From March 5 – 9, 2012 the Bethlehem Bible College will be hosting it’s second “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bethlehem. The conference will bring Christians from around the world to Bethlehem to connect with Palestinian Christians and to better understand the daily situation they are living under and how certain Christian theological stances help to perpetuate those conditions.
Many times Evangelical Christians, especially those from the United States never get off the “tourist trail” and have the opportunity to meet with Palestinians and to hear their stories. Daily trips to places like the Bethlehem Checkpoint, Hebron, and the Tent of Nations will give participants the opportunity to see areas most affected by the occupation.
The aim of “Christ at the Checkpoint” is to provide an opportunity for evangelical Christians who take the Bible seriously to prayerfully seek a proper awareness of issues of peace, justice, and reconciliation. Some of the conference goals are stated as:
1. Empower and encourage the Palestinian church.
2. Expose the realities of the injustices in the Palestinian Territories and create awareness of the obstacles to reconciliation and peace.
3. Create a platform for serious engagement with Christian Zionism and an open forum for ongoing dialogue between all positions within the Evangelical theological spectrum.
4. Motivate participants to become advocates for the reconciliation work of the church in Palestine/Israel and its ramifications for the Middle East and the world.
Speakers include Tony Campolo of Eastern University, Shane Claiborne of “The Simple Way”, Lynne Hybels of Willow Creek Church, Sami Awad of Holy Land Trust, journalist Ben White and many local pastors and leaders from the Bethlehem community. A full list of speakers can be found here.
This conference has already received a lot of attention from Christian and Jewish Zionist groups trying to cast it as “delegitimizing Israel”. Charges not often thrown at Evangelical Christians.
Follow Christ at the Checkpoint on Twitter at: @Christatcheckpt
They should talk to this priest while they are over
“Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custodian of the Holy Land and head of the Franciscan Order in Israel, was responding to incidents that included painting slogans on the Narkis Street Baptist Congregation, on a Christian cemetery on Mount Zion and on the Greek Orthodox monastery in the Valley of the Cross. The slogans included “Jesus is dead,” “Death to Christianity,” “Mary is a whore” and “price tag.”"
And this is magnificent
link to newevangelicalpartnership.org
“This letter, though, is not about religious Jewish Zionism and its destructive effects on Israeli policy. It is about the Christian version of the same belief. This Christian version of Zionism matters deeply, not just because theology intrinsically matters, but because it is overwhelmingly clear that American evangelical-fundamentalist Christian Zionism affects US policy toward Israel and the Palestinians in distressing ways. It is one reason why the United States stands almost alone in the world community in supporting Israeli policies which our international friends generally find intolerable if not immoral and illegal.
Not to put too fine a point on it, we wish to claim here that the prevailing version of American Christian Zionism—that is, your belief system—underwrites theft of Palestinian land and oppression of Palestinian people, helps create the conditions for an explosion of violence, and pushes US policy in a destructive direction that violates our nation’s commitment to universal human rights. In all of these, American Christian Zionism as it currently stands is sinful and produces sin. We write as evangelical Christians committed lifelong to Israel’s security, and we are seriously worried about your support for policies that violate biblical warnings about injustice and may lead to the outcome you most fear—serious harm to or even destruction of Israel.
We write as evangelicals to you, our fellow evangelicals. On the shared basis of biblical authority, we ask you to reconsider your interpretation of Scripture, for the sake of God, humanity, the United States, and, yes, Israel itself, the Land and People we both love.”
Evangelicalism will fall with Zionism unless the right steps are taken now
I’m so glad that this is happening. The ethical conclusions (of a substantial segment of evangelicals) result from taking in outside information and then passing it through a massively byzantine, multi-layered biblical filter to which they feel they must remain true. What pops out can be anyone’s guess. But I’ve always felt that if evangelicals were presented with a counter-narrative AND if they were to see with their own eyes what the Palestinians are going through then many of them would be able to make the jump out of the Christian Zionist bandwagon to a place of thoughtfulness in which both sides’ concerns were more equally taken into account.
Since that’s exactly as it happened with me it shows that such a thing is possible. What I still don’t know is how often such an experience is replicated. Whether the issue is the Palestinians or climate change people on the reality side of the fence naively believe all that’s necessary is to get the facts out. (I know I’ve tried that.) What many fail to appreciate is the power of motivated reasoning. Such a way of thinking is common with respect to political thought and religious thought and it’s a near unbreakable combination in religio-political thought.
Some handles that might be effective is to take advantage of two beliefs of evangelicals, namely, the belief in absolute truth, and the theology of conversion or repentance. The Greek word for repentance, metanoia, literally means to change ones mind. Since truth is singular it’s required that we change our minds to be in accord with external reality. We do not have the luxury of having “our” truth but “the” truth.
This is amazing, Porter. Thank you so much for your vitally important work trying to remove the scourge of Christian Zionism from Christianity. There is nothing Christian about “Christian Zionism”! It’s a bizarre, racist death cult with a frightening amount of power. But it’s full of many otherwise good people who just don’t know any better… yet.
Absolutely agree. It is indeed a cult that has fooled so many otherwise godly people.
All power to this conference, those involved, and people like them. However, as with those in all cults, the ones caught up in CZ can seldom be reached with logic and reasoning. They have effectively been programmed and can only be freed by some form of deprogramming, in most cases. I know from personal experience of being in two cults over a 15 year period.
Right now I see the seductive power of persuasion and repetition on the Daystar Christian channel. They are having their annual “Sharathon” and it is all about supporting Israel, mostly it appears through money, which they call “seed”. Their message is that is how the blessing comes from God, by blessing Israel. It just sickens me no end at what these bug-eyed hucksters are doing in blackening the name of Jesus as they deceive with what they are themselves deceived.
Modern day Pharisees with hearts of stone, ears that refuse to hear, and eyes that cannot see, as they bow the knee to their golden calf.
Yuukkkk.
Every Christmas I respond to the local TV stations when they inevitably air a piece about “Christians in the holy land…” saying “All Christians, or just some?” and “Do you know that your Palestinian Christian brethren are not allowed to share in this pilgrimage?”
No response, but the point is made.