Jesus and the Land

Jesus and the Land

Land is potent because “it represents a place where we are rooted and can understand who we are.” When place is tied to religion, the force becomes “doubly potent”. Seldom does a week go by without fresh news of land disputes in Israel and Palestine. In his latest book, Gary Burge starts by considering (biblical) Israel’s “experience with land”, helpfully exploring the three trajectories highlighted by Walter Brueggemann, “land promised, land possessed, and land lost”. He goes on to discuss Diaspora Judaism’s attitude to the ‘Holy Land’, before devoting the bulk of the book to the New Testament. Burge’s conclusion is that “The New Testament applies to the person of Christ religious language formerly devoted to the Holy Land or the Temple. He is the new spatiality, the new locale where God may be met.” The closing chapter, “Land, Theology and the Church”, may arouse controversy in some minority Christian circles, as Burge takes odds with the territorial claims of Christian Zionism, and is deeply critical of that movement. He enlists support from Karl Barth, who viewed an excessive interest in the Holy Land as “a relapse into Judaism”, and argued that “God’s holiness in space is now called and is Jesus of Nazareth”. Well, this book’s title may lead you to anticipate something rather dry and dull. But if so, expect to be surprised, as Gary Burge brings the subject alive. I found it a compelling read.

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