Friday, December 16, 2011

“Continuing in Hope”
The Rev. Dr. Munib Younan
Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Dearborn, MI
December 9, 2011

Hope
  • Hope comes from the Cross and the Cross was in Jerusalem.
  • Despite the weaknesses of the church resulting from the current situation, ongoing emigration, etc., the church will continue to be a presence in the Holy Land as it has been since the time of Jesus.

The Church
  • Money is not the answer. Money won’t make the church stronger . It might help to facilitate some good work. But faith, hope and love will build the church.
  • The churches of Middle East met recently and committed themselves again to ecumenism and to the living witness of the church.
  • “My roots are in the Church,” says Bishop Younan, “So you might say I am 2000 years old. We were not converted from Islam or Judaism.”
  • One of the key elements is the manner in which the Church conducts itself in the Middle East is that “We do not act like a minority people.”
  • The gospel is like a circle: Sometimes you are at the top, sometimes at the bottom; when you are at the bottom, there is always someone to lift you up.

Education is Key
  • Van Dyke translated the Bible into Arabic in 1864.
  • Since that time, the Church has looked to education as the primary means of witness and service.
  • From preschool to elementary and secondary levels to the university level, the church is committed to education as the primary means of sharing the rich ethos of the Christian message.
  • “Small is beautiful at least for those of us who are small; what's important is the mission and witness. Mostly Jesus spoke to small groups of outcasts.”
  • Christian schools are the backbone of Middle East education. We want the rich evangelical ethos to be shared. At the heart of this is moderation. In a time in which we are ALL being held hostage to extremism, we want to raise a generation of moderates. Among the primary emphases of Christian education in the Middle East are the following:
  • Education of girls and advocacy for women.
  • The first school for girls was established by Lutherans in 1852. In a patriarchal society, it is important to promote role of women.
  • 60% of the people in the Middle East are illiterate; 80% of those are women. [the literacy rate in Palestine is high]

The Arab Awakening: The Need for Moderation in ALL Things
  • Church leaders are urging those who are taking the lead in the Arab Spring or Arab Awakening to maintain the dignity of the oppressed, to respect freedom of religion, to honor human dignity and to respect the role of women in leadership.  Sadly, some extremists are coming to power who - though they understand democracy – are setting it aside and becoming dictatorial.
  • Moderates must prevail in order to avoid the fate of Iraq which has neither democracy nor security.
  • Arab Christians must follow the theology of martyria.
  • A common fear is that there is that both the Middle East and the U.S. lack leaders who are serious about peace. Peace is the only option. A two state solution is the only option. Everyone knows the answer (a 2-state solution along the 1967 borders and a shared (not divided but shared) Jerusalem) but there is no charismatic leader on either side who is prepared to lead the path toward peace. Yet, only when that happens can it be a land of milk and honey for both Palestinians and Israelis.
  • We teach our children to see the image of God in Israelis.
  • Jordan is the hub of Muslim-Christian dialogue.
  • It is very easy to love God. We all love God. The crisis is in loving our neighbors.
  • The Council of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land has worked to build trust and bridges among religions. It has been monitoring the mass media to identify what's being taught on the grassroots level. It’s been monitoring 700 textbooks (140 Palestinian and 560 Israeli) to see what they are teaching. This project is being led by an Israeli and a Palestinian thru Yale. A final report is expected in 2 months. The report will provide the Council with solid information that will allow it to ask for change in the way children are being educated. “Justice starts when we teach truthfully about the other.”


Q & A

Is Palestine made up?
Coins made under British Mandate were stamped “The State of Palestine.”

What about Hamas? Is peace possible with Hamas in the mix?
Hamas is the outcome when there is no peace. Only 23% of Palestinians agreed with Hamas. Hamas won the 2006 elections largely because people were fed up with Fatah. Today, 75% of Palestinians want to live side by side with Israel.

What is your reaction to the US’s lack of support for Palestine’s request for UN recognition?
May God forgive them.

What are the new challenges you’ve faced over the past 10 years?
A loss of hope. The Wall: the policy of separation has separated peoples, families, etc. He has to deal with three governments each day: the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Israel.

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