Not five minutes after finishing the last post, on the way home from lunch I heard NPR interviewing an Israeli journalist about the Christian Zionist movement. He was followed by an excerpt from a John Hagee sermon in which the Rev. explained how whatever prophetic passage he was on that day showed that once America and Europe were no longer be able to defend Israel, Russia and the Arabs would come in and attack.

This isn’t just a bad way of engaging the culture, it’s theological foolishness. How about this: forget about trying to unravel some supposed code about the end of time, and preach the gospel. Not the great hope of a restored Israel, but the great hope of reconciliation with God through the blood of his Son. People will still hate you, but for a much better reason.