My Response to Jack Sara of Bethlehem Bible College

Respect, however, does not eliminate the need for clarity. Bethlehem Bible College exists in a region shaped by immense trauma and layers of historical pain, and that context deeply influences how many there read Scripture. The concern arises when political wounds begin to reshape theology itself, and those conclusions are then exported into the global Church. One example is the open letter signed by multiple Palestinian Christian institutions, including Bethlehem Bible College, which states that “Western attitudes towards Palestine–Israel suffer from a glaring double standard that humanizes Israeli Jews while insisting on dehumanizing Palestinians and whitewashing their suffering.” The letter has been circulated by Pax Christi USA, Global Research, and Baptist News Global, and although BBC’s website claims it rejects antisemitism and supports dialogue with Israeli Jews, the rhetoric found in these statements often contradicts that by framing the Jewish state primarily through categories of oppression and domination. When language like this becomes normalized, it shapes how Christians interpret Scripture, the conflict, and the Jewish people themselves.

Bethlehem Bible College also plays a central role in exporting its one sided narrative into the global church through its Christ at the Checkpoint conferences, which attract a wide range of Western evangelical and mainline leaders. Speakers such as Shane Claiborne have adopted and amplified many of the same themes found in BBC’s rhetoric, including the portrayal of Israel primarily through categories of oppression and colonialism. Professors from several mainline American seminaries have also participated in these events and incorporated CATC materials into their teaching on justice and conflict. This influence demonstrates that the narrative shaped in Bethlehem does not remain local, but is actively imported into Western Christian spaces where it shapes how pastors, students, and congregations understand Israel and the Jewish people. When these narratives travel without nuance or historical balance, they reshape Christian theology far beyond the borders of the Holy Land.

Munther Isaac is one of the strongest drivers of this theological direction, and his public statements deserve serious evaluation. In his book Christ in the Rubble, he writes, “Rather, our context is that of seventy six years of systematic oppression and domination, of occupiers over the occupied. Honest assessment of the recent history of Palestine exposes the reality that the State of Israel is a case of settler colonialism. The vocabulary that best fits the reality includes words like oppression, domination, erasure, and apartheid.” Statements like these move far beyond critiquing specific Israeli policies and instead portray Israel’s entire national identity as morally illegitimate. This rhetoric ignores the biblical testimony of Israel’s ancient connection to the land and the long historical presence of the Jewish people there. Instead of guiding Christians toward reconciliation, Isaac’s writing pushes readers toward viewing Israel as a fundamentally evil project with no theological or historical grounding.

Jack Sara’s statements, although gentler, also deserve honest attention. In his Premier Christianity article responding to an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital, he wrote, “I don’t know if that’s true, but I do wonder why Israel need to continue hitting hospitals,” even though Israel presented intelligence showing that Hamas was using the site for military purposes. He also said, “It breaks our hearts to see a Christian ministry being attacked again and again,” language that places the emotional weight of the moment entirely on Israel while omitting the reality that Hamas embeds its fighters and weapons inside civilian and medical infrastructure. His grief is real and understandable, but the framing leaves readers with the assumption that Israel attacks civilians without cause or restraint. BBC leadership, especially through Isaac’s public statements, has used charged terms such as “apartheid” and “colonialism” when describing Israel, and those labels ignore the Jewish historical identity and the biblical covenant connected to the land. These rhetorical choices inevitably shape the theological imagination of those who read and follow their teaching.

At this point, it is important to define what antisemitism actually is, because your critique must be precise, not dismissive. Antisemitism is not criticism of Israeli policy, which is legitimate and necessary at times. Antisemitism includes denying the ongoing covenant identity of the Jewish people, delegitimizing their right to a homeland, and portraying Jews as foreign occupiers of their ancestral land. When Isaac claims the Jews have no distinct covenant role today, that is supersessionism, one of the oldest theological forms of antisemitism. BBC leadership, particularly through the published work of Munther Isaac, uses rhetoric portraying Jewish presence in Israel as foreign and colonial, and that crosses the line from political critique into a kind of theological erasure.

Clarifying Israel’s identity is essential here. Biblical Israel refers to the Jewish people as a covenant community chosen through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Modern Israel, the nation state, is a secular political entity with strengths, flaws, and leaders who make both right and wrong decisions. These two are not identical, but they are also not unrelated. The New Testament never revokes the Jewish people’s covenant identity nor the land promise, and the return of Jews to the land aligns with prophetic expectation even if the government itself is not righteous. Ignoring this distinction leads to dangerous theological conclusions with political consequences.

Christians should acknowledge the very real suffering of Palestinians, but without uncritically accepting a political narrative that places all blame on Israel. Palestinian Christians and Muslims endure genuine hardship, and their pain deserves compassion. Yet much of that suffering arises from Hamas and the broader Islamist system that governs them, actors who use civilians as shields, suppress basic freedoms, and turn Gaza into a perpetual base for terror. Much of Palestinian suffering is caused by Hamas and the Islamist system that governs them, which uses civilians as shields and provokes conflict. Israeli military responses also have painful consequences, but these are inseparable from Hamas’ strategy. The surrounding Muslim majority countries offer little meaningful support to the people of Gaza, often using their plight as a political tool rather than extending real help or responsibility. When a population is ruled by violent movements that glorify hatred and martyrdom, suffering becomes inevitable regardless of what Israel does or does not do.

Recognizing this reality is not a failure of compassion, it is an honest assessment of where the deepest moral corruption resides. Suffering never excuses theological hostility, and trauma cannot be allowed to reshape Scripture. When political frustration becomes the lens through which God’s purposes are interpreted, theology will inevitably become distorted and weaponized. This same dynamic was present in the American South when cultural pressures led Christians to defend slavery using Scripture. When BBC leaders use rhetoric that undermines the covenant identity of Israel in favor of political narratives, they fall into that same historical trap.

I still believe Jack Sara is doing faithful work in an environment filled with pressure and conflict, and I continue to pray for him with sincerity. But loving someone also means speaking the truth, and the theology coming from BBC shows an increasing tendency to be shaped by political grievance more than by a balanced reading of Scripture. The global Church must resist embracing political theologies shaped by resentment rather than by the Word of God. Only then can our witness in the Holy Land reflect Jesus who calls us to love our enemies, seek reconciliation, and refuse the ancient sins our ancestors once embraced.

Isaac, Munther. Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza (pp. 17-18). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Sara, Jack. “Israel’s attack on a Christian hospital breaks my heart. We will keep praying for peace” Premier Christianity, April 2025. https://www.premierchristianity.com/…/isr…/19254.article

Open Letter from Palestinian Christian Organizations. “A Call for Repentance: An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians” October 2023.  https://www.kairospalestine.ps/…/a-call-for-repentance…

Christ at the Checkpoint (CATC). Conference materials and public statements. Bethlehem Bible College, Bethlehem, Palestine. https://christatthecheckpoint.bethbc.edu/