Written by: James van den Heever, Anglican Church
Article source: Supplied
The question of Israel and Palestine is undoubtedly one of the most complex and challenging in global geopolitics. The Christian Church, given its inherent connection to the Holy Land, is called to exercise great wisdom in discerning its role (if any) in this ongoing and seemingly intractable conflict.
Specifically, its position should be informed by a deep theological understanding; as the embodiment of the Logos, the Church cannot allow itself to accept currently fashionable positions on such matters—in this case, the accepted “truth” that Israel is a de facto “apartheid state” and the only architect of the suffering that engulfs the Palestinian people.
Christians must be particularly on their guard against being seduced by the one-sided and cynical views put forward by activists with their own agendas, and endorsed by a supine media. In order to ensure a properly Christian perspective, I would like to propose that we should use two lenses through which to examine this problem. The first of these lenses is judgment, and the Day of Judgement in particular.
All three of the Abrahamic religions share the concept of the Day of Judgement, a day on which God assesses humanity and metes out justice. It’s often portrayed as something to be feared because it is when the sinful will receive their just deserts, and we are all sinners. The Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), a Latin poem about Judgement Day and used in many requiem masses, comes out of this tradition of judgment as something to be feared.
For Muslims, it is Yawm al-Qiyāmah, the Day of Resurrection, when general judgment of all sentient creatures takes place; for Jews, it seems that there is less belief in a universal day of judgment for all humankind — judgment happens annually on Rosh Hashanah, also known as Yom HaDin, Judgment Day.
Within each tradition, there are many different beliefs about the nature of Judgement Day and when it will occur, but all are agreed: we will all face judgment.
For Christianity, with its emphasis on Reason (via the Logos) and the central doctrine of love, the real issue is not that judgment will occur but what criteria will be used by Christ when the time comes to be judged. Some important and uniquely Christian texts should inform our understanding of the Christian concept of judgment.
Consider first the Beatitudes, where in Matthew 7:1-3, Christ says: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
The second important text is the parable of the woman taken in adultery — female adultery being a particularly heinous crime in the patriarchal Abrahamic traditions, traditionally punished by stoning to death.
“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her,” Jesus says. Later on in the exchange, he admonishes her: “Then neither do I condemn you…. Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:1-11)
As is perfectly obvious, a central message in this story is that the act of judging opens up the judge to facing the same questions. But this caution does not amount to a get-out-of-gaol-free card: the woman has indeed offended by committing adultery and must mend her ways. In this classic example of the multi-layered parable, we see that while those presuming to judge need first to examine their own consciences before condemning another’s sin, the sinner will also have to answer for his or her sins.
Given human nature, one may infer that the occasions on which we may legitimately judge others are few and far between. Ultimately, God is the only fit judge, and it is on his wisdom and compassion that we rely because, as this story demonstrates, we are all sinful—and we should understand “sinful” to include lacking perfect knowledge and so being unable to see both sides of the case.
This leads us onto another crucial implication inherent in the Christian concept of judgment: how we would wish to be judged. As we all fall short of perfection, and because life is itself a messy business, not least from the morality point of view, nobody should be confident that a judgment delivered by an omnipotent and omniscient God would be positive. On the contrary, we can only rely on a compassionate assessment that takes into account not only our own weaknesses and inadequacies, but also the complex way in which our genetic makeup, and our individual circumstance and context affect the decisions we make over time.
In summary, Christianity warns us against judging too harshly because we will be held to the same standard. It strongly implies that we ourselves will only be judged favourably if we benefit from God’s compassion and His perfect understanding of who we are and why we acted as we did.
It then follows that we need to make the effort to extend the same compassion and understanding when we exercise judgment ourselves. I believe that this should guide the Christian community in how we might take a truly Christian position on the conflict between Israel and Palestine today.
This article is part 1 in a 4-part series. Click here to read part 2.
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Date published: 08/09/2023
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork from pixabay.com
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