Israel Archives - Junkyard Wisdom

Until a year ago, I never connected Lent with a road trip.

But then I realized there was definitely a connection. Bear with me, and (with tongue in cheek) I’ll explain.

Jesus went on several road trips. He was walking, I assume. No first century minivans.

Scholars debate the timing and route—but scholars debate pretty much everything. If only there had been a first-century Rick Steves with a Rand McNally atlas recording it all. A missed opportunity. Still, everyone agrees that Jesus moved around a lot during his ministry, and he likely visited Jerusalem several times.

So where in scripture, …

Israel & Egypt Trip

If we’re friends on Facebook, you probably saw a few pictures from our Israel & Egypt trip. Here are a few more for your amusement. It doesn’t even begin to show all the places we saw and things we did. But I don’t want to be one of those people who make their friends look at every travel picture!

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Reset, by Stephen Kinzer

Stephen Kinzer’s book Reset is an interesting read. He has written a book that outlines a complete “reset” of American foreign policy in the Middle East. His thesis is that the majority of our foreign policy in that region was shaped by the Cold War, but we now need to rethink all of our relationships and alliances. I think most people agree with that basic premise, but Kinzer takes it further than most.

The book begins with a history of democracy in two key nations: Turkey and Iran, which both have had more experience with democracy than any other Muslim …

Son of Hamas

One of the first foreign countries I visited was Israel in 1975. It was quite an eye opener for a 16-year old. I was stunned by the historical sights, moved by the people, and confused by the political winds. The trip had a deep impact on my faith because it brought to life all the places in the Bible.

Two years ago I visited again, this time with D’Aun and folks from our church. The region had the same impact on me as it did 35-years ago. There were many things exactly as I remembered, but there were some significant …

Ancient Nation Building

Ever been to a failed state? I’ve been to a couple and have friends in several others. These places aren’t a lot of fun. Failed states are broadly defined as places where the government has failed to serve their people with basic services. The result is chaos, from civil disobedience to massive refugee issues.

I was recently reminded of an insight from the Old Testament about failed states. When the nation of Israel was in Egypt, enslaved by the Pharaohs, they were a nation of people with little identity. There was no written code for their religious system and they …