Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
The River To The Sea

The River To The Sea

Last updated on: May 20, 2021 at 8:28 am by C. Don Jones

The River To The Sea 2021-05-20T08:28:19-06:00 C. Don Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Sea of Galilee is a wide lake of the Jordan river. The Jordan flows toward the south to the lowest place on the Earth’s surface – The Dead Sea. It gets its name from the salt of the surrounding desert causing no life to survive within the lake. Some people say no birds fly over it because there is no fish to eat and no water to drink. When one views the Jordan from the south, it hardly looks worth fighting over.

I drank a cup of coffee one morning while sitting on the north shore of the Galilee. The land, I realized, was more than just everything under it and the past. I thought to myself, “Yeah, I could live here.” I understood then. If my home was there and someone else claimed it, I would resist.

The River of Time

I live in a land of mountains and rivers. One river gives the area its name. The Jordan river gives the state on the eastern side its name. On that side is where the Bible claims the prophet Elijah ascended to Heaven in a blazing chariot. John the Baptist worked on both sides of the Jordan. Jesus exorcised demons there at Gerasa (or was it Gadara?) Presumably Mary and Joseph made their journey to Bethlehem on that side to avoid Samaria. The river tells many of our stories.

Today the river feels the weight of the modern world. The Dead Sea is drying up. Israel/Palestine and Jordan need the water from the Jordan. The demand for clean water is creating an natural disaster. But immediately that is not the issue. The violence on the western side of the Jordan river is the problem.

Palestine Will Be Free

The chant I hear in so many demonstrations is chilling. “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” I can only imagine what I would think if I was an Israeli Jew. I would envision my death in those words. It gave me pause before I began supporting the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement. I cam to this conclusion over a long period of time.

“The Bible says the land belongs to the Jews,” my grandfather claimed. “The Bible also says they will lose the land,” my father replied. Many of my friends believed the Bible taught Israel was supposed to return to the land which is what happened officially in 1948. These were not arguments about Biblical teaching or prophecies. The point of this argument was about foreign policy. Should American Christians and subsequently The United States support Israel “because the Bible tells me so?” If so, then no other consideration could matter.

Justice Flowing Like A River

The prophet Amos is known for this statement, “But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (5:24) The divine call comes in the middle of litanies about idolatry, personal and social evils, and oppression. The couplet and reference to water is important. The land has many seasonal rivers called wadis. They are dry beds through which water flows only certain times of the year. The Jordan is the best example of an ever-flowing stream in the area. The water is fresh until it stops flowing at the Dead Sea.

This imagery is important when we begin to think biblically about the primary issue of the present conflict in Israel/Palestine. The issue is the Settlements on territory Israel gained after the 1967 “Six Day War.” The West Bank territory is the hill country that contains the land that was ancient Judea and Samaria. The major points of Christian pilgrimage Bethlehem and Eastern Jerusalem are in that area. Israel annexed it but later gave partial control over after the Oslo accords. But the crucial issue is how settlements for Jewish immigrants are being built in Palestinian territory.

These settlements are defined as war crimes under the Geneva Conventions Article 49. A conquering force may not exile or transfer any of its citizens to the conquered territory. I stood among small almond trees on a farm owned by a Palestinian farmer and looked over to a new settlement. The Israeli government sought to expand the settlement onto his land. He would not sell the farm for any price. The Israeli government blocked the road to his farm. It then claimed it could take any of his land he was not using. Hence, the almond trees.

Ice Cream In Bethlehem

I walked in Bethlehem later that evening with others to a Palestinian-owned store that sold soft-serve ice cream. The owner and his brother was there. Their names were George and Antony. Arab men with names like those are definitely Christian. Daoud, the farmer I mentioned above, is too. The “little town of Bethlehem” sits behind the border wall Israel built to enclose the Palestinian people whenever it wishes. I have not viewed Christmas the same way since then.

We listened to what was being said by these two guys. This informal meeting was not like any of the Discussions, Lectures, and Talks that was a part of the trip. These two shopkeepers were not polished speakers. But they told about Israeli tanks in the streets. We prayed together. I prayed the wall be taken down and justice flow like an ever-flowing stream. Nothing has happened, yet.

The River of Support

Church members will from time to time wear pins with crosses, ten commandments, and American flags. Once in a while you will see pin that has both the American flag and the Israeli flag side by side. This form of Evangelical Zionism is destructive to the lives of other Christians. The Likud Party specifically Benjamin Netanyahu needs the illegal Settlements to enhance his political base. The Israeli government courts American evangelicals to lobby for support from the American government. It is a crime against fellow Christians and the Kingdom of God.

The other issues surrounding the State of Israel, its relations with Arab neighbors, and dealing with Iran and Saudi Arabia are complex. But the issue of settlements and cultural genocide of the Palestinians is not. We should resolve in the churches to declare Evangelical Zionism as heresy. Denominational leaders in America should join the BDS movement for the sake of the lives of people who claimed the name of Christ while Northern Europeans did not know it.

Biblical Interpretation

Exploitation of the Poor

Previous Post

May 17, 2021

5 Beliefs Of Progressive Christians

Next Post

May 25, 2021 Offended Without Remorse!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Afghanistan Anxiety Ascension Sunday Baptism Barack Obama Biblical Interpretation Bigotry Book Banning BSA Buddhism Choice Christmas Church Discipline Community Conscience Conspiracy theories COVID-19 Culture Wars death cults deconstruction Devotional Divine Judgment Donald Trump Earth Day Election Day empathy Environmentalism Evangelism Exploitation of the Poor Faith False Claims fascism Fear Forgiveness Genocide government Grace Gun Violence Halloween Hate Health Hillbilly Elegy Hindu Holy Communion Holy Week Homelessness Hope Identity Integrity Islam Joe Biden John Hagee Kamala Harris Labor Lent Liberation Theology Lies Love Love as action Neurological disorders Non-Christian Religions Online Worship Original Goodness Pandemic Peace Pentecost Philosophy Preaching Progressive Christianity Racism Redemptive Violence Myth Resentment Saint's Days Satire Sobriety social media Spiritual Self Care Spirituality Technology The Kingdom of God The United Methodist Church Theology Transfigurations Sunday Transgender persons Truth Uncategorized Violence Wesleyan Working Class

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 October 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 February 2018 January 2018 August 2017 May 2017 November 2016 July 2016 June 2016 November 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 February 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In Jude, what did the Lord do to the people he saved from Egypt who did not believe?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Let them wander forty years Cast them into the wilderness Punished them Destroyed them