23
2010
Some Reflections on a Visit to Palestine by Philip Church
An article by 
The following is a guest post from Philip Church. Philip serves as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Theology at Laidlaw College. Philip completed an MCS from Regent College in 1983 and an ACT MTh in 1996, both in New Testament Studies. He was the Registrar of the former Tyndale College from 1985 until 2000 as well as being a regular tutor for the College. He was appointed Academic Registrar of the Tyndale Graduate School of Theology in 2002. He is a Chartered Accountant and was employed in a large New Zealand company prior to joining the staff of TGST in 2002. Philip is currently working on a PhD in New Testament Studies through Otago University.
Make sure you check out the image gallery at the end of the article.
I was privileged to travel to Bethlehem to attend the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference (www.christatthecheckpoint.com) organized by the Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) and its partner organisation the Holy Land Trust from 12-17 March. About 150 people were there and the array of presenters was very impressive. The Israeli authorities were invited but declined. However, the keynote addresses were streamed live on the internet and broadcast on local TV. Of course the authorities were watching, and they called in some of the presenters for interrogation. The Palestinian Prime Minister came and addressed us as did the ambassador to France, a graduate of BBC.
There were some high points at the conference, but it would take too long to detail them all. The papers are on the website and in time there will be videos to watch. Lynne Hybels spoke movingly of her journey as she has become a passionate advocate for Palestinian children; Tony Campolo reminded us as only Tony Campolo can that even though it is [Easter] Friday, [Easter] Sunday is coming; Colin Chapman spoke on Christianity and Islam, giving a necessary balance to some of the strident voices too often heard on that topic; Manfred Kohl traced the origins of the holocaust to German Pietism and drew parallels with the uncritical support of US evangelicals for Israel, warning of another holocaust on the horizon; and Naim Ateek and Mitri Rehab, presented a contextualised Palestinian theology. Two presenters spoke from a dispensational perspective. Neither was able to convince me that dispensationalism has a contribution to make to the very pressing issues in Israel and Palestine, and both gave readings of the NT that I find inadequate.
I found the visits where we saw with our own eyes the living conditions of Palestinians in the occupied territories to be as significant as the conference itself. While I have thought and spoken and published on these issues in the past, my thinking has now been challenged and refined by the opportunity to do theology “at the checkpoint.”
The day we visited a checkpoint all was quiet since the authorities had closed off the West Bank and were not letting people in or out. Normally people start queuing at 2:00 AM, so as to get to their workplace at a reasonable hour. On most days there are around 1,000 people in the queue at 6:00 AM, but we saw very few. The checkpoint is an opening in the eight metre high wall being built on Palestinian land, separating people from their communities and their livelihoods. Houses are bulldozed and olive trees that have been nurtured for hundreds of years are uprooted to make way for this wall. Some of us joined a non-violent protest where the wall was being extended, and I watched as unarmed Palestinians, often depicted in our media as terrorists, sat peacefully on the road in front of heavily armed teenagers with American accents and dressed in Israeli army uniforms. I saw the people dispersed with stun grenades, or sound bombs as they call them.
We visited a refugee camp where around 5,000 people live in less than one square kilometre. The children were playing in the streets because the olive tree park where they used to play is now behind that wall. We also went to an Israeli settlement and sat in their synagogue listening to three Jewish men with American accents telling of the deep sense in their hearts that this land belonged to them by divine right.
The contrast between the refugee camp and the settlement could not have been greater. Those who live in the refugee camp were removed from their homes in 1948 and have not been permitted to return. Their symbol is a key with 194 written on the shank, referring to UN Resolution 194, Article 11 of which says:
… the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.
Israel has refused to comply, and the refugees have been holding on to their keys for 62 years.
The settlers have mostly emigrated from the West, and it became clear to me that these settlements (“colonies” is a better term) are a slice of upmarket North American suburbia picked up and dropped into the Middle East. These people have their swimming pools, their pizza huts and their Curves gym. The children have nice playgrounds, and there are armed guards at the gate to keep undesirable people out. The Jewish man with the American accent remarked,
“When all the surrounding countries are democracies [meaning, “When they are like us”] we will have peace in this region.”
But stealing land (for that is what it is) and building walls and stationing armed guards don’t make for peace. Building bridges between communities, and working hard for peace and justice might.
Palestinian homes have black tanks on the roof to collect rainwater and grey tanks in the roof to store what we call “mains” water. The homes in the Israeli colonies don’t have any tanks. All the water comes from aquifers within Palestine. It comes to the Palestinian homes once every 2-3 weeks and they store it in the grey tank on the roof until it runs out. And then they wait for it to be turned on again. The Israeli settlements have water for their swimming pools and water in their taps 24/7. Fixing this injustice might be a good step in the direction of peace.
