Challenging Israel: divestment and Palestinian issues

Posted on March 20th, 2006

Why it matters

The Middle East is the focal point of U.S. foreign policy and the key to the most critical geopolitical issues of the day: terrorism, oil, the so-called “clash of civilizations” and the prospects for the spread of peace, democracy, and human rights. At the center is the shared Abrahamic legacy of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, venerable religious communities which each stake claims to the moral high ground and to land considered sacred to each faith, each in a different way.
• Also, American Evangelicals, who trend strongly conservative, have never been more politically prominent and powerful. Evangelicals gave President Bush, himself a conservative Christian, overwhelming support in his 2004 election victory and they continue to be his strongest backers despite a sharp downturn in his overall approval ratings.
• In addition, Israel receives about $3 billion annually in direct U.S. economic and military aid, plus millions more in loan guarantees as well as huge private donations from the American Jewish community. Though the exact total of U.S. aid depends on how the figure is calculated, what is indisputable that until Washington began pouring billions into Iraq, Israel received far more aid from the United States than any other country. That aid is considered vital to Israel’s security and any reduction or increase could recast the political balance in the region. The same could be said about U.S. aid to the Palestinians, which is far less quantitatively but equally perhaps vital to Palestinian survival.

Background

While Israel is the nexus of the Evangelical-Jewish alliance, the starkly different religious beliefs of these two communities create serious tensions that can shadow their partnership.

Evangelicals who form the heart of the conservative Christian movement see Israel as the Holy Land not just because of God’s covenant with the Jews, but because it is the place where Jesus lived, preached, and was crucified after claiming to be the long-awaited Messiah, a foundational tenet of Christianity but one that Judaism rejects.

Also, more than most other Christians, Evangelicals tend to base their support for Israel on the premise that the reconstitution of the Jewish state in 1948 was an omen of the Second Coming of the Messiah, that is, Jesus Christ. They believe that they have a special duty to convert Jews to Christianity to save their souls for eternity and to help usher in Judgment Day, when all those who have not become Christian will be condemned to perdition. The more Israel is threatened, they say, the closer is the fufillment of biblical prophecies about the End Times.

Jews reject that theology, and many find it offensive. Moreover, Americans Jews are overwhelmingly liberal and Democratic while Evangelicals are largely conservative Republicans, a disparity that makes them natural political foes on most issues-except support for Israel.

That division was seen in several sharp public criticisms by Jewish leaders of the “Christian right.” In November 2005 Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said: “Make no mistake: We are facing an emerging Christian right leadership that intends to ‘Christianize’ all aspects of American life, from the halls of government to the libraries, to the movies, to recording studios, to the playing fields and locker rooms … from the military to SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Later that month Rabbi Eric Yoffie, leader of the Reform Jewish movement, preached a sermon denouncing conservative Christians and comparing their attitudes toward homosexuals as comparable to Nazism. “We cannot forget that when Hitler came to power in 1933, one of the first things that he did was ban gay organizations. And today, we cannot feel anything but rage when we hear about gay men and women, some on the front lines, being hounded out of our armed services. Yes, we can disagree about gay marriage. But there is no excuse for hateful rhetoric that fuels the hellfires of anti-gay bigotry,” Yoffie said.

It is important to note that note only do such remarks reveal divisions between Evangelicals and Jews, but they can also prompt sharp debates within the Jewish community, where many would disagree with Foxman and Yoffie. Moreover, Jewish leaders like Foxman and Yoffie often oppose efforts of more liberal-minded Christians who support Palestinians causes over Israeli positions. The permutations can grow complex.

BIBLICAL BONDS

Both Jews and conservative Christians who strongly support Israel cite many of the same scripture texts to support their position, usually from the Hebrew Bible, or what Christians call the Old Testament.

Among the frequently mentioned verses Genesis 12:3, which recounts God’s promise to bless Israel’s friends and curse its enemies; at Genesis 12:5-7; and 13:14-15, which state that God promised the land that is now Israel to Abraham and his descendants forever.

