A Lesson from the Book of Acts
Tony Deik
I once was invited to publish an article in a well-known, US-based evangelical blog. My article addressed issues of injustice and oppression in Palestine-Israel and challenged the way many Western evangelicals look at the Palestine-Israel conflict. The editor wrote me back requesting that I revise the article to make it more “pro-peace” and “pro-reconciliation,” and when I insisted to keep its focus on the struggle and pain of the Palestinians, he rejected to publish it.[1]
Many Christians in the West emphasize peacemaking and reconciliation as ways to address the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict. While no one can deny that peacemaking is surely an integral part of our mission (e.g., Matthew 5:9), the way many Christians, especially among evangelicals, approach it is problematic. First, in many cases, those who advocate for peace and reconciliation in Palestine-Israel are typically the same people who adhere to Christian Zionism; a theology that, from a Palestinian perspective, justifies the on-going ethnic cleansing of Palestine.[2] Second, they often come to the Middle East with an Orientalist attitude that sees Arabs as backward, irrational, and violent.[3]
The book of Acts provides a remedy to these two issues—albeit in a different context. In the first sermon delivered to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius, Peter proclaims the heart of the Christian gospel: eirēnē dia Iēsou Christou “peace through Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:36). However, before Peter could proclaim the gospel of peace to the Gentiles, a profound transformation needed to take place in the way Peter understood God and viewed the other.
Jewish Christians in first-century Palestine were influenced by the strong nationalist theology of second temple Judaism. Like other Jewish sects of their time (e.g. see Matthew 3:7–9), they thought of themselves as special because of their ethnicity; they believed that God treated them differently from other nations. Further, although early Christians were genuine believers, filled with the Holy Spirit (the day of Pentecost), they looked at Gentiles as outcasts, unclean, and profane; people not to be associated with (see Acts 10:28).
Therefore, before Peter could preach the gospel of peace to the Gentiles, God had to deconstruct and transform his theology and prejudices. This was done through two interrelated theological revelations that provided an interpretation to the vision Peter had received earlier (Acts 10:9–16). The first revelation tackles the way Peter viewed other nations. Realizing his prejudices against the Gentiles, Peter declares that “God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean” (Acts 10:28). The second revelation addresses Peter’s understanding of God—his theology proper. Just before starting his evangelistic sermon, Peter proclaims: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (10:34–35). It is important to note that Peter’s transformation happened before the preaching of the gospel, not after. Peter would not have been able to proclaim the gospel of peace while holding a discriminatory and ethnocentric theology. This had to be deconstructed and transformed into an inclusive, Christ-centred theology before the gospel is proclaimed.
Like Peter, before preaching the gospel of peace, the church today needs to deconstruct and transform its theology and prejudices. Until that happens, we will not be able to assume our God-given mission to be peace-proclaimers and peacemakers.
[1] The article is now published on the INFEMIT blog. You can access it here. For more about the experience of Palestinian Christians being ignored, rejected, and at times discredited and even dehumanized, see Munther Isaac, The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope (Downers Grove: IVP, 2020) and Anton Deik, “Christian Zionism and Mission,” in The Religious Other – A Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur’an and Muhammad, eds. Martin Accad and Jonathan Andrews (Carlisle: Langham, 2020).
[2] For more on Christian Zionism, see: Stephen Sizer, Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon? (Leicester: IVP, 2004).
[3] For more about Western attitudes towards the East, see Edward Said’s seminal work: Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Vintage Books, 1979).
The views and opinions expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect an official position of INFEMIT. We seek to foster reflection through conversation, and ask you to be respectful and constructive in your comments.
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