Munther Isaac
منذر إسحق
Born: Bethlehem, Palestine
Domain: Civil Society & Religion
Recognition: GLOBAL
Biography
Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac (born 1979 in Bethlehem) is a Palestinian Lutheran pastor and theologian, and one of the most prominent Christian Palestinian voices of his generation. He is pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and the Lutheran church in Beit Sahour, and academic dean of Bethlehem Bible College. Holding a doctorate in theology, his work centers on Palestinian contextual and liberation theology, the theology of the land, and Christian–Muslim coexistence. He is the long-time organizer of the “Christ at the Checkpoint” conferences, which bring international (especially evangelical) Christians to Bethlehem to confront the realities of the occupation. He is the author of “The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope” (2020), a widely read articulation of Palestinian Christianity for Western audiences, and a frequent critic of Christian Zionism. In December 2023, during the Gaza war, his sermon “Christ in the Rubble” — preached beside a nativity scene depicting the infant Jesus lying amid grey rubble — went viral worldwide and became one of the defining Christian responses to the war, drawing global attention to the plight of Palestinians and of Palestinian Christians in particular. A clear, eloquent communicator in both Arabic and English, he has become a bridge between the shrinking Palestinian church and the conscience of the global church.
Why This Person Matters
Through “Christ at the Checkpoint” and his viral “Christ in the Rubble” sermon, Munther Isaac has become the foremost contemporary voice of Palestinian Christianity, confronting the global church with the reality of occupation.