A great gift God has given the contemporary church is the experience and insight of representatives who work in troublesome regions of the world. These ministry-inspired people acquire new languages, learn to appreciate diverse religious beliefs and practices, and strive to understand a variety of cultural patterns. Missioners who "take up residence" see human reality in new ways. They read the Scriptures with different lenses. This inspiring yet disturbing volume demonstrates from one small part of the world how devout, international church representatives have been deeply moved by a situation of much pain and suffering. The five authors of this volume provide a contemporary assessment of topics that international church workers have been experiencing and lamenting for more than sixty years. With candor, empathy for all parties, humility, and repentance, these authors demonstrate how the worldwide church might address such complex issues, particularly the control and use of land and water resources. One of my early learnings about the dynamics of conflict in Israel-Palestine was that these tensions are a microcosm of conflicts all around the world. Each continent in the early twenty-first century has to deal with the realities of conquest and dispossession, of caring for the land and security in the land, of extraordinary wealth and power alongside abject poverty and powerlessness, of protracted war and millions of refugees, of ideologies and theologies which justify conquest and re-conquest, of allies who lend support to local partisans. Peoples on every continent hope to live under their own "vine and fig tree." What gives a measure of uniqueness to the struggles in the Middle East is that the control of land has been repeatedly contested through the centuries. What is also unique is that the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Scriptures address land issues so intensely. These three faiths also consider parts of, if not the entire region, to be endowed with special holiness. The shortage of water and the abundance of oil deepen the conflicts just at the moment military weaponry threatens the existence of humanity itself. The special contribution of this volume is to connect the stories of suffering and struggle of families and villages with ancient and modern historic conflicts. The authors, reflecting their own Christian peace tradition, agonize over expectations for a just social order. They delve deeply into the Scriptures as a means of understanding conflict and for providing moral criteria for focusing on "the things that make for peace." Two chapters on "the land in the end times" provide especially helpful biblical interpretations for people confused by contemporary popular eschatology. The chapter on Palestinian Christians demonstrates how distressing such notions as rapture, return, and rule are for long-established Middle Eastern Christian communities. The recurring references in these chapters to local partner organizations in Israel-Palestine highlights the significance of the dedication of this volume. There have always been local partners of international agencies and churches. In a post-colonial epoch it is especially important for agencies and churches to recognize that taking up residence requires deep identification and a cooperative style. This is a carefully argued volume.
Readers will find in these pages new energy for the
urgent task of making peace. As Jesus on the mountain
once said, this is "blessed work."
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