I am sure you are aware of the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Israel. Since this past Saturday more than 360 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air-strikes and four Israelis have died from the dozens of rockets fired by Hamas. (go here for more information)
Yesterday I received an email that really bothered me. It was a "forwarded" email and its title was Israel Finally Attacks Gaza. What bothered me was the word Finally. This word seems to condone and approve the killing of Palestinians, whether "terrorists" or civilians. But the thing that bothered me most about this type of email (this wasn't the first of this type of email I have received) is the implication that Christians should be supportive of Israel's actions.
I am not an expert on Middle East politics. I do know that it is a hotbed of conflict and there is really no way to lay the ultimate blame on one party. Everyone is guilty of wrongdoing. There is more than one story, but mostly what gets heard in the US is one side. I know because I've been there and have heard and seen the other side.
I haven't visited the Gaza Strip but I have spent some time in the West Bank, particularly in Bethlehem. I was shocked on my first visit. It felt as if I was visiting a prison. There is a wall that surrounds Bethlehem. On the Israeli side of the wall everything is green and beautiful. On the Palestinian side of the wall things are brown and dead or dying. On the Israeli side of the wall there are shopping malls and parks and modern hospitals. On the Palestinian side of the wall there are limited supplies and refugee camps and sub-Western hospitals. I went to a Palestinian hospital with a Palestinian Christian friend to visit his mother. She was in a room with about six other people. He said that the doctors didn't have medicines or equipment to properly treat her. I asked if he could take her to an Israeli hospital. No, was the answer. "We are Palestinian. They would not accept us." Not that they could even go because a Palestinian has to receive permission from the Israeli Army to leave Bethlehem. My friend has not been able to leave Bethlehem for several years.
What I saw in my two visits to Bethlehem was one group of people, the Palestinians, being oppressed by another group of people, the Israelis. It is an oppression beyond anything I have seen in all of my travels. I would equate it to apartheid in South Africa.
It is an oversimplification to suggest that there are three camps that we North American Christians fall into when it comes to the modern political state of Israel. I'm sure there are others, but my experience has shown me that there are three broad groups.
First, many Christians "blindly" support Israel because of their belief that Israel is God's chosen people and therefore not to support Israel would be to go against God. These folks know very little about the establishment of the modern political state of Israel in 1948. They don't know that many Palestinians were run out of their homes and forced to live in refugee camps, many of which still exist. They also don't know that many conservative Jews do not recognize the modern political state of Israel as the Biblical Israel because they believe that it was established by man not God.
Second, there are what are called Christian Zionists. These folks read the Bible through an end-times prophecy lens. They see the establishment of the modern nation state of Israel in 1948 as fulfillment of prophecy and a sign of the beginning of the end. They also view events in the Middle East with excitement believing that such are one more piece of the puzzle that must be completed before Jesus returns. Christian Zionism, at least in the US, has its roots in dispensationalism, which came out of the teaching of John Nelson Darby in the mid-nineteenth century.
The third group of people doesn't really have a name and they are much smaller than the previous two groups. This group believes that God does not have favorites. (see Acts 10:34-35) They believe that both Palestinians and Israelis must go to God through Jesus. They believe that it is the responsibility of Christians to pray for all peoples and share the gospel with all peoples, including Palestinians and Israelis. They believe that the only solid sign we have been given of when the end is coming was given by Jesus when he said that the "gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). They also believe that the leaders of both Israel and Palestine will be held accountable for the injustices each has propagated on the other.
I happen to fall in the third group, thus my frustration with the email.
We have been called to make disciples of all nations. The all means all, not most or all but one. I am convinced that both blind and active support of the modern nation state of Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people is doing more to slow down the second coming of Jesus Christ than to speed such up. I say that because in the Muslim world there is a strong belief that the US is a Christian nation. Many Muslims see the US support of Israel as Christian hatred of Muslims. It's that simple. Many times I have been asked why Christians hate Muslims. When I ask why they would ask that they say it is because we (the US and thus Christians) support Israel.
So, what do we do?
First we must pray. We must pray for the kingdom of God to come among the peoples of Israel and the peoples of Palestine. We must pray that the Lord of the harvest would call out workers into both fields. When we pray this prayer, we must be willing to go ourselves. The call is there. Are we willing to go?
Second, we must educate ourselves. We must look into the teachings behind our end-times beliefs and see how they developed and fit within church history. We must also evaluate whether or not having an end-times focus fits with what we have been commissioned to do. Remember, even Jesus said he didn't know when the end would come. (Matthew 24:36) If Jesus doesn't know and doesn't seem to be all that concerned that he doesn't know, neither should we. Of course, we do need to remember that we have been given limited time here on earth and we will be judged according to what we have done during that time with the gift we have been given.
Third, we must learn to love our enemies. To be a disciple of Jesus we must obey his teachings. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught us to love our enemies. He said that such love will confirm that we are truly sons (and daughters) of the Father. (Matthew 5:43-48) That's pretty strong. We must ask ourselves if we are able to love Palestinians as much as we love Israelis as much as we love ourselves.
Finally, we must be peacemakers. Again, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that those who seek peace will be called sons (and daughters) of God. (Matthew 5:9) This is a serious teaching. When we either blindly or openly support one side over another are we being peacemakers? I just don't think so. Violence begets violence. We must seek peace. This is Jesus' way and it must be ours.
Thanks for this Eric. It is difficult to find an informed Christian perspective on this topic. I appreciate your insight of the situation.
Better luck with your resolutions this year. ;)
Posted by: grace | Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 01:09 PM
Grace,
Thanks. It is a tough issue and one that most folks have never really thought through. I hadn't until I went there and then, wow...
Blessings for the New Year...
Eric
Posted by: Eric | Thursday, January 01, 2009 at 08:48 AM