Is Antisemitism Christian?

The development of teaching aimed at non-academic Christians to raise awareness of the Christian responsibility for antisemitism

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Introduction

This essay describes the thought behind a study day for Christians on the subject of Christian antisemitism. The day is to be held in January 2002 and will be linked with Holocaust Memorial Day. It will be offered to Christians from the seventeen member churches of Arnold Churches Together. At the time of writing, a great deal of interest has been shown in the day and it is expected that it will be well attended and useful to participants.

In addition, Arnold Churches Together is holding an ecumenical service in the Anglican Parish Church on the day after the study day. The title of both the study day and the service will be “Is Antisemitism Christian?” and the service will take the form of reflection and repentance.

Why?

In undertaking a study of Jewish Christian relations, it is deeply worrying to observe that teaching on the subject of Christian Antisemitism has been and still is neglected in the church today[1]. The subject is only now beginning to be addressed. Recently there have been talks between Dr. Edward Kessler, principal of CJCR, and some of the denominational interfaith advisors. Michael Ipgrave, who is advisor to the Archdiocese of Canterbury is currently addressing the problem both at theological colleges and with local clergy, working alongside CJCR. With the best possible will, and all the hope one can muster, this is not going to be a rapid process – a generation or so from now, one might expect to see the change in the thinking of the ordinary Christian who has to rely for his teaching on the leader of his local church.

When one considers that James Parkes began working on the issue of Christian Antisemitism prior to the second World War, and had published a phenomenal amount of pioneering work before his death in 1981[2], one can begin to see something of the inertia of church. Given that there is little knowledge on the subject among church leaders at the present time, how much more ignorance must there be among ordinary Christians? It is this aspect that suggests the need to look at ways of addressing the issue at local level.

In this, it is also important to realise that the education process that is mentioned above as beginning in the churches is only so in the structured denominations within Christianity. For this reason, it is appropriate to look at the Church as it exists today.

The Christian Church today

Surveys of the Church in the United Kingdom carried out over the last few years by each of the mainstream denominations show a serious decline in membership. Many local churches are almost at the point of closure and the resulting difficulties would point towards the demise and complete extinction of Christianity in this country[3]. One area of Christianity is, however, growing – and in some cases growing fast. This is the Conservative Evangelical end of the church – and in particular, what one might call the “New Churches”[4]. While there are Conservative Evangelical local churches within most of the mainstream denominations, it seems likely that an even larger number of conservative Christians are represented in the “New Churches”[5].

Much of the success of these conservative churches seems to be due to their rejection of a great deal of the modernist approach to biblical interpretation. All Conservative Evangelical Christians take what they would describe as a ‘high’ view of scripture. There are various shades of understanding of this position, but these vary from ‘Bible Inerrancy[6]’, through more moderate positions in which absolute accuracy in a scientific sense is not claimed. Conservative Evangelicals claim, however, that the bible is “wholly inspired by God”. For this reason, they will reject any claim that any part of the bible has an antisemitic bias simply because of the time and the circumstances that it was written to address[7]. It seems clear from this that any attempt to teach along with Rosemary Ruether[8] and other theologians who share this view, that, for example, John’s gospel and Matthew’s gospel are antisemitic per se[9] will be rejected by conservatives. We are, in their eyes talking about the “Word of God”, and if God Himself were telling us to be antisemitic, then so be it!

Other scholars put forward the view that no part of the New Testament is antisemitic – the antisemitism comes only from the interpretations of the Christian scriptures over the years – in particular by the early church Fathers. We will look at this as a possibility in a later section of this essay.

Up to this point, we have discussed the negative side of reviewing Christian antisemitism from a Conservative Evangelical viewpoint. The history of the movement shows that in their fresh approach to the bible, conservatives have seen for themselves a number of errors in the historic Christian view of “the Jew”. It is stated above that within Conservative Evangelicalism, there is a rejection of the modernist approach. This has led to in depth study of the bible texts themselves, with suspicion being cast on commentaries and theological works generally. David Rausch writes of "Fundamentalist-Evangelicals[10]". He tell us that in the latter part of the nineteenth century, there began a "Fundamentalists Pro-Zion" movement. This movement is still apparent within conservative evangelicalism. Of the beginnings of the movement, Rausch tells us: "The bible told fundamentalist-evangelicals that the Jews were "God's chosen people". They believed it. The Bible told fundamentalist-evangelicals that God would "never forsake" God's people. They believed it.[11]" This fresh approach is an advantage in the opening up of the subject to the Bible literalist. However, one current trend is for some conservatives to consider all commentaries written prior to the end of the nineteenth century to be more 'sound' than later ones[12]. This should not present a serious problem - simply bringing to light what the text actually says, rather than what the commentator says that it says will in most cases be adequate[13]

A very few years ago, one division of Christianity might have experienced a serious problem in the understanding of Jewish Christian relations at local church level. This is because of the high degree of importance given to the institutional teaching of churches at the opposite end of the Christian spectrum from the “New Churches”. Today, however, the denominations which would take this view – in the main, Catholic and Anglican in the UK - have produced statements that substantially change their view from the historic position[14]. How widely these are taught and understood at local church level is hard to say - but in the course of the teaching to be undertaken, these documents can be used to support all statements that antisemitism must be rooted out and removed from the Christian agenda.

