Rethinking Israel, Palestine, and the Faith That Formed Us

In this final episode of our Rethinking Israel, Palestine, and the Faith that Formed Us Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin reflect on what they’ve learned and what comes next. They trace how unexamined evangelical theology shaped their early views of Israel, and how new frameworks of history, faith, and justice helped them see Palestine more clearly. Together they explore Palestinian Liberation The...

In this episode, Erna shares how digging into history after Oct 7 reshaped her evangelical frameworks—and made Palestinian lives, losses, and resistance visible. From the Nakba to the Oslo Accords to the separation wall, we trace the events and ideas that formed today’s reality and ask what faithful ethics require now. Story snapshots Iqrit (Iqrīt): A Christian Palestinian village ordered to evacu...

Episode 6 · “Didn’t God Give the Land to the Jews?” For many Christians shaped by American evangelicalism, the phrase “God gave the land to the Jews” feels like a complete thought. In this episode, Barnabas Lin helps us expand how we think about that statement by asking: Why did God give the land to the Jewish people? From Genesis through the prophets, Barnabas traces how the Old Testament tells a...

In this candid conversation, hosts Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin unpack the blocks that Erna encountered while trying to understand Gaza and the broader Israel/Palestine context after October 7. Together they trace how biases, limited U.S. frameworks, and deeply embedded evangelical formation can hinder our learning. Erna names the specific narratives she had to push through—about the Middle E...

Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin continue sharing what they witnessed in the West Bank (March 2025) with the Palestinian-led organization Sabeel. In Ramallah, they meet a multi-generational family of resisters—including Ahed—whose accounts of imprisonment, administrative detention, and psychological warfare confront the hosts with challenging moral clarity about colonialism, complicity, and coura...

Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin share what they saw and learned on a March 2025 witnessing trip to the West Bank with  Palestinian-led organization Sabeel. They trace how personal encounters—an educator who helped end child marriage in her village, a  family farm near Bethlehem, international accompanier teams, and advocates for children—reshaped their assumptions about safety, “holy land” touri...

In this episode, Barnabas shares his story of encounter, unlearning, and renewal—how friendship with Jewish and Palestinian folks, led to a fellowship at Auschwitz the summer of 2024, and a witnessing trip to the West Bank in the Spring of 2025.  His honesty gives us permission to take responsibility for the ways Christians have caused both Jewish and Palestinian suffering. Rather than offering an...

In this first episode, Erna shares her story of confusion, defensiveness, and awakening—how she came to see that her beliefs about Israel and Palestine were shaped by assumptions she had never thought to question. Her honesty opens space for all of us to name our own uncertainty and begin untangling what we’ve been taught from what is true. Rather than offering answers, this episode invites listen...

In this episode you will meet cohosts Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin.  In this episode, you’ll meet co-hosts Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin as they introduce themselves, explain who this series is for, and preview the topics covered in future episodes. From personal stories to theology, history, and on-the-ground experiences, this episode sets the stage for rethinking Israel, Palestine, and...