A MESSAGE TO AMERICAN CHRISTIANS

In the New Testament Book of Acts there is a conversation recorded between a high-ranking government official from Ethiopia and a man known as Philip the Evangelist. The conversation centered on a prediction from the ancient Prophet Isaiah regarding the justice that would be denied Jesus at his own trial. "In his humiliation, justice was denied him." It is frightening that we can observe history repeat itself as the same humiliation is suffered today by Palestinians. Isaiah’s observation now applies to them. In their humiliation, justice is denied them.

When the descendents of the patriarch Jacob/Israel arranged the crucifixion of Jesus, they represented all of mankind. It was the misdeeds of us all that were responsible for nailing Jesus to the cross. In the sight of our Holy God, the Israelis did not act alone. In a spiritual sense, the rebellion that each of us has committed against God and against each other was also present at the crucifixion of Jesus.

Even though we are all implicated in Jesus’ crucifixion, none of us could have prevented his murder, because we were not alive when it occurred. We do, however, have the attempt to prevent murders that are occurring today. It is ironic that some of us rigorously protest abortion and the death penalty, and yet do not seem to mind if a Palestinian dies or is permanently disabled by bullets and weapons that our money has purchased. Regretfully, some of us think that the purposes and desires of God are being carried out when it is Palestinians who die at the hands of Israelis.

In my opinion, what is happening to Palestinians today is as if Jesus were being crucified again. If there is at least some validity to this statement, a sobering reality confronts Western Christianity. We were not there to prevent or protest the crucifixion of Jesus. We may also claim that we did not know that Hitler was murdering millions of Jews, so that we did not have enough information to motivate us to protest those murders. But we cannot plead that we have no knowledge of the current brutalization and murder of Palestinians. Every day it is protested at the United Nations and we have even seen such brutalization occur before our eyes on the television screen. If we are supporting today’s brutalization of Palestinians by our active support, we are guilty. If we offer no serious protest, we are passively supporting their brutalization, and we are guilty before God.

Our guilt provides the God we say we worship with a theological dilemma. The majority of us who say all the right words about believing in Jesus, are participating in a crime that is totally against his teachings. In contrast, multitudes of Muslims who have been confused by our representation of what Christianity is, and who do not yet realize that Jesus died for all of our transgressions and returned to life, obey God in ways that we do not. Many Muslims not only vigorously but also non-violently protest the crimes that are being committed against Palestinians, but also treat the vital practice of prayer much more seriously than most of us do.

Though I cannot claim to know how God will resolve this theological dilemma, we do have precedent in the scripture to consider. Jesus emphatically taught that it is not those who say "Lord, Lord" who are acceptable to God, but those who do his will. Also the Rabbi from Tarsus emphasized that those who do not have the opportunity to benefit and understand God’s revelation in the same way that others have are held accountable for their response to the light they do have. These two biblical teachings leave most of the Christian West with a shocking reality that we seem unprepared to face. The very Muslims whom many Westerners feel religiously superior to because of their lack of opportunity to understand that Jesus died and rose, are living in a more acceptable way in God’s sight than are many of us who may be proud of our theological insight

Is it possible that though we proudly testify that we see, before God we are blind? Is it also possible that others whom we consider blind actually see more than we do? We boast that we believe in justice. Yet, we have allowed a major group of people, beloved by God, to be dehumanized and in many instances murdered. We have stood by idly while tens of thousands have been denied access to the land they legally and morally own. Presently, Palestinians are threatened with the killing of multitudes and the banishment of those remaining from the land of their fathers. We read in our own newspapers that 49% of adult Israelis favor forcefully transferring the Palestinian population out of their own land, and yet we don’t realize that we are supporting this shocking and disgusting attitude. We also read that an Israeli bipartisan poll indicates that the measures being taken against the Palestinians during the Intifada (uprising) are "too soft."

Who are these Palestinians that the Israelis say have been treated too soft, and what have they endured? They are ones who have had their land occupied by the Israelis for over twenty years. Many were previously driven from their own land by Israelis. Some have been tortured and even maimed. Hundreds have been imprisoned, beaten and in other ways brutalized. They have been tear-gassed in enclosed areas by a tear gas design to only be used in open areas. Thousands of totally innocent people have suffered degrading and damaging punishment. Old and young alike have been humiliated. Over three hundred have been murdered. Countless numbers are being psychologically and economically manipulated to leave the Middle East, the land they love.

