Who Are God's People in the Middle East?

by Gary M. Burge

Who Are God's People in the Middle East? is an engaging and balanced inquiry into the biblical and historical issues that underlie the current relations between the State of Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank region. It is a personal exploration by a scholar who has lived, worked, and studied in the Middle East among both Jewish and Arab friends caught in a crossfire not of their making. This plea for balance and fairness is a book every Christian needs to read to understand better the biblical and ethical issues behind today's headlines.

207 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

Gary M. Burge (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is dean of the faculty and professor of New Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary. He previously taught for twenty-five years at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Among his many published books are The New Testament in Seven Sentences, Theology Questions Everyone Asks (with coeditor David Lauber), A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion, Mapping Your Academic Career, The New Testament in Antiquity (coauthored with Gene Green), and the award-winning Whose Land? Whose Promise? What Christians Are Not Being Told About Israel and the Palestinians.

Reviews

[John Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is nearly 20 years old. Much has changed in Israel and much has remained the same in that span. The author was and is a Wheaton College professor. Burge points out that not everything is black and white in the "Holy Land." Jews aren't necessarily victims and Muslims aren't necessarily evil. The book offers cautions for Christians against blindly supporting Jews, most of whom are secular, while marginalizing those from Palestine. There are Christians in Palestine, some of them dating back to the time of Christ, but evangelicals in the U.S. tend to join in oppressing and discriminating against them.