Monday, March 18, 2024

Palestinian Christians Suffer—and Many American Churches Don’t Care ... Why do so many Western churches ignore us?

A woman cries outside the historic Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City after an Israeli attack last October.
 

FORGOTTEN

Palestinian Christians Suffer—and Many American Churches Don’t Care

We share the beliefs and traditions of Christians everywhere. Why do so many Western churches ignore us?

I have recently returned to the United States after completing a tour in the Middle East, which involved visits to Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt, focusing primarily on leading prayer summits for peace in my beloved homeland. The tour was in large part a crucial component of my ministry’s continuous work in the region. Almost everywhere we went, during the prayer events in Bethlehem, Amman, and Alexandria, fellow Arab Christians confronted us with a persistent question: Where does the church, especially in the West, stand in response to the injustice and carnage inflicted upon the innocent Palestinian people?

I am a Palestinian American Christian, born and raised in Bethlehem, and my wife was born and raised in Gaza. We both advocate for peace, and our loving families still residing in the West Bank and Gaza share the same pro-peace stance as do millions of Palestinians.

It was challenging to face this question, knowing very well that, while various opinions exist in most American and Western churches, a significant group either remains indifferent or unconditionally supports the modern state of Israel and many of its dehumanizing policies. Adding insult to injury, certain Christian evangelical leaders have employed the Bible to justify and rationalize the war in Gaza, as if it were a conflict between biblical Israel and God’s enemies. Some leaders have gone so far as to promote political ideologies and disguise them in biblical language. Furthermore, some have even outright dismissed and discredited the voices of Christian Palestinians... READ MORE https://newrepublic.com/article/179758/palestinian-christians-suffer-american-churches-dont-care

   [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

No comments:

Post a Comment