Scripture from a Palestinian Christian Perspective

Summary

Looking at a Palestinian Christian perspective, The Rev. Dr Naim Ateek has written in his paper on the theology of the land, ‘The Earth is the Lord's’: ‘The concept of the kingdom in the (Christian Bible) is the counterpart to the concept of the land in the (Hebrew Bible) with one major difference, namely, a consistent stress on the inclusive nature of God's kingdom. It does not differentiate between gender, race or ethnicity. It is for all the world and all peoples’ (‘The Earth is the Lord's’: 3). Centrist Muslims believe the land – the earth in its entirety – is God's for us to care for, to use as stewards and to pass on to those who follow. For the religious Jews, who believe in the ‘land of Israel’ (sixteen times in Ezekiel), the ‘Holy Land’ and the ‘Promised Land’, they may be surprised to learn there is no word in Hebrew for ‘promise’. The land is holy, only if God is present. The land is theirs, only if they follow the Laws of God. The land was, is and will ever be possessed by God, not by humans.