A Palestinian youth is forced to lift his shirt at an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron. (photo by Ryan Rodrick Beiler)
“I am a Palestinian Christian—not invented. I was born in Bethlehem to an Arab Palestinian family. I can trace my family at least 10 generations that we have been living here in Bethlehem. I am an evangelical Christian, a follower of Jesus, a sinner, saved by grace,” said Munther Issac. “We are not inventing our suffering. The checkpoint is our reality.”
“For us as Palestinians, it is not an academic study to talk about the theology of the land. It is very personal,” said Isaac, Vice Academic Dean at MCC partner Bethlehem Bible College, and director of the 2012 Christ at the Checkpoint conference. His words form a fitting frame for a week of presentations and discussions on some of the most controversial issues of religion and politics.
“Why do we have a conference like this?” asked Alex Awad, Dean of Students at Bethlehem Bible College and Pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church. “We really want to educate the church at large, but especially the evangelical church, about what is happening here. We want Christians from around the world to come, see the checkpoint, see the wall, see the occupation as it is. And then, open the Bible and say, ‘What does Christ tell us about this?’”
Contrary to early criticism of the conference by various groups, the program very intentionally included Israeli, Messianic Jewish, and Christian Zionist voices—all of whom were welcomed lovingly and respectfully despite sharp theological and political differences. In addition to the many prominent speakers, participants visited local sites such as Hebron, Tent of Nations, the Bethlehem checkpoint at morning rush, and the community of Beit Jala affected by the separation wall. It’s tempting to try to reproduce the entire conference for those could not attend. So instead, here are some key quotes from just some of the many different voices that hopefully will give a sense of the themes and diversity of perspectives presented (and does not necessarily imply endorsement!):
- Labib Madanat, Coordinator of the Palestinian and Israeli Bible Societies: “You can earn the right to criticize, only when you love. We need to be soaked in the love of Christ. Love is not a hug and a kiss. Love is to seek the life of the other that the cost of one’s own.”
- Dr. Yohanna Katanacho, Academic Dean at Bethlehem Bible College: “Love is not an opportunity to overlook justice. Love is an opportunity to pursue justice…. I am not embarrassed to say that I love the Jewish people. Every Jewish person is a gift from God. But I hate injustice…. The Israeli occupation is a sin. And people need to repent from that sin…. [But] we want to resist any form of evil with the heart and mind of Jesus Christ…. There is no love without justice. And there is no true justice without love.”
- Rev. Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor of Northland Church, Florida: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you’re not getting a reaction, you’re not taking enough action.”
- Shane Claiborne, Simple Way Community: “If we look close enough in the faces of the oppressed we can see our own faces. And if we look closely enough at the hands of the oppressor, we can see our own hands.”
- Gary Burge, Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College: “I am hungry for Christians who come to this land and promote the values of Jesus…. I can recognize the political legitimacy of Israel, while not seeing it as a spiritual fulfillment of prophecy.”
- Wayne Hilsden, Senior Pastor of King of Kings Community in Jerusalem: “The Jewish people have a special role because the revelation of salvation was given to them. And they were to send this message to all the peoples of the earth…. To the degree that Israel has been loved and privileged, so Israel will also be held uniquely responsible for the gifts they’ve been given.”
- Manfred Kohl, Vice President of Programs and International Development at Overseas Council International: “Jesus taught [the women at the well] that the divine space shifted from a place to a person…. Christ not only replaces the physical space of the land and the city, but he becomes the spiritual center…. Jesus Christ the Son of God is the only answer to the question of the land.”
- Stephen Sizer, Vicar of Christ Church, Surrey, England: “I accept Israel’s unique claim to the land, but not their exclusive claim to the land.”
- Daoud Kuttab, Palestinian journalist and media activist: “On one side we’re heroes, on the other side we’re terrorists, but on no side are we human.”
