By Lily Groves, Staff Writer
On Oct. 14, Wheaton College hosted John and Samuel Munayer, authors and editors of “The Cross and the Olive Tree,” for the final stop of their book tour.
The Munayer brothers, both young Palestinian theologians, connected with Alexander Massad, assistant professor of world religions at Wheaton, during a conference in London this July. Massad, along with Wheaton College’s Department of Biblical and Theological Studies and the Human Needs and Global Resources program, helped bring the Munayers to Wheaton.
Samuel, 27, works in humanitarian aid and studies theology, while his brother is a Ph.D. candidate studying political theology at the University of Edinburgh. Samuel said the two recognize that “we have to be rooted like the trees in our land, and the land right now that we’re rooted in is full of blood and tears.”
“Theology is to be a reflection about God and about our realities,” Munayer told the audience.
The Munayers spoke to students, faculty and community members about key facets of their theological work, which is rooted in Palestinian land and culture. Their conversation drew from their experiences living in East Jerusalem. Writing for and alongside others with Palestinian connections, the brothers focused their discussion on public theology, what they describe as the lived theology of the people.
The metaphor of an olive tree is applied to multiple theological outlooks in the Munayers’ book, including a comparison of public theology to olive oil used to light lamps — the olive tree’s most accessible product for Palestinians. Samuel Munayer said he and John edited the book with specific faces in mind. “When we talk about theology, are the farmers a part of that conversation? Are the poets a part of that conversation?” Samuel asked.
Some students at Wheaton attended the talk because they have family and friends in Palestine. YoungIn Yoo, a junior biblical and theological studies major, grew up in Jordan, which is home to more than 2.3 million registered Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
“I grew up as a pastor’s kid, just living as one of my Jordanian friends do,” Yoo said. “I feel great sympathy and empathy towards my Arab friends, but also Palestinians, because I know so many of my friends’ relatives live in Palestine.”
Other students were raised in the United States, but still have connections to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Christina Chung, a sophomore studying English writing, said her understanding of Palestine came through a Palestinian friend from her high school in Oregon. “A lot of Christians are in support of Israel because of the Bible, but I feel like there’s more nuance to the situation,” said Chung. “Since I had a friend actively suffering, I see Israel as an oppressor. I see it as a genocide, not as just a war.”
On their tour, the Munayers spoke at several undergraduate institutions but primarily visited seminaries and churches. First-year student Addison Burleigh said she was surprised Wheaton hosted the Munayers, given the potential backlash from evangelical Christians who support Zionism, a movement focused on establishing an official state for Jewish people.
Burleigh said she was particularly interested in the Munayers’ framing of “theology as being in the context of suffering.” She recalled the brothers saying that a remote theology is ineffective when not addressing social contexts.
While at Wheaton, an explicitly evangelical college, the Munayers said they received mostly faith-based questions rather than action-oriented questions, and the brothers spoke of the ways in which they felt theology can become relevant. During the book talk, John referenced the Holy Fire ceremony, held on Holy Saturday, when the head of the Greek Orthodox Church exits the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem with lit candles. The candles’ flames are then passed along by thousands.
“It passes through every single checkpoint, except for Gaza, for the last two years, and it breaks through all these human-made barriers,” said John, who is currently researching the ceremony for his Ph.D. program. “It’s this day of tension between good and evil, between great sadness and also joy.”
Although residents of Wheaton, Ill., will not be passing that flame on Holy Saturday, they were still able to learn about these Palestinian perspectives by hearing from the Munayers in person during their limited U.S. tour, and for some attendees, by buying “The Cross and the Olive Tree” at a 60% discount.
Notably, the Munayers’ tour coincided with the release of all remaining Israeli hostages by Hamas, in accordance with cease-fire arrangements brokered by the United States to end the Israel-Hamas war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023.
Following the start of the cease-fire implementation, Massad stated that he and most Palestinians are not hopeful. “It will probably be worse,” he said. “We fear that Americans will no longer care.”
Massad continues to talk about the region’s conflicts on campus. Most recently, he spoke about his work with Christian leaders in Israel-Palestine as a second-year Stott Fellow on Oct. 29.
He said, “We can’t just will ourselves to change. I try to be a forerunner for students so that they can see. ‘If Dr. Massad can do it, then I can do something like that on campus. I can talk about the gospel in a way that is against apartheid, against oppression, against genocide.’”
