Whose Promised Land?

This is one of the most honest and informative books, I have read about the subject. No biased opinions, just facts and fair introduction. Easy to read ant to undrestand also for people, who have a very little backround information.

This book is a good introduction to arguments of both sides in Palestine/Israel. The reader will enjoy the abundance of "quotes" from significant figures on key issues in a single book, instead of tirelessly searching and sourcing them on him/her own. The second half of the book is more theology and theory than history and facts. In here, some readers might feel less secure than in the earlier pages. In this part, Chapman offers another Christian interpretation of the Holy Bible which is less literal and (according to him) more progressive, at least so far as finding a lasting peaceful solution to the conflict in the Holy Land is concerned. I think Chapman deserves to be listened to especially in a time when more unyielding religious views are not so scanty.

I found this book to be both fair and balanced in its presentation of the evidence from both sides of the issue. Chapman relies much more on quoting historical sources than he does on giving his own opinion. He presents a very brief, readable, balanced history of the conflict from both sides. I have learned a lot from the book; it has definitely changed my opinion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what the Christian response should be. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain an overall understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict quickly without a lot of extra verbiage and interpretation thrown in.

An excellant book; theologically sound; rooted in the real history or the region. It will not please those sold on fundamentalist, dispensational theology. It will please those open to Biblical interpretation that makes sense and that is consistent with New Testament teachings on the Kingdom of God and the people of God. It will give the reader a balanced view of the real history of the confict. It will in the words of each side give their story and rationale for the conflict. It is one of the best books I have ever read cataloging each side's perspective of the problems.

Colin Chapman does an excellent job of summarizing the history of Palestine and the biblical texts related to the promise of the Land. His answers to these questions are not the standard dispensationalist line and will make many who live and breathe dispensationalism very uncomfortable. His history is thouroughly documented as is his biblical exposition. He devotes a minimal amount of time to editorializing, choosing instead to let the major players through history (Scripture, Lord Balfour, Theodor Herzel, Chiam Wietzmann, Yassar Arafat, David Ben-Gurion and a host of others) speak for themselves. The inevitable conclusions drawn are both historical and thoroughly biblical. Because this book is more of a survey it is short particularly on theological detail, so there is no textual analysis or in-depth discussion of differences in translation (for example). The book is particularly helpful for understanding the history of the region and for its appendices which include a primer on expositing biblical prophecy as well as a summary of the Covenant of Hamas.