Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible and the Genocide in Gaza

Drawing upon the Christian perspective, or what should be the Christian perspective, Munther Isaac’s book, Christ in the Rubble: Faith, Bible and the Genocide in Gaza succinctly brings together a part of the Palestinian narrative that is easily obscured and which needs its prominence, for Gaza’s sake and for all Palestinians. The book takes its title from the initiative that went viral – a depiction by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bethlehem of Christ born in the rubble – reflecting the horrors of children being pulled out of the rubble in Israel’s genocide on the enclave, and the accompanying sermon. As Isaac’s book makes clear, there is more than the metaphor of Christ under the rubble; many Palestinians in Gaza are unaccounted for, buried under the debris of their houses bombed by Israel. 

Like all other people, Christians and Christian leaders should be speaking out, yet the same politics and theology that hold the Palestinian narrative and its dissemination hostage rule over the church in various ways. Issac’s book presents arguments as to why it should not toe the line on Israel’s colonial narrative, sharing not only the experience of Palestinians under Zionist colonialism but also reminding that all Palestinians live under colonialism and all Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing genocide. 

The Christian perspective has its own importance; not only because of the mainstream concept that all Palestinians are Muslims, but also, as Muther shows, to highlight and mend the divide between the Western Church and the Palestinians. “Today in Gaza, Christians, like all other Gazans, are victims of a vindictive war,” Isaac writes. “Many in the West were shocked to discover that Palestinian Christians exist, and were further surprised to hear one advocate on behalf of all Palestinians.” This despite Gaza being home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. The book combines history, politics, theology and pastoral perspectives to make the case for objecting to the genocide an incumbent obligation. 

Isaac gives several examples that illustrate the urgency of this obligation upon Christians. The book starts with the story of Hind Rajab, and Isaac notes, “this was not a genocide in which the horrors were discovered after the fact.” An overview of Israel’s refusal to act beforehand to thwart Hamas’s plans, the use of the Hannibal Directive and the Israeli officials transforming all Palestinians into legitimate target set the scene for an understanding of the current events, as well as the historical context that led to October 7 and Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

“Even the description of the situation as merely an occupation is inaccurate,” Isaac writes. “A careful and honest reading of the past and the present will clearly show that what we are dealing with is settler colonialism.” Isacc gives an overview of Zionist settler-colonialism to guide an understanding of the wider colonial context Palestinians have suffered, as well as the Israeli blockade on Gaza, which he terms “the immediate context for October 7”. 

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The book gently guides towards an understanding of what needs to be done, but it is firm in its stance. “Hamas is a response to Israeli colonialism,” Isaac states. “If people are genuine in their desire to destroy Hamas, I suggest we begin by getting rid of the occupation and apartheid.” Isaac favours unarmed resistance but lends his understanding to the context of armed resistance in Palestine. 

“The tragic irony is that we Palestinians are being lectured by our colonisers and their allies, deeply entrenched in their own histories of resistance and violence, about non-violence and diplomacy.” This statement by Isaac is reflected in other instances in the book, particularly when the author narrates his experiences of dealing with Christian leaders in the West and their hesitation, at times outright refusal, to condemn the genocide in Gaza. 

This stance does not happen in a vacuum. Isaac points out how mainstream media promotes the colonial narrative, dehumanising Palestinians by statistics, while humanising Israelis through photos and names. He also calls out Christian Zionism – predating secular Jewish Zionism – as one of the largest lobby groups for Israel’s colonial violence, and gives examples of Christian Zionist leaders inciting for genocide publicly. “It is really hard for us Middle Eastern Christians to understand American Evangelicals who are obsessed with war and violence,” Isaac states. Some Evangelical pastors have positioned themselves against humanitarian aid to Gaza, while churches in Europe have compromised their purported solidarity with Palestinians by endorsing the Israeli narrative.

The biblical narrative used by Zionists, Isaac says, frames colonialism and genocide in a religious context. Speaking of the religious context, Isaac notes, “This is precisely the issue that many Palestinians have with the discourse emanating from Hamas, which renders the conflict as religious rather than political.” 

Drawing upon the example of Jesus in the Bible, Isaac calls upon the Christian church to uphold the example and step away from spirituality without concrete action. He quotes a well-known verse from the Bible (Matt. 25: 41-43) and asserts, “Jesus could not have been more explicit and direct, and when we spiritualise this passage in our readings, we miss the radical nature of his message.”

Isaac’s book touches on many realities, and it is sobering to note that what should read as common empathy is sorely missing from this world. As he exhorts that no one should normalise violence, that words are supposed to entice people into solidarity in action rather than mere reporting, there is a palpable emptiness that should not exist, and neither should it be filled by narratives that are compromised by colonialism and its violence. 

“Oppressed people understand suffering when they see it, because they have been on the receiving end of ideologies and theologies of supremacy and control,” Isaac writes, noting that international solidarity with Palestinians is stronger in marginalised communities or colonised populations. 

The book is also a call to action, through an understanding of Christian values for Christians. Its message, however, is universal. Christians may find parallels in biblical examples of rising against injustice. For other religions, and indeed anyone in the world regardless of belief or non-belief, the message to stand against colonialism and genocide is unequivocal, as is the message to stop telling Palestinians what to do. Many Western church leaders have defended genocide. “When the church sacrifices truth for the sake of conformity, something is seriously wrong with our Christian witness,” Isaac writes. The same can be applied to all who are complacent with, or complicit in, genocide.  

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