I spent much of my time this past week reading and writing. On Saturday I began outlining my research on philosophers as household advisers in the early Roman empire as a context for how we might understand the practice of the Apostle Paul to reside in homes during his travels, teach within the social structure of the household, and write letters of moral exhortation and advice addressed to household fellowship meetings. One of the books I've wanted to read since beginning my sabbatical is a recent book by David Balch, Roman Domestic Art and Early House Churches. While studying at the American Academy in Rome in the summer, I had dinner with David during which I saw his copy of his book. I ordered the copy during the summer from Eisenbraun's, but because they hadn't received copies yet I canceled that order. While here in Bethlehem, I ordered the book at the beginning of October directly from the publisher Mohr Siebeck in Germany. They were to ship it by DHL to the address the college uses in Jerusalem, a travel agency that also picks up their postal mail. Two months later and I still have not received the book. Mohr Siebeck has been gracious enough to give me a replacement copy and ship it directly to my home in the States.

On Sunday I decided to read Alex Awad's new book Palestinian Memories: The Story of a Palestinian Mother and Her People. It took me eight hours of straight reading. I found the history of his family and what his mother went through a moving and engaging story. Part Two of the book is a readable history and explanation of the Middle East conflict from the period of the British Mandate up to the latest peace negotiations since Annapolis and the Road Map. In a concluding section Alex gives answers from the perspective of a Palestinian Christian (and an American citizen, Methodist missionary, and Dean of Students and professor at Bethlehem Bible College) to common questions asked of him concerning Israel and Palestine. My only problem with the book is the price is too cheap. The book is filled with photographs, many of which are in color, as well as color-coded maps. Anyone purchasing the book from the college should consider adding a donation to the college.

Most of my week was a daily routine of having tea and lunch at the college, grading the mid-term exams, and preparing for Friday's class. I keep mentioning whenever I do my laundry. As you might guess, it is because – to my embarrassment – it is a task I rarely do at home. When I return home I can no longer use the excuse of ignorance to get out of helping with the laundry. (I can also no longer use the excuse I have a second job as a part-time pastor.) So I took a picture of my clothes hanging on the line, or should I say blowing in the wind. I discovered later that my pants tried flying away and the guesthouse manager nicely hung them back up again for me. The view from the rooftop is spectacular and it also gives a nice look at the new building being constructed for the college. Here's another area where the college needs financial help.

There are always visitors or internationals who are working somewhere in Israel/Palestine stopping by the college. It's fun to get to meet people from around the world who are invested in helping the Palestinians or at least learning about the Holy Land from the Palestinian point of view. One young woman has been here this week. I talked with her and learned she graduated from the University of Chicago majoring in linguistics and has been teaching English in a college in Jenin. When we shared where we live in the States, she said she is from Alaska. I told her I would resist making any Sarah Palin jokes, which promise I didn't really keep. When others sat down and join us, she introduced herself as being from Jenin. I couldn't help but point out that she's saying she's from Jenin to avoid telling people she's really from Alaska. It made for a good laugh. Maybe you had to be there.

Friday's class was its usual challenge. I'm speaking in English about Greek and Hebrew, about historical-critical methodology and textual criticism, and about theological concepts related to inspiration and the immutability of Christ. Rami not only has to translate my English but explain to them what I'm talking about. I'm sure he has talked in Arabic two or three times as much as I in English during the class. The class sessions are now over and I just need to give the final exam next Friday.

I've not been the type to get very politically involved. The only issue about which I've written to my elected representatives has been Palestine. This past week I received an email from Wheaton College inviting alumni to participate in a trip to Israel to learn about the history, geography, and archaeology of the Holy Land. To me this was another example of Christians pretending like they come to this area of the world and step back into time while ignoring the present realities. For the most part they careen their way through the streets of Bethlehem, stop long enough for the tourists to see the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherds' Fields, and then are whisked back to the safety of the other side of the so-called security fence. So I decided to write an email back to the alumni office at Wheaton College.

"I'm responding to an email as an alumnus. I understand why Wheaton would want to arrange an educational trip for alumni to learn about the geographical and archaeological context of the Bible in the Holy Land. However, during this time when Israel is responsible for the greatest humanitarian tragedy since the Holocaust, it would be more conscionable to avoid such trips until Israel changes its policies of ignoring the human and civil rights of Palestinians. I have been living in Bethlehem for the past three months and have traveled in the West Bank and Israel. It's time Christians of the U.S. wake up to the devastation and horror caused by our tax dollars supporting the apartheid wall and ethnic cleansing of the Holy Land. What happened here thousands of years ago was important, but seeing it is not more important than resisting the injustice that occupies the land now."

I have had a reply. This is my response.

