Inhabiting the Land: Thinking Theologically about the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

by Alain Epp Weaver

What does it mean to inhabit the land of Palestine and Israel justly? How should Christians understand the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Alain Epp Weaver examines answers to these questions, paying particular attention to the theologies of sumud , or steadfastness, advanced by Palestinian Christian theologians, while also presenting other Christian, Jewish, and Muslim responses. Contextualizing these theologies within Palestinian and Israeli Jewish histories, Epp Weaver introduces readers to the intertwined histories of Zionism (as a movement to establish a Jewish state and renew Jewish life in the biblical land of Israel) and Palestinian nationalism. He also situates Palestinian Christian theologies within broader Christian conversations about election, God’s enduring covenant with the Jewish people, and Zionism. In the face of a politics of separation and dispossession, Epp Weaver contends, Palestinian Christian theologies testify to the possibility of a shared polity and geography for Palestinians and Israeli Jews not defined by walls, militarized fences, checkpoints, and roadblocks, but rather by mutuality and reconciliation.

148 pages, Paperback

Published August 30, 2018

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book addresses the question of what it means to occupy the land of Palestine and Israel justly. It also focuses on how Christians should understand the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The intertwined histories of Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism are examined first, followed by a review of Palestinian Christian theologies of land and liberation. Then the book describes the beliefs of Christian Zionism and follows with a final chapter describing a vision for a shared Palestinian-Israeli future, living together and sharing the land in peace.

The book places Palestinian Christian theologies within broader Christian conversations about election, God's enduring covenant with the Jewish people, and Zionism. In the face of a politics of separation and dispossession, Epp Weaver contends that Palestinian Christian theologies testify to the possibility of a shared polity and geography for Palestinians and Israeli Jews. This future would not be defined by walls, militarized fences, checkpoints, and roadblocks, but rather by mutuality and reconciliation.