Being Christian After the Desolation of Gaza
What explains the fervent support among America’s Christians for Israel’s murderous assault on Gaza’s Palestinians?
Dying children cry beneath the rubble; doctors testify to atrocities; journalists and medics face sniper fire; experts cry genocide; Jewish Americans decry Israel’s ethnic cleansing; protesting college students jeopardize their careers. Yet millions of Americans who profess allegiance to Jesus continue defending the desolation of Gaza, or refuse to speak against it.
In these essays you will read stories and hear cries from Christians—American, Latin American, Jewish, Palestinian—who have spent years listening, laboring, and praying for a durable, equitable peace between Palestinians and their Jewish neighbors. Their perspectives have formed over years in the land, through lingering encounters, hard conversations, and troubling personal experiences.
Disagree with them if you must, but first hear them out, and consider why so many of Israel’s Christian partisans have confused a love for the Jewish people with a defense of the apocalypse Israel has unleashed since October 7, 2023. It may be too late to save Gaza’s millions from starvation, amputation, displacement, and death. Is it too late to repent of our complicity? Too late to save our own souls? How should we be Christian after the desolation of Gaza?
Chapter contributors: Mercy Aiken, Yousef Kamal AlKhouri, Daniel Bannoura, Donald D. Binder, Gary M. Burge, David M. Crump, Rob Dalrymple, Anton Deik, Bruce N. Fisk, Suzanne Watts Henderson, Lisa Loden, Lamma Mansour, Amy Yoder McGloughlin, Benjamin Norquist, Ruth Padilla DeBorst, and J. Ross Wagner.
Reviews
--Peter Beinart, author of Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza
"With great urgency, this book demands that we Christians examine our conscience and raise our voice against the continued carnage and destruction in Gaza. Whether we agree or disagree with the book's diverse set of contributors, we can surely affirm with them that each life, Jewish or Palestinian, is of equal value, and that condemning the policies and actions of Israel can and should be accompanied by commitment to the wellbeing of the Jewish people."
--Miroslav Volf, Professor, Yale Divinity School
"Palestinian Christians look to the West and cry, 'Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?' This collection of eye-opening, heart-rending, meticulously documented essays challenges us to look past our comfortable ideologies about the modern state of Israel and our stereotypes about the Arab 'other' and to see the human cost of a modern nation's quest for security and control, and the suffering that we casually accept as justified."
--David A. deSilva, Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek, Ashland Theological Seminary
"This interdisciplinary volume interrogates Western complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza--complicity manifested in political institutions, media discourse, and Christian theology. What does it mean to be Christian in the wake of Gaza's devastation and Israel's colonization of Palestinian land and people? Grappling with systemic violence and settler colonialism, this book models Christian responsibility, prophetic witness, and a hunger for justice in an age of global indifference."
--Mitri Raheb, President, Dar al-Kalima University
"This timely book confronts readers with truths that are suppressed by the narrative of unconditional support for Israel. It contests the simplistic thinking that casts the conflict as a war between good and evil. It sets the devastation of Gaza within historical and contemporary contexts. It humanizes the Palestinian people and presents unflinching accounts of their suffering. It exposes the twisted use of Christian Scripture and theology that justifies the massive violence Israel inflicts. Each essay is written with acuity and compassion. Together, the writers call us to reject Christian complicity with Israel's campaign of bombing, starvation, and destruction and to pursue a just peace."
--L. Daniel Hawk, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Ashland Theological Seminary
"At once disturbing and eye-opening, Being Christian After the Desolation of Gaza unpacks the deadly error of uncritical Christian support for Israel's war on Gaza and destruction of the Palestinian people. Thankfully, it offers us not just critique but also a vision for the future. It is one of the most important books for Christians of every tradition to read at this time."
--Michael J. Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, St. Mary's Seminary and University
"I despair as Christian Zionists continue to dehumanize Palestinians and cheer on Gaza's obliteration. Should we identify any longer with the 'Christian' brand? Whether these essays serve as prophetic indictment or final epitaph for the Christian faith remains to be seen. But I am grateful for this text and will be assigning it to prospective peacebuilders."
--Brad Jersak, Principal, St. Stephen's
J. Ross Wagner is Associate Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School with a research focus on Paul's letters, the Septuagint, and the theological exegesis of Scripture. An Anglican priest, he has taught courses in Israel/Palestine for undergraduates, divinity students, and pastors.
