Monday, February 6, 2023

It is the 6th of February, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Happy Monday- thanks for the nice words about last week’s mailbag on the history of Israel- that struck a chord- and speaking of striking a power chord- the feedback to the Stryper show has been fun; glad so many of you enjoyed that story.

Ok- Richard in Utica wrote. He apologized for not always listening on time… that’s the great thing about this class- no attendance is taken. He tells me Utica is:

“One of the big five cities on the Erie Canal. All other cities in the US named Utica are named after this Utica. For a smaller city, we have a lot of local specialties such as Chicken Riggies, Utica Greens, tomato pie, and half-moon cookies. 

Some sports players from the area are Dave Cash, Mark Lemke and Andy Van Slyke from baseball. Richie Evans is a race car driver. And Will Smith, Defensive End from the New Orleans Saints.” 

Of course, Van Slyke and Lemke squared off in the thrilling 1991 NLCS. Also, Annette Funicello is from Utica, and she sang about her hometown in a song called “the Promised Land,” which ties into Richard’s question- he wrote:

“So, my question is, after Emperor Hadrian renamed the area back to Palestine, you mentioned it became a "hot potato" until 1517. What do you mean by that?”

Apparently, I shouldn’t just blow past 1500 years of history- especially for a place as complicated as what we call the Holy Land.

It is one of the most fraught places on the planet and has been since the beginning of recorded history. First, it’s not a bad place to be. Check out the location on the end of the Mediterranean and Persia to the East. So long as you aren’t fighting, the location is great, except there’s always been fighting.

So- after Hadrian disperses the Jewish people, he erects a pagan temple on the old temple site.

In 313, everything changes with the Edict of Milan- Christianity is legal, and Constantine’s mom, Helena, makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In 335, the church of the Holy Sepulcher was built, and in 339, the Church of the Nativity was built in Bethlehem.

The region was under Roman control until the fall of Rome and then became the property of the Byzantines. But by the 5th century, much of the land was junk- the old temple mount that was a temple for Jupiter and then the site of a partially built temple. Some Romans had wanted to invite Jewish people back to counter the number of Christian pilgrims who went there.

So, it was still one of the centers of the church, along with Antioch, Alexandria in Egypt, Constantinople, and Rome.

In 611, the king of Persia attacked and took control, only to lose control when the Byzantine Emperor took it back, but then both lost to the Arabs. In 639, the Arabs under Caliph Umar took the land; in 691, the Dome of the Rock was built. This would become one of the holiest sites for Muslims- it is believed this is where Muhammed was taken up to see God. Now we’ve got three religions vying for the same small part of the land, which is backed up with (sometimes dodgy) historical and theological arguments. This won’t end well.  

These Arab Muslims, the Ummayads, are in control until 750, when the Abbasids overthrow them. The Abbasids were overthrown by the Fatimids from Egypt, who gave way to the Seljuk Turks in 1071. They are not friendly to non-Muslims (who had been able to make Pilgrimages and live in general peace). This led to the First Crusade in 1095. From 1099-1291 We have the so-called Crusader states wherein Muslims took a break from fighting over the land and various Christians did instead).

By 1260 the Mamluks took the region and will eventually capitulate to the Ottoman Empire in 1517.

Mixing land and theology rarely goes well- our “manifest destiny” is a heavenly kingdom that will one day supersede the present heavens and earth. But take three major theologies and a pretty decent piece of Mediterranean land the size of New Jersey, and you can see why problems persist. 

Thanks, Richard! You can send me your questions at Danv@1517.org.

The last word for today comes from Romans 11- an appropriate reading for today:

2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 6th of February 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who thinks the Holy Land has nothing on the beef between Lafayette and West Lafayette…. Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by one who remembers the 1991 Baseball season about as clearly as any historical time or event.  I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.