Shane’s Invitation to Sign the Declaration

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Introduction

This document is a public declaration of Christians gathered at the 2025 Church at the Crossroads conference in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. In it, we seek to respond to two public calls from our Christian siblings in Palestine and the Middle East: “An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians” (October 2023) and “A Collective Call to the Global Church from Middle East Evangelical Leaders” (August 2024). 

Sign the Declaration

1. We Are Listening to You   

“Be quick to listen, slow to speak.” (James 1:19)

Our Palestinian Christian siblings are telling us that they are devastated by the extreme violence the Israeli military and Israeli settlers have inflicted upon their people since Hamas’ unjust attack on October 7, 2023. Israel’s military has killed or maimed tens of thousands of children and innocents; leveled entire cities; destroyed hospitals, schools, and places of worship; displaced millions of people; and deprived the population of food and water.

Our siblings are deeply grieved by western Christians’ uncritical support for Israel and silence in the face of the ongoing suffering of Palestinians. They express concern that we have ignored this war’s roots in Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian land and ethnic cleansing beginning in 1948.

They declare their unambiguous commitment to Jesus’ way of nonviolence. They also say that we have adopted another theology that justifies violence and elevates the dignity of some over others. They are especially troubled when ideas from biblical history such as “promised land” and “chosen people” are used to rationalize the harming of Palestinians.

Our siblings lament that our response to this war compromises our witness to Jesus’ gospel and harms the unity of his body. They cry out for an immediate ceasefire, return of all Israeli and Palestinian hostages, unimpeded entry of aid for Gaza, and accountability for Israel’s unjust actions.

We are listening.

2. We Mourn with You 

“Mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15)

We are deeply grieved by the extreme suffering of our Palestinian neighbors for the same reason that we are deeply grieved by the extreme suffering of our Israeli neighbors killed, kidnapped, or bereaved on October 7: each is made in God’s precious image.

The war in Gaza is yielding catastrophic loss of life, including tens of thousands of children and innocents. Most of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has been reduced to rubble, including almost all hospitals, schools, and roads. Around two million of our Palestinian neighbors have been displaced from their homes and subjected to acute hunger. Many have already starved to death. Our siblings have been murdered in the churches where they shelter.

Each of our Palestinian neighbors is an image-bearer of God with precious worth (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 13:9-10). We are heartbroken by their unimaginable suffering. We are heartbroken by the widespread indifference of many of our fellow Christians in the face of their suffering. We are heartbroken that the United States’ government funds this war. We are heartbroken that many of us have invoked God’s name, Biblical verses, and theological arguments to try to justify Israel’s brutality. Our Palestinian siblings’ blood cries out from the earth like Abel’s (Genesis 4:10).

All followers of Christ should grieve this grave moral evil.

3. We Repent

“If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

We confess that many of us have used the Bible in ways that excuse oppression, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and other forms of violence while ignoring the teachings of Jesus.

We have justified the strong and abandoned Christ’s call to the vulnerable. We turned Scripture into a tool of oppression rather than liberation (Matthew 18:8; 22:37-40; Luke 4:18-30).

We have become a church that praises a political project while ignoring those who first carried the sacred traditions of Christianity. We confess our failure to speak and act for the dignity of our Palestinian siblings. We have dismissed their testimony, distorted their history, and prioritized ancient stones over the lives being buried beneath them.

We have followed the ways of Rome rather than the way of the cross. We claim to follow Jesus, yet overlook His wounded body right in front of us (Luke 9:23; Matthew 25:31-46).

We repent of our silence, our harmful theologies, and our failure to embody Christ. We acknowledge that real repentance requires our transformation (James 1:22).

Lord, convict us and change us.

4. We Are Convicted 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies…that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

The God of all creation calls us to recognize God’s holy image in all humanity, regardless of race, religion, or nationality (Genesis 1:26-31; 9:6; Acts 10:28; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11).

As followers of Jesus, we vow to adopt an ethic of neighbor love toward all people, including those labeled “enemies.” We are convicted to reorient our faith away from the us-versus-them binaries of politics and hatred and to recenter our faith in Christ’s summons to mercy, justice for the oppressed, and love for all humanity (Matthew 22:37-40; 23:23; 25:31-46).

In this spirit, we wholly reject anti-Muslim hatred, antisemitism, anti-Palestinian bigotry, and every ideology that fuses faith with nationalistic violence (Exodus 20:7; Phil 3:20; Gal. 3:28).

Lord, let our convictions prompt us toward action rooted in radical love.

5. We Are Committed to Action  

“Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

As followers of Jesus, we believe God calls us not just to mourn injustice but to confront it. Having heard the urgent cries of our Palestinian sisters and brothers, we recommit to follow Jesus who draws near to the suffering (Luke 4:18), calls us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), and blesses the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).

We commit to:

-Examine and reform theologies and discipleship practices that rationalize or ignore violence. We recognize that Christian teaching has often fueled human dignity, liberation, and hope; we also recognize it has been weaponized to sanctify ethnic cleansing, enslavement, genocide, and other horrors antithetical to Jesus’ teaching.

–We commit to challenging Christian Zionism as a theology that justifies harming our Palestinian neighbors and that damages our Christian witness. Speak boldly in our churches and communities, calling for openness to learning and to repentance.

–Give due regard to Palestinian Christians as members of the global church to which we owe love, respect, and mutual submission. They have carried the gospel since the Church’s birth in Jerusalem.

–Make common cause with peacemakers from Palestine and Israel, advocating for a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, unrestricted humanitarian aid, and a just peace that addresses root causes of violence.

These commitments embody repentance in action for the sake of our witness to the gospel of peace.

Invitation 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)

We invite you, fellow Christians in America and beyond, to sign this statement with us as a declaration of allegiance to the crucified and risen Christ who calls us to love our neighbor, seek justice, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8; Matthew 23:23). To sign is to say: the gospel cannot coexist with dehumanization. We will no longer ignore the cries of our Palestinian siblings. We will no longer excuse violence with scripture (Isaiah 1:17; Romans 12:18; 13:10).

Signing this declaration is not the end; it is a beginning, a step toward listening deeply, remembering the gospel, and living more faithfully. If you sense the Spirit stirring, we invite you to join us in the pursuit of justice and peace in Palestine and Israel.

Let us be part of the church’s repentance and renewal.
Let us stand with the suffering.
Let us follow Christ more fully.