A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestine-Israel Conflict by Naim Stifan Ateek

Abstract

Reviewed by: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestine-Israel Conflict by Naim Stifan Ateek Lilian Calles Barger Naim Stifan Ateek, A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestine-Israel Conflict. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2017. Pp. 172. $20.00, paper. Ateek offers a concise history of the Palestine-Israel conflict and a response in Jesus Christ as the liberator of the oppressed. His intervention is a theology of political and social inclusion based on the ethic of love. Ateek places God’s action against unjust political and social structures on behalf of the oppressed at the center. The theology is rooted in the context and lived experience of all Palestinians and the challenge of Christians who feel abandoned by Western Christians. There is a welcome outlining of the key historical moments that have shaped Palestinian multireligious, multiethnic culture. The key defining event is the Nakba, the 1948 catastrophe in which indigenous people were dispossessed of their lands and homes in the establishment of the modern state of Israel through the intervention of Western powers, including the United States. In the shadow of the Nakba, Palestine’s Christians experienced an identity and faith crisis. As with other liberation theologies, Ateek’s hermeneutics is based on the justice tradition of the Hebrew Bible prophets. He finds two competing traditions. The first is that of a vengeful tribal God who is exclusively for Israel and against all others, as represented by the Torah and Nehemiah—a tradition that has fueled recalcitrant attitudes against Palestinians. The second is an inclusive God that seeks to bring all of the world’s people under the canopy of divine protection and care, as expressed by Ezekiel and Jonah. He points to Jesus as the culmination of an ever-widening inclusion of all people in the circle of love for neighbor. The last part of the book provides an outline of possible political solutions and a survey of people and groups who are working on behalf of Palestinians. [End Page 289] While offering practical information for those who want to pursue this issue further, Ateek’s confidence in international law and appeals to human rights as a means to achieve Palestinian goals remains insufficiently examined. Nevertheless, the book is a valuable contribution for a pastoral and lay understanding of an international problem that remains unresolved. Lilian Calles Barger Taos, NM Copyright © 2019 Journal of Ecumenical Studies