The Land Called Holy: Palestine in Christian History & Thought

by Robert L. Wilken

From the time of Jesus, Palestine has been an integral part of the Christian experience. Not only have Christians always lived in Palestine, but since the fourth century, Christians gradually came to see Palestine as the Holy Land and Jerusalem as the Christian city. In this book, Robert Wilken discuses how Palestine became a Holy Land to Christians and how Christian ideas and feelings toward the land of the Bible evolved as they lived there and made it their own. Drawing on both primary texts and archaeological evidence, Wilken traces the Christian conception of a Holy Land from its origins in the Hebrew Bible to the Muslim conquest of Jeruslaem in the seventh century. He also discusses Jewish ideas of the land and the Jewish response to the Christianization of the Land of Israel. The heart of the book considers how Jerusalem and the biblical land came to be viewed not simply as a place of pilgrimage, but as a place to live, a country with a unique history and privileged status in the Christian world. Wilken concludes with an account of Christian hopes for restoration of Jerusalem after the Muslim conquest, the continuation of Christian life under Muslim rule, and the adoption of Arabic as the language of Christian worship and thought.

Genres: History, Christianity, Religion, Nonfiction, Church History, Theology, Christian

355 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Joseph Hazboun · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book on how Palestine became "the holy land" first for Jews, then for Christians. Great insights and important information for the Christian community to understand who they are, where they come from and what it really means to remain steadfast in their "homeland".

[Natacha Pavlov · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The idea of the Christian Holy Land was largely the work of those who resided in Palestine."

From the time of Jesus, Palestine has been an integral part of the Christian experience. Not only have Christians always lived in Palestine, but since the fourth century, Christians gradually came to see Palestine as the Holy Land and Jerusalem as the Christian city. In 'The Land Called Holy', Robert Wilken discusses how Palestine became a Holy Land to Christians and how Christian ideas and feelings toward the land of the Bible evolved as they lived there and made it their own.

An interesting scholarly work that typically makes for slower processing, this was as much a read for personal interest as for (yet another) layer of context on early Christianity and late antiquity that figure in my next historical fiction book.