A recent blurb in Relevant magazine underscores some weaknesses of the modern Church.

The news item, titled “Did Archaeologists Just Find Evidence of the Real Hezekiah?” tells us that King Hezekiah’s existence is well documented in the Old Testament, but in a subtle nod to doubt, we are also told that until recently, there’s never been any physical proof that he lived.

Then, the kicker:

“However, because it was found on contested land, some researchers are skeptical of the discovery, and say more research needs to be done to confirm its authenticity.”

A couple of things are going on here, thanks to the magazine’s editors.

First, they consciously avoid standing on the sufficiency of Scripture. In other words, for a believer, if the Bible records a person’s life, or an event, that should be settled history. This is akin to the often-maligned bumper sticker: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” Such primitive religious fervor is usually dismissed and laughed at by religious sophisticates.

Yet if the Bible is truly God’s Word, then we actually shouldn’t require physical evidence of anything, in order to believe. Too, it is fashionable in the circles Relevant runs in to wrestle with and even embrace doubt.

It’s the philosophical flavor-of-the-month.

Next, Relevant never misses an opportunity to undermine Israel’s legitimacy. This too is subtle in the above blurb, because we are told that the Hezekiah artifact was found on “contested land.” This would be the West Bank, or what the Bible refers to as Judea and Samaria. It is precisely this plot of ground that the Palestinians officially claim as a future state (increasingly, they brazenly claim all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, long a mantra of the PLO).

So there we have it: erasing history because it might authenticate Jewish history. Relevant is very comfortable promoting the Palestinian Narrative, which continually seeks to undermine Israel’s historical legitimacy, among other things.

Many, many Christian leaders in America today have a real problem with Jewish history and Jewish identity. Too often, such “leaders” say openly that they don’t see a connection between modern Israelis and the ancient Israelites. This is a neat trick that allows them to embrace the concept of the “Israel of God,” or the Church, which in their minds has assumed the promises of God once delivered to the Jewish people. This is classic Replacement Theology and is the worldview of denominational and ministry leaders coast-to-coast.

Unfortunately, Christian media help perpetuate doubts about Israel and the Jews.

Hezekiah is probably spinning in his grave.