Dr. John Ong, the president of the Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary, spoke about the manner in which we should look at the Israeli-Palestinian grudge, from a perspective of reconciliation theological practice in a theological webinar held by the seminary.
Themed "Looking at the Long-standing Israeli-Palestinian Grudge from Historical and Reconciliation Theology Perspectives", the webinar was held on Jun 15th to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspectives of its history, the Jews, the Arabs, and trio-reconciliatory theology.
Dr. Ong said, "Churches should bring peace to the world, and this should be a testimony that churches bear. We should embody the Kingdom of Heaven in this torn world that is full of suffering, wars, and hatred. God's mission for the church is to enter this broken world and to mend it."
He explained that we could see violence in this world, within families, between peoples, and between nations. People sought to survive but were deprived of the most basic necessities; the earth, the ocean, the atmosphere, and all things in them faced serious crises; and some people were unable to achieve the most basic honor and dignity. These showed that there were serious problems appearing in God's good creation.
"God's creation is good, but very serious problems have emerged, that is, people stuck in sin cannot establish safe and peaceful societies on their own", said Dr. Ong.
Sin's damage was also manifested deep down in people's hearts: loneliness, shame, guilt, fear, anger, enmity, depression, despair, etc. Yet as the basic attribute of the triune God was love, he chose to heal the brokenness of man and the universe.
He continued that God works mainly through two strategies: He provides the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world with the promise of forgiveness of sin, the renewal of life, and eternal salvation; additionally, He provides family, workplace, religious bodies, and governments, to cater for the safety and prosperity of life. In the latter domain, the basic concern of this time was to serve your neighbors, to promote “shalom” among the different races in the world, and to be concerned for everyone's basic rights and welfare.
Ong stated that the conflict between the two peoples in the holy land was a great challenge to both Jewish and Palestinian Christians. To many, it was an act of betrayal to meet the other side. Sadly, many Christians also held this view.
Expanding on this, Dr. Ong explained, a theology of reconciliation must be formed and be adopted by Israelis and Palestinians who are involved in the conflict. While theology could not be removed from the context of the conflict, the seed of peace must be planted and grow in the soils of the conflicts.
He reminded the participants that we should not simply hear the narrative of one side and that in trying to bridge the gap between the two opposing sides, we needed to be self-critical, by evaluating and criticizing our own narratives rather than telling others how their narratives were wrong.
The president also said that we should cultivate a sense of empathy with the opposite narrative. Although we might never agree with our enemies about the past, we could still come to understand more about the way they thought and see them as human beings created in the image of God. The Messianic Jews' and Palestinian Christians' experience with the gospel, the cross of Jesus, and the coming of His kingdom, would be very helpful.
"Reconciliation is at the core of the gospel", Dr. Ong added. "Reconciliation is a complete and sufficient work that God has freely initiated and achieved for His people. As Christians, our differences in ethnic, political, or theological views should not be excuses that prevent us from being spiritually and emotionally united. Genuine repentance and commitment to forgiveness are needed. It is not a one-time event, but a promise that needs a prolonged process. Only when we recognize our new identity - the people of God's kingdom - can we be united. The greatest challenges and obstacles are not to be overcome by ourselves but have already been conquered by Jesus on the cross, and neither Arabs nor Israelis should try to overcome them with their own strength.
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. This new creation is not only international, trans-cultural, across race and history, but more importantly, whether being Jews or non-Jews and whatever difference in color or background, these matter no more, as they all come to worship God."
- Translated by Grace Song
马来西亚浸信会神学院院长王美钟先生在该神学院举办的神学论坛发表了如何从复和神学实践的角度看待巴以恩怨。
2021年6月15日，神学论坛在网络上举行，以“从复和神学与历史看以巴千年恩怨情仇”为主题，从历史看巴以今昔、犹太人观点、阿拉伯人观点、复和神学实践：三国一律四个角度来看巴以问题。
王说：“我们的教会是带给世界平安的教会，这也是我们教会应该有的见证。”他分享说：“我们要在撕裂的世界、痛苦的世界，充满战争和仇恨的世界，把天国体现出来。上帝给我们的使命是教会要进入撕裂的世界，去做修补的工作。”
在这个世界上，我们可以看到彼此之间暴力的冲突，人们力求生存却没有最基本的必需品；大地、海洋、天空及其中的受造物出于严重的危难中；还有些人得不到基本的尊重和尊严、这些都显出出在神美好的创造中出现了差错。
王说：“上帝创造的世界是美好的，但是出现了很大的问题，那就是人在罪的里面没有办法靠着自己带来平安和和平的社会。”
隐藏在人心里的：孤单、羞耻、罪责、恐惧、愤怒、敌意、抑郁、绝望等，也显示出了罪的危害。而神的本质是爱，祂选择主动医治人类和宇宙被破坏的情况。
神主要是通过2种方式来工作：将耶稣基督的福音给世界，应许罪得赦免、生命更新和永恒的拯救；同时他提供家庭、职场、宗教团体和政府，目的是为了给人真正的平安和幸福。此时，神的一个基本关注是：服事邻舍，在公众世界不同的族群中促进平安，关心每个人的基本权益和福祉。
圣地两个民族的冲突对犹太和巴勒斯坦双方的信徒都有很多的挑战。因为对于他们很多人来说，跟另一个族群的人会面是一种背叛。很可惜的是，就连很多基督徒也如此相信。
