The Theology of Land in Jewish-Christian Relations and Its Role in Misunderstandings between Jews and Christians

Without sufficient knowledge of the painful history of Jewish-Christian apologetics and polemics, commencing already in late antiquity and continuing to medieval times, one easily fails to recognize the complexities of current Christian approaches to the Land, now known as Israel and/or Palestine. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the interplay of theology and politics, and especially to reflect on theology of religions, i.e., the discipline which seeks to account theologically for the meaning and value of other religious traditions, not necessarily only, as has often been the case in history, as a problem, but also as a promise and a possibility for a renewed self-understanding.