The previous section of this essay stated that the process of education that is under way does not apply to the "New Churches". The reason for this is that for the most part, the leaders of these churches are self-taught. This is not to say that they are not up-to-date with their reading - many of them are - but there is no formal education for ministry as such that these leaders are obliged to attend.

In view of all of the above, the teaching that is being developed here will centre on the study of the bible – both the Hebrew and the Christian scriptures – in those areas that can be useful to demonstrate that Christian Antisemitism is at best in error, and at worst contrary to the very essence of the teachings of Jesus.

Translations of the New Testament itself may well have a bias brought about by the antisemitic tradition within Christianity. As an example, I quote from Luke 20:46. The NIV (currently the most popular version among conservative evangelical Christians) has the wording: "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the market-places and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets". This same passage may equally well be rendered: "Be on your guard against those scribes who like to walk about in long robes, and love salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at feasts".[15] It is evident that the first translation is talking of "all Scribes", whereas the second is only referring to "some". In the latter rendering, the sense of this phrase is remarkably similar to two Talmudic illustrations - the first is the "showy" Pharisee in JT Berakhot 14b who carries his good deeds on his shoulder, and the second is the Judge who likes to walk about in his "long robes". Moshe Weinfeld points to both of these[16]. For this reason, it seems probable that the second translation of Luke 20:46 is a more likely rendition of the actual teaching that Jesus was giving.

This translation example is one illustration from the Christian Scriptures. A translator uses, in addition to his linguistic skills, knowledge of the attitude of the writer from other sources. In this instance, the ‘other sources’ have, historically been the early church Fathers. Their antisemitism is well known, and is the subject of later discussion in this essay.

In the section below headed ‘Paul’, two different understandings of the word ‘end’ in the passage saying that Jesus is the ‘end of the law’ offer another example of this kind of bias. One might ask how many similar examples there might be if a competent linguist were to examine the New Testament looking specifically for them.

The proposed study-day: rationale

Currently, the Alpha course is becoming very popular within Christianity. It is being used and accepted right across the denominations, and is showing phenomenal success. Alpha begins with few preconceptions. It commences by looking at Christianity in its most basic form, and allows questions to be posed and fully discussed. Alpha is structured around a short talk appropriate to each session, followed by question and answer sessions in small groups. This pattern follows the widely accepted need for interactive learning in the process of adult education, and represents the structure and the pattern to be adopted in the study day to be held in January 2001.

The information sheet that has been handed to the participating churches begins as follows[17]: “After a brief introductory talk, we will form small discussion groups to look at our knowledge of Jews and Judaism, what we have heard about them and stereotypes (good and bad) that we might have come across. We will also discuss what we understand Jews to believe, and how we understand the expression of their faith.”

Each of the group sessions will bring salient points back to a plenary session, in which some further input can be provided.

Generalisations, Stereotypes and Misunderstandings about Jews

During almost 2000 years of Christian development, there has been a move away from first hand knowledge of Jews and Judaism to a whole set of understandings and teachings about the subject which are not just inaccurate, but often the very opposite of the truth. In the setting of single study day, it will not be reasonable to examine these to the full, but it is intended to make a start in this important aspect of education. Working in small groups, the participants of the study day will be asked to look first at verbal caricatures of “The Jew” which they know to be false, and also positive stereotypes that they may know, or have heard of. Recollections of Jewish and anti-Jewish jokes, and sayings from a past generation may be useful in discussion[18]. Following a short time on that aspect, the group members will be asked to look at the lifestyle and culture of Jews, Jewish religion and the Jewish attitude towards “The Law” as they see it. One can expect that views of Judaism as a legalistic religion will be among those held. Questions such as “Who were the Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus?” will lead naturally into discussion about Sadducees, Scribes and Pharisees – and the probable composition of the Sanhedrin at that time[19]. A very common misconception among Christians is that at the time of Jesus, Pharisees were the Jewish leaders, and all Pharisees were harsh, legalistic and enemies of Jesus.