One of the conference presenters reminded us that when Jesus walked in this land it was occupied by Rome, and he drew a powerful analogy with today’s occupying power, also marching around in battledress. The only difference is that today the occupier has a religious name that evokes great support from many western Christians. But the NT makes it clear that faith in Jesus rather than ethnicity is the mark of the people of God since the coming of Jesus. Moreover, Jesus refused to identify himself with those who sought the downfall of Rome, offering instead a much greater freedom. I was deeply impressed with the grace of the Palestinian people, refusing to resort to violence; waiting for God to intervene and end this occupation. “How long, O Lord,” they ask like the Psalmist did before them. But their pacifism is not passivism, as they proactively work for peace and justice. And Christians in the West have largely ignored their plight.
Colin Chapman reminded us that the Muslim call to prayer, broadcast from the local mosques five times each day, was a call for us to pray. I have prayed in the past on hearing the prayer call, but then I had identified it as a forceful reminder that Islam is the dominant religious power in the region. Previously I prayed for the day when every mosque would be silenced, and every knee would bend to Jesus. I still pray along that, but now I also pray that God will set these people free from oppression and injustice.
At the end of his talk the Jewish man with the American accent read Isaiah 2:2-4 to us. It goes like this:
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. ”
There was no discussion as this came at the end of the meeting. But there were questions I wanted to ask.
Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money; yet they lean upon the Lord and say, “Surely the Lord is with us! No harm shall come upon us.” Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.
I would have liked to ask the Jewish man with the American accent to read his text in Micah instead of Isaiah and reflect on its context in Micah. This oracle of judgment is a stark reminder that this oppressed land is God’s land, and that those who claim to be God’s people in God’s land are required live under God’s rule and with God’s standards. Those who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong in these days may face the same fate, and the third temple that they long for (along with many western Christians) may yet turn out to be a heap of ruins, and the mountain of that house may end up a wooded height.
At the end of the Conference we issued “The Bethlehem Evangelical Affirmation.” It has its own website (www.bethlehemaffirmation.com). Please visit the site, endorse the affirmation (we are looking for 10,000 endorsements), and join the Facebook group. Then click on the link and go to the conference website to download some of papers and read them. And put a note in your diary for 5-12 March 2012 when the second Christ at the Checkpoint conference will be happening. And start saving. I was the only Kiwi there, it would be great to have a delegation at the next one.
The following images were given by Philip Church.
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About the Author: Frank Ritchie
Frank is the Education and Advocacy Manager for TEAR Fund NZ. Frank is a licensed Minister in the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand and has a keen interest in biblical perspectives of Justice and how this connects to service to, with and for the poor, disadvantaged and marginalized people of the world.
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Awesome! Fancy finding you here Uncle Phil! Great to see what you’ve been up to. Had no idea you were over on the other side of the world!
You’re related! Oh that’s too cool. Two extremely cool people from the same gene pool!
I didn’t think it was possible for an old guy like me to be that cool.
The great thing about getting older, Phil (not saying that you’re old), is that often people get more comfortable in their skin the older they get – that lack of need to conform and impress is what makes people cool… that and being related to the legend himself, Mr Elliot Taylor.
and apologies for that being entirely off topic.
Hi Frank,
I thought that you and Philip may find this interesting, certainly a stark contrast to the views expressed above.
A Prophetic Message Delivered by Lance Lambert
Sunday 18 April 2010, Jerusalem Israel
Do not fear neither be dismayed for that which is coming upon the face of the earth, for I am with you, says The Lord. Nevertheless I have a serious controversy with the nations. They are seeking to divide My Land says The Lord, the land that I covenanted to give to Abraham and to his seed after him through Isaac and Jacob, as an everlasting inheritance. This I will not allow without devastating judgment upon those nations who pursue this plan. I have arisen with intense and furious anger and will not back down until I have destroyed their well being. I will cause their economies to fail, and their financial system to break down, and even the climate to fail them! I will turn them upside down and inside out and they will not know what has hit them, whether they be super powers or not. For I am the only One, the Almighty God and besides me there is none to compare.
Do they believe that in their arrogance they can contradict and nullify covenants that I the Almighty have made? Do they believe that they can change what has gone forth from My mouth with impunity? It is My Word and My decree that has gone forth concerning the seed of Abraham. It will not be changed by man. I and I alone am Almighty. Do not fear!
