They Came and They
Saw
ed. Michael Prior (London: Melisende
2000)
This
book is about Christian experience. It tells of the personal encounters of Western
Christians with the people of the Hoiy Land. For these Western Christians, who
have come to know the Holy Land intimately, such encounters were life-changing
experiences.
The contributors to this volume belong to a variety of Christian denominations-
Catholics, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Evangelicals, Presbyterians, a United Methodist,
and a Mennonite, from England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Canada and the
USA. Some are ministers, some scholars, and some are active in advocacy for
justice and peace.
While various factors drew them to Israel-Palestine, seeing the situation for
themselves has changed their earlier perceptions. The contributors tell how
they considered the situation before seeing it, describe the experiences which
influenced them, and indicate what they have done about it.
This book is written for the general reader. The autobiographical style makes
for attractive reading and analysis is kept to a minimum. The reader is allowed
to draw her! his own conclusions and to register her/his own emotions.
Michael Prior is a Principal Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religious
Studies in St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill (University of Surrey), England.
Canon Naim Ateek: 'I welcome this major witness to the transformation in
the attitudes of Western Christians to the peoples and problems of the Holy
Land. The book is a profound moral challenge to everyone interested in Palestinian
Christianity and a just peace in the land in which it began.'
Fr Elias Chacour: 'I am delighted with the concerned and enlightening accounts
of the encounter of Western Christian with the "living stones" of the Holy Land.
It should be required reading for all in the West.'
Stephen Sizer's chapter is entitled, 'The Premised
Land: Israel and Palestine"
Contributors: Rosemary Radford Ruether, Kenneth Cragg, William Dalrymple, Elizabeth
Barlow, Ray Barraclough, Kathy Bergen, David Burrell, Janet Davies, Garth Hewitt,
Ruth Hummel ,Thomas Hummel, Elaine Kelley, Duncan Macpherson, Peter Miano, Cohn
Morton, Carol Morton, Michael Prior, Stephen Sizer, Don Wagner.
"They Came and They Saw" is published
by Melisende and is available
from all good bookshops for £12.99 or direct from Stephen Sizer for £12.00
including postage.