Bible study on the following passages will be used to illustrate that not all Pharisees are shown in a bad light in the New Testament. In Luke's Gospel, the story of Jesus eating with Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-43) and also Luke 11:37 shows that Jesus was well known to, and friendly with Pharisees. In Luke 13:31, Pharisees come to Jesus to warn him that Herod is going to kill him. In John's gospel, the story of Nicodemus in John 3:1:21 is one example of a Pharisee with whom Jesus has a good relationship. The same idea may be further illustrated from the Acts of the Apostles. Acts 10:34 tells of a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who is sympathetic towards the Christians after the death of Jesus. It is usually assumed that this is the same Gamaliel who was the teacher of Paul. Acts 15:5 shows that Pharisees were among the early Christians (although it has to be admitted that the passage does not show them in a particulary good light). Also, in Acts 23:9 it appears to be the Pharisees who are on the side of Paul. Both these and passages that speak unfavourably of Pharisees will be introduced to suggest that of all Jews of his day, Jesus associated the most with Pharisees[20].

Rabbi Harvey Falk[21] suggests that all of the differences of opinion between Jesus and various Pharisees in the gospels are due to Jesus teaching according to bet Hillel and his opponents belonging to bet Shammai[22]. Perhaps the easiest way to introduce this aspect to participants of a study day will be to tell the well known Talmudic story in which Shammai and Hillel are each asked to teach a would-be convert the whole of the Law while he stood on one leg. This example will be used to illustrate that observing Jews understand Halakah as both liberating, and leading to a real relationship with God within what is today, a faith that is very much alive for the Jew. This is the very opposite of the Christian stereotype so often quoted, that "The Jew is in bondage to the Law"[23]. The example will also serve as an illustration of the tradition within which Jesus taught. Hillel’s view that we should love the Lord with all of our heart, and never do to anyone what we wouldn’t want them to do to us is the whole of the law – and “the rest is commentary[24]” has a very obvious parallel in the Christian gospels. Mark 12:28-31 offers: “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Views on Christian Antisemitism

A vast amount of work has been published in the last few years on the subject of antisemitism. In this, it is evident that the horror of the unprecedented magnitude and sheer brutality of the Shoah has triggered a great deal of profound thought. Without exception, scholars and theologians are in agreement that Christianity itself has presented an antisemitic message from the beginning of its history until the present day, and careful examination of this deeply worrying aspect has resulted in works by Jews and by Christian theologians alike.

Rosemary Radford Ruether has been widely accepted as a leading theologian on the subject[25]. Briefly, she takes the view that the New Testament is antisemitic in all of its books, and that the degree of antisemitism increases as the time of the writing of a particular book grows later. Ruether takes the dating of the gospels as it is commonly accepted as a firm piece of evidence. It isn’t. It is not appropriate here to go into detail on this aspect. Suffice it to say that John Robinson’s “The Priority of John”[26] may not in itself ‘prove’ anything, but it certainly suggests that placing too much reliance on specific dating of the gospel texts is unsafe[27].

Another area about which one might have doubt is Ruether’s acceptance that Paul, writing in his letter to the Romans, is offering an antisemitic viewpoint. In her argument for this, she accepts the traditional Christian understanding of Paul as found in the early church fathers and in most commentaries up until the last few years as representing Paul’s actual view. This view is that Paul is saying that God has rejected the Jews and removed them from the covenant except for those who converted to Christianity. It is difficult to see how the text itself justifies this view[28]. Paul presents an emphatic position that God has not rejected His people – or indeed denied the Covenant – this can safely be used as a platform for teaching that the church has misled Christians into a false position vis-à-vis Jews and Judaism over the many centuries of its existence. Currently, all of the mainstream Christian denominations are, through their various statements moving towards this position[29].

There are a few scholars who support the position that the New Testament, including the gospels, is not antisemitic – but that statements within the New Testament have been interpreted in an antisemitic way. Lloyd Gaston[30] makes a case for Paul trying to develop a theology of a valid Judaism existing and developing alongside Christianity and this is detailed in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Personally I believe this to be the what Paul was intending in his letters, and for this reason a large portion of the study day will be devoted to a study of Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapters 9, 10 and 11.

Paul – writing to the Romans and to the Galatians

The foundation of the Christian attitude towards Jews, the Torah, and the place of the Gentiles in God's sight come mainly from the letters of Paul. We have seen above that the Christian tradition has interpreted Paul as saying that Israel has been rejected and replaced by Christianity[31]. Is this in fact what Paul intends us to understand?

