The essays contained in this book provide an introduction to the history, challenges, and hopes of contemporary evangelical Arab Christians in Israel (and to a lesser degree in the West Bank). After opening with a general overview of Arab Christianity in the Holy Land, the following chapters treat different aspects of the evangelical Arab experience: the founding of the Convention of Evangelical Churches in Israel (CECI) as well as a theological seminary for the training of church workers (Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary [NETS]), the self-understanding of Arab Baptists in terms of their identity and relation to other groups in Israel, an Arab perspective on the relationship between Arab evangelicals and Messianic Jews, as well as the struggles, hopes, and fears of another "evangelical" community that is usually hidden from view, namely, that of Muslim converts to Christianity in Israel, the West Bank, and the Middle East in general. The final chapter offers a detailed bibliography on "Arabophone Christianity" in Israel and Palestine.

Around the world people are leaving Islam for Christianity in unprecedented numbers. This book seeks to look into the world of some of these converts, trying to discern the shape of their newfound faith. Why do they convert? What challenges do they face? And ultimately, what do they in their own complex and sometimes difficult circumstances claim to have understood about God that, while in Islam, they had not? In other words, what is the content of their contextual theology? In seeking to answer these questions, Miller looks into the world of an unintentional church plant in the Arab world consisting of believers from a Muslim background, visits with groups of Iranian converts in the diaspora, and examines the written testimonies of still other converts. In a world where Muslim-Christian relations are increasingly important and sometimes tendentious, this book examines the lived faith and contextual theology of people who have chosen to leave Islam and embrace Christianity.

The essays contained in this book provide an introduction to the history, challenges, and hopes of contemporary evangelical Arab Christians in Israel (and to a lesser degree in the West Bank). After opening with a general overview of Arab Christianity in the Holy Land, the following chapters treat different aspects of the evangelical Arab experience: the founding of the Convention of Evangelical Churches in Israel (CECI) as well as a theological seminary for the training of church workers (Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary [NETS]), the self-understanding of Arab Baptists in terms of their identity and relation to other groups in Israel, an Arab perspective on the relationship between Arab evangelicals and Messianic Jews, as well as the struggles, hopes, and fears of another "evangelical" community that is usually hidden from view, namely, that of Muslim converts to Christianity in Israel, the West Bank, and the Middle East in general. The final chapter offers a detailed bibliography on "Arabophone Christianity" in Israel and Palestine.

Around the world people are leaving Islam for Christianity in unprecedented numbers. This book seeks to look into the world of some of these converts, trying to discern the shape of their newfound faith. Why do they convert? What challenges do they face? And ultimately, what do they in their own complex and sometimes difficult circumstances claim to have understood about God that, while in Islam, they had not? In other words, what is the content of their contextual theology? In seeking to answer these questions, Miller looks into the world of an unintentional church plant in the Arab world consisting of believers from a Muslim background, visits with groups of Iranian converts in the diaspora, and examines the written testimonies of still other converts. In a world where Muslim-Christian relations are increasingly important and sometimes tendentious, this book examines the lived faith and contextual theology of people who have chosen to leave Islam and embrace Christianity.