01.11.2012
‘Land of Promise?’ Report Launched by Archbishop of Dublin
The worldwide launch of a document addressing Christian attitudes to the Holy Land took place in Dublin today, Thursday November 1. Entitled Land of Promise? An Anglican exploration of Christian attitudes to the Holy Land, with special reference to Christian Zionism, the document was launched by the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, the Archbishop of Dublin and chairperson of the Anglican Communion’s Network for Interfaith Concerns (NIFCON) in the Church of Ireland College of Education in Rathmines. This is the first time such a document has been launched in Ireland and it will be presented to the Anglican Consultative Council, currently meeting in New Zealand, tomorrow.
The document was written to enable Anglicans across the world to engage more deeply with and become more informed about the issues surrounding the situation in the Holy Land. Following a resolution which was debated by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) in Jamaica in 2009, it was agreed that a resource providing an overview of Christian attitudes to the Holy Land, and specifically an understanding of Christian Zionism, should be produced. As a result the management group of NIFCON was asked to prepare the document for the current meeting of the ACC.
Speaking at the launch, Archbishop Jackson said: “The Holy Land remains both a geographical space and a way of life which matters fervently to millions of people worldwide. Passions run high – and understandably. The Holy Land features large in three World Religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – and is a pivotal point of international interest. The land itself is an inescapable component. The Christian communities of the Holy Land continue unashamedly to be the Body of Christ in their place. They are not curators but show the living reality of the universal church in this unique locality.”
While Christian Zionism remains a focal point of reference, the document explores Zionisms, both Jewish and Christian. It provides definitions of Jewish and Christian Zionism and presents some stories of the impact upon, and dilemmas faced, by some Anglicans that stem from Christian attitudes to the Holy Land. It also explores how relationships in Isreal/Palestine have had an affect on parts of the Anglican Communion.
The document provides a range of theological resources for Anglicans as well as an exploration of key theological issues such as the Gift of the Land, Exile and Return and Holy City and Temple to enable the reader to get a sense of the Holy Land and Zion and how both relate to one another. It concludes with suggested short statements which Anglicans can and should affirm; others which are deemed unacceptable within the boundaries of an Anglican interpretation of the Christian faith; and others where there are significantly different views within an Anglican interpretation, held with integrity but in diversity.
The current meeting of the ACC will be the last such meeting to be attended by The Most Reverend Dr Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop has written an Afterword to LAND OF PROMISE?
Archbishop Jackson said the hope of NIFCON was that the ACC would receive and endorse the document which it has requested of them.
The Archbishop’s speech is reproduced in full below:
The launch of: LAND OF PROMISE? An Anglican exploration of Christian attitudes to the Holy Land, with special reference to ‘Christian Zionism.’
Speech given by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, in the Church of Ireland College of Education, Rathmines, Dublin, on 1 November 2012.
I have great pleasure in welcoming all of you this afternoon to the launch of the Report to ACC 15 entitled: LAND OF PROMISE? An Anglican exploration of Christian attitudes to the Holy Land with special reference to ‘Christian Zionism.’ This is the first time that such a document has been launched in Ireland. It is perhaps fitting to remember that John Nelson Darby, an early dispensationalist and Christian Zionist, was an Anglican clergyman in these United Dioceses. His pulpit is still to be seen on the interior west wall in Calary Parish Church, in the diocese of Glendalough.
This document will tomorrow be launched in New Zealand, on the other side of the world, at the 15th Meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council. It is a real privilege for us that it is being launched across the Anglican Communion here in the Church of Ireland College of Education in Dublin this afternoon. I appreciate the presence of a broad–ranging group of people from Ireland and from further afield with an interest in and concern for the issues which the document covers. The gathering of people of different nationalities and different World Faiths heartens all of us who have been associated with the research and compilation of the document for almost two years. My own part in it has been small and I wish publicly to thank my colleagues who have given so much of themselves to this project in terms of sheer hard work. It has been a labour of love in the service first and foremost of enabling people to understand one another, that is people of strongly held convictions, none of whom is going away and all of whom need to find scope for the accommodation of themselves and of ‘the other’ in highly contested space – historically, politically, ethnically and emotionally. This is the context of this document. I trust that all who read it will recognize the honesty of its endeavour and the truthfulness of its striving to be fair–minded and to facilitate informed and charitable discussion right across the Anglican Communion about the Holy Land.
