Q & R: Praying for me …
Here’s the (implied) Q:
Dear Mr. McLaren!
I just watched this presentation on the topic of “Christian Palistinianism”.
I am reaching out to you my dear brother in Christ!
I invite you to please watch this and see if the Lord is asking you to repent of this false doctrine you and some others in “the Church” are promoting.
This is a very unbiblical and dangerous way of representing who God is and His clearly laid out plans to redeem His Chosen people.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak the Truth to you and will open your eyes and ears to the Word of God and the Truths written therein!
Here’s the R:
Thanks for your concern and for praying for me. I am always eager to have the Holy Spirit speak the truth to me, open my eyes and ears to God’s Word and God’s truth, so I appreciate this prayer a great deal.
I have never heard of Christian Palestinianism and haven’t seen the presentation you refer to. Whatever it is, I am quite sure I wouldn’t support it, because my belief is that God loves all people (Israelis, Palestinians, Congolese, Darfurians, Muslims, Christians, Atheists, Americans, gay, straight, liberal, conservative). My belief is that God is not a respecter of persons, God does not show favoritism, God loves “the least of these.”
I believe that God has a special concern for the downtrodden and vulnerable – which applies to Israelis and Palestinians in various situations. I also believe God opposes the violent and oppressors – which also applies to Israelis and Palestinians in some situations. (As well as Americans, etc.)
It’s always important to remember how Jewish people suffered terribly, obscenely, and inexcusably under Christian anti-semitism for centuries. For centuries, Christians used the Bible to defend their anti-Jewish prejudice – some still do! Now more and more Christians see how terrible that was. But if they now use the Bible to disfavor Palestinians (or, like a prominent Republican politician who is beloved by my Christians, to claim they don’t exist!), we are trying to make a right out of two wrongs … hardly a great idea.
My belief is that it is bad for Israelis to mistreat Palestinians, just as it is bad for Palestinians to treat Israelis. Equally, it is bad for Christians to take sides with one group against the other. We should always remember that when governments or leaders on either side do bad things, the people shouldn’t be blamed for it.
My prayer and desire is for us all to work and pray for solutions in the Middle East that are pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, pro-peace, and pro-justice … and nothing less.
If that’s what the documentary says I am for, it was accurate. If it says anything else, it is not honest, accurate, fair, or balanced. Sadly, there’s a lot of information out there in the latter category these days! So I suppose we all need your prayer – for the Holy Spirit to guide us into truth. Amen?
If you would be willing to read two or three books on the subject, here’s what I’d recommend:
Blood Brothers, by Elias Chacour
Fatal Embrace, by Mark Braverman
Deadly Misunderstanding, by Mark Siljander
God bless you! And again, thanks for caring enough to write.