Find out for yourself...
... Is the Bible Christian or Jewish?
Our mission is to spark curiosity, inform, and challenge people around the world to explore for themselves the Jewish character of the Bible.
What happens when you realize that
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Is the Bible part of the cultural heritage of the people of Israel?
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Is the Bible a gift from this people to the world, commissioned by G'd?
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What if all the New Testament writers had sat in the synagogue and read only the “Old Testament”?
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Jesus was part of the synagogue tradition, and would He have suffered the same fate during the persecution of the Jews?
If you take these questions seriously, then
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Listen to your rabbis as they explain Biblical Hebrew,
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you'll read about how Jewish teachers interpret the Bible in a contemporary way,
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Can you see how the Book of Genesis is about something other than the creation of the world,
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it says that Israel was never allowed to possess the land of Canaan,
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you learn that a word like “truth” can actually mean that you have to lie.
Are you ready to take on this perspective on the Bible?
Then you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to this Biblical Nations Study Center. To gain insight into the relationship between the Jewish people and your own people; to gain insight into Jesus and his words concerning “Moses and the Prophets.”
I will praise You among the peoples, O LORD; I will sing psalms to You among the nations.
Psalm 108:4
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We'll be presenting our teaser animation soon. The first episodes are scheduled to air sometime in 2027.
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What makes this Learning Center unique?
It is a combination of factors that makes this learning center special.
What makes this special is the Judeo-Christian tradition that we are highlighting.
What makes this special is that we are doing this in an online learning community where the voices of many instructors in this field will be heard.
What makes this special is that we're taking an international approach.
Above all else: we want to use animation to share the content of this learning center with future generations.
These were the generations of Noah’s sons, listed according to their lineages, along with their peoples; from them descended the peoples who spread out across the earth after the Flood.
Genesis 10:32
What can you do? We can't do this without your help. There are two ways you can help.
You can donate money to help fund the production of the animations.
And you can share this initiative with those around you to help raise awareness of it.
Of course, you want to know why you should donate. The video gives you a sense of the style we’ll be using to bring the ideas of the learning center to life in short videos.
On that day you will say: “Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His Name, make His deeds known among the nations, and proclaim that His Name is exalted.”
Isaiah 12:4
Who are the people at Leerhuis?
At the Biblical Nations study center, Christian teachers are constantly interrupted by insights from rabbis. Why do they do that? Because they believe the church must continually delve into the Jewish roots of the Bible. When the church forgets this, countless insights are lost and—worse still—it can easily stray onto paths that run counter to the biblical message. At the study center, therefore, they engage in a process of returning to the source and recalibrating biblical theology to enrich Christian life.
Our first teacher
We hope to feature various teachers from our learning center over time.
The kickoff for this study group will be led by Bart Gijsbertsen, a pastor in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. He is also an author and a consultant on dialogue. Much of his work can be found on his website, which has been visited more than 370,000 times—and for good reason.
The fact that this pastor has made a name for himself in the Netherlands in the field of Jewish-Christian dialogue is evident from the recommendations we received for our initiative from other foundations active in this area. We received recommendations from the Jules Isaac Foundation, the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Foundation, and the Platform Appèl Church and Israel Foundation. If you are interested in these recommendations for our foundation and Bart Gijsbertsen’s role in it, read them here.
Bart Gijsbertsen has already written the scripts for five episodes
Together with illustrator Roel Ottow and animator Leenard Fieret, we are developing the best way to turn this text into an animation.
If this sparks your interest, please help us bring this project to life! The board members—including Bart Gijsbertsen—are working on this pro bono. With your contributions, we hope to bring each episode to life, one step at a time.
In-depth
As mentioned, we hope to feature several instructors over time. But to give you a sneak peek, we’d like to let you know where you can find the in-depth information we’re aiming to provide online. That way, you can also explore these topics on your own if you’d like to study this subject further.
Praise the LORD, call upon His name, make His deeds known among the nations.
Psalm 105:1