Yet they often interpret those passages differently, creating tensions. For example, Robertson cited the Book of Joel and its predictions of divine sanction against those who would harm Israel as the reason for Sharon’s stroke, saying that the prime minister’s withdrawal from the Occupied Territories was biblically unjustified. This biblical literalism can lead to a paradox by which many Evangelicals take a harder line against the Palestinians than the Israeli government or many Jews.

BIBLICAL BREAKS

Similarly, problems arise with the evangelical Christian interpretations of Old Testament prophecies, such as those in the books of Daniel and Ezekiel, which many conservative Christians believe foretell an imminent apocalypse that will usher in the reign of Jesus Christ. Evangelicals also tend toward a literal reading of the apocalyptic predictions in the Book of Revelation, the final book in the New Testament. There are many variations on how this End Times scenario will unfold and how it will be ushered in. But popular scenarios generally hold that the Second Coming of Jesus, the Messiah foretold in the Hebrew Bible, will be preceded by a mass conversion of Jews and the annihilation of those who do not convert to Christianity. Hence the push among some Christian to convert Jews in order to hasten the Second Coming – a policy that can create great tensions with the Jewish community.

For many conservative Christians, the reconstitution of the State of Israel in 1948 after nearly 2,000 years signaled the start of a series of events that presaged the Apocalypse. Other signs include the various Middle East wars, including the current Iraq conflict, the oil crisis and a host of other permutations that continually change but which retain a hold on the popular imagination. The success of the Left Behind theological thrillers is evidence of that trend. But those thrillers also feature vivid scenes of unconverted Jews dying in a terrible conflagration.

(See “Apocalypse now?” a Dec. 13, 2004, ReligionLink tip about apocalyptic views in American religious culture, and Beliefnet’s FAQ: Christians and the End of the World.)

While many in the Jewish community are disturbed by these theological views, they also see this “philo-Semitism,” as it is known, as much preferable to the anti-Semitism that used to influence many Christians. And if philo-Semitism is repugnant to Jews, it can also be politically helpful to the Jewish state.

SURVEYS AND RESOURCES

• See “The American Religious Landscape and the 2004 Presidential Vote” from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life to see how religious groups voted.
• See a July 27, 2006, story on a New York Times/CBS poll that shows Americans growing increasingly pessimistic about prospects for peace in the Middle East. The poll does show strong support for Israel, and for President Bush’s support for Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah. Complete poll results are available in a PDF file.
• See a July 26, 2006, report from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press titled “Americans’ Support for Israel Unchanged by Recent Hostilities.” The report shows that while Americans tend to side strongly with Israel, that support is strongest among white evangelical Christians, nearly six in 10 of whom say they are sympathetic to Israel over the Palestinians. Moreover, while a plurality of Americans say their views are shaped mainly by media reports (35 percent), followed by 21 percent who say religion is the leading factor, among those who sympathize with Israel religious beliefs nearly match the media in importance at 32 percent.
• See a July 26, 2006, USA Today/Gallup Poll (subscription only) that shows Americans overwhelmingly believe Israel’s attacks against Hezbollah were justified, but that half believe the Israeli actions were “excessive.” A USA Today story analyzes the results.
• See a related July 19, 2006, Pew Research Center analysis titled “The U.S. Public’s Pro-Israel History: In Mid-East Conflicts, Americans Consistently Side with Israel.” The analysis of poll results since 1993 shows that nearly half of all Americans favor Israel over the Palestinians, who receive about 15 percent of Americans’ sympathies.
• “American Evangelicals and Israel,” a summary of surveys from 2003 and 2004 commissioned by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, shows that evangelical sympathies for Israel are stronger than any other religious group in the United States, and their support for the Palestinians is much weaker. Moreover, much of the support for Israel among white evangelicals is based on their religious beliefs.
• A March 2004 survey that formed the basis for a series of stories on evangelicals on Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and in U.S. News & World Report also showed that white evangelicals are much more decidedly pro-Israel than Americans in general. More than half think it is extremely or very important that the U.S. show support for Israel, compared with 40 percent of Americans in general.
• “Views of Islam Remain Sharply Divided,” a September 2004 survey from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, showed that while Americans overall were about evenly divided in their favorable (39 percent) versus unfavorable (37 percent) views of Islam, white evangelical Protestants held a much more negative impression of Islam, 46 percent unfavorable versus 29 percent favorable. Among white evangelical weekly churchgoers, the favorable figures were even lower.
• “No God In Common: American Evangelical Discourse on Islam After 9/11″ is a study by Richard Cimino, editor of the journal Religion Watch, published in the December 2005 issue of the Review of Religious Research. Cimino found that popular evangelical literature published after the Sept. 11 attacks draws sharper distinctions between Islam and Christianity, as well as asserting that Islam is essentially violent. Cimino also finds an increase in prophetic literature linking Islam as the main protagonist in End Times scenarios, which is a key factor in some conservative Christian support for Israel. A modified version of the article is available on the Religion Watch web site. Contact Cimino at 516-781-0835, relwatch1@msn.com.
• Christian tourism to the Holy Land is a vital sector of the Israeli economy. Israeli officials estimate that of the 2 million American visitors to Israel a year, more than half are Christian pilgrims and about half of those are evangelicals. See a Feb. 25, 2006, Dallas Morning News story, “Event signals boom in media,” on the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, which featured a number of promotions to draw evangelicals to Israel. See also a Nov. 10, 2005, Christian Science Monitor article, “A theme park for the Holy Land?,” about Israeli efforts to attract evangelical tourists.
• See a number of ReligionLink editions on evangelicalism, Judaism and Islam (in the archives under “religious groups“) for a variety of relevant sources who may be able to comment on this story.

