Shannon Jammal-Hollemans

Thanks for your comment, Eric. I think you are misreading the post. I do not ask people to choose between talking about justice and doing justice. I state that Christians are spending too much time talking about justice, and too little time doing justice.

I wonder why you think that Palestine and the Middle East are a particular passion for me. I do not think we have ever met or corresponded with one another.

Hi, again. I think we are looking at my comments from pretty difference perspectives. I am writing this as a pastor, identifying a cultural issue in the Church that needs to be addressed. I am issuing a call to action, not a judgment on God's behalf. 

This article explains why this is a threat to Palestinian Christian communities in Jerusalem. 

This article highlights how this move hurts the Christian community in Jerusalem. Particularly, these lines:

"Taken at face value, this new policy suggests that if in the past Israel viewed the material well being of Jerusalem’s churches as a vital Israeli interest, the same view no longer holds sway. Indeed, this new tax policy, if it is not changed, will severely undermine the viability of many of the Christian communities in the city. Many of these are vulnerable communities, struggling to maintain the Christian presence in Jerusalem under daunting circumstances."

I think you are missing the point of the article, but thanks for your comment, David.

I agree, Greg. We need to live the gospel, in word and in deed, and trust God to do the work that we cannot, which is changing hearts and minds.

I appreciate your thoughts, and I think you are misunderstanding. When I was in Seminary, I remember one of the professors pointing out how the quote that says "Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet..." from Teresa of Avila wasn't exactly correct. Because God still is at work, around us and at times in spite of us. I think that is the beautiful thing about Reformed theology--that God's salvation is not dependent upon us, but on God, and God's choosing. That is what I hoped to convey in this article, not to take responsibility off of us for living it in word and in deed that the world may know that Christ is Lord. I probably could have conveyed that more clearly. Thanks, again.

Sure, Kyle. The thesis would be: God is speaking to the people of the world in many ways, while one of those ways is through Christians called to testify to the hope we have in Christ, God doesn't need us to accomplish his purposes. He chooses us to do that. And he speaks to people in spite of us sometimes.

Amen, Greg. It is difficult for me to understand the mindset that is not compelled by faith to share our faith. I have so many friends who are not Christian, and it would be difficult for me to hide my faith with them. I know it can lead to uncomfortable moments between us, but because we love and trust each other, my atheist friends "put up" with my incessant Jesus talk, my Muslim family know that I will point to the divinity of Christ at every opportunity in conversation. I seriously have no idea how I could muzzle that kind of talk. Is it a problem of timidity we face, or are people so wrapped up in their Christian communities that they are failing to be in deep relationships of mutuality and trust with people who aren't Christians? I wonder some times.