- Bourous Mansour, General Director of Nazareth Baptist School: “We suffer from this tension between Israel wanting to be a democracy and wanting to be a Jewish state which includes some exclusivity…. laws against Palestinians come from fear. Both peoples have fear. Both peoples have bitterness. They are angry. The Palestinians fear a new Nakba. The Israelis fear a Holocaust again. Only love can cast out fear. This is what the Bible says. How do we do it? How do we give security to the other side? I don’t think we’re capable of that love. It is only the love of God that can cast out that fear.”
- Ron Sider, Evangelicals for Social Action: “I am convinced that Christ intended to teach his followers never to kill…. [In the Sermon on the Mount] Jesus was not advocating a passive resigned attitude toward oppressors. Jesus’ response was to call on the oppressed to take command of their situation.”
- Sami Awad, Holy Land Trust: “I serve not to convert, but I serve because I am converted.”
- Grace Zoughbi, graduate of Bethlehem Bible College: “I looked at the situation in my country, and I thought that most women get married and then they raise their children, which is a great thing to do. But why only stay at home? … So I thought, I want to make a difference. I want to have a positive role—in my church, in my culture, in my community.”
- Shadia Qubti, Director of the Galilee Region Youth Department for Musalaha: “Many of us [women] are doctors, lawyers, architects, scholars, or theologians, but when it comes to ministry, there is a very narrow window as to how much we can impact that knowledge that we have in ministry. Why is that so? How many of us have challenged what is our role in the church?”
- Dina Katanacho Director of the Arab Israeli Bible Society: “We don’t have enough women in leadership…. Sorry to say that, but this is the reality. Women are not aware of this biblical perspective. They don’t have the opportunity to live out their calling and potential. There is a need, I believe, for men and women to express themselves freely and respectfully. Men need to learn to appreciate the contribution of women, and the latter need to take the risk of advocating.”
- Evan Thomas, Pastor of the Messianic Congregation Beit Asaph, Netanya, Israel: “We must be careful not to confuse our Jewish spiritual identity with our national aspirations.”
- Salim Munayer, Founder and Director of Musalaha Reconciliation Ministries and faculty member at Bethlehem Bible College: “If our theology of land, of justice, of chosen-ness, become absolute—they become heresy.”
- Richard Harvey, a Messianic Jew who has been involved in planting Messianic congregations and evangelism with Jews for Jesus: “I’m here to share a journey that I’m on—a journey to reconciliation that passes through the checkpoint.”
- Mubarak Awad, founder of the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence in Jerusalem: “Nonviolence, I felt, is more of an action thing, rather than giving people something to read.”
Isaac summed up many of the themes of the conference with this challenge:
The irony for us Palestinian Christians is that evangelicals, with their over-emphasis on prophecy, have lost the capacity of being prophetic. You want to prove that the Bible is right? You don’t do this by pointing to self-fulfilling prophecy, or by pointing to world events as prophecy fulfillment. This is not how you prove that the Bible is right. We prove that the Bible is right by radical obedience to the teachings of Jesus, by proving that Jesus’ teachings actually work, and that they can make the world a better place. Let us love our enemies, forgive those who sin against us, let us feed the poor, care for the oppressed, walk the extra mile, be inclusive not exclusive, turn the other cheek, and maybe—and only maybe then—the world will start taking us seriously and believing in our Bible.
In one of the final sessions, Alex Awad issued the following commission: “You have been with us. You have listened to us, you have seen the situation. You have heard Palestinians. You have heard Israelis, Messianic Jews. You know how we feel. You know our heart. Please, this is what we are asking you: Take the message wherever you go.”
He then urged those attending to do something even people who did not attend the conference can do: Visit www.christatthecheckpoint.com where you can read the Christ at the Checkpoint Manifesto, and share it with your family, friends, church, and community—whether in person or through Facebook and Twitter. And remember, this is not just an academic discussion. It is a life-and-death issue for the flesh-and-blood people quoted above.
[UPDATE: You can watch Munther Isaac's entire message on video here!]
