{"id":32847,"date":"2022-09-10T16:25:32","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/support-of-israel-wanes-among-younger-evangelicals\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:25:32","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:25:32","slug":"support-of-israel-wanes-among-younger-evangelicals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/support-of-israel-wanes-among-younger-evangelicals\/","title":{"rendered":"Support of Israel Wanes Among Younger Evangelicals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Bob Smietana<\/em><\/p>\n

NASHVILLE, Tenn.\u2014Older American evangelicals love Israel\u2014but many younger evangelicals simply don\u2019t care, according to a new survey from Nashville-based Lifeway Research.<\/p>\n

Three-quarters (77 percent) of evangelicals 65 and older say they support the existence, security and prosperity of Israel. That drops to 58 percent among younger evangelicals, those 18 to 34.<\/p>\n

Four in 10 younger evangelicals (41 percent) have no strong views about Israel.<\/p>\n

Fewer younger evangelicals (58 percent) have an overall positive perception of Israel than older evangelicals (76 percent).<\/p>\n

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And they are less sure Israel\u2019s rebirth in 1948 was a good thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the most part, younger evangelicals are indifferent about Israel,\u201d said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.<\/p>\n

Most evangelicals support Israel<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lifeway Research asked 2,002 Americans with evangelical beliefs about a wide range of issues involving Israel\u2014from its place in the Bible to its treatment of Palestinians. The survey focused on Americans with evangelical beliefs rather than self-identified evangelicals.<\/p>\n

Overall, this group was supportive of Israel.<\/p>\n

Sixty-seven percent have a positive view of that nation. Nine percent have a negative view. Twenty-four percent are not sure.<\/p>\n

One-fourth (24 percent) support the existence, security and prosperity of Israel, no matter what Israel does. Forty-two percent support Israel, but not everything Israel does. One percent do not support Israel. Thirty-two percent have no strong views about Israel.<\/p>\n

Few (14 percent) agree when asked whether Israel\u2019s rebirth was an injustice to Arabs in the Middle East. Fifty percent disagree. Thirty-six percent are not sure.<\/p>\n

About a quarter (22 percent) say modern Israel has been unfair to Palestinians. Forty-one percent disagree. Thirty-seven percent are not sure.<\/p>\n

Younger evangelicals (19 percent) are more likely to see the rebirth of Israel as an injustice. Only 34 percent disagree. Forty-seven percent are not sure.<\/p>\n

Among older evangelicals, 9 percent see the rebirth of Israel as an injustice, while 62 percent disagree. Twenty-eight percent are not certain.<\/p>\n

Older evangelicals (49 percent) are more likely to disagree that Israel has been unfair to Palestinians. Young evangelicals (32 percent) are less likely.<\/p>\n

Mitch Glaser, president of Chosen People Ministries, which helped underwrite the survey, said he was glad to see that most evangelicals support Israel.<\/p>\n

Still, he found the decline of support among younger evangelical believers worrisome.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am concerned for the obvious decline in support for Israel among millennial followers of Jesus, who either do not know what they believe or do not seem to care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Darrell L. Bock, a board member for Chosen People Ministries and director of cultural engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary, wonders if Israel is on the back burner for many younger evangelicals.<\/p>\n

When they think about the Middle East, they\u2019re more likely to think about Iraq or Iran or the impact of terrorism in the world, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe terror attacks on 9\/11 changed the Middle East equation, and young people just aren\u2019t sure where Israel is supposed to fit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Bible plays a big role<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most evangelical believers in the Lifeway Research survey say faith shapes their views on Israel.<\/p>\n

Three-quarters (76 percent) say Christians should support the right of the Jewish people to live in the sovereign State of Israel. Five percent disagree. Twenty percent are not sure.<\/p>\n

Sixty-nine percent say the Jewish people have a historic right to the land of Israel. Six percent disagree. Twenty-five percent are not sure.<\/p>\n

Only 19 percent say Palestinians have a historic right to Israel. Forty-six percent disagree. Thirty-four percent are not sure.<\/p>\n

Forty-one percent say Jewish people have a \u201cbiblical right\u201d to Israel but have to share it.<\/p>\n

Twenty-eight percent disagree. Thirty-one percent are not sure.<\/p>\n

African-Americans with evangelical beliefs are least likely (54 percent) to say Jewish people have a \u201cbiblical right\u201d to the land of Israel. They are also least likely (50 percent) to have a positive view of Israel.<\/p>\n

Among other findings:<\/p>\n