Bethlehem Bible College Launches a Timely Book
Bethlehem Bible College Launches a Timely Book
The Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice is pleased to announce the publication of Normalize or Resist? Palestinian Christians Respond to Oppression, published by Bethlehem Bible College and edited by Andrew F. Bush, DMin.
Normalize or Resist? asks, isn’t building relationships between communities, especially in conflict contexts, good? Why do people who are experiencing oppression sometimes see such relationship-building as a problem? What does normalization mean? How should oppression be resisted?
These questions and others are critical in the Palestinian Christian community as it debates how it should respond to the oppression of the occupation.
The Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice (BIPJ) at Bethlehem Bible College gathered influential theologians and leaders, including Rev. Dr. J. Nelson Kraybill, Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Salim J. Munayer, PhD., and Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac in April 2023 to discuss these issues in an academic symposium. This book is a modified transcript of the presentations and discussions. The final section includes powerful Palestinian Christian voices speaking after the outbreak of war in October 2023.
For those seeking to learn more about the issues foremost in the Palestinian Christian community, Normalize or Resist? Palestinian Christians Respond to Oppression is a valuable window into contemporary discussion.
Andrew Bush, the director of the BIPJ, says, “Empire, occupation, and normalization may not be words in the average Christian’s vocabulary, yet these words point to painful realities in the everyday lives of Palestinian Christians. It behooves those interested in the “Holy Land” to expand their understanding of what is happening in that land. Diving into this experience will be challenging for many. Why not take the plunge?”