A study of the text itself in Romans 9, 10 and 11 shows Paul struggling with the idea of Israel existing alongside Christianity. But he is emphatic. "Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means" [Rom 3:31]; "Has God rejected his people? By no means" [Rom 11:1][32]. Gaston points out that Paul is speaking to Gentiles, not Jews - and that, at times, he is speaking not as a Jew, but as the Gentile Christian that Paul considers he has become[33]. With regard to Paul's frequent assertions in all his letters that the law is a state of bondage and brings death (see 1 Cor. 36 as an example), Gaston points us to the Talmud. He quotes R. Tanhuma writing about the Torah in the Talmud. He offers this reference as one of many similar[34]. "The word of the Lord went forth in two aspects, slaying the heathen who would not accept it, but giving life to Israel who accepted the Torah". Exod Rab 5.9. Gaston continues: "For Gentiles, who do not have the Torah as covenant, Torah as law functions in an exclusively negative way".

This is to say that all of Paul's apparently negative assertions about the Torah are intended only for Gentile Judaizers, and not for Jews for whom Torah is life itself[35].

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is about Judaizers. Both Gaston and Marcus Braybrook, along with others are certain that Paul is not talking to Jews but to Gentile Christians who are insisting upon circumcision as being required of other gentile converts to Christianity. His letter to the Romans is written a few years after his letter to the Galatians, and may well be an attempt to clear up misunderstandings that have arisen from the teachings he has been offering previously, of which the letter to the Galatians is the written example. In Romans, Paul goes a step further. He himself leaves the company of his fellow Jews and becomes apostate[36]. He becomes a gentile by removing himself from Torah observance in order to demonstrate to gentiles that the Christian faith is enough. Gaston is clear that Paul never intends to teach Jews that they ought to do the same[37].

Another comment that has been made on the basis of Paul is that he points to Jesus as “The end of the law” (Rom. 10:4). In fact, the word Paul uses means ‘end’ only in the sense of object or goal[38]. The example one might use here[39] would be that of a building. The ‘topping out’ of a building signals its completion. It also represents the ‘end’ of the building works. It does not imply that the foundations, or, for that matter, the entire building below roof level no longer have a purpose. They are, in fact, the entire purpose. The ‘end’ in that instance means that nothing further need be added – and the building is ready for use. The Jewish response to that might well be that the Torah needed no completion[40]. My reply would be that the purpose of the chosen people of God is to be “a light to the gentiles”[41]. In using the passage from Isaiah, I am using it in the sense in which it was intended to be read when it was written – that is to say that salvation is to come to all the world through the Jews. If Christianity is to be regarded as a “conduit for the Torah” as Bayfeld suggests, when he tells us that the liberal Jew is well on the way to accepting “the most famous son of Israel” – not as saviour, messiah etc – but as “the conduit of the Torah” to the goyim[42], then one could argue that in Jesus, the Torah is indeed moving towards its goal - being completed. There is a parallel to this argument in Jacobus Schoneveld, who sees the Logos (in John’s gospel) as being synonymous with the oral Torah[43].

CJCR Summer School 2001 – Poland – a case study

The 2001 Polish experience with CJCR[44] provides a valuable place to begin to teach both the development of Christian Antisemitism and the dreadful consequence of this in the Shoah. As the planned training day will take place at the time of Holocaust Memorial day in 2002, it will be helpful to remind participants of the way in which Jews were treated during the Second World War, and by way of introduction, I will briefly mention our experiences in Auschwitz and in the Jewish Cemeteries that we visited[45].

Two further illustrations taken from the Poland visit will be used to help underline the past attitude of the church towards Jews. During a visit to a church, the guide from that church was asked by a member of our party about the legend under one of the Stations of the Cross. There was a degree of antisemitism implied in the wording. The guide responded as follows: "It is known that the Jews crucified Jesus. That is what the Stations of the Cross depict. It is what the bible says, and that cannot be changed."

There was a stunned silence. It was finally broken by a Catholic priest who was with our party. He pointed out that the bible did not say anything of the kind. It was the Romans who crucified Jesus. Our host was unrepentant: "The Jews put the Romans up to it. It was they who were responsible for his death." was the reply.

It was evident that his Christian education had not moved on in the years after the war.

The other illustration that will be offered is that of a piece of mediaeval church art. This depicts Jews carrying out ritual murder of a child[46]. The painting is still hanging in a church in Poland in spite of much protest. But for the destruction of ecclesiastical art following the English Reformation, it is very likely that similar paintings would have existed in the UK.

In the planned study day, discussion concerning the social structure of Poland immediately prior to the Nazi occupation will be offered.

