BookPastor >> "Chosen" (Walter Brueggemann)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on Nov 13th, 2015.

conrade

---

TITLE: Chosen?: Reading the Bible Amid the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
AUTHOR: Walter Brueggemann
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015, (108 pages).

Whenever people think of the Middle East conflict, they would shake their heads as if there will never be any solution to the conflict. It is one of the most, if not the most, difficult problems in this world. For Christians, it is one huge theological puzzle of disagreement. At the heart of the disputes are the questions surrounding the nation of Israel.

• Who is Israel?
• Is Israel still God's chosen people?
• How should evangelicals see the Israel of today?
• Is there any theological basis to support Israel with military weapons? 
• What should we make of the relationships between Israel and the Palestinians?

For scholar and theologian, Walter Brueggemann, far more important than political maneuvers for or against Israel is the plight of human rights for Palestinians. It is not right for US lobbying groups to continue to support Israel's bullying tactics by sending them military weapons and at the same time downplaying the human rights of the Palestinians. Worse, it is bad theology to just interpret the Bible as if it is a command to prop up Israel regardless of what she does to her neighbours. For Brueggemann, the well-being of all must be foremost.

A Tale of Two Stories

Every media has its own bias. No matter how big or how small, there is always a biased perspective. That is why we need at least two points of view. With the Palestinian and Israeli violence going on right now in the Middle East, the war has also spread from the battlefields to the Internet world. Call it propaganda or misrepresentation the other side, the truth is, people are prone to have a strong first impression when the news is dramatically described. Let me share just one example.

Story #1 - A Pro-Palestinian Bias

There is a map that has been circulated widely on the Internet recently. It certainly makes the Israelis look bad. The way the visual goes is that the problem lies in only one party. Israel is the bully.

Story #1 - A Pro-Palestinian Bias

Story #2 - A Pro-Israeli Bias

Check out the next story, which is pro-Israeli. It addresses each of the four maps individually, calling it a misrepresentation of facts.

1. Map 1 (1946): No State of Palestine but the British Mandate
2. Map 2 (1947): The U.N. Partition Plan - never came into existence (where the Palestinians openly reject the plan.
3. Map 3 (1949-67): Jordanian West Bank, Egyptian Gaza (map changes due to Arab aggression and Israel retaliation)
4. Map 4 (2000): Omitting the key facts

Story #2 thus proposes a new map.

Story #2 - Pro-Israel Bias

Who is correct? You tell me.

c

BookPastor >> "Honoring God in Red or Blue"

With the coming US elections, this book will provide some guidelines on how to vote. More importantly, it shows us that whichever candidates one votes for, it makes no sense to demonize people who disagree. After all, one can still honour God, independent of party affiliation. This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on October 11th, 2012.

conrade

---

TITLE: Honoring God in Red or Blue: Approaching Politics with Humility, Grace, and Reason
AUTHOR: Amy E. Black
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2012, (208 pages).

The reactions to politics are often negative, even dismissive. It is common to hear people saying things like:

• "Politics is dirty."
• "Politics is a four-letter word."
• "We cannot mix politics with religion. Separation of Church and State remember?"
• "All politicians are crooks."

Rarely do we find informed opinions from laypersons that not only explain the preconceived notions of such negativity, but provide insights into the world of politics, especially the American political scene. Published at a time when the two major American political parties are revving up their rhetoric and campaigns, this book helps us to not only understand what politics are all about, it educates us on what is and what is not, the right and wrong ways to engage politics, and more importantly, how to think and respond Christianly toward the political scene. As the title suggests, whether we support the Republicans (Red) or the Democrats (Blue), honoring God is possible either way. In other words, God is neither Republican, Democrat, Independent, or whatever visible party out there. God is God, and we can all honor God regardless of what party lines are saying.  The key point is that all parties have mixtures of good and bad, and we ought to be aware of the potential as well as the constraints of each position taken.

Amy Black, a Professor in political science at Wheaton College shares with us a wealth of information regarding the modern cultural perceptions of politics and parties, an insight into how the American political system is designed, a brief history of the separation of powers and the separation of Church and State, and a hugely beneficial section on how Christians can engage constructively in the political arena. In Part One, Black makes a case that there are more upsides to politics than what most people think. While there are perils of political work, we need to keep in mind the promises and the potential of God working out for good in the world of politics. Black puts forth ample biblical support for the active engagement of politics simply because religion and politics inform each other. If that is the case, retreating from talking about it is unhelpful. Constructive engagement is needed. She suggests four principles on how to do this.

1. When talking about politics, display humility
2. It is ok to disagree without calling each other unChristian. Diversity always imply a difference of opinions.
3. Do not use the label "Christian" to validate any political stand, simply because such labels belong solely to God. In other words, don't say things like, "God tell me......" frivolously.
4. Use politics as a way to demonstrate love for God and neighbour, and not a sledgehammer to pound our views across.

Part Two is a fascinating tour of the American political system, how the government works. This part alone is worth the price of the book as it not only helps readers to understand the party ideologies and the overall checks and balances of the American separation of powers, it shows us the ingenious ways in which the system is able to correct itself and avoid any movements toward totalitarian regimes.  It is one of the finest demonstration of democracy and freedom of all to participate or to switch parties based on conscience, not fear.

