Richard Mouw

Richard Mouw

President, Fuller Theological Seminary

Richard J. Mouw has served as president of Fuller Theological Seminary since 1993, after four years as provost and senior vice president. A philosopher, scholar, and author, the “On Faith” panelist has been recognized as an important voice among reform-oriented evangelicals. Mouw, who earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Chicago, has a broad record of publication with 16 books, including Consulting the Faithful, and Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport and his articles have appeared in more than 50 journals and magazines. Currently he serves on the editorial board of Books and Culture as is a regular columnist on “Beliefnet.” Mouw has served on many councils and boards, including the Commission on Accreditation for the Association of Theological Schools (as chair) and the Council on Civil Society. He currently serves on advisory boards for Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, the International Justice Mission, and the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. Close.

Richard Mouw

President, Fuller Theological Seminary

Richard J. Mouw has served as president of Fuller Theological Seminary since 1993, after four years as provost and senior vice president. A philosopher, scholar, and author, the “On Faith” panelist has been recognized as an important voice among reform-oriented evangelicals. more »

Main Page | Richard Mouw Archives | On Faith Archives


Speaking Critically but Carefully

Those of us who criticize Israeli policies have to be careful not to encourage anti-Semitic attitudes, especially those of us who worship the God who forged a special -- and eternal -- bond with the Jewish people.

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All Comments (5)

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Julia More:

Integrating this topic to a related one within this forum, here is one response:

Israel is a country, therefore it has an army. And the fact that citizens obey the call to arms may not be distorted to mean that there are no innocent civilians.
Were there less violence, of course then there'd be more tourism, more cash flow to all, and of course a larger percentage of nonmilitary visitors among the innocent citizenry.
A person who has not killed nor harbors malicious intent is not liable to the guilt of murder. Therefore a just person seeks the preservation of his/her best interest. It is the bloodthirsty who deny the primacy of acting in good faith.
So they cannot equivocate that harming sweet children and cheerful marketers isn't terrorizing innocent civilians. And since God the Lord intends calm, peace and tranquility to reign within the souls of and amongst true believers, then are not such bestial beings taking sides against the cause of the Lord our God in stirring up anxiety, unrest and conflict?
The land is not, as a certain P. M. once pointed out, too constricted for both populations (for all three types of resident) to inhabit simultaneously. Until that is, too much territory has been marred by war. Yet that is "a land on which His eyes are open day and night, a land for which the Lord your God cares." So folks do Him a great injustice in damaging the works of His hands, whether geographic or in marring human flesh in the sight of Heaven.
And the Almighty is "of purer eyes than to look upon evil," therefore He's not impressed with physical harm done in the contest to convince Him to take the land He has given to Israel away from her and to give it to bestial terrorists.
If my son screams for a cooky, that's when he's sure not to get one. "You be polite!"
Oh, sure, I think I've got a workable plan for peace and land-distribution that would maximize contentment;
only first people must conduct themselves more maturely and give some inkling of being able to handle privilege.
We need to be precise as to our definition of aggressors. Aggression is picking a fight, whether strictly for the love of war (bellicosity) or for greed & gain/self-aggrandzmt.
It tends to mean using physical force, rather than persuasion or one's vested rights, in order to defraud another of some of what is rightly his.
Militant Palestinians were moved in from Egypt and former residents of Palestinia were forced to evacuate on a Mufta's order. (Perceive the lie perpetrated as antisemite propaganda.) Israel did not defraud them of their homes nor come in as an iron-fisted gang; today's Palest. are descendants of temporary residents and newcomers: guests of Israel.
Whereas Israel was mandated the restoration of its territory by international agreement, by a consensus of what was for the time "the powers that be". They are not aggressors. They would have been the victims of the ongoing empire-greed of caliphs and muftahs, had they not reacted militarily; and had not God above been on their side.
So in order to keep God on the side of the nonJew residents of Palestinia, people ought not imagine harming nor forcing the hand of the favored descendants of Abraham, whose is the covenanted blessing.
They could probably enjoy lots of territory and privilege or semi-autonomy, were they nice about it, nice neighbors.
Imagine if this scene were to be reproduced elsewhere in the world. Other territories have in the course of history witnessed true animosity and aggression. Other peoples have had greater justification for superhuge reaction and major misgivings. My gospel liberates from misgivings; the message which I believe contains a great deal of true divine help.
So, equivocating and being pushy (very pushy)
and hostile and serving the god of anger only put a peaceful future for one's descendants far off into the mists of time.

Dave Marshak:

Even the ADL is not that bleak.

Minh:

"Those of us who criticize Israeli policies have to be very careful not to encourage anti-Semitic attitudes"

I don't think so. It is precisely because of this attitude of politicians, namely avoid difficult J-word, in the end, the masses came to the imagination that some big Jewish lobby is at work. And so every ten or twenty years, one see another pogrom of Jews.

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