Jerusalem will have a United States embassy in the city “before the end of the year,” Vice President Mike Pence told Israel’s Knesset.

“By finally recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the United States has chosen fact over fiction, and fact is the only true foundation for a just and lasting peace,” Pence told Israeli parliamentarians.

In his speech to Israel’s Knesset, Pence also encouraged Palestinians to reconsider negotiations.

“Peace can only come through dialogue,” he said.

He also said aid was forthcoming for persecuted Christians in Israel.

“For the first time we are providing direct support to Christian and religious minorities as they rebuild their communities after years of repression and war,” he said.

Pence’s words weren’t well received by everyone, however. Arab members of the Knesset boycotted the vice president’s speech.

“We recognize that peace will require compromise, but you can be confident the one thing the United States of America will never compromise is the safety and security of Israel. Any peace agreement must preserve Israel’s ability to defend itself by itself,” he said.

Pence also said that the U.S. would not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

“We are your friends,” he said. “And the day is coming when you will be free from the evil regime that suffocates your dreams and buries your…

Author Stephen Mansfield, who has written about the faith of former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, says the current occupant of the Oval Office has captured the “fundamental gripes” of evangelicals but misunderstands just how divided they are these days.

As President Trump completes his first year in the White House, Mansfield has written a book, “Choosing Donald Trump,” about how the chief executive’s faith and relationships with religious leaders helped him get where he is today.

Mansfield identifies Trump’s “spiritual father” as Norman Vincent Peale, a mid-20th-century preacher who popularized the notion of “positive thinking” and whose Marble Collegiate Church in New York the president used to attend. And the author says Florida prosperity gospel preacher Paula White, who gave the invocation at Trump’s inauguration, is the president’s “unofficial chaplain.”

Mansfield, an evangelical himself and former pastor who previously wrote “The Faith of Barack Obama” and “The Faith of George W. Bush,” spoke with RNS about the newest president’s religious trajectory.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You’ve written about the faith of George W. Bush and of Barack Obama. Why isn’t this book called “The Faith of Donald Trump”?

Because the other two had faith lives that had…

Christian athlete Tim Tebow will reportedly continue his baseball career. According to The Christian Post, Tebow has been invited to go with the New York Mets to spring training.

Last year Tebow played for Mets’ minor league affiliates the Columbia Fireflies and then the St. Lucie Mets. After leaving the NFL, he has kept busy as a sports broadcaster and also being involved in humanitarian work. He also recently spoke at the Passion Conference. Tebow hopes to find a career in Major League Baseball, and perhaps this year may be his best chance.

Last season Tebow had a .226 batting average, including eight home runs and 52 RBIs.

Although Tebow has perhaps exceeded expectations as far as his baseball ability, his ability alone is not the only reason Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson decided to sign him:

“We signed him because he is a good guy, partly because of his celebrity, partly because this is an entertainment business,” Alderson said.  “My attitude is ‘why not?'”

Fireflies President John Katz said Tebow has been a great addition to the team:

“His contributions, both on the field and in our community, have made a tremendous impact on our team, the City of Columbia and the entire South Atlantic League,” Katz said. “We wish Tim the best as he continues his journey to Citi Field.”

Asked whether he believers he will make it to the major leagues,…