Christian Zionism in the News

Israel & Gaza: History, Theology and Hope

August 14, 2024

Since October 7, 2023, the world’s attention has been drawn to the latest news coming from Gaza and Israel. Colin Chapman points out that truly understanding the present conflict requires knowledge of the past. Focusing on the background to these events in Israel and Gaza – rather than on the conduct of the war since 7 October – offers a way of understanding the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and points to what might be a peaceful and just resolution.

Chapman reviews the history of the land going back to the 1880s and then explores the differing approaches of Christian Zionism and Covenant Theology. The article concludes with an insightful discussion of seven issues that must be addressed if Israelis, Palestinians, and the watching world are going to make progress toward peace.

“The Israel-Hamas War and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” was published in the June 2024 issue of Cambridge Papers: Toward a Biblical Mind. Colin Chapman is former Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut and has taught in seminaries in Bethlehem and Cairo. He is the author of Whose Promised Land? which was first published in 1983 and will be republished in an updated version in October 2024.

To read Chapman’s article: The Israel-Hamas War and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict