Living Journey

Today I thought I would point the readers of this blog to some recent posts written by Dr Calvin Smith of Midlands Bible College who is at this time documenting his trip from Israel. He is over there researching for his book which is all about the persecution of Christians who live in the West Bank and Gaza.

He has met some interesting people, of which he writes…

Today I spent some time with Antony Simon, who does evangelism here. He took me to meet some people and I will tell you all about it later as I begin to draft chapters. But for now I will share with you a little about one couple I was introduced to. Albert is Assyrian, born in Baghdad, and a former pastor of the Church of God of Prophecy. His wife Eva is an Arab Christian whose family was from Haifa but was born in Syria. Our conversation focused on Christianity in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Albert explained how he lived in Beirut and came to the West Bank some years before the Six Day War). When I asked for more details about this, he said:

In 1961 I came to this country [before] they [ie Israel] recaptured… I don’t like to call it Palestine, to be honest with you. Because it is their [the Jews’] land, brother, their land. God promised it to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, it is His land.

I also spoke to non-Evangelical Arab Christians. Indeed, some were unhappy with Israel, but the Arab Christians I spoke with today maintained Israel was not the main cause of their problems, Islamism was. This is significant because back home we are led to believe Palestinian Christianity blames Israel wholly for all its troubles. But some Palestinian Christians simply do not agree, while others (like Albert, and there are many others) actually appreciate the Jewish roots of their faith, believe the Jews are God’s chosen people, and even that the creation of the State of Israel is part of God’s plan. This is despite some of the difficulties some face becase they are Arabs, and it is a testimony to their love for God and His word that the retain such strong views and witness, turning the other cheek and rejectng some calls emanating from within segments of Palestinian Christianity to espouse liberation theology. So don’t let anyone tell you Palestinian Christianity is somehow homogenous in its hatred for Israel. It simply isn’t so. (Read more here)

And he has even met a dispensationalist Arab pastor…

I’ve been meeting all sorts of people yesterday and today. Today I met a dispensationalist Arab pastor who strongly believes the Jews are God’s chosen people. This morning I was with a Chaisidic Jew who now believes in Jesus. Yesterday I met with two Palestinians, one from Churches of Christ, the other a Catholic. So as you can see my research continues to take me far and wide . Which, of course, it what research is all about… it means meeting with everyone, regardless of their view, in order to piece together the puzzle. Research based on a limited (or selective) sample is sloppy at best, and more sinisterly, an attempt to pass off one’s presuppositions as fact. Rest assured, as I research this whole issue I am keen to establish as far as possible the facts on the ground.

Several of these interviews raise some theological points to consider. When asked for their theological views of the Jews, the Palestinian Christians responded in almost identical ways. If by that I was asking if they supported Christian Zionism’s efforts to rid the land of Arabs, then no, they totally rejected such a theological premise. That they assumed this was what I was referring to begs an important theological question: are some Christian Zionists teaching such a point of view, or have some Arab Christians been misinformed about Christian Zionism? If the latter, by whom, and for what reason? If the former, is this position scripturally tenable? Does land ownership mean exclusivity to the land? (Read more here)

Anyway, there are many more posts that he has written and the ‘Midlands Bible College Blog’ is updated daily as his journey continues. He has asked people to feel free to comment on their views on the topic called ‘What of Israel?‘. He really, really does want input from every view point so his book can be thoroughly researched and unbiased.

If you want to know more about this massive endeavour that he has undertaken see…

New Category, New Monograph and Assistance Sought

…my desire is that as I research this subject, distance learning students, friends of the college, and other Christians can also contribute to the debate, thus ensuring the whole effort is at least a collaborative one. So I am not simply looking for agreement with my views (though it is nice to know when arguments crafted are both persuasive and effective). In fact, I am interested in hearing from both sympathisers AND opponents, as ultimately this will enable me to consider and deal with the full range of issues. All we ask is that contributions are thoughtful, genuinely concerned with establishing truth (a concept out of fashion in today’s postmodern milieu), and which are not unnecessarily aggresive (though we encourage passionate expression of views).Thus, my request from our readers is simple. First, please circulate details of this blog and particularly the “What of Israel?” category as widely as possible, to fellow Christians, your church, and elsewhere, both as a resource and to encourage Christian to debate the subject of Israel. Second, please contribute your thoughts, questions, and ideas to this section of the blog as much as possible. Some of these will help me, as well as also challenge readers, so making all of us more effective in our views. (The phrase “iron sharpens iron” comes to mind). Third, just as you contribute to this particular discussion (or in New Labour parlance, a “Grand Conversation”), be prepared to engage with the issues raised and the views of others fairly, openly, and above all from a biblical perspective. My aim is for a collaborative effort that produces a debate which seeks biblically-sound, theologically-viable, politically-sophisticated and non-rhetorically-driven conclusions on the very many facets of this issue.

All of his posts can be found in the category ‘What of Israel?’