Jews in Europe before World War 2

During the Polish study trip, time was devoted to a brief outline of the social and economic interaction between Christians and Jews from the middle ages up to the inter-war period[47]. By the time of the First World War, social interaction between Christians and Jews had reached a stable and soundly viable position. This had been heavily influenced by the restrictions that had been placed by all European countries on the life and influence that Jews were allowed to have. These restrictions were made during many periods up to at least the nineteenth century. The exact nature of the restrictions varied from country to country. In Poland, Jews had not been allowed to become land-owners. This fact meant that they could not be part of the agricultural sector of Polish communities. In addition, one common factor in Jewish development in every part of the world is the need for Jews to live within a short distance of their Synagogue. The result was that Jews lived in towns, and took up occupations as traders, craftsmen and financial professionals of various kinds. In parts of Europe in Mediaeval times, only Jews were allowed to lend money and receive interest. This led to the eventual establishment of Jewish owned banks. The situation has been simplified a great deal, but by the time of the first World War, Poland had a Jewish community associated with every town, with a population almost equal to that of the non-Jewish community. In each of these towns, Jews found themselves in positions of power and influence[48] – more especially since emancipation of European Jews during the nineteenth century.

During the Second World War, propaganda was used to suggest that all Jews were dishonest, and were working together to gain money and power at the expense of non-Jews. This kind of propaganda inflamed the already present undercurrents of antisemitism which had been laid down by the church over the centuries[49].

The Early Church Fathers

It is in the vehement antisemitism of a number of the early church fathers that we find a real turning point away from any hope of mutual understanding. The various doctrines and theologies that were developed during the time of the fathers has left us with a legacy that we have to face – and challenge – if Jewish Christian relations is to have any substance at all. When we consider that many foundational Christian doctrines come from the fathers, we begin to see the immensity of the overall task. The Trinity immediately springs to mind. For better or for worse, this doctrine is right at the heart of Christian teaching and thinking – and Gregory of Nyssa, one of the Cappadocian Fathers, who were the originators of this teaching, is noted also for his antisemitism[50]!

There is a whole catalogue of antisemitic writings in many of the fathers. Of these, one in particular deserves special mention: John Chrysostom is notorious for the vicious and libellous way in which he treats Jews. Especially of note is his accusation that Jews are guilty of infanticide – they sacrifice their sons and daughters to demons”. It is this accusation that much later, led to the ‘Blood Libels’ mentioned below.

It is John Chrysostom too, who develops the charge of deicide: “If someone had killed your son, could you stand the sight of him or the sound of his greeting? Wouldn’t you try to get away from him as if he were an evil demon; as if he were the devil himself? The Jews killed the Son of your Master ….. Will you so dishonour Him as to respect and cultivate His murderers, the men who crucified Him?[51]” The concept of deicide was made possible by the new Trinitarian thought, but it was Chrysostom who put it into words, and fashioned out of it a weapon that has been used to vilify, persecute, torture and murder Jews ever since his time.

It is these two libellous statements in Chrysostom that have led time and time again to persecution, torture and murder of Jews. As examples of such Christian antisemitism for the purposes of the study day, the treatment of Jews during the Crusades and during the Spanish Inquisition will be offered, together with a brief outline of the European “Blood Libels” – this last example is illustrated by the Polish antisemitic painting referred to in the section about the 2001 CJCR Summer School[52]. The need for clarity and brevity suggest that it would be inappropriate to offer more that these examples. In particular, in addition to the blood libels, the example will be quoted of the torture and murder of many thousands of Jews who would not agree to be baptised as Christians – and this with the encouragement and full approval of the church[53].

Conclusion

From questions I have asked of a number of Christians from all the mainstream denominations, it seems that most have some small sense that Christianity has played its part in antisemitism. Most of these Christians have heard the libellous statement that “The Jews crucified Jesus” at some time in their lives. And there is an eagerness to know more. We have seen above that the current state of teaching Christian antisemitism in training for Christian ministry is not far advanced. Even if it were, it would be a generation or so before such teaching filtered down to grass roots level in the majority of churches.

We have seen above that Paul shows Israel as remaining within the covenant for ever. In view of this, it is surprising that Christians have not applied the test of Gamaliel (Acts 5:34-40) to the Jews and Judaism. Christians who hold Scripture in high authority will accept the importance of these facts in determining the attitude that Christians ought to take towards Jews.

Because of this, I am proposing that the study day I am currently preparing be regarded as something of an experiment. It is my hope that it might be developed further in the light of experience gained on the day itself, and perhaps move towards future presentations. If sufficient energy is put into work along these lines, I would expect it to result in a greatly increased pace of awareness in Christian circles. As a secondary aim, it ought to be possible to develop awareness of modern-day Judaism, and encourage Christians to make contact with Jews through the CCJ. It is evident that we are only just at the beginnings of this kind of dialogue – there is much work to do. I suspect that as Jewish Christian dialogue reaches non-academic people at grass roots level, and from this comes a greater awareness of the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, there will be a profound change in our entire faith climate – a change for the better.