The Holy Land remains both a geographical space and a way of life which matters fervently to millions of people worldwide. Passions run high – and understandably. The Holy Land features large in three World Religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – and is a pivotal point of international interest. The land itself is an inescapable component. The Christian communities of the Holy Land continue unashamedly to be the Body of Christ in their place. They are not curators but they manifest the living reality of the universal church in this unique locality (page 55). In 2010, the Anglican Consultative Council requested the Management Group of NIFCON (The Network for Inter Faith Concerns) to prepare a document specifically for the Meeting of ACC in New Zealand in the late autumn of 2012. This is the fruit of our labours. Readers of the document may be interested in the specifically Anglican theological principles which are applied to such issues. The first is a commitment to the discernment of God’s action in history, in such a way as to do justice to the ambiguities of history itself. The second is a sense of the importance of place. And the third is the recognition of the centrality to our faith of the sacramental principle. Incarnation and sacrament help us to hold together the material and the spiritual, the particular and the universal. (page 53)
While Christian Zionism remains a focal point of reference, the document explores Zionisms, in their Jewish and Christian forms. At its simplest Zionism is described as: the self–liberation of the Jewish people and Christian Zionism as: ‘the understanding that the modern state of the country and region of Israel is the fulfilment of Biblical prophecy and thus deserving of political, financial and religious support.’ (page 9) But the simplicity carries within itself an unavoidable complexity: ‘From the beginning the Zionist project saw itself, and was seen by others, as an answer to the so–called ‘Jewish question’: but in turn it has from the beginning been itself interrogated by the ‘Palestinian question.’ (page 12) And the pre–millennialist Christian Zionists seek to draw connections between current realities in the Middle East and specific apocalyptic events (page 13). This range of exploration is complemented by voices which are contemporary and historical. They offer a perspective from some of those most deeply affected by the issues raised by the sweep of the document and take us right into the need for extreme care if we are to avoid feeding unwarranted and unhelpful extremism – and the pain and suffering which always accompany it. These particular voices are intended to be different and sometimes conflicting, reflecting the reality of appropriation and response of the many Zionisms in the contemporary world. The perspective of Rabbi David Rosen, himself a former Chief Rabbi of Ireland and founder of Rabbis for Human Rights, is a significant marker: ‘the vision of Torah and the vision of Zionism is one in which not only Jews but all people live in peace and dignity.’ (page 30) Living diversity, in both mild and extreme forms, is a feature of contemporary Anglicanism and is part both of its courage and its confusion. The document goes further in recounting a number of stories of how situations in Israel/Palestine impact on life and relationships in a broad range of parts of the Anglican Communion, the world–wide body which, of course, provides the Membership of the Anglican Consultative Council.
The document provides a range of theological resources for Anglicans as well as an exploration of key theological and Biblical issues such as the gift of the land, exile and return, holy city and temple. This is designed to enable the reader to get a sense of the Holy Land and Zion alike and how both relate to one another. The document contains suggested short statements which Anglicans can and should affirm; others which are deemed unacceptable within the boundaries of an Anglican interpretation of the Christian faith; and others where there are significantly different views within an Anglican interpretation, held with integrity but in diversity. Again, the purpose of this is to give a real sense of the capacity of Anglicans to unite in communication across difference and disagreement. As the document says, with genuine openness: ‘…indeed Anglicans of different backgrounds will bring different preconceptions with them. It may be that part of our distinctive vocation as Anglicans is to engage with one another in mutual challenge of those preconceptions, to enlarge our vision and sympathy as we learn from those whose views differ from us.’ (page 10) It may be that part of our distinctive vocation as Anglicans is to engage with one another in mutual challenge of those preconceptions, to enlarge our vision and sympathy as we learn from those whose perspective is one of informed disagreement from our own and ours from theirs. As Anglicans we have a very loose disciplinary structure but a high doctrine of divinely derived authority to be neighbourly to those with whom we disagree every bit as much as to those with whom we agree – if not more. This is the challenge of our contemporary witness. Among Anglican guiding principles are the three motifs of presence, engagement and hospitality. (page 37) The Holy Land itself is a very powerful test case of this parable of charity. It is a charity lived out in deeply embedded conviction and tense circumstances, with instant local and international implications and repercussions. The document concludes with an historical excursus and there is the intention that a Study Guide will subsequently be produced to accompany LAND OF PROMISE?
The forthcoming Meeting of ACC will be the last such meeting to be attended by The Most Reverend Dr Rowan Williams as archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop has written both a Foreword and an Afterword to LAND OF PROMISE? Dr Williams has shown great commitment to all three World Faiths in the Holy Land. His work with Islam is renowned the world over. He has established and sustained a Commission with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. And he has on a number of occasions spent time with the Christians in the Holy Land. By the same token, this document does not spare its punches in pointing out that Rachel’s Tomb, near Bethlehem, is now totally inaccessible to all Christians and the mosque and cemetery on the site are also inaccessible to Muslims. (page 17)
The hope of NIFCON is that ACC 15 will receive and endorse the document which it has requested of us. We also hope is that it will be commended for study across the Anglican Communion. Our further hope is that engagement with the broad–ranging and often contentious issues addressed in LAND OF PROMISE? will facilitate international understanding of such complexities and add something that is good to the quest for peace in the Land of the Holy One. This last hope is indeed our most fervent hope. I give the final word to Archbishop Williams in his Afterword: ‘Can ‘Zion’ be heard once again as a word that evokes a universal citizenship, a home for the homeless, the passionate faithfulness of God to his promise to make his Name dwell among us? The issues of justice for all in the Holy Land should hold those questions unsparingly before us.’ (page 71)