Take a Stand Campaign
What does the Bible say about this?
Note: The Christian Bible has been widely misused to justify the Israeli dispossession and persecution of Palestinians. Many theologians have written about the phenomenon, and there are many good Bible Studies that address this. It is therefore with a sense of caution that we include this category here. Yet our faith is grounded in and informed by its teachings. Below are some of the passages that inspire and guide many of those who work for a just peace.
We are part of the Body of Christ, and we are responsible for one another.
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it ...And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it.... 1 Corinthians 12: 26-27
"I am the vine; You are the branches...My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:13
We are called to stand against injustice, especially in the face of death and persecution. We cannot say "We didn't know."
"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. 12 If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it?" Proverbs 24:11-12
We are called to stand for those in need.
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40
We are called to put actions behind our words.
“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well-fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” James 2:15-16
We are called to do justice and resist evil.
"Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor." Jeremiah 22:3
We are called to remember God's commandments, that it is a sin to take what belongs to others.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house . . . your neighbor’s wife . . . nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17)
We are called to remember that God's covenant requires keeping God's commandments.
"They failed to keep God's covenant and refused to live by His law." Psalm 78:10
"Because this nation has transgressed the covenant I laid down for their fathers and has not heeded My voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died..." Judges 2, 20-21
We are not to seek revenge.
"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:18
We are called to be peacemakers.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).