ei: Religion and spirituality

Anxious for Armageddon: A Call to Partnership for Middle Eastern and Western Christians
By Donald E. Wagner
Publisher: Herald Pr. (March 1995), 272 pages

Bethlehem 2000
By Mitri Raheb and Fred Strickert
Publisher: Interlink Publishing (1998), 160 pages

A unique look at Bethlehem at the end of the 20th century.

Bethlehem Besieged: Stories of Desperation and Hope from the Holy Land
By Mitri Raheb
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (June 2004), 160 pages

Raheb's powerful collection of compelling personal stories--stories of desperation and hope in the midst of lethal conflict--brings the Palestinian/Israeli conflict up close and personal. Raheb's lifelong commitment to his people has kept him in the legendary birthplace of Christianity, even as it has become a flashpoint in the world's most volatile and hate-filled conflict. Yet, even as tanks thunder through Nativity Square, and even as he sees the lives of his friends, his flock, and his family disrupted and destroyed, Raheb also spies seeds of hope. His passionate personal testimony lifts up the stray gesture toward friendship, the brave attempts to rebuild life and livelihood in a destroyed land, and the unquenchable desire for justice and peace.

Blood Brothersy Elias Chacour
Publisher: Chosen Books Pub. Co. (February 2003 2nd ed.), 240 pages

In Blood Brothers, Chacour blends his riveting life story with historical research to reveal a little-known side of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the birth of modern Israel. He touches on controversial questions such as "What behind-the-scenes politics touched off the turmoil in the Middle East?", "What does Bible prophecy really have to say?", and "Can bitter enemies ever be reconciled?"

The Body and the Blood: The Holy Land at the Turn of a New Millennium: A Reporter's Journey
By Charles M. Sennott
Publisher: PublicAffairs (October 16, 2001), 512 pages

This journalistic pilgrimage seeks out the forgotten people of the Holy Land-its Christians-and shows how their dwindling numbers offer a sober lesson in understanding the modern Middle East.

Cradle & Crucible : History and Faith in the Middle East
By David Fromkin et al.
Publisher: National Geographic (February 1, 2004), 224 pages

Beginning with the prehistoric civilizations of the fertile crescent and continuing through the conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries, the first section of the book distills the Middle East’s sweeping, often turbulent history. From the Hittites to Alexander the Great, from the Romans to the Crusaders, from the Ottomans to the Imperialists, the Middle East’s rich tapestry of influences and identities is described with new critical insights. The book’s second section is devoted to the Middle East’s three great faiths, examining in depth the impact of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian beliefs on history and daily life in the Middle East.

Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation
By Michael Lerner
Publisher: North Atlantic Books (October 2003), 200 pages

Healing Israel/Palestine shows that it is possible to be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine, and provides a clear blueprint for a peace settlement. Unequivocally opposed to war-makers and terrorists, Rabbi Michael Lerner asserts that a spiritual and progressive perspective, rooted in the highest values of the human race, is crucial.

I Am a Palestinian Christian
By Mitri Raheb
Publisher: Fortress Press (April 1995), 164 pages

Raheb, a Christian pastor in Bethlehem, explores the recent history of the Palestinian Christians, and the complex meeting of the world's three major monotheistic religions.

Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation
By Naim Stifan Ateek, Rosemary Radford Ruether
Publisher: Orbis Books (December 1990), 229 pages

This captivating bestseller by a clergyman and leader of the Palestine Christian community examines the problems and prospects for Palestinians, Jews, and Christians in the Middle East.

Prophecy and Politics
By Grace Halsell
Publisher: E J Hill & Company; Revised edition (June 1989), 210 pages

rophecy and Politics is the carefully detailed and documented history of the growing alliance between militant zionism and christian fundamentalism. Halsell's comprehensive index, her scholarly citation of every quote and assertion, her deliberate simplicity of style and careful summations at the conclusion of each chapter, raise this work to the level of documentary. reader.

Witnessing for Peace: In Jerusalem and the World
By Fred Strickert (Editor), Munib Younan (Author)
Publisher: Fortress Press (June 2003), 176 pages

n this volume, Younan presents first the historical and social context of the Palestinian situation, beginning with the not-well-known story of Arab Christianity and his own background. He elaborates his own theology of nonviolence, centered in the idea of martyria—heeding a call to justice, inclusion, and forgiveness. He illustrates the notion with dramatic and often tragic episodes and shows how it can address key issues in the current struggle with Israel over statehood, land, and refugees. Younan’s model of Christian nonviolence also has demonstrable benefits in addressing terrorism, interreligious strife, and global peacemaking. Younan’s is a voice all Christians of conscience should hear.

Whose Land? Whose Promise?: What Christians Are Not Being Told
About Israel and the Palestinians
By Gary M. Burge
Publisher: Pilgrim Press (May 2003), 286 pages

Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
By Tony Kushner (Editor) and Alisa Solomon (Editor)
Publisher: Grove Press (October 2003), 320 pages

Wrestling with Zion brings together prominent poets, essayists, journalists, activists, academics, novelists, and playwrights, representing the diversity of opinion in the progressive Jewish-American community regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All the participants share three things: a Jewish identity, an American identity, and a sense of urgency, refusing to ignore the catastrophic injustice that has been visited upon the Palestinian people, while at the same time being passionately committed to Jewish survival and American legacies of compassion and moral courage.