Arab Evangelicals in Israel

We are glad to announce Azar Ajaj, Duane Alexander Miller, and Phil Sumpter have authored the book Arab Evangelicals in Israel. The book, published by Pickwick, includes research on relations between evangelicals and Messianic Jews, a history of NEC, a chapter on the status of Christian converts from Islam, and other research on the contemporary challenges and hopes of evangelicals in the Holy Land. The book is available in print form and for Kindle via Amazon.

Who are the Palestinian Christians?

Who are the Arab Evangelicals in the Holy Land?

Here is the second video for the Holy Land Connection (HLC), with our seminary president Azar Ajaj and hosted by Rani Espanioly.

Azar Ajaj on the 'Price Tag' attacks

Our seminary president Azar Ajaj has composed a brief statement and reflection on the 'price tag' attacks that have taken place at a number of Christian and Muslim sites throughout the region.


Read the whole thing at Come and See, Nazareth's Christian website. A PDF can also be downloaded through Azar's academia.edu page.

Faculty Publication: "Religious Freedom in Israel-Palestine"

An article by our lecturer in Church History, Alex Miller, was recently published in St Francis Magazine, Vol 10:1, April 2014.

The title of the article is "Religious Freedom in Israel-Palestine: may Muslims become Christians, and do Christians have the freedom to welcome such converts?"

Here is the abstract:

This research represents a continuation and elaboration on Miller’s research for the Christianity and Freedom project, presented in Rome in December of 2013. This article seeks to understand the challenges and context of Christians who are also ex-Muslims in the Holy Land. Attention is paid to the difference between the contexts in the West Bank and Israel, and how the established Christian Churches sometimes safeguard their own precarious sense of security by turning away Muslims who seek to know more about the Christian faith and converts from Islam.

You can download the PDF from Dr. Miller's Academia.edu page or from St Francis Magazine.

Faculty Publication: Through my Enemy's Eyes

NETS is happy to share with you the publication of Through my Enemy's Eyes authored by Salim Munayer and NETS faculty Lisa Loden.

This book addresses the universal theological dimension of reconciliation in the context of the Israeli Messianic Jewish and Palestinian Christian divide. Palestinian Christians and Israeli Messianic Jews share a belief in Jesus as the son of God and Messiah. Often, though, that is all they have in common. This remarkable book, written in collaboration by a local Palestinian Christian and an Israeli Messianic Jew, seeks to bridge this gap by addressing, head on, divisive theological issues (as well as their political implications) such as land, covenant, prophecy and eschatology which separate their two communities. The struggle for reconciliation is painful and often extremely difficult for all of us. This unique work seeks to show a way forward.

Find more information at Through my Enemy's Eyes.

Samuel Kuruvilla, Mary's Well Occasional Paper, Vol 3:1

Dr Samuel Kuruvilla is the author of our first Occasional Paper for 2014. The name of the paper is 'Contextual Theological Praxis as Resistance: Palestinian Christian Peace-building in the Occupied West Bank'.

Click HERE to download the PDF.

Abstract: This article deals with the different approaches that the Palestinian contextual theology movement ‘Al-Liqa,’ the liberation theology movement ‘Sabeel’ and the intercultural movement ‘Diyar’ consortium have taken towards resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict, given their similarities as well as divergences in the light of the intersection between theology and politics. The contextualisation of theology and politics in Palestine has a long history, especially in the light of the tortured history of that nation in world affairs. Palestinian Christians have long been controlled and influenced by Western Christendom and it was only in the middle part of the last century that a so-called ‘contextualisation’ movement rose among them that sought to place the culture of the Palestinian people right at the centre of their faith and practice. This article has sought to show how the Diyar Movement in Bethlehem has and can have an impact on Palestinian society, irrespective of party and religious affiliation, as it has sought to bridge the secular-religious divide within Palestinian society. 

Keywords: Palestine, Palestinian Theology, Liberation Theology, Sabeel, Al Liqa’, Contextualisation, Diyar 

Christianity and Freedom: Palestinian Christians in Israel-Palestine

D. Alexander Miller, lecturer in Church History of NETS, and Phil Sumpter, who was a visiting researcher at our seminary. This video is from Panel 4 on the topic of Palestinian Christians in Israel-Palestine, and was presented in Rome on December 12th of 2013.

This was for the Christianity and Freedom Project.

Phil Sumpter's section begins at 27:00 and Miller's section begins at 40:31.

