Ch 10-13 Response

This may sound really weird, but for the last few chapters of Armstrong’s book, I’ve found myself wondering, “Where have all the Christians gone?” Throughout this text – well, the more recent chapters anyway – we’ve seen how the monotheistic religions and their expansion have played into this destruction-rebuilding-repeat cycle in Jerusalem. I’m sure that this will become clear as we proceed through the text, but I keep thinking about this as I’m reading – how did we get to the point where we are now, where the conflict is really between two of these monotheistic religious groups? Where are the Christians in the contemporary conflict?

I mean, obviously, they are there. Obviously, Christians also pilgrimage to, and live in, Jerusalem. But, why aren’t they vying for space in the same way that the Israelis and the Palestinians are? Or, are they aligning with Israel, since Judaism and Christianity or born out of the same tradition (or, rather, Christianity is born out of the Jewish tradition)? Armstrong’s text has shown us that no religious group was “good” or “bad.” The situation is complicated, and all of the groups have both been dominant and oppressed. But, in the more contemporary period – or maybe even since the Crusades? – Christianity has been so closely associated with imperialism, colonization, etc. So, why not in contemporary Jerusalem? (Don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing that Christians should try to colonize Jerusalem; I’m just intrigued by the question.) At first I thought that maybe it was the fact that Jerusalem, while also a site of praise for Christians, is also a site of anguish, given the crucifixion, etc. But, then, isn’t Jerusalem clearly a “mixed” location for all of the religious groups?