Jesus Christ sought to overthrow an imperialism that is now manifested by the United States and Israel, according to an ecumenical group that advocates in the name of Palestinian Christians.
“Is this guy [Jesus Christ] a messiah in [the book of] Mark? I’m not so sure. Mark seems to be downplaying the messiah aspect so that he can be seen as a prophet calling Israel to renewal,” explained Richard Horsley, a retired professor of religion from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Horsley, a United Methodist, presented at a seminar hosted by the Washington, D.C. branch of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), a group established in support of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem.
Founded by former Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Edmund Browning, FOSNA is harshly critical of Israel, which it derides as a racist state analogous to apartheid-era South Africa. Comprised of activists from Presbyterian, United Methodist, Lutheran and Episcopal congregations, among others, the group seeks to leverage churches to build U.S. political pressure on Israel. While it espouses nonviolence, FOSNA does not question Arab support for Hamas or Hezbollah, and only criticizes repressive neighboring Arab states like Syria when they cooperate with Israel.
“Wounds of Imperial Control”
“Jesus, Justice, Palestine-Israel: Challenging the Politics of Empire,” brought about 60 activists October 29 to Ravensworth Baptist Church in Annandale, Virginia.
Declaring Washington, D.C. as “the capital of Empire,” Horsley said that its purpose was to control resources for the benefit of the elite. This empire is now controlled by “global, decentralized capitol” according to Horsley, author of 25 books, many of which seek to link biblical text to contemporary politics.
Horsley shared several examples from scripture where he claimed an anti-imperial political message was contained, among them that supernatural healings were Christ addressing the “wounds of imperial control” and that the demon called “Legion” in Mark, chapter 5, was in fact Roman soldiers.
“The story is about Jesus exorcising the demons of imperial occupation,” Horsley asserted. The retired University of Massachusetts professor also sought to upend traditional interpretations of Mark chapter 12, in which Christ answers the Pharisees’ question about paying the imperial tax to Caesar and replies “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
“What belongs to Caesar? Nothing,” Horsley assessed. “Everything belongs to God.”
In addition to challenging traditional interpretations of scripture, Horsley at times also placed the authority of that scripture into question.
“The Bible is something that we interact with, and we’ve got to decide which voices are authoritative in it for us,” Horsley proposed, adding that the Apostle Paul was set on creating an “international anti-imperial society based in local communities.”
Frustrated by Balance
Christ did not make peace with “Empire,” even if the church did so under Constantine, according to Sabeel’s founder and head, The Rev. Canon Naim Ateek.
“We believe we [Palestinians] are living under Empire today and it is important to understand how Empire operates and resist it,” declared Ateek, a former Canon of St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem.
The Israeli Arab charged that the United States was obstructing justice, citing “ignorance of facts” and a Congress that he described as captive to Israeli interests.
“Due to the impact of pro-Israel forces, justice is hindered,” Ateek said. “Some people have become captives in Congress – they need liberation from these forces.”
Ateek surmised: “Some people bow down to forces in order to further their own careers,” assessing that the U.S. Congress did not see Palestinians as human beings.
Criticizing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Ateek alleged he was preoccupied with trying to “maintain balance” and therefore would not sufficiently criticize Israel. The Anglican clergyman also expressed frustration with Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori, whose similar efforts at balance were identified as a problem.
“The word justice is hardly mentioned – that breaks my heart,” Ateek said of a recent letter authored by Jefferts-Schori on Middle East peace efforts. Ateek called upon church officials to “speak up prophetically” and charged that “because of fear, church leaders try to maintain balance due to lack of courage.”
Arguing that “Israel today is moving towards a racist state,” Ateek called for championing a strategy of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
“This is the future,” Ateek predicted, with more and more churches joining in BDS campaigns.
“Critical Mass”
Author and activist Mark Braverman, a secular Jew who was raised in a pro-Zionist household, spoke at length about the Palestinian Christian Kairos movement and inroads that the group had made among evangelical Christians. Explaining that resistance to South African apartheid began in churches, Braverman suggested that was where resistance to the alleged Israeli apartheid needed to begin in the United States.
“It’s very important what’s happening in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and United Methodist Church right now,” Braverman said, referring to BDS efforts championed by anti-Israel factions within those churches, such as a PCUSA effort to divest from Caterpillar tractor as “huge.” But, the activist argued, change would not occur through traditional denominational ecumenism where people “all bring our denominational hats and create a statement that makes everyone happy.” Instead, Braverman argued, Christians are coming together around a U.S. document similar to the South African and Palestinian Kairos liberation appeals.
Braverman describes the 1985 Kairos South Africa anti-Apartheid proclamation as the model for the American church. The church-drafted Palestinian Kairos document called the world to pay attention, Braverman said, and an American document is now needed to challenge the U.S. government for its complicity with Israeli misdeeds.
The activist and author also announced that evangelicals are playing a dominant role in U.S. relations in the Middle East – more so than the mainline churches. Declaring that the evangelical/mainline divide was being breached, Braverman hailed the development.
“This politically is extremely important and it’s making a difference,” Braverman cheered. “There are several huge mega churches whose pastors are ready to come on board – we’re talking critical mass, access to the White House.”
Braverman noted the presence of Sojourners board member and former World Vision official Tom Getman at the seminar and cited the work of Wheaton College professor Gary Burge.
“Talk about power – bridging the gap between evangelicals and the mainline,” Braverman marveled.
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