Various authors and scholars have written Thoughtful Christian studies on the Middle East, including the Palestinian and Israeli conflict. This study is written by a Jewish man who has lived in Israel. We encourage participants to respectfully consider the writer's views on some of the toughest issues facing all faiths today.

The goals for this session are to explore the theological divide between Christians and Jews that is grounded in different understandings of covenant, to examine the intersections as well as the differences in Christian and Jewish paths in joining together to be God's agents of good in the world, and to reflect on ways to bridge the divide.

In this study, the author refers to a conversation he had with a colleague who asked, "Why is it that when we talk theology, you talk politics?" In fact, for the Jewish people the two are inextricably linked and the issues they touch are at the heart of the covenant the Jews share with God.

Often, this Jewish focus on an embodied, carnal world positioned in land and family relationship sounds strange to Christians seeking a spiritual union with God. But for the Jewish people seeking the realization of the Bible's covenantal promise, theology is sociology and demographics; it is geography and soil conservation; it is politics and economics.

And it is our responsibility as Christians seeking a true peace on earth to understand that. This study will go a long way toward achieving that goal.