Christ at the Checkpoint by Paul Alexander The following is an excerpt from Christ at the Checkpoint, a forthcoming book of essays and presentations from the 2010 and March 2012 conference of the same name, edited by ESA’s Dr. Paul Alexander. For more information about the conference, please visit ChristattheCheckpoint.com. For Christians, Christ is God—and God is love. It is theologically appropriate to say that Christ is love. So we could consider that Christ at the checkpoint is God at the checkpoint, Christ at the checkpoint is love at the checkpoint, Christ at the checkpoint is Godly Love at the checkpoint. The “Checkpoint” is an intersection of Israeli fears, desires for security, and attempts to control the behavior and resources of others, with Palestinian frustrations, desires for freedom, and resistance to injustice. The checkpoint is a place of both empowerment and disempowerment. The checkpoint is a place of competing claims and conflict. Christ at the Checkpoint is Godly Love in a place of conflict. To claim to know the way of God is audacious, yet that is what Christians claim is possible through Jesus Christ. What words we say about God and what lives we live because of God reveal our theology, and I think it is a fair claim to say that the best words about God are words that bring about justice (righteousness) and peace. And this is exactly what Godly Love looks like in a place of conflict. Godly Love—the dynamic interaction between divine and human love that enlivens and expands benevolence (justice, peace, reconciliation). Godly Justice—the dynamic interaction between divine and human justice that enlivens and expands peace. Godly Peacemaking—the dynamic interaction between divine and human peace that enlivens and expands justice. As you read Christ at the Checkpoint I invite you to attune yourself to the possibility of experiencing Godly Love in a place of conflict and hearing words about God that bring both righteousness and peace.
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