The October 8, 1988 International Jerusalem Post explains on its front page how Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin told the press last week that he was "not worried" by the sharp rise in casualties among participants in violent protests, saying that "this is precisely our aim." He excuses Israel by calling the protests violent when in fact any violence that does occur is caused by the violence of Israel’s policy of occupation of the Palestinian land. In this context he states, "Our purpose is to increase the number of wounded among those who take part in violent activities, but not to kill them." Rabin continued, defending Israel’s use of plastic bullets, "I am not worried by the wounded as a result of being involved actively, by instigating, organizing and taking part in violent activities." It is significant that it is admitted n the articles that these plastic bullets, which according to the doctors have killed eight Palestinians in a month, are used against any person the Israelis want to shoot. If a Palestinian is in an area near a stone-thrower, they simply label that person a riot organizer or an instigator to justify shooting them. Rabin also indicated these bullets were developed as a non-lethal method of controlling riots, "in order to hit stone throwers and riot organizers standing behind them." (Do these soldiers really have a way to distinguish instigators and organizers from other human beings?)

When we excuse this horrible rationalization by the Israeli Defense Minister by saying a Defense Minister must maintain order in his own land at all costs, we are forgetting the main point. These Israeli Defense Forces are not defending Israeli land. These Israeli forces are persecuting and murdering Palestinians who are protesting with rocks and flag waving the Israeli occupation of their own land, and the cruel repression of their people. If this type of occupation and repression is "too soft" according to 73% of Israelis, what will come next? Firing squads?

Wake up America! Why are we enabling this 73% to do these despicable acts to occupied Palestinians? What are we allowing this 73% to do to our own souls when they manipulate us to support them in their barbaric activities?

After we acknowledge our participation in Israel’s crimes, there is another reality we must consider. There is the strong possibility that large segments of Islam will soon understand that Jesus is certainly the victorious Messiah. Unless Western Christianity discovers humility and a perspective which includes justice, we will be taught a sobering lesson. In my opinion, God will, in the near future, help us learn humility and justice from the positive examples of those Muslims who will be living in the kind of obedience to our Messiah that most of us have not yet committed ourselves to.

In our own pride regarding our spiritual heritage and in our certainty that we believe and practice all the right things, it appears that in Jesus’ words, we have "swallowed a camel." We have missed the obvious point of the entire Bible, that God desires every human being in the world to have a personal relationship with his Messiah. Though we may believe that one billion Muslims do not have this relationship, our actions and our attitudes demonstrate that most of us don'’ have whether Muslims love God’s Messiah or do not love him.

We may say we care. We may even send preachers to "give them the message about Jesus." But, there is a hypocrisy in the message we send our representatives to preach. We conveniently ignore the fact that Jesus introduced himself as God’s Messiah by emphasizing that he would free prisoners and release the oppressed. We take the strength out of Jesus’ proclamation about himself by saying that he was only talking about spiritual prisoners and the spiritually oppressed. When our Middle Eastern messengers begin to plead for the release of innocent Palestinian prisoners or for an end to Israeli oppression of Palestinians, they are often classified by those who sent them as "liberals." They may be told that by their sympathy for Palestinians, they aid the cause of PLO terrorists. They may even receive another serious blow to their morale by being told that they are living in disobedience to the very Jesus they are certain is the source and inspiration of their own commitment to justice. As a final indignity, they are sometimes threatened that support for them will be cut off if they do not return to exclusively preaching the "gospel." Those who threaten them conveniently forget that the word "gospel" means "good news." That good news includes release from dehumanization, cruel victimization, and unjust imprisonment.

These ideas are unacceptable to many. Many do not believe they have any relationship to what is important to God. This response is confusing to me personally, because these ideas have come to me as a direct result of my own reading of the Bible, and from my prayers to God for an understanding of His concern for the Middle East. These ideas are labeled by some as being sympathetic to terrorism, or as anti-Israel or anti-Semitic, but are really only the result of an attempt to relate the teachings of the Scriptures to life today.

Whether Western Christians realize it or not, it is extremely difficult for tens of millions of Muslims to think seriously about our Messiah because of the ways we misrepresent him. It is wrong that the message we convey to Muslims is that Jesus has told us to support Israel in its repression and exploitation of Palestinians. It is also wrong for us to believe that the end justifies the means. It is simply not possible that God would inspire dehumanization, exploitation, stealing and murder to accomplish his purposes. These actions towards innocent people do not have God as their source.

There is another "camel" we have swallowed. We have missed the point of two of the most dramatic accounts in the Bible of God’s intervention to preserve life. Not once, but twice, God appears to the mother of Ishmael, the ancestor or spiritual progenitor of much of the Arab world and the first son of Abraham. Not only did God twice save the life of Abraham’s first son, but he personally chose a name of great significance for him.

The question that Western Christians have so far answered incorrectly is: Would God name the great Prophet Abraham’s first son "God Hears" and then himself refuse to hear the prayers of Ishmael’s descendents? A majority of us seem to thing that Allah will not listen to the prayers of Ishmael’s descendents, especially if they are Palestinian.

