Posted by
Bob Siegel on Wednesday, January 07, 2009 7:36:05 PM
Diary of My Trip To Israel:
Part 23
NOTE: These do not need to be read in chronological order.
Today I was not with my brother. I was instead taking one of
the more standard, pop tours in the old city of Jerusalem,
led by a young, Israeli tour guide, trained to discuss Jewish, Christian and
Muslim interests. He offered a friendly disclaimer at the beginning of the
tour:
“I am not here to critique the claims of these religions. I
am merely pointing out what they believe and why these particular sites are considered
holy.”
We walked through the stations of the cross, highlighting
Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, the route to Golgotha,
the place where Jesus fell, etc. Eventually we came to an Armenian Church
building allegedly built where the house of Jesus’ Last Supper once stood. Our
guide began talking about the Last Supper as it was recorded in the Gospel of
Mark. He referred to Mark as “a disciple of Jesus.”
In time, we began talking.
He asked if this was my first visit to Israel
and that, of course, led to a discussion of my own testimony. Like the other
guide, Jacob (who took me to so many places on a private tour, and who also
asked about my conversion story), this younger fellow seemed every bit as
interested. Quite frankly, I expected more hostility from Israelis, not because
I was a Christian, but because I was a Jewish-Christian (a term most Jews
do not like or accept). Much to my
surprise, neither guide seemed bothered. They were separated by many years and
opposite beliefs. Jacob was in his seventies, a French survivor of the
holocaust and a very religious Jew. Today’s tour guide was in his twenties,
born in Israel,
and completely agnostic as far as religious doctrine is concerned. I suppose the common denominator is that both
men are used to meeting the widest variety of people, including Jews of all
persuasions, from Orthodox to Atheist to “heretics” like myself who dared to
blend the terms Christian and Jew together.
Toward the end of the tour, I said to my young acquaintance:
“You’re doing a great job. I do want to point out just one small thing. Mark
was not actually a disciple of Jesus. It’s true that he wrote a gospel, so it’s
an easy mistake to make, but actually, Mark was a scribe who wrote down the
words of Peter. This is because Peter was not very literate. It’s no big deal, and it doesn’t take away
from the main points you were making in your talk, which is why I didn’t say
anything in front of the group. The only reason I bring it up now, is that
sooner or later some other Christians on your tour will probably say something
and they may not say it as nicely. So, this is just a word to the wise.”
He smiled with sincerity: “Thank you so much for pointing
that out. I really appreciate it.”
I am grateful that he received my correction with such
humility. More often then not, I meet people who know absolutely nothing about
Christianity and yet they think they know everything about it. The bias of our
universities and easy access to anti-Christian websites make arrogant ignorance
ever so more accessible. How refreshing to meet a sincere skeptic, who is
willing to listen to what I know about my own faith. A lesser man would have proudly told me what
Christians believe instead of asking me.
Diary of My Trip to Israel: Part 24:
It Sure Looks Like The Right Place to Me!