War has broken out in Israel and Palestine following the heinous attack on Israel by Hamas, an Islamist militant group that ostensibly claims to represent the Palestinian cause of liberty and self-determination but whose governing documents express the group’s desire to wage murderous jihad against Jewish people.
In line with this goal, on Oct. 7, Hamas militants attacked Israel by land, air, and sea, launching thousands of missiles and engaging in a barbarous ground offensive. As they stormed the streets of Israel, Hamas brutalized Israeli citizens, committing war crimes that they gleefully filmed on their phones. They raped and plundered, taking Israel civilians hostage—including women and children.
In response, Israel has launched an offensive on Gaza, where Hamas forces exert control. Water and power has been shut off to the region, and missiles are raining down from above, leaving Palestinians—many of them opposed to Hamas—vulnerable.
This week on the podcast, we grapple to find moral clarity in this conflict that is almost as old as the land on which it is fought. We don’t have the answers, and we certainly aren’t experts in the geopolitical conflicts of the Middle East. Nevertheless, given the significance of the Jewish people in the story of the Church, we do want to grapple with the theological implications of what has transpired and the events that are ongoing.
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