"Between the Hammer and the Anvil: Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land"

Alex Miller and Phil Sumpter were asked to compose an original article incorporating new field research on Christians in Israel-Palestine for the Christianity & Freedom project. They are now both in Rome for the conference and would like to share with you their article, "Between the Hammer and the Anvil: Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land".

The PDF can be downloaded from HERE or HERE.

Azar Ajaj on the history of Arab evangelicals in Israel-Palestine

At the annual general meeting (Winter of 2013) of Evangelical Alliance of Israel, Azar Ajaj, president of Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary, presented this talk on the roots of evangelicalism among Arabs in Israel-Palestine.

To listen to the lecture click HERE.

Review of our Sabbatical program

Rob Sylvester recently took part in our sabbatical program. Here is what he wrote about his experience:

My sabbatical month in the Holy Land has been a wonderful and memorable experience, with many highlights along the way.  It has lived up to the title of ‘Come and See’ and provided stimulation for body, mind and spirit.  There have been excellent presentations/seminars by leading Arab and Messianic Christians, visits to many of the famous sites throughout the country, opportunities to worship at a variety ofchurches, and visits to local projects and Christian communities/missions.  I have hiked in the countryside, swam in Lake Galilee and the Dead Sea and jogged through the streets of Nazareth.  Throughout, there has been time for personal prayer, reflection and meeting with the Lord.  A particular joy has been to meet with local believers and hear their testimonies of the goodness and faithfulness of God at all times, so that I comeaway with a deeper appreciation of the challenges and issues they face, combined with a renewed trust and hope in the plans and purposes of God for his people here.

Learn more about our program by e-mailing us at info [at] nazarethseminary [dot] org.

MWOP 2:3, "Caesarea and the Mission of God"

NETS is please to share with your third Occasional Paper for 2013: Caesarea and the Mission of God.

Download the file by clicking here.

Here is the Abstract:

The article explores the theological significance of a location, what is today the impressive archeological site of Caesarea Maritima. In the Book of Acts, Caesarea, as the primary setting for the story of Peter and Cornelius, becomes a critical pivot in Luke’s unfolding story both of the movement of the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome and of the transformation of the latter-days community of Messiah from a Jewish-only movement into a multi-ethnic family, a Jew-Gentile New Creation. The article emphasizes the literary patterns and devices Luke uses to present and reinforce the message of the universal Kingdom, especially in the Cornelius story. As the apostles proclaim the crucified-and-risen Jewish Messiah across boundaries of election, religion, ethnicity, and history, the Kingdom of God comes and the healing of a primordially fractured world begins.

According to ancient prophecy, though contrary to the expectations of many, the cosmic promises to Abraham, the enacting of a new covenant, and the emergence of a New Creation are actively realized when not only Jews, but also Gentiles, are incorporated as one chosen people of God in Christ. In the New Testament, this culturally, even spiritually, jarring transformation is central to the story of salvation, even to the eternal design of God. Peter’s experience in Caesarea is a microcosm of that reality; Caesarea becomes the site of a key breakthrough, if only in kernel form, in the expansion of the Good News and the eschatological reign of Jesus into the nations, to the ends of the earth. 

And Keywords:

Caesarea / Cornelius / early church / Gentile inclusion / Luke-Acts / narrative design / Peter / Salvation-History / typology

Bibliography of Arabophone Christianity in Israel and Palestine

NETS is pleased to share with you our first Mary's Well Occasional Paper of 2013. Here you will find a detailed bibliography of Arabophone Christianity here in Israel-Palestine, though the focus is on the period after 1948. 

If any sources have been missed please let us know by leaving a comment on the blog and, if there is interest, a revision of the bibliography may be composed.

Click HERE to download the "Bibliography of Arabophone Christianity in Israel and Palestine" by Philip E. Sumpter. (Mary's Well Occasional Papers, Vol 2:1, August 2013)

The occasional papers from volume one can be found here.

Christianity in Palestine: Lecture 6, Constantine and Helena

Lecture 6_Constantine and Helena

Constantine, a controversial figure, was influential for the development of Christianity after the 4th Century. In relation to Palestinian Christianity, Helena, his mother, was equally important but in a different way, as the one whose mission to the Holy Land would lay out the basic map of holy places for all future generations, including ours.

Lecturer: Duane Alexander Miller Botero

Assigned Reading: St Constantine the Great: an Orthodox perspective by Marina Shelley Havach