The Body and the Blood: The Middle East's Vanishing Christians and the Possibility for Peace

This is a fascinating first-hand account of the Holy Land as seen by the author-journalist. While much of the writing deals with the disappearance of Christians in the Holy Land and the causes of their emigration,the author presents a balanced view of the three Abrahamic faiths and the difficulties encountered in their living together in this country. Although written in 2000, the information presented is still current as the struggles continue. If anything, the situation is even worse now that when the book was written. The suthor interviewed many individuals as he traveled throughout the Holy Land, and I found their stories very interesting.

This is one of the best books I have read about the Middle East. The set up of the book that follows Jesus' path 2000 years later and the fact that the author looks at the Christian life in these places makes the book so interesting. The writer defenitly has a great perspective because he is right in the middle of the events and talks to real people. He wasn't an outsider. At the end I want to say that it was heratbreaking to read about the vanishing Christian population. I dont see a way to change the tide which makes it even more sad. The book also gives good examples of the daily Paletinian life and how Israel make is impossible. Great book if you are interested in the region.

_The Body and the Blood_ by Charles M. Sennott is an excellent, important, and timely book, one of the best I have ever read on the modern Middle East. In this work he sought to do three things; one, tour the lands that Jesus visited as chronicled in the New Testament, describing what these locales are like today, two, report the problems of the indigenous Christians of the Middle East, and three, to discuss their role in the region. The Christian presence in the lands Jesus lived in is unfortunately a diminishing one and Sennott was keen to document the historical, economic, political, and religious reasons for this ongoing exodus. In some ways the history of Christians in the Holy Land has always been one of emigration; nearly all of the apostles emigrated, fearing reprisals not only from Rome but also from such Jewish groups as the Sadducees. In the intervening centuries Christians have generally been a minority in the region, except perhaps during a brief period under the Byzantine Empire (in the fifth and sixth centuries). While small, the Christian presence has endured until the 20th century, where particularly in the latter part of the century (and the early years so far of this century) it has been running the real risk of dying out completely in many areas. According to the census data kept by the Ottoman Empire, the Christian population in 1914 was 24% of what we could call today Israel/Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Turkey; today it is no more than 5%. In British ruled Palestine it was as much as 20% of the population (though some put the figure at 13%), while today in Israel/Palestine it is less than 2%. About 35% of the total Christian population of Israel/Palestine (about 60,000 out of 700,000 total) were among those refugees who fled the fighting in 1948 and were not permitted by Israel to return. The Coptic Church in Egypt - one of the oldest in Christendom, tracing its roots back to Saint Mark the Evangelist, said to have arrived in Egypt in A.D. 60 - is steadily declining as well. The Copts number in 2000 about 5 million, or 6% of Egypt's population of 70 million; in the early 1970s there were 4 million but a bigger percentage of the population at around 12%. In early 20th century Jordanian Christians were 13% of the population; in 2000 they are only 2%. Lebanon has gone from in 1932 a 51.2% Christian population to a 25% one today. Why have Christians emigrated in such large numbers or otherwise declined as a percentage of the overall population? There are many factors and the author was quick to point out that the reasons for leaving were not always religious in nature. Generally Christian communities have a lower birthrate, while in many areas Muslims have soaring birthrates. In some areas there has been a steady rate of conversion to Islam, generally among young women and as a result of marriage to Muslims. War has played a big factor in emigration, with in particular Palestinian Christians leavi

An excellent book detailing the lives of Chrisitians within the Israeli/Arab world and how they are confront predjudice from both sides. Very well wriiten account of a very complex subject matter.

A very moving book that provides personal histories regarding the suffering of Christians in the Middle East. The book is full of pathos. It provides an insight (understanding may be unfortunately impossible) of the effect of the Israeli-Palestine conflict on the Christian community. Although the book does not take sides in the conflict, the stories clearly do. (The book also has chapters on the Christians in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, but Israel and Palestine is the bulk of the book.) I recommend this book for anyone who is interested learning about the people of Palestine (from the view point of a vanishing minority) and in the intransigent nature of the conflicts of the peoples living there.