the New Testament is in the Old concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New revealed. These clips do an amazing job in bringing this idea to life. The Bible Project is executed with creativity, passion and excellence – a stand-out execution that deserves a shout-out.  

https://thebibleproject.com/

(Not such a short note, after all).

Why I’m not a feminist

As a woman living in the modern age, with a fair amount of exposure to different cultures, people, and experiences, it comes as a surprise to many, when I express vehement opposition to the idea of being a feminist.

Of course, feminism means different things to different people in different countries and cultures. Gloria Steinem, the iconic feminist figure brought her ideas on the role of women into the mainstream of public discourse. I suppose, feminism at its roots, began as a powerful movement to propel the understanding that women are equal to men. Feminism benefited from the righteous anger of its proponents and many of its themes struck with a chord with women everywhere. Its heart, it seemed, was in the right place.

That germ of a ‘revolution’ has come a long way since then. In the US and other advanced economies, feminism has now morphed into a hatred of the other. It is now no longer enough, as a card-carrying feminist, to insist that women be treated equal to men, at work and home. One must, now demand special attention, careful treatment and superior advantages over men.  A certain virulent rhetoric has seeped into feminist speech that looks down on women who choose what they deem to be a path of oppression, at best.

As with all things, one finds that the Bible lays out a view in complete contrast to the prevailing philosophy of the world. Women hold an exalted position, created equal to men, in the image of God. In fact, I once heard a preacher humorously point to the Biblical passage that said women were ‘fashioned’ as opposed to men who just got made.

In a world of blurred sexual and gender identities, where gender is nothing more than a ‘feeling’ or a ‘product of cultural indoctrination’, the Bible celebrates the difference between the sexes. Women are liberated from the tyranny of male approval and expectations, when called on to remember that they have inherent worth, and are beautiful, valuable and equal in the eyes of their Creator. The proverbial woman of Proverbs (pun intended) is a clear thinker, a skilled entrepreneur and noble in character, all while being elegant, dignified and wise. Still very much, a woman.

Those who are enlightened with this understanding, no longer feel the need to swing to either extreme – trouncing men on a relentless drive to prove they can do what men can, better, or, spend all their lives striving for male attention through an endless pursuit of bodily perfection.

Women can choose to raise and school their children at home, fully convinced of its awesome responsibility and reward. Or they can pursue a demanding career, fully expending their gifts and talents, while keeping their sight on things above.

It must be added that certainly, a woman without a man is not incomplete, just as a man without a woman is not incomplete. Greco-Roman mythology has done humanity a great disservice by trapping hordes of men and women in a life-long chase, to find their ‘missing half’. Well, two halves do not make a whole, Hollywood!

A ‘whole’ woman is the Biblical ideal. So, on that happy note, I’d love to invite a feminist to my home built by a strong woman and her blessed husband, and hopefully point them to a walk which is definitely through a narrow gate, but is absolutely the better way!