The content of this article revolves around an unjust point of faith I used to believe in which is Israel and God’s eternal promise to it. However, after some reading* of books and articles as well as the Kairos Document: The Opportune moment, I understood that I was wrong in my understanding. I was wrong in the belief of the idea of the eternal promise of the Land to Israel that made me portray God in an unjust way. It almost made me say “ for God so loved Israel, that He gave His only begotten son so that Israel would not perish but have the land for ever.”
Honestly, when I believe in such a belief, I then, completely distort the image of God. For, then, Romans 2:24 applies directly to me. As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
I recall in one of the conversations I had with some brothers where I was defending Israel’s divine right to the Land, a sister believer said to me: “ If God still distinguishes Israel over other nations with all the evil that is in it, well then I do not want this god for he is simply oppressive”!.
If this is the opinion of a believer who has experienced God time after time, then what can we say to the non-believer whom you are trying to reach with God’s message of love and salvation and still have to tell Him that God prefers Israel on all the other nations. It is clear that such person will not accept what God has done for him on the cross? Unfortunately he will not see God as Love? Most probably God will be seen as unjust and self-contradicting.
God’s vision for this world is “ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). In order to plug into God’s vision and partner with Him in implementing it, we must repent before God of any unjust theology we believed in. We should repent from a theology that takes people far away from the Lord and basically destroys the possibility to implement God’s vision for this world.
This is a message of love and not a message of hatred to Israel. It is not a message of partiality with Palestine, but a message of a right position and integrity in front of the Lord. Palestine and Israel both need the salvation and peace and truth of Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, as a Christian Palestinian, I extend my repentance in front of God for a distorted and unjust theology I believed in. It was a theology that does not represent the justice of God.
David Azar
*Some of the books I read included:
1 - The Palestinian Memories by Rev. Alex Awad.
2 - Through My Enemy’s Eyes by Lisa Loden and Dr. Salim Munayer.
3 - The Land of the Christ by Dr. Yohanna Katanacho.