For this reason a new and a far more serious phase of judgment is commencing. Do not fear, it is I who is shaking all things. Remember that in Me you have peace but in the world tribulation. Trust Me! I am shaking all things so that which cannot be shaken may remain. When all your circumstances become abnormal, discover in Me your peace, your rest and your fulfillment.
In this phase the old and powerful nations will become as if they are third world countries, super powers will no longer be super powers but countries such as India and China will arise to take their place. A great company of the redeemed will come out of these two countries. In all this change, do not fear.
I know your weakness and your tendency to fear, but do not be dismayed at these things. In the midst of all this shaking, this turmoil and strife, there are two peoples that lie at it’s heart, the true and living church and Israel. I will use these matters, these events, to purify one and to save the other! Do not fear, above the storms, the shaking, and the conflict, I am the Everlasting and Almighty One. In Me you cannot be shaken, you can only lose what is not worth holding!
Uri? Is that you?
rotflol
What’s so funny? This is clearly a message from God; who else would know about the financial crisis and global warming? Who else could have discerned the evil that lurks behind the leftist agenda of ‘peace’? We really ought to update our Bibles by printing this prophecy out and stapling it in the back.
I certainly wouldn’t suggest you do that, although you are free to do so if you please.
Actually, now that I re-read it I call fake. There’s no way God would be caught dead coming straight out with “India” and “China” like that. Too crass. Not poetic enough. “The many-armed blue elephant from the east” and “the red and gold dragon from the… er… even more east” would definitely be more His style.
Just fooling with you.
You don’t seriously believe that tripe do you? Or is it just that you’re not really prepared to call it BS because, you know, if it really *is* from God then you’re going to be in deep trouble for doubting it. I guess this is kind of what people like Lance rely on to earn a crust and be taken seriously. Or perhaps it’s because it confirms what you already happen to believe plus comes with the double-whammy that God is supposed to have said it?
I think that if Lance (or anyone else) has politico-religious opinions on the attempts to provide a home for the Palestinians he should just come out and say them rather than try to lend weight to his arguments by invoking God’s stern and threatening endorsement.
p.s. something to ponder before doing that, Revelation 22:18 says this…
18 I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.
Yeah I hear what your saying,
there are some if not many people who use the prophetic in a false way and try and manipulate the will of God.
I am just putting out another view, one that is supported by the Bible. I guess the first question people are required to answer is:
Do I believe the Bible is the authoritiative Word of God? If not, well that’s fine, decision made.
As far as it being threatening, it depends on your perspective doesn’t it.
David,
I understand how and why you might see weight in the words of people like Mr Lambert, but I do not.
I have heard and listened to people like Lance Lambert utter rubbish since I was 5 years old and I have watched and personally seen their words do more harm than good as they prance around trying to gain some sort of credibility by waxing lyrical as Old Testament prophets.
The aims of my life are really simple – to become more like Jesus and to use my life where I can to serve the poor, oppressed and marginalized and to speak against systems and powers that maintain that poverty and oppression… I can clearly do better at this in many areas – but it’s what I try to do.
The people I want to stand for are Palestinian, Israeli, African, Indian, Chinese, British, American, Latin American, Filipino, Kiwi etc etc and the systems I want to speak against are global as well… I don’t care who they are, if I think they’re causing oppression I want to speak against them – including the modern state of Israel.
If this means I am to be judged, then so be it, I stand condemned and firm in the commitments I have made for my life and reject the words of Lance Lambert.
Lance Lambert, you might disagree with him, but that elderly man is worthy of some respect on our part. He is not the same as some crazy North American extremist dispensationalists. Beware of premature judgements on a person like Lance who has lived in a Middle Eastern context for years now.
Andrew Diprose
(B. MIN., TUTOR distance study students of the EEAA accredited ITALIAN EVANGELICAL BIBLE INSTITUTE – http://www.ibei.it/english.htm )
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for your comment. It does not change my perspective on the quote from Mr Lambert at all.
If an opinion from Mr Lambert had been put forward without couching it in the bombastic of a type of prophecy that simply demands submission to its perspective rather than decent critical analysis I might have a little more time for it… though I can guarantee I would probably disagree with it based on some hints in what was put forward.
Allow me to state though – since I have no personal connection to Mr Lambert, this is purely about what was put forward, not about the man himself… though I struggle with any person who puts forward what was quoted in that comment.
Here’s the website for the Bethlehem Evangelical Affirmation for anyone who wishes to sign it:
http://www.bethlehemaffirmation.com/
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