Introduction: God, Land and Nation
Alywn Thomson

Comment: Re-routing and Redemption
David McMillan

Protestantism - Negotiating the Future
David Porter

A Discerning Hope
Derek Poole

The Promised Land?
Elizabeth Porter

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THE PROMISED LAND?
When I asked myself what it means to move out of the wilderness into the promised land, I keep getting stuck in the wilderness, Given the current state of play, or non-play, here in Northern Ireland, I could hardly visualise the possibility of the promised land.

This is like the Israelites- they could not see the point in leaving: 'We'd rather be slaves to the Egyptians than die here in the wilderness."

They preferred the security of slavery to the uncertainties of liberation.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? We all know someone who's caught in the slavish binds of history, tradition, this battle or that. The cries abound: 'I'm not talking to you, even if you want to talk to me." "I'm secure in the familiar, it's easy, I don't want to know anything that's different."

But the children of Israel did leave Egypt, and that is significant. Their liberation is both a political and a spiritual act.

It is a political act in moving to a land where they could live with dignity and construct a just society.

It is a spiritual act in the sense that the God who makes the cosmos from chaos is the God who leads Israel from alienation to liberation - a freedom from spiritual misery. This same God will also liberate us.

The Exodus experience is a model; it signifies a break with the past and a projection toward the future. In my view, too many people in Northern Ireland are tangled in the web of the past and can't see through to the future.

I suggest that there are risks in moving from the past to new visions, and there are conditions attached to liberation. God liberates the Israelites and confirms this through his covenant - a promise of reconciliation. "If you confess your sins and are humbled, then I will remember my covenant." If not, then: "I'll hurl on you terror, fever, plagues, and those who hate you will rule you."

So the process of moving to the promised land involves risks and conditions:

If we are humbled...then we may hear the voices of others.

If you listen to me...then you may understand me.

If I'll sincerely respect your views...then perhaps you'll consider my views.

If we agree not to march down a street that causes grave offence...then we'd appreciate you re-routing also.

If...then...is it really so difficult? There's a lot to be gained in taking the risk.

Dr Elizabeth Porter