NEWS ARTICLES

• See a July 25, 2006, report from CNN, “Preparing for the end,” which examines the End Times expectations of many American Christians in light of recent events.
• Read information about “Secrets of Revelation,” a National Geographic Channel program broadcast in July 2006.
• Read a July 23, 2006, Los Angeles Times op-ed by Zev Chafets on evangelical predictions of Armageddon titled, “I Want Falwell in My Foxhole.”
• Read a July 19, 2006, BBC news report, “Evangelical Christians plead for Israel.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5193092.stm
• Read a July 16, 2006, Washington Post story about the relationship between the Israeli and U.S. governments.
• See “Among Evangelicals, A Kinship With Jews,” a Jan. 8, 2006, Washington Post story about Jewish concerns over the evangelical embrace.
• See “Jews and the Christian right: Is the honeymoon over?“, a Nov. 29, 2005, Salon article that analyzes the criticisms of Foxman and Yoffie to discern whether the alliance between Jewish supporters of Israel and conservative Christians is fraying.
• See “Even Pat Robertson’s Friends Are Wondering,” a Jan. 8, 2006, New York Times story about the Robertson-Sharon flap.
• See “Christian Evangelicals Waving the Israeli Flag,” a Jan. 15, 2006, Orlando Sentinel story summarized on the Pew Forum site.
• See “Israel finds an ally in American evangelicals,” a Nov. 13, 2005, story in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
• See “Evangelicals Use Clout to Help Israel,” a Sept. 17, 2003, Atlanta Journal-Constitution story.
• See “Two groups divided, but both feel under attack,” a Dec. 8, 2005, Philadelphia Inquirer story.
• See “Some Jews fret over tone of prayer breakfast,” an Associated Press story about the February 2006 National Prayer Breakfast, a premier political event for conservative Christians that was co-chaired by Sen. Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican and the first Jew to lead the gathering.
• See “Jordan’s king to speak at U.S. prayer breakfast,” a Jan. 9, 2006, Washington Times story about the presence of King Abdullah II of Jordan at the National Prayer breakfast and the lunch afterward sponsored by evangelical leaders. The king’s presence was part of an effort by the Muslim community to reach out to the American evangelical community for support.
• Read a Beliefnet story on why evangelicals love Israel.

