Israel Matters: A Theology of People and Land Winter 2024
SB THEO 304 AUDIT
Course Instructor and Meeting Times:
Instructor: Gerald R. McDermott, Ph. D and TA: Scott H. Etkin. This is a six week audit course beginning with a presentation via Zoom by Dr. McDermott followed by 10 asynchronous lessons including video lecture and optional reading. The course will conclude with another Zoom presentation with Q&A with Dr. McDermott.
| Session # | Date | Time |
| 1 | Thursday, January 18th | 1800 - 1900 Israel Time Check your local time |
| 2 | Thursday, February 22nd | 1800 - 1900 Israel Time Check your local time |
Course Summary Description
Since the Holocaust, Christian theologians have come to realize that the Church made some serious mistakes in their understanding of Jesus and Israel—that Jesus and the apostles were far more Jewish than most had realized, and that Israel as a people and land have continuing significance for God’s work of redemption.
This course will be a study in biblical, historical, and systematic theology. But it is far more than academic. For those with ears to hear, it will help create and enlarge mountain-moving mustard seeds.
The course will explore the following questions. In the Bible, what was Israel’s role in Torah and the prophets? Where is Israel in the New Testament and early Christianity? Does the New Testament see a future for the Jews, even those who have not seen Yeshua as messiah? Did the NT authors see a role for the land of Israel in their day and the future? How did the Church understand these things in its last 2000 years—in its first three centuries, under Constantine, in the Middle Ages, the Reformation, and eighteenth through twentieth centuries? What significance does all of this have for Christian theology—its understanding of humanity and God, the history of redemption, prophecy, the Church, and the problem of evil?
*Jerusalem Seminary (JS) courses are engagingly academic and taught by experts in their field living in Israel. While JS’ courses are not externally accredited, they can be taken for internal JS credit. Any internal JS credit will accrue and at a later time would hopefully, through articulation agreements and accreditation bodies, receive official accreditation; a process that JS has begun.
