Annual Gershom Lecture Series on ‘The New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel and the Land’ at Hillsdale College
September 30, 2016
Hillsdale, Mich.— The Hillsdale College Religion Department hosted its third annual Gershom Lecture Series on Sept. 29-30, introducing provocative arguments to audiences at the College’s Phillips Auditorium. Two notable scholars spoke at the event: Dr. Joel Willitts, professor of biblical and theological studies at North Park University, and Robert Nicholson, executive director for the Philos Project, a nonprofit organization that promotes Christian engagement in the Middle East.
Willitts and Nicholson discussed and debated the recently released A New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel and the Land, which collected the insights of attendees at a conference organized by Nicholson at Georgetown University in 2015.
The two lectures, “Reading the New Testament in a Jewish Way: Reclaiming the Apostolic Hope for the Renewal of Ethnicity and Restoration of the Land” and “Beyond Zionism: Recovering the Hebraic Tradition,” made the case that Israel and the Jewish people continue to play an important, ongoing role at the center of the Christian church’s life and future.
The Gershom Lecture Series is an annual two-day event for distinguished religious and biblical scholars to discuss the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, and examine its relevance in modern times.
In 2016 as part of the Philos Project, the College sent students on two trips to tour the nation of Israel to explore its complex history, current religious significance, and geo-political status. A third trip is scheduled for January 2017.