Michael Prior (theologian)
Encyclopedia
Michael Prior was a priest of the Vincentian Congregation
, professor of biblical theology at Saint Mary's College, University of Surrey, and a liberation theologian
. He was one of the more colourful and controversial figures in the Catholic Church in Britain, and an outspoken critic of Israel
and of Zionism
.
Prior was born in Cork in 1942, Prior joined the Congregation of the Mission on leaving school and took a degree in Physics at University College Dublin, completing his theological studies in 1969. After ordination he studied Semitic Languages, gaining his Licentiate in Sacred Scripture in Rome in 1972. The majority of Prior's career was as a professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St Mary's College.
Prior was an anti-Zionist
and believed that biblical scholarship encouraged collusion in the oppression of the Palestinian peoples. In his book The Bible and Colonialism: a moral critique, Prior examined the way in which the biblical narrative of the Exodus from Egypt and the Conquest of Canaan had been deployed to justify colonialism in Palestine, the Americas, and South Africa.
In his book Zionism and the State of Israel: a moral inquiry, Prior developed a moral critique of Zionism, emphasizing its secular roots and the relatively recent character of support for Zionism by religious Jewry. Prior also claimed that the expulsion of the Palestinians, far from being a consequence of the Nazi Holocaust or of the fortunes of war in 1948, had been planned by the founding fathers of Zionism from the beginning. Prior believed that Zionism was morally flawed from 1948, when the first war was fought.
Vincentian Family
Vincentian Family refers to organizations that are inspired by the life and work of St. Vincent de Paul, a 17th century priest who "transformed the face of France."...
, professor of biblical theology at Saint Mary's College, University of Surrey, and a liberation theologian
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
. He was one of the more colourful and controversial figures in the Catholic Church in Britain, and an outspoken critic of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and of Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
.
Prior was born in Cork in 1942, Prior joined the Congregation of the Mission on leaving school and took a degree in Physics at University College Dublin, completing his theological studies in 1969. After ordination he studied Semitic Languages, gaining his Licentiate in Sacred Scripture in Rome in 1972. The majority of Prior's career was as a professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St Mary's College.
Prior was an anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
and believed that biblical scholarship encouraged collusion in the oppression of the Palestinian peoples. In his book The Bible and Colonialism: a moral critique, Prior examined the way in which the biblical narrative of the Exodus from Egypt and the Conquest of Canaan had been deployed to justify colonialism in Palestine, the Americas, and South Africa.
In his book Zionism and the State of Israel: a moral inquiry, Prior developed a moral critique of Zionism, emphasizing its secular roots and the relatively recent character of support for Zionism by religious Jewry. Prior also claimed that the expulsion of the Palestinians, far from being a consequence of the Nazi Holocaust or of the fortunes of war in 1948, had been planned by the founding fathers of Zionism from the beginning. Prior believed that Zionism was morally flawed from 1948, when the first war was fought.
Published works
- Prior, Michael,, Western scholarship and the history of Palestine, Melisende, 1998
- Prior, Michael, The Bible and colonialism: a moral critique, Continuum International Publishing Group, 1997
- Prior, Michael, Zionism and the state of Israel: a moral inquiry, Psychology Press, 1999
- Prior, Michael, Aruri, Naseer (Edtiors), Speaking the truth: Zionism, Israel, and occupation, Olive Branch Press, 2005. A collection of essays by other authors.
- Ateek, Naim, and Prior, Michael, Holy land, hollow jubilee: God, justice, and the Palestinians, Melisende, 1999