World Communion of Reformed Churches Supports Palestinian Right to Live

July 20, 2017 in News by RBN Staff

 

via: WHTT

The WCRC, stated “that with respect to the situation of injustice and suffering that exists in Palestine, and the cry of the Palestinian Christian community, that the integrity of Christian faith and praxis is at stake.

The World Communion of Reformed Churches has urged its more than 225 member churches worldwide to examine their mission, education and investment relationships with Israel and Palestine in the light of the witness of Palestinian Christians.

The WCRC represents over 80 million Christians in Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed, United, Uniting and Waldensian churches in over 100 countries. 

Editor CEC comments:  Uniquely, the WCRC Resolution recognizes that “the Christian faith has been used to justify the injustice against the Palestinian people. It rejected any use of the Bible “to legitimize or support political options and positions that are based upon injustice, imposed by one person on another, or by one people on another.”

Editor CEC continues: The primary thrust of  We Hold These Truths mission to the Evangelical Dispensational churches in the USA has for some 15 years been to expose the use of corrupted and misread scriptures to justify war and occupation, first in Palestine and then all over the Middle East. We have referred to churches and religious leaders who practice this abuse as  “Neo-Christian”, or “Christian Zionism” as some prefer to be called. It is the subject of our award winning video, Christian Zionism, The Tragedy and the Turning.  We are excited to see WCRC acknowledge these abuses of scripture. We see this as part of “the Turning” toward peace that Jesus called for.

The WCRC press release continues: In a resolution adopted by consensus on 7 July, the WCRC’s General Council, meeting in Leipzig, Germany, said member churches should respond to this examination “as they understand the Reformed communion’s commitments to human rights and the protections of international law.

The General Council, the highest decision-making body of the WCRC, stated “that with respect to the situation of injustice and suffering that exists in Palestine, and the cry of the Palestinian Christian community, that the integrity of Christian faith and praxis is at stake.

The resolution adopted at the WCRC General Council stated that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 had a significant consequence of “the loss of homeland for the Palestinian people, and the creation of 750,000 Palestinian refugees.” It noted that it is also 50 years since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

It is time for Israelis and Palestinians to live alongside each other in peace, security and justice,” the resolution stated. “Many of us have seen with our eyes and heard with our ears the painful realities of life for Palestinians.

The WCRC groups more than 225 Protestant churches with a combined membership of about 80 million Christians in Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed, United, Uniting and Waldensian churches in over 100 countries. Its offices are in Hannover, Germany.

Click for full WCRC release