What!, isn't it absurd?

"Again and again in the Pentateuch, the psalms, the prophets, and the subsequent writings ... the claim is made that the creator of the entire universe has chosen to live uniquely on a small ridge called Mount Zion, near the eastern edge of the ...Judean hill-country. The sheer absurdity of this claim, from the standpoint of any other worldview (not least that of Enlightenment philosophy), is staggering." --N T Wright

What! isn't it absurd?
Israel knew God doesn't dwell in a building made by human hand, but a temple was built (then rebuilt 2 times) to establish a sacraficial system, based on Mosaic law, emphasising an issue called sin, issue of cleansing, issue of reconcilliation.

The temple ground features in prophesy - it will be trampled under gentile feet after Herods temple is destroyed until messiah returns.

Sure God made the universe, but does this preclude a representative peg in the ground as ground zero for special (holy) place?

People love to write off Israel, but the hatred is beyond anything like 'normal', and the character & philosophy of those who lead the hate shout to me Israel is somehow hugely significant... grossly disobedient , yes; hard hearted yes, but God has deliberately made it so for the gentiles sake, and to repeat, God made them miss messiah for gentiles sake, HE has not written them off... so no stone throwing coming from here. ( insert book of Romans here!)

God planned, promised, made an oath the promises will stand, cannot lie so it is permanent, but covenants have changed, but a new one made in the body and blood of the Son of God has done what no other covenant could do, bring permanent, lasting reconcilliation between God and men through the blood of the eternal covenant.