The Bible Prophecy That Shapes Trump's Policy, Part 1

There's a church in the city of Bethlehem, It was built on the spot where Christians believed Jesus was born. It's called the Church of the Nativity. If you consult UNESCO's list of world heritage sites or travel expert Rick Steves, both will tell you that the church is in Palestine. However, when a question about the church's location came up during the round of jeopardy in January 2020, conflict over the location arose. One of the contestants answered Palestine, and the other answered Israel. The host picked Israel as the correct answer. That answer set off something of an internet firestorm. That is because what you call this land and who controls it is at the center of a decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Recently, there is also a third group that is becoming more influential here and throughout the middle east: American evangelical Christians. Today, Evangelical Christians are one of the most politically powerful blocks in the United States.

And in the Trump administration, they've been given unprecedented power. They've turned support for Israel and hostility towards its enemies into core tenets of conservative ideology. A big part of those policies is rooted in how they interpret the Bible. In 2016, more than a quarter of all US voters identified as white Evangelical Christians. One of the Primary differences between Evangelicals and other Christians is their relationship with their Bible.