Christians walk fine line today in Bethlehem
___By Erich Bridges
___SBC International Mission Board
___BETHLEHEM, West Bank (BP)--If Joseph and Mary were to venture into Bethlehem this Christmas Eve looking for a room at the inn, they'd need a fast donkey to dodge bullets.
___Caught in the crossfire. That's how Christians in the Middle East have felt as Jews and Arabs fight over a homeland. Now that hopes for Israeli-Palestinian peace have collapsed once again into street warfare, the Christians' sense of living under siege has returned.
___That's true for members of the Palestinian Christian minority, who--despite their general support for Palestinian statehood--have been denounced by some militant Muslim leaders since the violence exploded.
___It's also true for American Christian workers in the wider Arab world, who must cope with the anger of their Muslim friends and neighbors toward what they see as unjust United States policy in the region.
___"In our three years living in the Middle East, we have received many warnings from the U.S. Embassy regarding possible terrorist actions or other anti-American activity," one American evangelical couple wrote to friends. "Yet we have never felt those past situations affected our relationships" with Muslims.
___"This time it is completely different. Literally our whole country is talking about it ... . There is strong anti-American feeling all around because of our government's support of Israel."
___They pleaded for prayer.
___"Please pray that God would anoint our words when we are with our friends. (We're) surprised to find even (our) most unpolitical friends very wrapped up in the situation. From their view, they see an oppressed people struggling for independence ... .
___"Most Arabs see Christianity hand-in-hand with America, and they reject it all the more now--and even us to some extent--because they see the USA and Christianity as so uncaring to their plight ... . Please pray that we do not take on a 'siege mentality.' We need to stay engaged that they might see our God in us as well as his compassion for (those suffering) injustice."
___Whether their Muslim friends' perspective is entirely accurate or fair is irrelevant. Perception is reality on the Arab "street."
___"Infinitely more painful" the couple added, was the reaction of several young men who recently turned back to seeing Jesus as only a prophet after affirming him as Lord. "Please pray for these guys that God would continue the good work he has begun in them," they asked.
___Despite the grim realities in the region, Christians see many reasons for hope as they strive to express the love of Jesus. For one thing, most Arabs prize relationships above national identities.
___"I've had Arabs say, 'We hate American foreign policy, but not you. You're our friend,'" said one veteran Christian worker. "We just need to be bold enough to live Christ and to strip ourselves of political and cultural baggage that we carry almost unconsciously."
The Baptist Standard
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