Do we believe in a God who would play cruel tricks on the descendents of the first son of the Prophet Abraham? Would God twice intervene to keep Ishmael alive so that he would become the first family member of the covenant of circumcision, and then allow no spiritual blessing to come to Ishmael’s descendents? No! If we think otherwise, we do not understand the integrity of God.

Finally, is it impossible for us to understand the heart and attitude of our Messiah? Would he risk his own life in teaching against religious bigotry and racial exclusivism in his own Nazareth synagogue, and then encourage his followers to have those same despicable attitudes? No! If we think otherwise, we do not understand the integrity of our Messiah.

We Christians in the West must wake up to our sin against God, the Palestinians, the Muslims, the Israelis and ourselves. If we do not, we will not only lose God’s blessing, but we will incur His judgment. I speak of our sin against both the Israelis and ourselves because when we are participants in crimes, we negatively impact both ourselves as well as our victims. Besides changing our attitudes and actions, we must humbly seek the forgiveness of our victims. Then we must turn to God and apply ourselves to Jesus’ words from the cross for those who caused his crucifixion. He said "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Since we have participated in the crucifixion of the Palestinians, should we not make the following humble request? God, we beg your forgiveness, for we do not understand what we are doing.

It is imperative that we western Christians repent for your serious sin against the Palestinian people; there are encouraging signs that this repentance has begun. I have recently encountered numerous persons who have said that the courage of the Palestinians in the face of Israeli cruelty and oppression has helped them realize that they must change their position on U.S. support for Israel. They say that the people of the U.S. must make it clear to our government that it is morally wrong for us to be partners in the dehumanization and brutalization of Palestinian human beings. They believe that our government must insist that Israel observe certain conditions before that nation will receive U.S. financial aid. One of these conditions will be an end to the brutalization of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Another will be that Israel conduct a serious national education campaign through proven and effective processes. This campaign will be designed to change the national attitude toward Palestinians so that before God Palestinians will be viewed as human beings equal to Israelis. A third condition must be that the Israeli government take serious steps to free the occupied Palestinians and end the occupation.

Israeli leaders at all levels must face the regrettable reality that a dehumanization process has taken place in many of their own minds toward Palestinians. Western Christians now realize that multitudes of Israeli citizens who are influenced by their leadership will hate Palestinians for decades unless the attitude and actions of leadership change. It is finally being understood by many that as a foundation for Palestinian life with dignity in their homeland, a new attitude must prevail in Israel. For this new attitude to develop, many in the West now understand that we have a responsibility to communicate to Israel that their present standard of morality as practiced toward Palestinians is unacceptable. We must say clearly to Israel, "we can no longer continue in our sin against God and the Palestinians by being partners with you in your brutalization of human beings." Unless Israel immediately demonstrates sincere signs of changes in attitudes and actions, we must demand that our government withdraw its financial support of Israel.

While we take this action, we must also demonstrate some sincerity in changing some of our own attitudes and actions. We must realize that our words remain both hollow and hypocritical if our own standard of morality remains as low as it presently is.

What I have suggested is a serious choice by the U.S. and could only occur in the context of demonstrated good faith by the Arab nations. But if there is such a demonstration of good faith, there can be no excuse for the U.S. to continue to subsidize Israel’s brutalization of Palestinians. It is imperative that the U.S. be aware of potential attempts by Israel to alienate Arab states so that they respond with threats to Israel. This is what Israel desire, so that it will continue to have these threats as justification for receiving large amounts of U.S. aid. This aid enables Israel to pursue its own policies free from the moral considerations of others.

Yes, the time has come for Western Christians to raise our voices to God and to plead with Him to being justice for the Palestinians. We are not attempting to persuade a calloused God who is reluctant to bring justice to an oppressed people; hopefully we will realize that our prayer for Palestinians will enable callouses to fall from our own hearts. It is only as our hearts become tender and sensitive to the terrible injustice being experienced by these exploited people that we will have enough motivation to try to help them.

In order to help in our prayer for the Palestinian people, I have slightly modified a Psalm of King David, written during a time of personal persecution. The words have been changed so that it becomes a prayer for these beloved people who are suffering now.

PSALM 13 – A PRAYER FOR THE PALESTINIANS

How long will you forget them, Oh Lord? Forever? How long will you hide your face from them?

How long shall they take counsel in their souls, having sorrow in their hearts daily? How long shall their enemy be exalted over them?

Consider and hear them, O Lord our God: lighten their eyes, or they will sleep the sleep of death.

Let not their enemy prevails against them, so that those who trouble them rejoice when they are moved.

But they have trusted in your mercy; their heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

They will sing unto the Lord, because he has dealt faithfully with them.
October 1988