Conference's Workshops
Sunday (2:30 to 3:30) |
Main Speaker: Dr. Mubarak Awad “Nonviolent Action, Justice and Empowerment in Christianity” When talking about peace in Christian theology, it is necessary to also discuss justice, especially for the deprived, occupied, poor and outcast. In order to bring peace, from a Christian perspective, we have to develop practical instruments for that peace, and for justice. A person or community could find peace of mind through spirituality and prayer, which are important, but Christ went another step further. He taught people to be active in resisting those who are depriving them of their rights or causing an injustice. He empowered people to take action and stand up for themselves to resolve situations of injustice and harmful conflict. Today, many would recognize the teachings of Christ about peace and justice as nonviolent action or people power. These concepts resonate with other traditions also, but they are very much Christian concepts Main Speaker: Michael Spath Projecting Christ Into Zion While there has been much written and discussed about the Religious Right in America, their embrace of Christian Zionism (particularly the role of premillennial dispensationalists), and their effect on US foreign policy, not as much attention has been paid to the role of American civil (secular) religion in shaping and maintaining its support for Zionist policies in Israel and Palestine. Included in my presentation (among others) will be a discussion of: American civil religion’s core doctrine, "manifest destiny"; it’s sacred symbols (e.g. the Great Seal of the United States); 19th century Holy Land missions; popular American literature; and a World’s Fair full-scale reproduction of Jerusalem. Main Speaker: Todd Deatherage Engaging American Christians in the Cause of Holy Land Peace About: This session will discuss methods of introducing American Christians to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the importance of developing an authentically Christian response to it. It will also consider the importance of building an American constituency for peace. Akiva Cohen Messianic Jewish Hermeneutics: Current Developments This workshop will summarize approaches to Messianic Jewish Hermeneutics and introduce a more recent development as represented by a prominent Messianic Jewish scholar. This lecture is a rough draft of an upcoming book on a Theology of Reconciliation between Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians. The author hopes for time for feedback and responses/reflections from those who attend this informal workshop to discuss the issue of Identity and Reconciliation, namely, How can Messianic Jews (and by implication Palestinian Christians) work towards a theology of Reconciliation without compromising or sacrificing our Ethnic/National Identity(ies) that connects us to our people group? |
Monday (4:30 to 5:30) |
Main Speaker: Colin Chapman Christian Responses To Muslims And Islam In addition to the Islamic dimension of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Christians are aware that we face many challenges from Islam at the present time: Islam seems to be growing faster than Christianity; we face other political and ideological challenges all over the world; then there are the theological challenges which have been there for 1400 years. How are we to understand all these different challenges and respond to them in a genuinely Christian way? Main Speaker: Alan Zayed Divinely Sanctioned Fighting in Deuteronomy and its Implications Deuteronomy cannot be relied upon exactly as a case study of legislation on war because as a reading back into history, it served more as a guide to what should have been than as a guide to what should be. It nevertheless organized and reworked earlier concepts and ideas in a systematic fashion in order to provide a conceptual model from which later policies could be and have been drawn. As a coherent and clearly interpretive expression of holy war in a text representing the organized polity of Israel (or at least of Israel's political or intellectual elites), the deuteronomic portrayal provides the best basis for comparison across as well as within religious and scriptural boundaries. On this basis I want to carefully propose that Deuteronomy presents us with a scriptural justification for mass slaughter in war for defensive purposes only. This revolutionary way of understanding war, fighting, or conflict has paradoxically positive implications on (dormant) concepts such as peace and justice as it pertains to the Palestinian and Jewish conflict. Main Speaker: Salim Munayer : How to Engage with the Palestinian Church
Main Speaker: Botrus Monsour "Palestinian Christians in Israel: Trends and Challenges" Palestinian Christians in Israel are in a unique and sensitive position. They have to deal with the complexities of their sub identities as well as challenges of conflict, marginality and immigration. Will they succeed in laboring to keep the witness for Christ in Israel as living stones? Main Speaker: Phil Church “God Has by No Means Rejected His People” (Rom 11:1): The accusation of replacement theology is often levelled against those who suggest that the establishment of the State of Israel may not indicate that God is once more beginning to work with his ancient people. One argument for this is the contention, probably true, that the NT always maintains a distinction between Israel and the church. But this actually obscures the more significant phenomenon that the term the “people of God” is applied to Gentile believers in Jesus and the term “descendant of Abraham” is applied to both Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus. Moreover, Paul goes as far as to deny that his fellow Jews who do not believe in Jesus can be counted among the descendants of Abraham. Replacement theology confuses the issue by suggesting that there are two peoples of God, and that one of them is the State of Israel. A serious consequence of this confusion is that those who subscribe to it often continue by assigning to the State of Israel the responsibility to save the world. This is the real replacement theology that is to be avoided. Here Christ and his people are replaced with a modern secular state, a notion that is dishonouring to Christ and amounts to a theology of empire suggesting that God will use the military might of Israel, to save the world. God has done in Christ all that is necessary to save the world, and to suggest anything otherwise is a serious error.
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