Christian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century

The Duke Center for Jewish Studies is pleased to present a panel discussion on Christian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century with Professors Yaakov Ariel, Mordechai Inbari and J. Ross Wagner. A public reception will precede the panel at 4:30PM.

Yaakov Ariel is Professor of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His research has focused on Protestantism, especially Evangelical Christianity, and its attitudes towards the Jewish people and the Holy Land. He is the author of numerous articles and books on this topic, including An Unusual Relationship: Evangelical Christians and Jews (NYU, 2013), and Evangelizing the Chosen People: Missions to the Jews in America, 1880 - 2000 (UNC, 2000), which was awarded the Albert C. Outler prize by the American Society of Church History. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago, and an MA and BA from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Mordechai (Motti) Inbari is Professor of Religion at UNC-Pembroke. His teaching and research focus encompass Jewish history, thought, and culture with expertise in Jewish politics and ethics, gender and sexuality, and Jewish-Christian relations. He is the author of several books, including his most recent, Ruth Blau: A Life of Paradox and Purpose (Indiana, 2023), and Christian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century: American Evangelical Public Opinion on Israel (Oxford, 2023) (with Kirill Bumin). Dr. Inbari earned his Ph.D. at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and served as a fellow at the University of Florida, Brandeis University, and Duke University.

J. Ross Wagner is Associate Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School. A specialist in Paul's letters and Septuagint studies, he explores how early Jewish and Christian communities were shaped by their interpretations of Scripture, with particular attention to the textual and linguistic diversity of the biblical tradition. He is the author of Heralds of the Good News and Reading the Sealed Book, and co-editor of Between Gospel and Election, and, most recently, Being Christian After the Desolation of Gaza. An Anglican priest, and active participant in the Anglican-Episcopal House of Studies, he holds a BA from Michigan State University, MDiv and MA degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a PhD from Duke University.