Should Bible-believing Christians defend Israel?
That’s the question Dr. Jeff Myers asks in his new book, “Should Christians Support Israel? Seeking a Biblical Worldview in an Impossible Situation.” In it, Myers seeks to help Christians navigate the ever-difficult crisis continuing to unfold in the Middle East.
Myers, president of Summit Ministries, wrote the book after experiencing concern over polls showing substantial proportions of Generation Z are shockingly sympathetic toward the terror group Hamas.
“I had seen a polling piece that said that 51% of young adults said they thought Hamas was justified in its attacks on Israel,” he told CBN News, referring to the deadly Oct. 7 terror attack on the Jewish state. “And that number went up to 60% in December. By then, I knew I needed to do something.”
At first, Myers wrote an opinion piece for The Daily Wire, “Congratulations, America. You’ve Raised a Generation of Terrorist Sympathizers.” The article attracted a lot of attention and ended up opening a door for Myers to visit Israel, where he spent time with citizen soldiers, survivors, and hostage families.
These conversations helped him process the complex theological and moral implications surrounding the current iteration of Middle Eastern tensions. The experience further helped him explore the need to defend Israel amid ongoing chaos and assaults.
Watch him explain:
“I think for people on the progressive left, Israel is a proxy for the United States,” he said. “So, you can’t come right out and attack the United States, because you’ll lose support. But, if you attack Israel, that’s fine. And by doing so, you can attack the United States.”
He continued, “The very same people who are going after Israel right now are the people who are the biggest critics of the United States of America. And I think that’s why antisemitism has such traction in Gen Z. Only 16% of Gen Zers say they’re proud to be Americans.”
Myers is so passionate about reaching Gen Z he’s making his “Should Christians Support Israel?” book available free of charge.
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“We’ve done something right and something wrong with Gen Z,” he said. “What we did right was help them develop a social conscience so that they want to pull for the underdog. That’s a very American trait.”
Myers continued, “But, on the other hand, we haven’t equipped them with the thinking skills to know how to see beyond the simplistic oppressor versus oppressed mindset view that they’re being given by postmodern and Marxist professors at their universities.”
He’s using the book as a chance to help people understand just how horrific Hamas’ attack on Israel truly was, citing the “brutality” and horror.
“I realized that Hamas is an apocalyptic rape and death cult,” he said. “There is no negotiating with these people. They do not care about the Gazans. They oppressed Gazans for decades. They only want Israel to be destroyed. That fulfills an apocalyptic vision for them, and they’re willing to use any means — including sexual assault and murder, mutilation — it’s horrible.”
He believes young adults change their minds when they’re confronted with the real facts about the ordeal. Myers is on a mission to drive home the truth for those willing to listen.
“I want young adults — well, all Americans, really — to recognize that we’ve forgotten the principles of just war,” he said. “Death is horrible in war, but death is not the worst outcome of war. We all die eventually. And the Christian thinkers such as Aquinas and Augustine who wrote about just war, said, it is a worst outcome that evil is allowed to prevail, because that creates misery for millions of people during all of their lifetimes.”
Watch Myers explain his ideas about just war, how to handle the Israel-Gaza crisis, and more.
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