courtesy NYTimes
I really enjoyed listening to Mike Cosper’s (Christianity Today) podcast series, “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.” I appreciated the way he handled the discussions related to Mark Driscoll’s misconduct at Mars Hill. Cosper’s approach had a pastoral touch, almost as though he understood the experiences of individuals like myself, who have been hurt by mega churches. For this, I am deeply grateful.
However, I have recently begun to lose confidence in Christianity Today.
Following the tragic events of October 7, my trust in CT started to diminish. Russell Moore’s, CT’s Editor in Chief, two editorials, in my view, exhibited a level of bias that does more harm than good.
NB: I responded to his first editorial in an earlier post: “The War in Israel-Gaza: my response to Russell Moore”
Moore exhorted us to stand with Israel. I responded, as I did to Biden’s speech on Oct 7th, by asking, “Do you know you are saying?”
My concern stemmed from the historical pattern where Israel’s retaliation to Palestinian attacks has consistently responded with a force ten-fold greater than what they suffered. Regrettably, I underestimated the severity of Israel’s response to Oct 7, which has seen casualties reaching levels 20x, 25x, and nearly 30x greater. And this is just in terms of lives that have been lost. Israel’s devastation of the infrastructure of Gaza is immeasurably greater than what they experienced on Oct 7.
My problem with Moore’s posts is that the Church should be advocates of peace and justice. We should not be giving a secular state a blank check to respond as they see fit.
Upon discovering that Mike Cosper and CT were producing a podcast series on the Gaza conflict, I was intrigued and cautiously optimistic. However, my hopes were quickly dashed as I found myself deeply disappointed after listening to just the first episode.
The Promised Land Podcast (Christianity Today)
As I write this post, there have been four episodes of CT’s podcast, “The Promised Land.” Unfortunately, the episodes reflect a capitulation of the popular Western Christian understanding of the conflict and in doing so causes more harm than good—to both Israel and the Palestinians.
I’m not suggesting that Cosper and CT are prohibited from embracing the dominant narrative. What I’m pointing out is that there are risks inherent in this paradigm that contradict the essence of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, Cosper not only overlooked these dangers but exacerbated them.
For example, the first episode highlights some survivors from the Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Cosper suggests that as a result of Oct 7, “Something has fundamentally changed here about the way people see Gaza and Hamas.” He explains that those in the kibbutz were “peaceniks” (he uses this word in episode 3 or 4). After Oct 7, peace was no longer in their purview. At one point, one of the members of the kibbutz asserts that on Oct 7, “They [the people of Gaza] showed their true face.”
Cosper’s description of the people in Gaza and Israel is clear. The people of Gaza do not want peace. They are nothing but violent extremists. And these “peacenik” Israelis must be content with the reality that the peace they wanted is not possible.
Now, I understand why someone who survived the assault of Oct 7 might say such a thing. After all, his community had just experienced a nightmarish attack. He is traumatized.
This sentiment, however, expresses a resignation to violence. If Oct 7 reveals the true face of Gazans, then there is no place for diplomacy. Violence is the only justifiable response.
But did Oct 7 really “show the true face” of everyone in Gaza?
Cosper overlooked the detrimental effects that trauma brings
Cosper should have been alerted by the statement that those in Gaza “showed their true face”; especially considering Jesus’ teachings that violence leads to further violence (Matt 26:52). While Cosper may have shown empathy, he should also have acknowledged the peril inherent in the statement. By choosing to include the statement in the podcast (given Cosper’s role as a producer), and presenting it in a manner aimed at eliciting sympathy from the listener, Cosper demonstrates that he doesn’t grasp the danger embedded in such a statement.
Does Cosper not recognize that this line of reasoning applies to both sides? Is it possible that the members of the kibbutz, whom he depicted as advocates for peace, have revealed their “true face”?
Moreover, if the events of Oct 7 led this Israeli advocate for peace to conclude that violence is the only recourse, then why should we expect those in Gaza, who have endured a harsh occupation spanning 56 years and a severe economic blockade for the past two decades, to not also conclude that peace is not possible?
Some Gazans used to live on the land that Kfar Aza now occupies
Cosper didn’t seem to realize that part of the Gazan’s story is that 70% of Gazans are either refugees or descendants of refugees who were forcibly displaced from their homes in 1948.
