Between Sept. 10 and Sept. 14, 2008 the World Council of Churches, an ecumenical organization headquartered in Switzerland, is holding a "debate" regarding the issue of "promised land." The debate, which will be attended by approximately 65 theologians from WCC member churches, is billed as an effort to promote an "understanding of how theological issues may be related to the [Arab-Israeli] conflict."

The debate is designed to initiate the "process of developing a handbook for congregations and parishes, aimed at facilitating their reflection on issues like the Promised Land, the Church and Israel, justice and peace."

This may sound innocent enough, but publicity surrounding the event indicates that the debate will place Biblical claims to land under close scrutiny without making any effort to understand Muslim teachings about the land, or the Jewish people. In particular, the press release makes repeated references to Bible, but offers no mention of the Koranic theology regarding land and the Jewish people. The lack of any reference to this issue is troubling, because it suggests that a very important part of the Arab-Israeli conflict will not be addressed by the conference...