National sources

• Timothy P. Weber is the former president of Memphis Theological Seminary and author of On the Road to Armageddon: How Evangelicals Became Israel’s Best Friend (Baker Academic, 2004). Weber traces the roots of the alliance to Israel’s re-founding in 1948. He now lives in Colorado and can be reached at 303-814-8847, timothypweber@msn.com.
• Corwin E. Smidt holds the Paul B. Henry Chair in Christianity and Politics at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and serves as executive director of the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics. He is an expert in evangelicals and politics and has written on religious groups’ relationship to the Middle East. Contact 616-957-6233, smid@calvin.edu.
• Anna Greenberg is vice president of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Inc., which conducted the March 2004 survey of U.S. evangelicals. Contact through communications director Sam Weston, 202-478-8300, sweston@gqrr.com.
• Michael Cromartie is vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and a prominent researcher on evangelical issues. Cromartie was a panelist for a seminar titled “Uneasy Allies? Evangelical-Jewish Relations Today,” held Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2005, at The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Contact 202-682-1200, crom@eppc.org.
• John C. Green is a senior fellow in religion and American politics at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. He also serves as director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and as Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Akron. Green is a leading analyst on religion and politics, and he took part in the seminar “Uneasy Allies? Evangelical-Jewish Relations Today.” Contact 330-972-5182, or jgreen@pewforum.org.
• Barry Kosmin is director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. Kosmin also took part in the seminar “Uneasy Allies?” Contact 860-297-2353, Barry.Kosmin@trincoll.edu.
• Edith Blumhofer is a historian of evangelical Christianity in America, and she can speak to the history of evangelical focus on international issues, from missionary activity to interest in the Middle East. She is director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College. Contact 630-752-5437, isae@wheaton.edu.
• Alan Wolfe is director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass. He writes frequently about American evangelicals and was a panelist at the seminar “Uneasy Allies? Evangelical-Jewish Relations Today.” Contact 617-552-1862, wolfe@bc.edu. o Bruce David Forbes is a professor of religious studies at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. He is co-editor of Rapture, Revelation and the End Times: Exploring the ‘Left Behind’ Series (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004). Contact 712-274-5185, forbes@morningside.edu.
• The Rev. Donald Wagner is professor of religion and Middle Eastern studies at North Park University in Chicago. He is also executive director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and director of the Institute for Christianity, Faith and Culture. He is the author of Dying in the Land of Promise: Palestine and Palestinian Christianity from Pentecost to 2000 (Fox Communications Ltd. London), Anxious for Armageddon (Herald Press, 1995) and Peace or Armageddon? (Zondervan-Harper & Row, 1993). Contact 773-244-5785, dwagner@northpark.edu.
• Barbara Rossing is professor of New Testament at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. She is the author of The Rapture Exposed (Basic Books, 2005), and The Choice Between Two Cities: Whore, Bride, and Empire in the Apocalypse (Trinity Press International, 1999). Contact 773-256-0765, brossing@lstc.edu.
• Michael Barkun is a professor of political science at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. He is the author of A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America (University of California Press, 2003). He is researching the relationship between terrorist goals and millennial beliefs, including weapons of mass destruction. Contact 315-443-9339, mbarkun@maxwell.syr.edu.
• Richard Landes is the director of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University. He names global jihad as the apocalyptic movement most threatening to world peace. He cites the year 2000, the date of the second Palestinian uprising, as a major turning point in Muslim apocalyptic thought because it was when the idea of the martyr – personified by Mohammed Al Dura, a 12-year-old who was shot during an Israeli-Palestinian exchange of gunfire – became the central icon of the struggle. Contact 617-353-2558, rlandes@bu.edu.

