Mark Braverman with Bradley Jersak
Mark Braverman is a Jewish author, activist, and organizer for Palestinean rights in Israel. He is the executive director of Kairos USA.
In this interview with Bradley Jersak, he discusses his journey as a young Zionist, through deconstruction, and through his engagement with Palestinean Christians in the West Bank, forward to becoming the Jew he always wanted to be. He describes his "Damascus Road" experience in the context of the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau.
His ministry is as a Jew, speaking to Christians: "I know what it is to be a follower of Jesus. You know what to do when you see the naked man, beaten and laying in the ditch. You know what you need to do when you see injustice and inequality and suffering. Step up, whether it's in your backyard or in another continent… Stand up for the oppressed… And I pray for the day when you don't need a Jew's permission to be a follower of Jesus."
In this interview, he shares his story, addresses political and theological questions, including three questions:
- Is challenging human rights abuses in Israel antisemitic?
- Are the New Testament Gospels antisemitic?
- Is Christian Zionism antisemitic?
Recommended links from Mark:
https://kairossouthernafrica.wordpres…
https://www.kairospalestine.ps/sites/…
https://kairosusa.org/wp-content/uplo…
The Shepherd’s Joy – Luke 2 for Christmas 2015 – Henry Smidstra
Peace was proclaimed in Holland in 1945 the year I was just learning to walk. V-day is still celebrated there yearly as the, bevrijding, the liberation, from Nazi occupation and the enmity of war. My brothers remember the day and said everybody went “crazy” with joy....
The Light / Darkness Motif: A Response to Brad Jersak’s ‘Hell is a Kingdom’ — Andrew Klager
Brad, I’m tracking with you on this unifying motif of “kingdom,” but I think—riffing off the “dominion of darkness” section in your article—that the pervasive darkness / Light motif throughout the Scriptures (esp. John) accompanies the presence of these two kingdoms...
Hell is a Kingdom: the Missing Motif Reconstructed – Brad Jersak
Abstract This article encourages readers to press past recent debates on the nature of eschatological hell to examine those NT uses of gehenna and hades that cannot be interpreted as afterlife states. The author demonstrates how these texts—Jms. 3:6, Matt. 23:15 and...
Gregory of Nyssa on the Death of Egypt’s Firstborn
St. Gregory of Nyssa contends that the slaughter of Egypt’s firstborn, if taken literally, would be morally intolerable. He therefore interprets the killing of the firstborn as the Christian’s killing of personal vices early, before they can blossom into serious sins....
Review of ‘From Suffering to Solidarity’ (ed. Andrew Klager) — by Ron Dart
Andrew Klager, ed., From Suffering to Solidarity: The Historical Seeds of Mennonite Interreligious, Interethnic, and International Peacebuilding (Pickwick Publications, 2015) The publication of From Suffering to Solidarity is a must read plough to...
Jesus Never Rained Down Fire – Judas Isaac
For in your sight the entire cosmos is a turn of the scale, and as a dewdrop in the dawn alighting on the earth. But you have compassion over all, because you can do all, and you overlook the sins of human beings with a view to their repentance. For you love all that...
Evelyn Underhill: Mysticism and Religion – by Ron Dart
If Thomas Merton (1915-1968) can be legitimately viewed as the most prominent Christian mystic of the latter half of the 20th century, then Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) can be seen as the leading Christian mystic of the first half of the 20th century. Merton and...
God and guns? Nationalism and idolatry in the American church – Walter Brueggemann
Is There Room for Capital Punishment in our Theology of the Cross? Christian Hollums
Is There Room for Capital Punishment in our Theology of the Cross It is easier for a feeble straw to resist a mighty fire than for the nature of sin to resist the power of love. We must cultivate this love in our souls, that we may take our place with all the saints,...
Review of ‘The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor’ — by Brad Jersak
The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor Edited by Pauline Allen and Bronwen Neil Oxford University Press, 2015. The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor is the most recent in the Oxford Handbooks series, and as usual, provides...