Part Three is the key section for readers who are Christian, and want to learn how to honor God when engaging in politics.  Black compares and contrasts four different traditions of political theology, namely the Catholic, Lutheran, Anabaptist, and Reformed perspectives. She shows us how to avoid tribal politics and engage more in dialogue and how to disagree peacefully. Learning how to disagree is so important that Black sets aside more than one chapter to let Scriptural truth shine and guide our steps. She also gives tips on how to evaluate any policy or party stand. One way is to first search for common ground, and then agree to disagree on the rest, later. The late Dr Martin Luther King Jr describes the role of the Church as follows:

"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state."

This wisely put phrase sets into perspective how Christians are to interact with the State, maintaining a separation of religion from politics without missing a beat with regards to engagement meaningfully and purposefully. Finally, when deciding how to vote, Black provides the following tips:

• Evaluate each candidate on the basis of how trustworthy he/she is, based on one's understanding of fair representation.
• Be prepared with what political issues most matter to us
• Set priorities on which issues are most important
• See how well the running candidate fits the requirements, duties for the post
• Learn about the candidate and the office
• Discern what the campaigns are trying to communicate
• If needed, volunteer to get a closer look at the person, the party, and how well the candidate is practicing the political ideology.

In summary, the best way for us to engage constructively is to have adequate knowledge of the political system, meaningful understanding of the people and parties involved, and purposeful engaging of the entire political process. This book not only launches us to this end, it shows us the way to do just that. 

Ratin: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade

---

This book is provided to me free by Moody Publishers and NetGalley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

THE COURAGE TO CHANGE

TITLE: THE COURAGE TO CHANGE
Written by: Conrade Yap
Date: 14 April 2011

The year 2011 is gearing up to be an election year for a number of countries I am familiar with. Canada, Malaysia and Singapore are all gearing up for elections. Canadians are free to vote, as well as not to vote. Malaysians can vote only if they are registered on time. In fact for Malaysians, any three consecutive failures to vote can mean the forfeiture of future voting rights. In Singapore, it is compulsory to vote, only if there are no walkovers. In this note, I will argue that a stable democratic society is one that voters can freely choose, and freely agree to live with its consequences.

Book Review: "Tea With Hezbollah"

Title: Tea With Hezbollah
Authors: Ted Dekker & Carl Medearis
Published: New York, NY: Doubleday Religion, 2010, (258 pages).

The premise of the book is simple. Based on Jesus greatest commandments to his disciples, the authors, who are of the Christian faith attempt to test this teaching on non-Christians, in particular the Arab neighbours in the Middle East and Israel. Covering the three major monotheistic faiths; Islam, Judaism and Christianity and some of all their variants, the authors undertake a dangerous journey in war-torn Beirut, Jerusalem, Jordan, Egypt and several other undisclosed locations to find out. The results of the short interviews reveal striking differences in terms of the perceptions of Jesus' greatest commandment.

For Christians, it seem to be a given, and a taken-for-granted statement that the rest of the world should naturally understand. The courageous journeys into dangerous 'enemy' territory can be said to be foolish to some, bravery to others. While the Western world of Christianity generally assumes that Jesus' teaching is THE biggest thing, and that the rest of the world should respect, it will come as a shock that it is simply a peripheral teaching to others. While the West talks of love before all things, leaders from groups labeled by America as 'terrorists' talks about justice + love going hand in hand. In a nutshell, love is meaningless without the element of justice. It is like a man walking with 2 legs, each of equal importance. Western perceptions of Jesus' greatest teaching seem to be a limping image of walking on the one single leg of love. This one difference is the major reason why the West and the Middle East religions do not always see eye to eye.

I read this book on my flight back from Boston. It is an entertaining read, as it incorporates both real interviews with Islamic rebels as well as a fictional story of Nicole interspersed throughout the book in 7 separate chapters. While Nicole's story is fiction, it reveals a realistic portrayal of how war and ideologies can break up and separate families.

My Comments
This book is a good resource to balance the overly Westernized perception of people living in the Middle East. It tells us how much MIS-understanding Western people, even well-intentioned Christian people has of the Muslims, even the terrorists. The theme running throughout the book is that the rebels put on a posture of 'defense' more than invading others. They claim that Islam stands for peace and they wish no war or bad outcomes on others. Misunderstandings exist on both sides. Errors have been made on both sides. Wrong propaganda has been launched from both sides. In some ways, everyone of us are guilty of unfair perceptions.


I think a mediator may be necessary to bridge the ideology divide. In the presence of a third party, feuding parties may be more willing to put down their animosity or prejudices in order to explain in a fair manner to the neutral party. If trying to understand each other is the solution to peace between the Islamic world and the West, it would have been done much earlier. Talking about it is one thing. The practical details are another. That is why countries such as China or India can play a big role in bridging the gap.


This book tries to correct negative perceptions arising from the Western thinking on the Islamic society. It aims to show that these groups do not seem to be reading on the same page. This is an entertaining and warm book. For we are all humans.


conrade