John S. Munayer and Samuel S. Munayer, "The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology amid Gaza", Maryknoll, Orbis Press, 2025, 192 p.

Résumé

Palestinian theology, like all theology formulated at the margins, reminds Christians that God cares deeply for all God’s children and, in a special way, for those suffering the scourges of discrimination, oppression, violence, and destruction. Palestinian theology not only confronts and challenges theological discourse that legitimizes the dispossession of the Palestinian people, but also spiritually nurtures Palestinian life in the face of forces seeking to uproot and destroy it. Following noted Christian Palestinian thinkers such as Catholic Latin Patriarch emeritus Michel Sabbah and Father Rafiq Khoury, Anglican priest Naim Ateek, and Lutheran pastors Mitri Raheb and Munther Isaac, among others, a new generation emerges in this volume. It is a consoling confirmation that Christian Palestinians are not only surviving the latest onslaught but are also empowered to think and speak, act, and minister to their people. As the two editors write, Christian Palestinian theology cannot be concerned only with survival, but must move “from mere preservation to active agency” (134).
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