A Christian voice against the genocide in Gaza
– by a group of concerned Lutheran pastors
“In defense of justice, mercy, and the Gospel of peace”
As Christians rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the
Lutheran confessional tradition, we raise our voices in lament and protest
against the ongoing genocide[1] in Gaza.
The suffering of civilians – particularly children, women, the elderly, the
sick and the displaced – cries out to heaven. In faithfulness to Christ, we
cannot remain silent. Indeed, we confess our regret for having remained silent
for too long.
We affirm that every human being bears the image of God
(Genesis 1:27), and that our Lord Jesus commands: “Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Jesus rebukes violence
(Matthew 26:52), commands love of enemies (Matthew 5:44), and identifies
himself with the persecuted and vulnerable (Matthew 25:40). This is the heart
of the Gospel.[2]
We reject the misuse of Scripture to justify war and annihilation.
In particular, we repudiate the Christian Zionist[3] support
for the Israeli state’s use of violence, often couched in a distorted theology
of “biblical prophecy” and “divine right.” Such views confuse the biblical
Israel – a people called to justice and mercy – with the modern nation-state of
Israel, which is subject to moral accountability like any other.[4] Rejecting Zionism does not mean that our
stance is antisemitic. Zionism is not
inherently part of the Jewish faith, but it is a secular ideology. We reject
antisemitism as well as Islamophobia.
The
Apostle Paul is clear that “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel”
(Romans 9:6), and in Christ, God “has broken down the dividing wall of
hostility” to make one new humanity (Ephesians 2:14). The New Testament redefines the people of God beyond ethnic or national
terms.[5] The Kingdom of God is not tied to land
but to Christ’s reign over all nations – a reign based on peace, love and
justice.[6] Furthermore, the New Testament knows no future
in which salvation comes through military power, ethnic privilege or the
forceful and imperialistic occupation of a land, while annihilating the
existing population. The Kingdom of God
comes not through nationalism, claimed ethnic superiority or empire, but
through the cross – and it is open to everyone.
Lutheran teaching does not support a theology of holy war.
The Augsburg Confession teaches that the Gospel is not a political tool but
“the pure doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments” (AC
VII). The Smalcald Articles proclaim that Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world
(SA II.2) and caution against confusing worldly power with divine will. Martin
Luther warned that the devil may take on Christ’s name and use it to set up a
kingdom of murder and bloodshed.[7]
The support of war in the name of biblical prophecy is a
grave distortion of Christian teaching. It places nationalism above the cross,
vengeance above mercy, and political allegiance above faith in the crucified
and risen Christ.
We therefore call upon Christians everywhere to reject this
dangerous ideology of Christian Zionism and Christian Nationalism. We call upon churches to preach Christ
crucified – not empire sanctified. And we call upon the Israeli government to
cease its brutal assault on the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East
Jerusalem, to allow full humanitarian access, and to pursue a just and lasting
peace. We call upon both Israel and Hamas to release all hostages and
captives.
We also call upon the Church to engage in deep
self-examination and repentance for any
past or present complicity in injustice, including historic
attitudes that may have contributed
to conflict or dehumanization. Our witness to Christ
demands ongoing conversion and
faithfulness.
May the Church, in this time of moral testing, be known not
for its silence or complicity, but for its witness to the Prince of Peace,
Jesus Christ, in whose Name we speak.
“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like
an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).
Amen.
Signed (in alphabetical order):
Rev. Ronell Bezuidenhout
Rev. Armin Hollas
Rev. Felix Meylahn
Rev. Dr. Claudia Nolte-Schamm
Rev. Anja Spiske
Rev. Gideon van der Watt
Rev. H-P von Fintel
[1] It is a genocide because
according to the Genocide
convention and the analysis of various humanitarian and human
rights organisations (250 of them) involved in the situation in Palestine
(including the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem) the actions of the
state of Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza and the other occupied
territories (West Bank and East Jerusalem) constitute a genocide. This has also
been the verdict of the ICJ and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the
Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca P. Albanese.
[2] See also: Psalm 34:14: “Turn away
from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Isaiah
2:4: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares… neither shall
they learn war anymore.”
Proverbs
12:20: “Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan
peace have joy.”
Romans
12:18: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Romans
14:19: “Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”
Hebrews
12:14: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without
which no one will see the Lord.”
James
3:18: “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who
make peace.”
Ephesians 2:14: “For he (Jesus Christ) himself is
our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the
dividing wall of hostility.”
[3] Common among evangelical Christians, Christian Zionism is a religious and political
ideology that claims the modern state of Israel fulfils biblical prophecy and
plays a central role in God’s plan for the end times. Christian Zionism teaches
that: (1) God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people
permanently (based on Old Testament covenants). (2) Supporting Israel politically and militarily is a Christian duty.
(3) The return of Jews to the land is necessary for Christ’s
Second Coming (after which the Jews will have to convert to
Christianity or lose their salvation and be damned with all other unbelievers –
this shows that Christian Zionism is inherently antisemitic)
[4] Christian
Zionism confuses the biblical Israel (a covenant
people) with a modern nation-state, which acts politically and
militarily like any other. It often ignores or excuses human rights violations,
especially against Palestinians, in the name of prophecy. It promotes a theology of war and nationalism, rather than the Gospel
of peace and reconciliation. The history of Zionism reaches back into the late
19th century and is made up of two strands: It started off with
Christian Zionism and then spawned Jewish Zionism (the so-called father of this
Jewish version is Theodore Herzl, an atheist of Jewish descent from Vienna).
The idea that the Jewish people (as an ethnic group not as a faith community)
should return to the “Holy Land”, if necessary, by using force, was developed
by Christians however, via a rather obscure reading of the Biblical Tradition –
positing that the Messiah (Jesus) would only return, once the People of Israel
had reconquered the Holy Land (the “Promised Land”). Together with the rampant
antisemitism in Europe this was developed into the idea, proposed by Lord
Balfour (a vehement antisemite), that one could get rid of the Jews in Europe
by establishing a homeland for them in Palestine. After the First World War,
when the region became a British protectorate, the Balfour Declaration was
signed, proclaiming British support for the creation of a homeland for Jewish
people in Palestine. This declaration is regarded as the main catalyst for the
Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of Palestine culminating in the creation of the
Zionist State of Israel in 1948 and subsequently the persistent expropriation,
expulsion, uprooting and killing of the Palestinians to this day, who lost
sovereignty over their country and have no right to return to their homes in
which they have been living for more than 2000 years.
See
various books by Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, most comprehensively: “The
Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” (2006) and more recently “A very short History
of the Israel – Palestine Conflict” (2024) et al.
[5] See Romans 9:6–8; Galatians 3:28–29.
[6] See John 18:36; Ephesians 2:14–22.
[7] See Luther’s treatise, “Temporal Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed” (1523). Here,
Luther strongly distinguishes between the spiritual reign
of Christ and the secular power of the sword,
warning that no one should use Christ’s name to justify violence.
