Rev. Mae Cannon Offers Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March/April 2019, pp. 62-63

Book Talks

On Jan. 10, Rev. Dr. Mae Cannon discussed her recent book, A Land Full of God: Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land, at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies.

Cannon, who considers herself an advocational academic—mixing her academic career with strong advocacy work in the United States and Middle East—is currently the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a broadly ecumenical organization with members from 28 different denominations across the theological spectrum.

During her talk, Cannon argued that there are not two narratives regarding the situation in Israel and Palestine, but only one true dichotomy: those who are for peace and those who are not. To those who only care about the State of Israel, Cannon remarked, “If you can’t care about the Palestinians for their sake, care about them for the sake of Israel.”

Cannon dove into her academic background to unpack the history of restorationism, the Zionist Christian ideology that the Jewish people needed to be restored to the land of Israel in order to facilitate the second coming of Christ. U.S. allegiances and relationships throughout the Middle East are deeply rooted in this theology, she said, citing the current evangelical-backed administration as an example.

Evangelicals are at the forefront of the pro-Israel charge among U.S. Christians, Cannon explained. The 1967 Arab-Israeli war was a significant turning point in evangelical moral and political support for Israel, she said, however, decades later we are still here, Christ hasn’t returned, and U.S. policy remains deeply one-sided.

A Land Full of God: Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land seeks to educate Americans, mainly Christians, by providing an accurate history of events in Israel and Palestine and explaining how the restorationism theory is theologically incorrect. Her book brings in Israeli and Palestinian voices to provide multiple viewpoints on the single narrative of the land.

An edited volume, A Land Full of God contains 30 chapters featuring contributors from all sides of the political spectrum, including former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on Gaza in 2014 and Pope Francis’ 2014 speech in Bethlehem. Chapters cover topics relating to history, theology, human rights, politics and more.

The Jan. 10 talk concluded with a vibrant opportunity for questions and answers. One question arose again and again in multiple ways: as individuals, what tools could we employ to change U.S. policy in the Middle East? Cannon urged attendees to talk to members of Congress, observing that if they believed they could vote differently on Israel, they would.

A Land Full of God: Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land is available from Middle East Books and More.

         —Craig Sanders