AMERICAN RELIGION IN ISRAEL

BLOG 543

December 6, 2021

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

AMERICAN RELIGION IN ISRAEL

Why would Israelis care what Americans think or believe about religion? Why? Because the Church was a major persecutor of the Jewish people for centuries. Consequently, a recent edition of The Jerusalem Post published some interesting data on American religious ideas. Take a look at what the Post found.

The Pew Research Center discovered half of American Evangelicals say that “my religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life in heaven,” and that members of other religions – even if they believe in God like Jews do – are not included. The survey found that almost three-fourths of Americans (73%) believe in heaven, but they disagree about who can go there.

Nearly a third (31%) of all American Christians say their religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life in heaven, compared with 58% who say that there are multiple religions that can lead to such eternal reward.

Nineteen percent of Evangelicals say that members of other Christian denominations can achieve eternal life in heaven, and 44% of Christians say that many religions can get you there. Catholics are much more likely (71%) to believe this.

About a third (32%) of Americans also say that people who do not believe in God cannot enter heaven, compared with 39% who say that they can. Evangelical Protestants especially feel that belief in God is a prerequisite for heaven, with 71% saying that only those who have it can go.

In other words, Evangelicals in particular do not believe the Old Testament account that God made a covenant with Israel that the Almighty indicated was not revocable. This group rejects that agreement with Moses and David and maintains Jews will never get to heaven. Other Americans hold a similar position.

Why should Jews note these statistics? The idea that Jews aren’t fit for heaven feeds anti-Semitism. Hatred of Jews and attacks on synagogues has been on the rise in the United States as well as Europe. These facts are not only worrisome but continue to create distrust of the Christian faith in Israel. When American evangelists and Evangelicals say they are friends of Israel while believing they are all going to hell, Israeli’s tend to believe they are lying. You might want to check out what your group believes.

Stay tuned. More to come.

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I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II

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