Book by Kathleen Christison, Wipf and Stock, 2023, paperback, 254 pp. MEB $34

Reviewed in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs by Rev. Alex Awad
justice on the crossx250IN A WORLD riddled with inequality and oppression, where the marginalized cry out for justice, liberation theology offers a prophetic voice by challenging traditional notions of faith and urging us to critically engage with ideas that fuel the struggle for liberation.

In Justice on the Cross, Kathleen Christison provides the reader with a helpful survey and analysis of liberation theologies that emerged in Latin America, South Africa, and among African Americans in the United States, and elsewhere in the world, before delving into the details of Palestinian liberation theology. She addresses the impact of liberation theologians, intellectuals, and activists for justice, such as Jürgen Moltmann, Gustavo Gutiérrez, James H. Cone, Angela Davis, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others on the development of Palestinian liberation theology.

Christison also presents evidence that all liberation theologies originate where there are grave injustices against the poor and the marginalized. She further observes that these theologies do not evolve from the elite downwards, but rather initiate among the poor classes and challenge the authority of the ruling classes, church hierarchy and big business. This results in liberation theologians often being misrepresented, misunderstood, falsely mischaracterized, and sometimes outright persecuted by the state and church leaders.

Christison makes clear that the overarching purpose of liberation theologians is to draw answers from the wealth of their spiritual traditions, including their sacred scriptures, and use them to address the question of injustice. These answers often bring hope, comfort, and courage to the oppressed, but discomfort, denial, and retaliation from the oppressors. Hence, liberation theology’s task is to serve the cause of justice and to stand in solidarity with the poor, while simultaneously proclaiming a prophetic message to the oppressors and demanding an end to the culture of injustice.

While in many ways an emulation of other liberation theologies, Christison observes that Palestinian liberation theology is unique in that it was born in the very land where Jesus, who preached the good news of God’s justice to the poor, was born. She describes Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek as “the principal formulator of Palestinian liberation theology” and explains that he and other Palestinian Christian theologians, including Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, had one eye on the suffering of their people and the other eye on the cross. They saw a striking parallel between the cross of Jesus and the suffering of Palestinians.

No discussion of Palestinian liberation theology would be complete without telling the story of Palestinian suffering during the past 100 years. Christison highlights the ethnic cleansing of Palestine during the 1948 Nakba and describes the ongoing nightmare of the Palestinian people over the ensuing decades.

Justice on the Cross also gives space for the story of the oppressors of Palestine. Christison discusses the European anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust, which gave power to the Zionist movement and pushed forward its goal to create a Jewish state in Palestine. She also writes about the development of Christian Zionism and its alliance and collaboration with secular Zionism to replace the Arab population with European Jews. The author then shows how the church in the West, burdened heavily with the guilt of the Holocaust, developed a theology aimed at supporting the Jewish people by developing and sustaining Israel, while totally ignoring the rights of Palestinians.

The last few chapters of Justice on the Cross demonstrate that despite all the efforts of liberation theologians and others who advocated for Palestine, little or no difference has been achieved in the day-to-day life of the average Palestinian. This is due to the imbalance of power between Israelis and Palestinians and the huge financial, military, and political support the U.S. lavishes on Israel.

However, the author ends the book on a hopeful note. This hope, Christison explains, is encapsulated in the fact that “Palestinians refuse to disappear.” Moreover, Palestinians continue to resist. “Resistance is built on hope, and hope generates continuing hope in turn,” she writes. This hope is also built on understanding the character of God. Quoting Ateek, Christison writes, “The one God in whom we believe is the God of justice, peace, love, mercy, and compassion.”

Regardless of what happens to the Palestinian people in the future, Justice on the Cross will continue to be a monumental record and an essential source of information on the many activists and theologians who have stood side by side with Palestinians, with justice, and with the Crucified.

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Rev. Dr. Alex Awad is a retired United Methodist Missionary. He and his wife, Brenda, served in Jerusalem and in Bethlehem for more than 25 years. Rev. Awad served as pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church, dean of students at Bethlehem Bible College, and director of the Shepherd Society. Rev. Awad has written two books, Through the Eyes of the Victims and Palestinian Memories. He is a member of the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace.