Current Events
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Who do you say that I am?
Words don’t come easily – like sorry…. [and] forgive me, forgive me. Tracy Chapman Some years ago I was with a group of Christians and Jews travelling to Israel and Palestine at the invitation of the Council of Christians and Jews. The hope was that by visiting together, each of us carrying our incomplete understanding of the situation in the Holy Land, including of course unconscious cultural, religious and political biases, would see things through others’ eyes and return partially enlightened: gifted with a more nuanced understanding and greater openness to other readings of a notoriously complex situation. In Jericho, an ancient and predominantly Muslim Palestinian city which, nevertheless, for people…
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Two Peoples Living in this Land
Born and raised in the US, I have lived in Jerusalem for over 51 years. For many years, I have been involved in inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, and in the Jewish religious peace movement. Israelis – and, I’m told, Jews throughout the world – are still reeling from the brutal atrocities of October 7th. The horrifying, nihilistic attacks were reminiscent of the worst, most painful periods of Jewish history. I would add to that something that has been of grave concern to me, personally, and that is the resurgence of antisemitism in the West, including and perhaps especially on the campuses of North America. I used to have great faith…
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Armed Resistance, Islam, and the Limits of Secular Approaches
Who writes and who doesn’t? I was asked to write about the ongoing assault on Gaza, from a religious perspective (disclaimer: If I write about the topic from a religious perspective, it is not because what we are currently witnessing in Gaza and the region is a religious conflict. Religion may occasionally be part of it, often used strategically by various actors, but at its core, it is a political conflict). One of my first thoughts was if I was the right person to ask. What do I have to contribute that others, especially those most affected by the current violence, could not say better, have not already said better?…
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Reflections on Israel and Gaza after October 7th
When the attack by Hamas occurred on October 7th, I was leading a service for the festival of Simchat Torah, the Rejoicing in the Torah, a particularly joyful day in the Jewish calendar. I had heard there was an attack, and mentioned in the service that we were thinking of those who had been killed, but we had no idea of the full extent or horror of the events of that day. Details emerged over the following days, and then Israel began its attack on Gaza and our television screens were dominated by pictures of the terrible suffering there. Like many of my colleagues and friends, I found myself close…
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Compassionate Collaboration, Christian Mission and the Bank of Dave
A glimpse of Jesus’ compassion appears in Matthew 9:35-38. In one of the more well-known images of Christian witness, Jesus responds to crowds “harassed and helpless” with a call for collaborators (“Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (38)). The verses in Matthew are one of a cluster of Gospel narratives in which Jesus is described as a shepherd, sent by God to strengthen the weak and heal those damaged by sin, greed and betrayal.[1] A contemporary image of compassion and collaboration appears in a recent movie, Bank of Dave (2023). Movies, along with other forms of popular culture, are not commonly used as…
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Practical Theology comes of age with “Together in Love and Faith”?
By any standard the publication of Together in Love and Faith: Personal Reflections and Next Steps for the Church (Oxford: Bishop of Oxford) in October 2022 is a remarkable work. It sets out the metanoia in thinking and action over discernment regarding same-sex relationships and marriage (p. 2) that has taken place in the Evangelical Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft and his recommendations on the subject for the Church of England. Reactions to its publication have inevitably been strong and diverse with respondents stating he has gone too far or not far enough. It is not my intention in this short paper to evaluate his arguments, rather I am wanting…