An Afterthought

To say that perseverance in Jewish Christian relations will bring a profound change in our faith climate is not enough. Some kind of vision for this change needs to be set out. In studying the Holocaust, Christians will inevitably be confronted with the “Suffering Servant” passages from Isaiah understood in a very different context from their old Christian teaching in which Jesus alone is seen as the suffering servant.

Perhaps it is time for Christians to begin to look at their best known scripture – John 3:16 – in Jewish light - perhaps we might think in terms of “God so loved the world that He gave His Firstborn son …” thus making the passage into a reference to Exodus 4:22[54]. Taken as a possibility for Jewish Christian relations, this approach would be unacceptable to most Christians at the present time. Given perseverance, we might begin to move towards it.

In another area, the vexed question of the Trinity has to be faced. If Christians begin to look more deeply at the various sayings in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the words of Jesus about the divinity of Humankind, we may find that this is an area in which Christians can begin to understand the divinity of Jesus in a marginally different way from their traditional approach[55]. The issue of human divinity is one which is common to both Jews and Christians. There may be a possibility for further dialogue here.

Bibliography

Braybrooke, Marcus – “Christian Jewish Dialogue, the next step” – London, SCM – 2000

Braybrooke, Marchs – “Time to Meet” – London SCM – 1990

Brockway et al, “The theology of the churches and the Jewish people” – Geneva, WCC - 1988

Cohn-Sherbock, Dan - "Issues in Contemporary Judaism" - London, MacMillan – 1991

Everett, Robert A. - "Christianity without Antisemitism" - 1993 - Oxford – Pergamon

Falk, Harvey – “Jesus the Pharisee” – New York, Paulist - 1985

Freudmann, Lillian C. "Antisemitism in the New Testament" – Maryland and London, UPA - 1994

Fry, Helen P (1996) Christian-Jewish Dialogue - a reader - Exeter: University of Exeter Press

Gager, John - "The Origins of Anti-Semitism" - New York - Oxford University Press - 1983

Gaston, Lloyd - "Paul and the Torah" -Vancouver, UBC - 1987

Jones, Gareth Lloyd, "Hard Sayings - Difficult New Testament Texts for Jewish Christian Dialogue, London, CCJ

Klein, Charlotte - "Anti-Judaism in Christian Theology" - London SPCK 1978

Lowe, M (Ed) – “The New Testament in Christian Jewish Dialogue” – Jerusalem, Ecumenical Research Fraternity, 1990

Rausch, David A. – “Fundamentalist-Evangelicals and Anti-Semitism” – Philadelphia, Trinity – 1993

Richardson, Peter (Ed) – “Anti Judaism in Early Christianity” – Vancouver, Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion – 1986, 1998

Robinson, John A. T. - "The priority of John" - London: SCM, 1985

Rubenstein, Richard with J. K. Roth – “Approaches to Auschwitz” – London, SCM – 1987

Sandmel, Samuel – “We Jews, You Christians” – Philadelphia, Lippincott - 1967

Schweitzer, Frederick M. – “A Histroy of the Jews” – 1971 – New York – Macmillan

Sian Jones (Editor), "Cultures of Ambivalence and Contempt: Studies in Jewish - Non-Jewish Relations" - London, Vallentine Mitchell - 1998

Parkes, James - "Antisemitism" - London, Vallentine Mitchell – 1963

Ruether, Rosemary - "Faith and Fratricide" - New York Seabury Press 1974

Rubenstein, Richard L with Roth, John K "Approaches to Auschwitz" - London SCM - 1987

Wilson, Stephen G. - "Related Strangers" - Minneapolis - Fortress – 1995

Web Sites of interest:

http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Christian.html

http://www.torah.org/features/secondlook/antisem.html

http://www.jcrelations.net/articl1/guidelines2.htm

http://www.jcrelations.net/articl1/byrne.htm

http://www.jcrelations.net/articl1/christjew.html

http://www.jcrelations.net/articl1/Christology.html

http://www.jcrelations.net/articl1/gaston.htm

http://www.jcrelations.net/articl1/gaston2.htm

http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/history/chicago.stm.txt

http://www.adherents.com/,

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_deno.htm

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/01a/20010221e.shtml

http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/history/chicago.stm.txt

Appendix a

Is Antisemitism Christian?

A day of reflection and study to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2002

* Holocaust Memorial day falls on January 27th - however, because of local events, we have chosen the previous weekend

Saturday January 19th 2002 commencing at 10.00 am in the Church Hall at the Arnold United Reformed Church, Calverton Road, Arnold.

The day will commence with a look at antisemitism in the many forms it takes. We will be looking in particular about the rôle of Christianity in inciting antisemitism, and its involvement in the persecution, torture and murder of Jews in many periods of history. We will also consider the attitude of different parts of the church before and during the Holocaust. An important part of the day will be spent studying the Bible. Paul's letter to the Romans, chapters nine ten and eleven are of great importance in this study, and participants will need to be familiar with them beforehand.

