By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
The Church of Scotland released a 10 page paper challenging the right of Israel to their ancient land.
The essence of their statement is that the Bible should not be used to resolve political conflicts. According to the Church of Scotland: biblical "promises about the land of Israel were never intended to be taken literally."
This is indeed explosive.
It can be easily said that both Jews and Muslims have competing textual claims to the Holy Land. In both great works extremely important events take place in the land. To say that what is written in the Bible is not to be taken literally is more than to belittle the Bible, it is downright blasphemy. And blaspheme according to Christian standards, not just Jewish standards.
Is the Bible now to be understood as a metaphor and not as the foundation stone of Judaism and Christianity?
There is little question that understanding the Bible requires many layers of analysis. The test of Abraham and the and the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22 which takes place in Salem, or, Jeru Salem is one of the most powerful pieces in all of religious literature.
On every level that story must be understood as a covenant between the progenitor of the Hebrew people and God who no longer desires human sacrifice. To remove that story from Jerusalem and remove the covenant between God and Abraham is to destroy the essence of the monotheism.
The test was not an accident. The chosen location was not serendipitous. It is the foundation of monotheism. That is why the Temple of Solomon was built on that spot and why, at the center of that Temple rests the Foundation Stone - at the place where Abraham bound Isaac, the place where the angel intervened and prevented the father's sacrifice of his son.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
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