Apologies if you have opened the blog to catch up on my attendance at the conference and found nothing there yet. Tuesday was a very long day - it started at 8:40am and finished at 11pm. The subject matter is complex and I need to think quite hard before I write.
During the afternoon yesterday we went out on various trips. However, we were just about to leave and there was a huge commotion out in from of the hotel. To the left were the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and to the right were Palestinians throwing stones. The soldiers fired tear gas - we were told to stay indoors and I did not see a lot.
This was apparently due to an escalation of shooting by the IDF. You may have heard about the Jordanian Doctor who was shot at the Allenby Bridge. The Mosque called people out on the streets to protest.
I was assigned to the bus in Hebron, which I have visited several times before, and reported on in a blog written in my first week here.
The conference has brought together (mainly US) evangelists and Palestinian Christians to discuss the Christian beliefs which are held by some evangelists and which are felt by the Palestinians to be damaging to their cause. The issues are theological and I cannot say that I have ever previously come across them. However, it is proving helpful for me to try to understand the issues. It is one think to try to understand and quite another to write down that understanding. I will do this probably next week when I have some space and time.
There are over 400 internationals here and I am enjoying meeting some of the UK delegates and those from other countries. As a result of the conference I have been invited to lunch next week at the home of a pastor in Beit Sahour.
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