It will also be helpful to have read some of the passages in which God makes His covenant with the Jews, and perhaps also Paul's letter to the Galatians. Commentaries vary greatly on how they treat Paul and his attitude towards Jews - it might be more helpful to read the text prayerfully and let it speak for itself than to spend time with commentaries.

Practical arrangements:

Tea or coffee will be provided at lunchtime. Bring your own packed lunch. We expect to finish at 4.30 pm with a brief act of worship. Limited car parking is available at the church.

Outline of the work:

After a brief introductory talk, we will form small discussion groups to look at our knowledge of Jews and Judaism, what we have heard about them and stereotypes (good and bad) that we might have come across. We will also discuss what we understand Jews believe, and how we understand the expression of their faith.

The second talk will be on the antisemitic side of early church history. This will be followed by more group work to discuss examples of the way in which early Christian teaching has adversely affected the Christian attitude towards Jews in the modern world. After lunch, we will dip briefly into the part the church played in the persecution of the Jews from mediaeval times up to the present day. Each talk will be followed by group discussion work. The day will end with a short act of worship.

Appendix b

A Sermon for Holocaust Memorial Day

Is Antisemitism Christian?

“And so I believe to-day that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator. In standing guard against the Jew I am defending the handiwork of the Lord. “

These are the words at the end of chapter two of Mein Kampf. Some of you would want to say that Adolf Hitler was mad – others that he was possessed. But I ask, what was the Christian climate of his day that allowed him to say that he was doing God’s work in taking antisemitism to the unbelievable extremes of Auschwitz? What was the climate that encouraged mechanised murder on such an unprecedented scale?

Let me offer two more quotations – the first was something said to a Jewish leader in 1942: “You will not die there of hunger or disease. They will slaughter all of you there, old and young alike; women and children – it is the punishment that you deserve for the death of our Lord and redeemer, Jesus Christ[56]”. This was no fanatic – this was not the German Führer at his worst – these were the words of an archbishop of the church.

One more quotation: “The Jewish minority within the Polish government cannot be tolerated, because the nation fears it”. Later, challenged about what he had said, the speaker affirmed his statement: “I said aloud what the Polish nation is thinking. Not by mistake, but out of conviction[57]. A politician? A fanatic from the extreme right? Another wartime example? No – this was a statement by a Christian priest made in 1997. Is antisemitism Christian? That is the question I ask. And the answer is ‘Yes’. Christianity has incited the world to antisemitism throughout its long and iniquitous history. And I say now that it is time for it to stop. It is time for us to listen to our Lord and Saviour Jesus - to Jesus the Jew - and to root out all the lies, the propaganda and the wicked, wicked seeds of hate that have blighted our Christian history from the very beginning. You will, no doubt, point out to me Dietrich Bonhoeffer and a handful of other remarkable and brave Christian saints from the last war. Believe me, they are a tiny minority. Most of the church was either solidly behind Hitler, or was just carried along with his policies without so much as a word. And there are more than six million dead Jews who will one day testify to that!

We’ve heard in the first of our readings tonight that God made a covenant with the sons and daughters of Israel[58]. This was to be a lasting covenant. It will not end this side of eternity. We have heard in the words of the Apostle Paul that God has in no way rejected His people, or for that matter, the law that He gave them on mount Sinai. And we have heard in the gospel reading that Jesus came not for us gentiles, but for the Children of Israel. How then can we go along with the antisemitism with which our church has soiled itself until recently?

I could give you quote after quote after quote – from the early church fathers, from the church in the middle ages, and from the reformers. And all of those quotes would be violently, obscenely antisemitic. I can distil them all into one sharp sentence. "The Jews killed God – they crucified Him – and they all deserve to die – every last one of them!" None of us can look at another denomination than our own, and place the blame on it – this is something in which we all share.

And it is not even true. It’s a lie. A fabrication. A piece of really malicious propaganda. The Jews didn’t kill Jesus – our bible tells us that the Romans did. And if you want to say that the Jews put them up to it, look again. Some Jews – and only some Jews - took part. And they – all of them - have been dead for many a century. You might want to point to that dreadful blood oath in Matthew’s gospel - I quote: “Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’” How many generations have there been in which we have condemned the children of Israel? Where would be the loving, forgiving God that Jesus came to show us if those words have brought condemnation on Jews for nearly two thousand years. And did not that wonderful saying from the agonised, crucified Jesus: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” cover all those who were involved?

