Missiology
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 49, No. 2 – Spring 2007
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Marlin Jeschke. Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 2005. 171 pages. Softcover, $16.99.
The long-standing debate over the Holy Land typically concerns who owns the land: the Jews or the Palestinians? However, Marlin Jeschke interestingly reframes the question in his book on salvation geography: what makes this land—or any land—holy?
Jeschke rejects the popular evangelical claim that says modern Israel fits within God’s plan for the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, which He gave them in the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12:1; 15:7, 18–21; 17:8), and that they will ultimately become Christian (Rom 11:26) (77–78). Yet, neither does he fall into the other camp, the supercessionist view, that says Israel has no divine claim to the land because the church has replaced Isra- el (135). Instead, Jeschke tries to minimize this issue to make his case that any land can be holy if a Christian practices salvation geography there.
He is clear about his aim in this book: to teach North American Christians how to use a new, biblical paradigm for how to acquire and possess a land and call it holy (21, 27). He believes the proper goal is salvation geography: “a community living out the distinctive style of posses- sion of territory that salvation history teaches, receiving the land as a gift from God and stewarding it with respect for neighbors and descendants, extending the reach of holy land” (23). Thus, all land could potentially be holy, so Israel has no special place as the Holy Land, according to Jeschke (140–41).
Although salvation geography sounds appealing if one could still reserve a special place for Israel as the Holy Land, most Christians will probably have a problem with Jeschke’s advocacy of total pacifism. Jeschke is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana (171). Since he is a Mennonite, his views on pacifism are expected; however, they appear naïve to this reviewer. Jeschke leaves no room for any kind of just war or self-defense of any kind, such as the protection of oppressed people, the defenseless, and even one’s family (152–56).
Jeschke writes clearly, adequately interacts with opposing views, ac- curately cites his sources, and appropriately makes some valid points, such as: (1) one should not practice herem (the ban) today (52–55); (2) a Jewish or Christian theocratic state has historically been fraught with difficulties (57–67, 113); and (3) a biblical theology should include how one treats the land (such as ownership) as well as what one does on the land (27).
Weaknesses of this book include: (1) although attempting to be balanced, Jeschke criticizes modern Jews much more than the Palestinians (19–20); (2) his promotion of total pacifism is unrealistic and too simplistic—charges he anticipates and tries to answer, although not successfully to this reviewer (152–54); and (3) although he attempts to take a biblical approach to salvation geography, he takes a decidedly critical approach to Bible interpretation. Of course, he is free to take whatever approach he wishes, but many Christians will reject his “biblical” approach as unbiblical. For instance, he rejects Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch (41), and advocates reading “the canon with discrimination (52),” which to him means to discount “the more gruesome texts (45)” of violence in Deuteronomy and Joshua as later fabrications or exaggerations, contrary to what the biblical text says. However, his most glaring weakness is his assertion that Jews have fulfilled God’s promise, that they would be a blessing to the world, (Gen 12:3) through their inventions, scholarship, philanthropy, and contributions to the arts, rather than being the people through whom God sent Christ. Jeschke wrongly claims the Jews do not need to confess Him as their Messiah (131).
Jeschke’s viewpoint is interesting and thought provoking, but it is not necessarily helpful in the ongoing debate over ownership of the Holy Land, and it is only partly applicable to any other land.
