The Fifth Gospel

Last night (Saturday), after a long day of walking around Jerusalem and Bethlehem, we had a very interesting lecture by the dean of the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies.  One thing that really caught my attention was a quote he shared from Saint Jerome, a Catholic priest who, in the late 300's A.D., took up residence in a small room of a monastery in Bethlehem, where he spent many years translating the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin.  (By the way, we visited the below-ground room where supposedly he did his work, and where his body was interred until his remains were apparently stolen many years later.)  Anyway, in this quote Jerome referred to the land of Israel/Palestine as "the fifth gospel", meaning that in order to fully understand the story of the Bible you have to understand how the land has helped shape the story.

I thought I had a good sense of that truth before, but being here in person has really driven the point home.  Indeed, it doesn't take long here to realize how profoundly the terrain and climate in the region affect everything from occupations to politics to religion to literature and more.

Speaking of terrain, what a powerful experience it was today to hike some of the wilderness in the region known as En Gedi, near the Dead Sea.  It was here that David (before he was King David) hid in a cave out of fear of King Saul who, in his jealousy, was hunting David down in order to kill him, as told in 1 Samuel 23 & 24.  The only way for David and his men to survive would have been to drink from the waters of the natural spring that cascade down the rocks from the jagged ridges above.  (See photos of the rocky En Gedi hills with caves, and of the lower waterfall)

Rocky ridges of En Gedi showing caves

Waterfall from the spring at En Gedi

One other key understanding about the geography of the area is the fact that Israel/Palestine is located precisely at the point where the ancient trade routes connecting Europe, Asia and Africa all criss-crossed.  This meant that the area was constantly being invaded and sometimes settled by people of different races and cultures, resulting in a "mosaic" that sometimes didn't (and, in many ways, still doesn't) seem to fit together very well.

This understanding helps to put in perspective the seemingly endless tensions between the Jews and the Muslims, or some would say Israelis and Palestinians.  You see signs of this fragile co-existence everywhere around here (and I mean "signs" in a literal sense, as well as in other ways, as you can see from the road sign in the photo below which points the way to Bethlehem in English, Hebrew and Arabic).  This is especially true in Jerusalem, but you see most everywhere else, too, including Bethlehem, where we visited yesterday.

I never realized until this trip that Bethlehem (which is no longer the "little town" referred to in the beloved Christmas carol, but a large and bustling city) is now almost totally under Palestinian/Muslim control and that, because of an order by the Israeli government that's meant to protect its Jewish citizens, Jews are no longer permitted to enter Bethlehem.  For this reason our Jewish tour guide had to get off the tour bus just outside Bethlehem and be temporarily replaced with a Palestinian guide.  And as if that didn't surprise me enough, I was really caught off guard when we got off the bus at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and I noticed that right across the street from the church, which marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus, is a large Muslim mosque, complete with its tall minaret from which the Muslim people are called to prayer several times a day. (see picture)

Minaret on mosque across from Church of the Nativity

I have another comment I want to make about the geographical location of Israel/Palestine, but I think it had better wait until my next post, since it's very late and we have to be on the bus at 7:30 a.m. for a long day around the Sea of Galilee.

One more quick note, though...  Some of you have asked about the safety of tourists around here.  Well, as our Jewish tour guide emphasized very strongly yesterday, the area is very safe for tourists, because they represent such a major source of income for the local people.  Indeed, we've found all the local people to be very friendly and accomodating.