And some of them lived in homes upon which the kibbutzim that were attacked on Oct 7 have been built. That is right: Israeli forces destroyed Palestinian homes in 1948 and then built upon the ruins of those homes a series of kibbutzim that are a part of the Gaza envelope.
The Gaza Envelope refers to a series of over 50 Israeli communities built at or near the Gaza border. The idea behind the construction of these communities in the years immediately following Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948 was to establish an Israeli presence in the area and to seal off the Palestinians from Israel.
NB: there was no fence around Gaza at the time and the area that became known as the Gaza Strip had not been formally established. The construction of the Gaza envelope thus served as the line of demarcation between Israel and Gaza.
Some Israeli’s now want to obliterate Gaza
Unfortunately, one of the members of the kibbutzim that Cosper interviewed suggested that Gaza should be wiped out so that the Israelis might have a clear view of the sea. What?
Again, we might try to sympathize with the suffering those in the Kibbutz experienced on Oct 7.
If the damnable act of Oct 7 is sufficient to justify the conviction that Gaza should be wiped out so that they can have a view of the sea—which means the annihilation of tens of thousands of Gazans, most of whom are women and children, as well as the forced displacement of 2 million Gazans—then surely the last 17 years of oppression that the Gazans have suffered is sufficient justification for the heinous acts of Oct 7.
Of course, neither is justified. And that is the point.
Sadly, Cosper left his listeners with a sense that the Israeli suffering is so great they are now justified in leveling Gaza. In doing so, he is reinforcing unchristian attitudes which are all too prevalent among CT readers.
Since Oct 7, I have written and spoken numerous times about the horrific sentiment among Christians and Christian leaders who have been advocating for war. Some do so out of a warped eschatological perspective—as if this war is a prelude to the 2nd Coming of Jesus. Others have done so because of a conviction that Israel is God’s chosen people.
Let’s sit on this thought for a moment. Even if Israelis are God’s chosen people, does this mean that we should encourage the destruction of over 32,000 lives—not even counting the 70,000 injured, the 17,000 who have become orphans, the displacement of 2 million people, and their starvation?
Do I support terrorism?
I suspect that Cosper and any who hold to convictions similar to his will respond by suggesting that I am advocating for terrorists. Cosper began the podcast series with audio from pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the US. The implication is clear: those who side with the Palestinians are radicals bent on destruction. Cosper made this association for us. After all, this part of the episode immediately followed the mention of Oct 7. His point was that these protests happened the next day.
The problem with this association is that it serves only one purpose: to portray one side as evil and the other as innocent victims.
Interestingly, when terrorism is advocated by Jewish or Israeli voices, Cosper is bewildered. He says he was “shocked” to see a sign “Remember the Amaleke” in a kibbutz. What a minute, when a Palestinian cries, “From the river to the Sea, Palestine will be free” they are advocating for genocide. But when the Prime Minister of Israel, two weeks before the attack of Oct 7, shows a map of “Greater Israel”—a map with no Gaza or West Bank—and when he calls for Israelis to remember “Amaleke,” it is “shocking”?
Cosper’s podcast consistently portrays Israelis as innocent victims. He says that the purpose of the Israeli army is that “We are not going to be victims anymore.”
This is not to deny that they have suffered. Nor is it to deny that the average Israeli is innocent. But so also is the average person in Gaza.
NB: please do not respond with the rhetoric that Gaza elected Hamas. There is much more to it than that. And Israelis elected Netanyahu and Ben G’vir.
90% of Israelis support the war on Gaza
Cosper notes that 90% of Israelis support the war on Gaza. And, indeed, from an Israeli perspective, we can understand why this is so.
My problem with Cosper’s presentation is that it is the role of the Church to advocate for peace and justice. It is our role to help Israelis understand that their suffering is not going to be resolved through violence, but by seeking a just peace. It is our role to affirm the human dignity of all persons.
Cosper, however, presented a narrative in which one people are victims and the other evil oppressors whose “true face” was shown on Oct 7.
Sadly, he has betrayed the Gospel’s demand for the Church to be peacemakers.
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