Why young Evangelicals are turning against Israel and how to win them back – Part Two of series on THE ROSENBERG REPORT

“Surveys tell us the number of young Evangelicals who truly love, and support Israel is plunging,” said ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg in the latest episode of his weekly program THE ROSENBERG REPORT, which airs on TBN.

“What’s causing young Christians to have such profoundly different views of Israel than their parents and grandparents?” he wondered.

Rosenberg has engaged himself in thought and with research about the concerning trend for years. He believes it is a “terrible epidemic” that can be prevented and cured by taking practical steps, but in order to do so, “we must properly diagnose it.”

In Part One of the special series on the topic, Rosenberg outlined seven key reasons behind the declining support for Israel among young Evangelicals – factors that he believes warrant attention.

Reason #1: Education starts at home

“The first and most important reason that Evangelical young people are turning against Israel is because their parents and grandparents are not carefully, consistently, and intentionally passing on what they know and believe from the Bible about God’s love for Israel and the Jewish people to the next generation,” said Rosenberg.

Reason #2: Lack of solid biblical teaching

The second most important reason is that are they are not getting solid biblical teaching about Israel and the Jewish people at church.

“Very few pastors teach through the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter,” he stated.

Reason #3: Social media lies

“Most young Christians aren’t watching the evening news, or cable news, or reading the newspaper,” Rosenberg said. Many Evangelicals under 30 are consuming their news on social media and are being deluged by an avalanche of lies.

“And forget the so-called ‘mainstream media,’ which are pumping out toxic lies about Israel, too,” he added.

Reason #4: Where is the compassion?  

The war between the Hamas terrorist organization and Israel has put the spotlight on another reason why young Evangelicals are relinquishing support for the Jewish state.

“Far too many Evangelical pastors and ministry leaders who genuinely love Israel and the Jewish people show little or no compassion for Palestinians in Gaza who are suffering the worst war in their modern history,” Rosenberg said.

He urged Evangelical pastors and ministry leaders to take more seriously Jesus’ command to “love our neighbors and love our enemies” by demonstrating genuine, sincere, and consistent Christ-honoring compassion towards Palestinians.

Reason #5: They’re teaching it wrong

“Christian high schools, universities, Bible colleges and seminaries are not making it a priority to teach young Evangelicals God’s love and prophetic plan for Israel – and her neighbors and her enemies,” said Rosenberg.

“We are beginning to reap what Christian schools are not sowing,” he warned.

His argument in a nutshell: speed-reading through all 39 books of the Hebrew scriptures in 15 weeks or so is not enough to truly internalize the critically important [teachings] of the text, much less understand how to apply ancient truths and powerful prophecies to modern times.

Reason #6: Secular education

Putting the blame on the parents once again, Rosenberg argued that secular education will not sway Evangelical children to love Israel.

“Many Evangelical parents are sending their children to secular public schools, secular colleges, and secular universities which hate God, hate the Bible, and hate Israel. And their kids simply aren’t mature enough or strong enough in their faith and knowledge of the Scriptures to withstand such an onslaught of lies,” he said.

Reason #7: They’re not truly born again

“It’s painful to say it, but it must be said: Many alleged young Evangelicals who turn against Israel are simply not truly born again, Evangelical, followers of Jesus,” Rosenberg stated.

While they may have been raised in Evangelical homes by Evangelical parents and attended Evangelical churches, many have not taken the truths of the Gospel to heart.

“They aren’t reading the Bible on their own. They aren’t saved. So, they don’t really believe that the Bible is the Word of God. They aren’t yet indwelt by the Holy Spirit,” he explained.

Under such circumstances, it should not be surprising that they haven’t yet come to believe other important biblical truths.

How to turn the tide

While the TBN host believes the root causes behind the trend may pose a challenge, the good news is that it can be overcome.

“How can we seek to turn the tide and truly win the hearts of the young people we care about so deeply?” Rosenberg asked.

“Well, for starters, we need to make sure they are truly saved. We must patiently – but persistently – share the Gospel with them and encourage them to make a specific, definitive, personal decision to follow Christ and become born again. Then, we need to do a better job discipling them – helping them studying the Word of God for themselves and every day obey what Jesus and the apostles and the prophets are teaching them,” he suggested.

Watch the Part One and Part Two in the series "WHY ARE YOUNG EVANGELICALS TURNING AGAINST ISRAEL – AND HOW CAN WE WIN THEM BACK?" on the TBN website.

THE ROSENBERG REPORT airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. EST and Saturday nights at 10 p.m. EST on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the most-watched Christian television network in the United States.