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Summary
Summary
Retracing the path of Jesus's life from Bethlehem, to Egypt, to Nazareth, to what is today Lebanon and finally to Jerusalem, this volume takes readers on a picaresque journey through the modern Middle East. It winds through the vicious tensions of the West Bank, the fundamentalist uprisings of Upper Egypt, the ruins of Beirut, the tribal culture of Jordan, and Jerusalem's messianic underworld to discover Christian life is vanishing in the land where the faith began. The indigenous Christian community, which just two generations ago represented as much as 20 percent of Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Galilee, is now less than two percent of the total population. Historians and demographers fear that native Christianity could virtually disappear in the Holy Land within two more generations. This is all the more poignant in a year in which millions of Christian tourists are descending upon Jerusalem to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of Jesus's birth.
Reviews (2)
Choice Review
Many Americans are apt to think that all Arabs are Muslim. But Sennott succeeds in bringing Arab Christians to the attention of readers. As chief of the Boston Globe Jerusalem bureau from 1997 to 2001, Sennott reported a series of stories on Christians caught in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Here he finds evidence to support his hunch that Christians promote nonviolence in the region. But he ends pessimistically, concluding that Arab Christians are increasingly marginalized. Sennott organizes his "journey" to parallel the life of Jesus, reporting stories from Bethlehem to Egypt, from Nazareth to the Jordan River, from the Sea of Galilee to southern Lebanon, and back to Jerusalem. Combined with the length and the understated prose of the book, this organizational device makes the book difficult, and rewarding, for readers unfamiliar with the region. Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem (1989, updated 1995) is a more colorful and accessible introduction. William Dalrymple's From the Holy Mountain (1998) is a more comprehensive and compelling treatment of Middle Eastern Christians. But this is the most detailed, up-to-date, and moving account of Palestinian Christians available. Highly recommended. General readers; all academic levels. S. Waalkes Malone College
Library Journal Review
The Boston Globe's Middle East bureau chief takes the reader along on what he calls a journalistic pilgrimage, using the path traveled by Jesus to structure a vivid sketch of the often-overlooked Christian communities in the Holy Land. These communities are dwindling rapidly and are frequently caught in the middle of the numberless divisions and antagonisms of the region. Sennott provides some brief religious and geographical histories and then moves on to the stories of people he encounters in his travels and work. His focus is on Christian groups, but he inevitably expands the account to provide a much wider view of the Middle East and its violent conflicts. The book is rich in detail, conversations, and incidents that provide a feel for the dangers and complexities of current daily life in Israel and the surrounding areas. This is also a personal work, as Sennott brings his own religious convictions and family life into the story. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. Stephen Joseph, Butler Cty. Community Coll., PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Prologue | |
| Author's Note | |
| I Pilgrimage | p. 3 |
| II The End of Days | p. 30 |
| III The Vicar of Christ on Earth | p. 55 |
| IV Nazareth | p. 81 |
| V Bethlehem | p. 111 |
| VI Beit Sahour | p. 135 |
| VII Egypt | p. 167 |
| VIII Nazareth | p. 203 |
| IX Jordan | p. 233 |
| X The Sea of Galilee | p. 257 |
| XI Lebanon | p. 285 |
| XII The Mount of Olives | p. 321 |
| XIII The Garden of Gethsemane | p. 351 |
| XIV Jerusalem | p. 379 |
| XV The Road to Emmaus | p. 409 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 451 |
| Notes | p. 453 |
| Index | p. 467 |