JEWISH LEADERS

• Abraham Foxman is national director of the Anti-Defamation League, probably the best-known Jewish organization battling anti-Semitism. In November 2005, he delivered a speech decrying what he saw as the Christian right’s campaign to “Christianize” America and calling on the Jewish community to resist that effort. Based in New York, the ADL has state and regional chapters around the country. Contact through Myrna Shinbaum at media relations, 212-885-7747, adlmedia@adl.org.
• Rabbi A. James Rudin is the senior interreligious adviser for the American Jewish Committee and a longtime veteran of Christian-Jewish dialogue. Rudin is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor at St. Leo University in Florida, where he works at the university’s Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies. He is author of The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right’s Plans for the Rest of Us (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2006)Contact 352-588-8597, james.rudin@saintleo.edu.
• Rabbi Yechiel Z. Eckstein is founder and chairman of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. He is a leading proponent of stronger ties between Jews and evangelicals, especially on the issue of support for Israel. Contact through the IFCJ Chicago office at 312-641-7200, or mediacontact@ifcj.org.
• Alan Mittleman is director of the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies and professor of Jewish philosophy at The Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan. Mittleman helped organized the conference “Uneasy Allies? Evangelical-Jewish Relations Today.” He has written and taught widely on Judaism in the public square and on interfaith relations. Contact 212-678-8054, amittleman@jtsa.edu.
• David Klinghoffer is a columnist at the Forward, a Jewish weekly, and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. Klinghoffer is a vocal proponent of closer Jewish ties with evangelicals. In the February 2006 issue of First Things, he takes issue with Jewish leaders who have sharply criticized Christian conservatives, and lays out why Jews should form an alliance with evangelicals who support Israel. Klinghoffer lives in Washington state. Contact 206-292-0401 ext. 152, david@davidklinghoffer.com.
• Rabbi Eric Yoffie is president of the Union for Reform Judaism (formerly Union of American Hebrew Congregations). He gave the November 2005 address criticizing the religious right. Contact 212-650-4150, presurj@urj.org.
• Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz directs the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. It is a leading forum for dialogue and learning. Contact 203-365-7592, ehrenkranzj@sacredheart.edu.
• The American Jewish Congress is a leading Jewish advocacy group dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism. The AJC has regional chapters around the country for local sources. Juda Engelmayer is the press liaison. Contact 212-360-1587, jengelmayer@ajcongress.org.
• AMCHA – The Coalition for Jewish Concerns is one of the more vocal opponents of anti-Semitism, to a degree that sometimes puts it at odds with other Jewish groups. The CJC is based in New York City and led by the activist Rabbi Avi Weiss. Contact 718-884-8499, amchacjc@amchacjc.org.

CHRISTIAN LEADERS

• Steve Strang is president and CEO of Strang Communications and a leading voice on behalf of Israel in the evangelical and Pentecostal world. He is based in Lake Mary, Fla. Contact 407-333-0600 ext. 1103.
• Tony Campolo is a leading evangelical pastor and speaker and an outspoken critic of many of the positions of politically and theologically conservative Christians. He rejects much of the Rapture theology of many fellow evangelicals and wants Christians to support Palestinians as much as Israelis. In a Jan. 31, 2003, address in Vancouver, B.C., Campolo called on Christians to “face the facts” that their zeal to support Israel has undermined their standing with Palestinians. Campolo is a professor emeritus at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa. Contact via his assistant, Christin Fenton, 610-341-1722, cfenton@eastern.edu.
• George Mamo is executive vice president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. and executive director of Stand for Israel, an affliliate of the IFCJ. Mamo is a deacon in the Baptist church and speaks frequently on behalf of closer ties between evangelicals and Israel. He lives in Naperville, Ill. Contact through the IFCJ Chicago office at 312-641-7200, mediacontact@ifcj.org.
• Richard Cizik is vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. Cizik was a panelist at the Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2005 seminar, “Uneasy Allies? Evangelical-Jewish Relations Today.” Contact 202-789-1011, rcizik@aol.com.
• Pastor John Hagee of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, is among the leading Christian Zionists, as they are known. Hagee heads the annual “Night to Honor Israel” fund-raising event that brings together conservative Christians and Jewish leaders who have starkly different theologies yet share a firm support for Israel. Read a Dec. 6, 2002, Texas Observer article about one of these events. Hagee has written numerous books about the imminent return of Jesus and the conversion of the Jews, and the events have frequently prompted critical reactions. His web site lists reasons and Bible verses to explain why Christians should support Israel. Contact the Cornerstone Church at 210-490-1600, or John Hagee Ministries at 210-494-3900.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Andrew J. Bacevich is a professor of international relations at Boston University and co-author of an Orbis magazine article, “God Is Not Neutral: Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy after 9/11″ (winter 2004). Contact 617-358-0194, bacevich@bu.edu.
• Elizabeth H. Prodromou is the other co-author of the Orbis article and is an assistant professor of international affairs at Boston University. She is also associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs at the university. Contact 617-358-1863, ehpk@bu.edu.