This is the faith which we have inherited. A faith bloodied with the lives of millions of Jews – a faith contaminated – a faith a million miles away from the teachings of our beloved Saviour Jesus. We have seen the awful conclusion to the distortion of that faith – we have seen the awful horror – we have seen the destruction of six million of God’s own chosen people. And it could happen again. It could happen tomorrow unless we are prepared to read our bibles and understand – and be prepared to purge our Christian faith of antisemitism for once and for all.

It is we – we of this present generation – who have to face up to the errors of the past. It is we who have to change. But the benefit to us when we do take a long hard look at our elder brother, the Jew, is going to be pure gold. You may have been taught – as I was - that present day Judaism – the religious faith of the Jews – is nothing more than a barren legalism. That teaching couldn't be further from the truth. When we meet the Jews and listen to them, we soon begin to see that many of them have a depth of faith in Almighty God that surpasses that of a great many Christians. We find that present day Judaism is alive, and deeply spiritual. And when we listen to the rabbis, and read the wisdom that is handed down to us in the Mishnah and the Talmud, light begins to dawn on much of our bible that never was there before. And it is not only the Jewish bible that comes alive – we begin to read the gospels and the letters of our Christian scriptures in a different way too. Paul takes on a new light when we read him as Paul the Jew; when we soak ourselves in the traditions of his people. And the teachings of our Master himself take on an even greater authority than they had before when we see them through the lens of the Jewish Torah.

Even our most treasured translations of Holy Scripture will need to be questioned when we carry out further reading and meet with Jews in discussion. I want to give just one tiny example: Open your bible at Luke Chapter 20 and verse 46. You probably have something similar to: "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the market-places and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets"[59]. This same passage may equally well be rendered: "Be on your guard against those scribes who like to walk about in long robes, and love salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at feasts [60]“. Can you see the difference? Why do I suggest that the second translation is more probably what Jesus had in mind? Because it is very similar to two passages in the Talmud that condemn hypocrites. And these are very likely to be sayings that were current at the time of Jesus. And why, in that case, is the first translation more commonly offered? Because the antisemitic tradition deeply embedded in our own Christian teachings suggests that all Jews were (and are) bad – but especially so when they were Scribes and Pharisees. And the bible just does not bear this out. Look how many Pharisees we see in our bible who were good men, and friends of Jesus.

So – where do we begin? I have issued a challenge here – one which may strike deeply at a part of our Christian foundations. We might want to begin by joining the Council for Christians and Jews – but if we do that, let us not fall into the trap of regarding the Jews we might meet as fodder for our weapons of conversion. Be prepared for dialogue. Be prepared to listen, and to learn. They have much to teach all of us. We might, if we are at all academically inclined, want to pick up a few books. I will be happy to point you in the right direction. But above all, be very wary of what you tell people about Jews, and especially Scribes and Pharisees at the time of our Lord. When you have read a few books by Jews about their history; when you have spoken to a few Jews and listened to what they have to say about their own problems – their own experience of persecution – then you might want to change your position.

Let me end with a brief fantasy[61]. I told you that the holocaust could happen again tomorrow if we don’t take steps to prevent it. In July, I was privileged to attend a Summer School in Jewish-Christian relations in Poland. During that time, we visited several Jewish cemeteries from before world war two, and we also visited Auschwitz. One might expect that the experience of Auschwitz was shattering. It was. No one can possibly describe the horror of actually going to that awful place. No amount of reading, or even viewing pictorial evidence can prepare you. But Auschwitz was not the only profoundly emotive experience.

The second of the Jewish cemeteries that we visited had been subjected to little by way of restoration. Many smashed and prone gravestones are there to be seen. The knowledge that the Nazis destroyed Jewish cemeteries is one thing. The terrible reality of a vandalised graveyard is quite another. It was in that cemetery that I experienced a kind of fantasy, a sort of waking dream. We had been told that several hundred Jews had been shot dead in that place. Murdered by the Nazi military under orders and buried in a mass grave. In my fantasy, I was there as a young soldier. How did it feel? I was feeling a great satisfaction in having assisted in purging Europe from the evil of the Jews. There was a sense of having done well for the Fatherland, and having (yes, even this) of having done God’s work.

The fantasy took seconds: the after effects of that fantasy will take a lifetime to review. How much does that brief fantasy reflect thousands of young German soldiers in they way they behaved? How much does the knowledge – and yes – it is knowledge – that any of us could have been caught up in the awful horror that is the Holocaust in that selfsame way? Jesus, the most famous Jew that ever lived, said of his persecutors “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. In the light of my fantasy, I have to see that statement again – and in a different light. I can’t even thank God that I was not there – that I was not of that generation – the reality is that had I been, I would have acted just as they had!

As we continue with our worship – as we move into a time of penitence – let all of us make up, our minds that we will take up this challenge, and change the church. Let us be determined to destroy forever the antisemitic legacy that we have in our midst.