Israel and the Land: A Note from a Christian Perspective

Abstract

“It is important for Christians not to perceive the promise of land in the Old Testament as a relic of ancient Near Eastern history, much less an idiosyncrasy of contemporary Palestinian politics. For that promise, with all its intrinsic problems, is a theological expression of the fundamental human need for security and freedom. There is no doubt that that promise has been exploited through the ages to legitimate the most inhuman of institutions and policies. But in rejecting the symbolic power of the promised land, the church would stand in danger of denying the fact that it lives in, if not of, this world.