IN THE EAST

• Jim Wallis is a prominent evangelical author and commentator and founder of Sojourners magazine, a periodical that tries to promote social change through Christian values. Wallis frequently comments on evangelical foreign policy concerns, though often in opposition to traditional conservative evangelicals. Contact through Sojourners in Washington, D.C., at 202-328-8842, sojourners@sojo.net.
• Randall Balmer is professor of religion in Barnard College at Columbia University in New York. He is an expert commentator on evangelical issues and is the author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey Into the Evangelical Subculture in America (Oxford, 2000). Contact 212-854-3292, rb281@columbia.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Julie Galambush is an associate professor of religious studies at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Galambush was an ordained American Baptist minister who converted to Judaism and is a member of Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Va. She is the author of The Reluctant Parting: How the New Testament’s Jewish Writers Created a Christian Book (HarperSanFrancisco, 2005) and can comment on the relationship between evangelicals and Jews. Contact 757-221-2183, or jggala@wm.edu.
• James Davison Hunter is a William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Sociology and Religious studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He has written the book Evangelicalism: The Coming Generation (University of Chicago Press, 1987). Contact 434-924-6524, jdhunter@virginia.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Amy-Jill Levine of Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School is a professor of New Testament studies and director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender and Sexuality. She can talk about Christian-Jewish relations, especially vis-á-vis evangelicals. Contact 615-343-3967, Amy-Jill.Levine@vanderbilt.edu.
• Ben Witherington III is a professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. A prolific author and an ordained minister, Witherington can talk about the historical tensions between Christians and Jews and can comment on current cultural manifestations of those tensions. Contact 859-858-3581, ben_witherington@asburyseminary.edu.
• Kenneth J. Collins studies American Christianity at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. He can comment on the evolution of evangelicalism in the United States. Contact 859-858-3581 ext. 2368 or 2213.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Mark Noll is a Carolyn and Fred McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., and a leading expert on evangelicals. He is co-founder of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals and author of American Evangelical Christianity: An Introduction (Blackwell Publishers, 2000). Contact 630-752-5865, Mark.Noll@wheaton.edu. (Noll leaves Wheaton in fall 2006 to take a post at Notre Dame.)
• Asma Afsaruddin is an associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies in the classics department at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. She has commented on the efforts of Muslims to forge connections with evangelicals. Contact 574-631-8677, afsaruddin.1@nd.edu.
• Joel A. Carpenter is the provost of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. He also is the former religion officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts and former director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicalism. He has written numerous articles dealing with the history of fundamentalism and contemporary evangelicalism. Contact 616-957-6102, jcarpent@calvin.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• William Martin is a Harry and Hazel Chavanne Professor of Religion and Public Policy at Rice University in Houston. He wrote the article “With God on Their Side” for the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (winter/spring 2000), which looked at the impact of religion on American foreign policy. Contact 713-348-3481, wcm@rice.edu.
• James R. “Jim” Sibley is director and co-founder of the Pasche Institute of Jewish Studies at Criswell College in Dallas. Until March 2006 Sibley was the coordinator for Jewish ministries with the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board and was the point man for the Southern Baptist Convention on issues involving the SBC’s often contentious relationship with the Jewish community. Contact 214-818-1309, or jimsibley@pascheinstitute.org.
• Mark Bailey is president of Dallas Theological Seminary and a noted expert on Christian End Times scenarios. He is the author of essays in the books Countdown to Armageddon (Harvest House, 1999) and The Road to Armageddon (Word, 1999). Contact through Mark Yarbrough, 214-874-4460, myarbrough@dts.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Donald A. Hagner is a professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., and an expert on Jewish-Christian relations and the history of the two communities. Contact 626-584-5247, dhagner@fuller.edu.
• Richard J. Mouw is a well-known writer and commentator on evangelical Christianity and is president of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., a leading evangelical institution. Contact 626-584-5201, rjmouw@fuller.edu.