From my latest article on Orient and Occident:
‘The church in Egypt is better resourced to participate in society than in other countries of the Arab world, whereas in Palestine/Israel it constitutes only 1% of the population,’ says Stephen Sizer, a renowned critic of Christian Zionism, who presented a series of lectures in Cairo, including at the Anglican Cathedral.
Sizer is an Anglican minister from the UK and directs most of his energy combating US evangelical Christians who find Biblical warrant for supporting the Zionist policies of Israel. Instead, Biblical theology should direct the Christian to support the oppressed and stand for justice, on both sides of the separation wall.
Yet local expressions of theology have failed Palestinian Christians as well. In an interview with Orient and Occident Sizer suspects a similar deficiency among many Egyptian Copts.
‘Theology that says, “Stay out of politics and worship quietly; don’t get in the way or cause problems” will lead only to a victim mentality,’ maintains Sizer. ‘We have to get out of our ghetto and show the rule of law applies to everyone.’
Please click here to continue reading the article on Orient and Occident.
Orient and Occident is the bilingual online magazine of the Egyptian Anglican Church, of which I am privileged to be the editor. We seek to highlight voices who are able to articulate how the values of faith – Christian in particular, shared widely with Islam – can be lived practically in society, and in particular the Arab world. We welcome contributions from Christians and Muslims alike.
Please click here to view the Winter edition homepage in English, and here in Arabic. This season’s edition also features the following articles:
- Love in Practice Engages with Neighbors – Bishop Mouneer Anis
- Orient and Occident: A Personal Testimony – Bishop Maurice Sinclair
- God’s Purpose for Minorities – Osama Abdel Masih
- In the Office of Ghali Shokry – Osama el-Ghazoly
- Recalling Tahrir Square – Paul Anis
- Human Identity – Mina Milad
- Christian Faith in Iraq – Faiz Jerjes
- The Journey of Egyptian Education, Part One – Lily Zareef
- Not a Donkey, oh Bey – Emil Labeb
- In Hope … – David Aziz
While on this blog Julie and I always appreciate your sharing of our thoughts about Egypt, we would like to invite you particularly to share any of these articles you find enjoyable or challenging. We hope Orient and Occident will be a service to the Arab world – both by inspiring its readers inside and by sharing a vision with the world outside. Thanks for any small steps you can take to help it be better known.
Related Posts:
- Orient and Occident Magazine – August 16, 2012
