On Friday, Union hosted two guest speakers from Israel College of the Bible, Seth Postell and Thomas Damianos. They spoke in chapel about reconciliation between Jews and Arabs and later hosted a spate conversation of the possibility of peace in the Middle East in the Coburn Dining room.
The Political Science and Theology and Missions departments hosted the guest speakers. Greg Ryan, assistant professor of political science, and George Guthrie, Benjamin W. Perry Professor of Bible Senior Fellow, served as moderators in
“We don’t focus on peace and reconciliation. Jesus is our hope for reconciliation and we focus on him and the great commission,” Damianos, an Arab pastor, said. “We celebrate our differences as an opportunity to reach others.”
The reality is Jews and Arabs hate each other and no government in the world can solve the problem between them, Seth Postell, a Jewish pastor, said. However, Jewish and Arab believers can be an example to their communities of former enemies learning to love each other and work together.
“We can be a light as we can live together in peace and unity,” Postell said. “Arabs and Jews need Jesus and can change only by the power of the gospel. If [we] focus on Jesus and the power of the gospel [we] can love Jews and Arabs in the same way.”
Postell concluded with a final word of encouragement:
“I would encourage you to develop a heart for the world, a heart of passion and pity and love—especially for the Muslim world because they need Jesus…they’re confused,” he said.