"Thank you for your response. I can appreciate the desire to visit the Holy Land and study its history up close. I've wanted to come here since taking classes in the graduate school [at Wheaton] from John McRay on New Testament archaeology. I couldn't afford to come here then, but now I've been able to live here during my sabbatical. Living in the West Bank makes the view of the archaeological sites much different. They pale in comparison to the current events and humanitarian crisis. To think you can come to Israel just to see the history is almost like Christians traveling to Nazi Germany to visit cathedrals and excusing themselves because they are not on a political trip. You are not able to travel to Israel without your actions having a political and economic impact, no matter what your intentions are. If you talk with an Israeli tour company, of course they will not advise you to go into the West Bank. But Bethlehem is in the West Bank. The checkpoint is just down the street from where I'm teaching at Bethlehem Bible College. You have to go through the checkpoint to reach the Church of the Nativity. You won't know it, but you'll pass by one or two refugee camps where Palestinians are still waiting for Israel to honor the UN mandated right of return.  It is simply not true to say, "Palestinians benefit from tourism as much as Israelis do." Israelis control how much tourists on bus trips have contact with Palestinians. I hope you will shop at the markets around Manger Square. They are completely Palestinian since Israelis are not allowed to enter the West Bank (except through the specially built roads that lead to settlements within the West Bank). It is a fallacy of Biblical studies and archaeology to think we can study these areas in an historical vacuum. To be responsible interpreters of the Bible we have to look at the world as past, present, and future. Many Christians are studying the past, ignoring the present, and then aspiring to a prophetic vision of a messianic Israel dominating the Middle East and the world. That's not, as they say here, the facts on the ground."

There are beginning to be signs of Christmas in Bethlehem. I hope to see more in the nine days I have left in Bethlehem. I took a few pictures just outside the college. One looks out across the street at some typical shops. Another looks down the street to the south along Hebron Rd. The odd color seems to be due to the type of lighting from the street lamps. Bethlehem puts up lights to celebrate Christmas, but I'm told the extra electricity usage can cause there to be blackouts for hours at a time.

After class on Friday Rami and I were invited to the home of one of our students, Elias. He is from Gaza, a dedicated Palestinian Christian with great gifts for ministry. He works with the local Bible Society in coordinating youth and children's programs.  Some day he hopes to return to Gaza to work in the Bible college there. We had a wonderful lunch together. It was great to meet his wife and three children. Their apartment is on the top of a very tall building. It is an apartment I would love to live in. They have a large deck area. I was joking that it was nearly large enough to play basketball, only you'd have to be careful when you make a layup. Rami joked about it being an apartment Jesus would not wanted to have visited, since a group in Nazareth had tried to throw him off the nearest cliff. Below stretches out the city of Beit Sahour toward the west. In the distance are the Judean hills and the hard-to-miss mountain of Herodion. Around the other side you can see the ugliness of the Jewish settlement Har Homa (ugly not just because it's a settlement on Palestinian land but the uniform buildings are like something from science fiction) and in the distance the holy city of Jerusalem.

 Elias told us about some of his experiences living in Gaza. First he praised the food from Gaza. To him the best Palestinian food comes from Gaza, like the dish we had called Fatta.Elias also told us some of the tragedies. One of the workers at the Bible Society in Gaza was murdered. A bomb destroyed much of their bookshop.During one of the times the Rafah Crossing was open, Elias had gone with others into Egypt. When they returned they were not able to get back into Gaza. They spent ten days waiting to be able to get back in. I think it was the Red Cross that gave people one can of tunafish for lunch and one can of chick peas for dinner. People would scrounge for boxes from a nearby store, and their camp came to be called "Box City." There was one shower, which consisted of a pipe draining water from the tank on the top of the building. And, if I understand correctly, it was over a toilet so you had to be careful how you maneuvered yourself. Somehow people knew each other's loyalties enough that there were three divisions in the camp: the Fatah, the Hamas, and others. It was the final of the world cup of soccer (excuse my ignorance of "football"). The Fatah people asked the Egyptians for a TV so they could watch. The Hamas people, being strict Muslims, abhorred such things as television. Even though the Fatah group couldn't see much of what was going on in the game, they pretended to cheer as though it was an exciting game. Eventually the Hamas group decided they were missing something good and came and joined them. The Egyptians were complying with the wishes of Israel by closing the border. One day the Palestinian forces repressed the Egyptians and told everyone to run before the Israeli soldiers got there. It was a narrow escape with their lives, but they made it back in. Elias told us about his father, who still lives in Gaza. There have been only two times when Elias has witnessed his father crying. The first time was when Elias decided to take his young family and flee from Gaza. The second time is now when his father has had to tell him he should not try to return to Gaza.