Walking on the Pages of the Word of God

Aron Engberg, Ph.D. (2016), Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Sweden. He has previously published several articles and book chapters on evangelical Christianity, pilgrimage and life stories. Walking on the Pages of the Word of God is his first monograph.

"Readers will discover a wealth of insight in Engberg’s new book, from the formation and functioning of global evangelical networks to religious language and the role Christian Zionists have played in shaping the lived landscape of contemporary Jerusalem. This is an indispensable ethnography, one that promises to make a lasting impact on the interdisciplinary study of Christianity and the social life of scriptures more broadly." — James S. Bielo, Miami University"Based on intensive fieldwork, Aron Engberg provides a vivid portrait of Evangelical volunteers in Israel. For them, living in the Bible Land is not about venerating the past, but its restoration through the State of Israel. The contradictions between prophecy and current life in Israel are resolved through a postponement of understanding, which authenticates action as being a result of God’s agency. Engberg describes this process, fluctuating between the persuasiveness of narrative truth and the limits of human agency, with precision and coherence. In doing so, he provides an empathetic but not romanticized account of Christian Zionism that relates it to broader issues in contemporary Protestantism." — Jackie Feldman, Ben Gurion University of the Negev"Aron Engberg provides a closely observed account of Israel as both contemporary place and complex object of aspiration for Protestant evangelical volunteers. Working through individual encounters and biographies, he brings into conversation two areas of research that have had strangely little to say to each other so far: Christian Zionism, and analysis of the forms and functions of Protestant language ideologies. The result is a hugely engaging text that tells us much about how Jerusalem is lived, imagined, and narrated by powerful advocates for the State of Israel as political and spiritual entity." — Simon Coleman, Chancellor Jackman Professor, University of Toronto

• AcknowledgmentsList of Interviews1 IntroductionWalking on the Pages of the Word of GodToward an Ethnography of Christian Zionism“Christian Zionism”: Belief and PracticeBiblical LiteralismChristian Zionism as Narrative and ProcessMeaning, Language, and NarrativeMeaning & SymbolLanguage IdeologyReligious Language & Narrative PerformanceThe Scene in JerusalemThe VolunteersInterviewsSelf, Land, and Text2 Evangelical Zionism in JerusalemHistory of the OrganizationsRestorationism and DispensationalismJerusalem in the 1970sConnecting Israel with the Evangelical WorldPractical Support and Founding OrganizationsNavigating the Socio-Political SpaceCovenantal TheologyGoing MainstreamThe Ministries TodayAt the Embassy 20123 Self: Calling, Agency and TransformationNarratives, Performance, and TransformationThe Calling“It Wasn’t Our Idea”—Calling and AgencySuspension of AgencyNarrative Non-Sense MakingAgency in AbeyanceSelf-TransformationRealizing Israel’s Spiritual SignificanceBecoming RuthContinuous Conversion—Faith WalkConclusions4 Land: Israel, Place and PresenceSpace, Place and the “Holy Land”The “Land of the Bible” and the Evangelical GazeWhere Miracles Happen“God’s Fire is in Zion, but His Furnace is in Jerusalem”The Cosmic CenterA Locative ThrustTensionsAnother Problem of PresenceCan Israel Fall Apart?“To Live between the Tensions”Conclusions5 Text: Literalism, Prophecy and AuthenticityAn Ideology of LiteralismAmbiguities of Prophecy BeliefProphecy: Past & PresentProphecy: FutureBible Prophecy as an Interpretative TraditionHebraic Roots of Christian FaithHistory and AuthenticityHebraic and Greek WorldviewsPurificationA Vanguard of ReformConclusions6 Walking on the Pages of the Word of GodContinuities and Discontinuities of Evangelical ZionismGlobalizing Christian ZionismContesting Language IdeologiesAlternative Readings of IsraelWalking on the PagesReferencesIndex