Synopsis: Today the "land of promise" is a spark in the tinder dry atmosphere of Middle Eastern affairs. Events there continue to wield influence among peoples and in places well beyond the region itself. This raises for Christians the acute theological problem of how to relate to the "land of promise" today and in light of the land of the Bible. Our hope is that this volume of essays will contribute to a more informed and theologically coherent response to the "Land of Promise." It is offered here in the name of peace for all peoples in that place and among those who continue to look to her as a place of promise. Endorsements: "This volume is as important as its topic is serious. We must think clearly and Christianly about what the scriptures tell us concerning land, holy land, the modern Middle East, and biblical promise in a world that entertains enormous theological confusion. These able and provocative essays will offer us skilled guidance in territory few scholars are willing to enter." -Gary M. Burge Wheaton College "I salute the brilliant scholarship, biblical integrity, and keen commitment to justice that emanates from every chapter of The Gospel and the Land of Promise.
This book will be a valuable tool in the hands of laypersons, teachers, pastors, and scholars who seek to understand the political and theological realities in Israel/Palestine in the light of God's word. From New Zealand, the farthest country from the land of promise, comes this dynamic voice of reason and compassion." -Alex Awad Bethlehem Bible College "In these excellent essays, Christian scholars in New Zealand--where indigenous land rights have long been at the center of public discourse--reflect on 'land' in the Bible, and particularly the notion of a 'holy land' or 'promised land' in the Middle East. In the main, the book is a rejoinder to Christian Zionism. At the same time, it invites further reflection on the irreducible significance of place or landedness to human existence and Christian identity." -Chris Marshall Victoria University of Wellington "The Christian world remains split down the middle on the issue of how to relate biblical teaching on the land to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Here is a serious attempt by scholars of several different disciplines to wrestle with the question of how to read the Old Testament through the eyes of the New and in the light of the painful realities on the ground today. They have effectively thrown down to gauntlet to Dispensationalists and Christian Zionists of every kind: can they come up with equally detailed, heavy-weight scholarship to support their case?" -Colin Chapman author of Whose Promised Land? "This is an immensely important work of biblical scholarship on the theology of the holy land ...While Christian Zionists invariably see the coming of Jesus as the postponement of the land promises God made to Abraham, the authors demonstrate conclusively from the Scriptures that these promises were fulfilled in and through Jesus Christ." -Stephen Sizer Christ Church Vicarage Editor Biographies: Philip Church teaches biblical studies in the School of Theology, Laidlaw College, Auckland, NZ. Tim Bulkeley teaches Old Testament at Carey Baptist College, Auckland, NZ. He is the author of Amos: Hypertext Bible Commentary (2005).
Tim Meadowcroft teaches Old Testament and is Head of the School of Theology, Mission, and Ministry, Laidlaw College, Auckland, NZ.and is the Dean of the Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School, Auckland, NZ. He is the author of Haggai (Readings: A New Biblical Commentary, 2006). Peter Walker is Associate Vice-Principal & Director of Development at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford, UK. He is the author of Jesus and the Holy City: New Testament Perspectives on Jerusalem (1996).