而复和神学则必须由卷入冲突的以色列人和巴勒斯坦人来形成和采纳，不能从冲突的背景中抽离出来，和平的种子必须种植和生长在冲突的土壤中。
与双方民族的人交流时，必须要注意的是：不能偏听任何一方的叙述；当我们想要弥合双方之间的对立时，我们需要自省，即省察和评估自己的叙事，而不只是告诉他们：他们说的是错的；培养同理心，站在对方的角度叙事。即便你可能不会同意他们的过去，但是我们可以充分理解对方的想法，并看到他们被上帝创造，具有上帝形象的人‘犹太人和巴勒斯坦人对福音的经历、对耶稣的十字架和祂将来国度的理解对复和很帮助。
“复和是福音的核心。”王院长说：“复和是神对祂子民一种整全又出自祂意愿所完成的工作。作为基督徒，我们的种族、政治、神学上的差异都不应该成为属灵和情感合一的任何借口。真正的悔改和宽恕的承诺是必须的。这不是一次性的事，而是一个长期的过程，是一个承诺。当我们有一个全新的身份——天国子民的身份，才能合一。最大的挑战和不能跨越的不是靠着我们自己得胜，阿拉伯人、以色列人不需要靠着自己得胜，而是靠着耶稣基督的十字架已经得胜了。”
“若有人在基督里，他就是新造的人。新人不只是国际性的，而是跨越文化、种族、历史的。更重要的是，无论是犹太人或者非犹太人人，都已经改变成不在乎他们的肤色和背景，因为他们一起都来靠近上帝。”
马来西亚浸信会神学院院长王美钟：从复和神学看巴以恩怨——圣地圣民爱邻舍
Dr. John Ong, the president of the Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary, spoke about the manner in which we should look at the Israeli-Palestinian grudge, from a perspective of reconciliation theological practice in a theological webinar held by the seminary.
Themed "Looking at the Long-standing Israeli-Palestinian Grudge from Historical and Reconciliation Theology Perspectives", the webinar was held on Jun 15th to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspectives of its history, the Jews, the Arabs, and trio-reconciliatory theology.
Dr. Ong said, "Churches should bring peace to the world, and this should be a testimony that churches bear. We should embody the Kingdom of Heaven in this torn world that is full of suffering, wars, and hatred. God's mission for the church is to enter this broken world and to mend it."
He explained that we could see violence in this world, within families, between peoples, and between nations. People sought to survive but were deprived of the most basic necessities; the earth, the ocean, the atmosphere, and all things in them faced serious crises; and some people were unable to achieve the most basic honor and dignity. These showed that there were serious problems appearing in God's good creation.
"God's creation is good, but very serious problems have emerged, that is, people stuck in sin cannot establish safe and peaceful societies on their own", said Dr. Ong.
Sin's damage was also manifested deep down in people's hearts: loneliness, shame, guilt, fear, anger, enmity, depression, despair, etc. Yet as the basic attribute of the triune God was love, he chose to heal the brokenness of man and the universe.
He continued that God works mainly through two strategies: He provides the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world with the promise of forgiveness of sin, the renewal of life, and eternal salvation; additionally, He provides family, workplace, religious bodies, and governments, to cater for the safety and prosperity of life. In the latter domain, the basic concern of this time was to serve your neighbors, to promote “shalom” among the different races in the world, and to be concerned for everyone's basic rights and welfare.
Ong stated that the conflict between the two peoples in the holy land was a great challenge to both Jewish and Palestinian Christians. To many, it was an act of betrayal to meet the other side. Sadly, many Christians also held this view.
Expanding on this, Dr. Ong explained, a theology of reconciliation must be formed and be adopted by Israelis and Palestinians who are involved in the conflict. While theology could not be removed from the context of the conflict, the seed of peace must be planted and grow in the soils of the conflicts.
He reminded the participants that we should not simply hear the narrative of one side and that in trying to bridge the gap between the two opposing sides, we needed to be self-critical, by evaluating and criticizing our own narratives rather than telling others how their narratives were wrong.
The president also said that we should cultivate a sense of empathy with the opposite narrative. Although we might never agree with our enemies about the past, we could still come to understand more about the way they thought and see them as human beings created in the image of God. The Messianic Jews' and Palestinian Christians' experience with the gospel, the cross of Jesus, and the coming of His kingdom, would be very helpful.
"Reconciliation is at the core of the gospel", Dr. Ong added. "Reconciliation is a complete and sufficient work that God has freely initiated and achieved for His people. As Christians, our differences in ethnic, political, or theological views should not be excuses that prevent us from being spiritually and emotionally united. Genuine repentance and commitment to forgiveness are needed. It is not a one-time event, but a promise that needs a prolonged process. Only when we recognize our new identity - the people of God's kingdom - can we be united. The greatest challenges and obstacles are not to be overcome by ourselves but have already been conquered by Jesus on the cross, and neither Arabs nor Israelis should try to overcome them with their own strength.
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. This new creation is not only international, trans-cultural, across race and history, but more importantly, whether being Jews or non-Jews and whatever difference in color or background, these matter no more, as they all come to worship God."
- Translated by Grace Song
President of Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary: Regard Israeli-Palestinian Grudge From Reconciliation Theology Perspective
