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Should all Christians repent for anti-Semitism? If so, how?

Should all Christians repent for anti-Semitism? If so, how?. Holy Week is historically a time when there is an increase of anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes. How can our study of scripture help us to fight anti-Semitism?. Hieronymus Bosch. Christ Carrying the Cross. 1490.

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Should all Christians repent for anti-Semitism? If so, how?

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  1. Should all Christians repent for anti-Semitism? If so, how? • Holy Week is historically a time when there is an increase of anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes. • How can our study of scripture help us to fight anti-Semitism? Hieronymus Bosch. Christ Carrying the Cross. 1490.

  2. Holocaust CommemorationPrayer Prelude • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx5ZMcYBHm0 Never Again!

  3. In a visit to Jerusalem and the Wailing Wall, Pope John Paul II prayed that: ”God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your name to the nations. We are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer.And asking your forgiveness, we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the covenant.” Prayer of John Paul II

  4. Taking Responsibility for Anti-Semitism Although there were many courageous and righteous Christians that opposed Fascism and the anti-Semitism in the early half of the 20th Century, Christianity was used to fuel the anti-Semitism of the Nazis. Moreover, anti-Semitism spread due to either the active participation or apathy of Christians. Unfortunately, this sprung from centuries of anti-Semitism. Understanding that history is one place to take responsibility. "Priest and Rabbi" by David Olere

  5. Jewish-Christian Timeline Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt

  6. Early Christian Leadership (Christians were still the Minority) 1. “Do you have to be a Jew to be a Christian?” - Council of Jerusalem - Christians begin to seek gentiles as converts - conversion of Jews in large numbers only an aspiration, not a reality Note: By the fourth century, the Catholic Church had decreed that it was heresy to practice the mosaic law. 2. “Is the Hebrew Bible part of our sacred text?” - Catholic Old Testament vs. Hebrew Bible 3. “Is the land of Israel our Holy Land?” - Crusades 4. “Should Jews be permitted to live as Jews under Christian rule?” Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt

  7. Augustine • Jews should be allowed to remain in Christian realm • They serve a positive function to Christian life • “guardians of scripture” • constant reminder of Christ’s death • examples of those who defy God and are punished Results of Augustine: 1. Jews must be kept alive and around Christians 2. Jews must live beneath the status of Christians St. Augustine Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt

  8. Massacre in the Rhineland, 1096 CE • Represents a new trend in persecutions of the Jews • Massacre of Jews as the Crusaders of Pope Urban II march through Europe toward Holy Land • Local rulers and the Emperor of Rome declared that Jews remain unharmed • Crusaders rationalize that both Islamic infidels and Jewish “murderers” deserve death "The Last Way" by Chaim Goldleeng Note: lower levels of Christian society proved uncontrollable and not always representative of official church doctrine Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt

  9. St. William of Norwich, 1144 • A Christian boy named William was supposedly killed by Jews who were performing a ritual sacrifice of a Christian child (murder of Christ by Jews) • Led to charges of ritual murder and conspiracy • Rumors of conspiracy spread all over Europe Note: Hysteria created by these charges create atmosphere where something similar to the “Final Solution” of Hitler might have been possible in Middle Ages “Both the Crusader violence and the ritual murder libels originated in lower levels of Christian society and persisted despite condemnation by leading spokesmen for the church.” - Saperstein “Blood Libel” Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt

  10. A Shift In the Treatment of the Jews in Medieval Christendom 1. Fear of Muslim expansion translates to fear of Jews 2. Franciscans and Dominicans overturn Augustine’s doctrine of toleration and replace it with a doctrine of persecution 3. Economic shift from trading and providing services to providing financial services such as banking - Christians shift blame to Jews for participating in same economic system not yet accepted as moral 4. Europe needed and used persecution to advance from 12th Century to Modern World Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt

  11. How should righteous gentiles respond?

  12. Possible Christian Courses of Action Mending the Divide • Refute the charge of Deicide • Repudiate anti-Semitism • Repent/atone in the wake of the Holocaust • More accurately teach about Jews and Judaism in the practice of Christian education • Affirm that the historical Jesus and the original Apostles were Jewish. • Interpret difficult biblical passages in context. Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt

  13. Nostra AetateRepudiating Anti-Semitism Pope Paul VI in a 1965 declaration called the Nostra Aetate says that the Catholic Church is spiritually tied to “Abraham’s stock.” The Nostra Aetate also tells that God still holds the Jewish people close to him because of their ancestral “Fathers.” Paul VI, in addition states that the death of Christ cannot and should not be attributed to Jews today.The Nostra Aetate also condemns all persecutions, feelings of anti-Semitism, and hatred of all Jews past and present. Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt#271,30,Contemporary Christian Perspectives Concerning Jewish Relations

  14. John Paul II is greeted by Rabbi Elio Toaff, Chief Rabbi of Rome, during the pope's landmark visit to the great Synagogue of Rome, where he referred to the Jewish people as the "elder brothers" of Christians (1986). When John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, at the age of 84, he made one final gesture to the Jews when he mentioned “the rabbi of Rome.” Toaff and John Paul’s longtime secretary were the only living people mentioned in the will. Toaff called the reference a “significant and profound gesture for Jews” and “an indication to the Catholic world.” John Paul, he said, “wanted to indicate a road aimed at further destroying all the obstacles that have divided Jews and Christians through the centuries.” The First Modern Pope to Pray in a Synagogue Adapted from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/johnpaul.html

  15. Affirm that Jesus Was Jewish Pope John Paul II in an address to clergy and lay people in America in 1999 emphasized a need for respect of the Jewish faith, reminding Catholics in America that “the history of salvation makes clear our special relationship with the Jewish people”. The Pope also stated that Jesus belonged to the Jewish people, and his Church was founded with Jewish roots. Adapted from http://www.nd.edu/~jlawrenc/Projects/Spring2003/JXtnRlns.ppt#271,30,Contemporary Christian Perspectives Concerning Jewish Relations

  16. Jesus Barabbas vs. Jesus the Messiah Matthew 27: 15-26 15 Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called (Jesus) Barabbas. 17 So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, "Which one do you want me to release to you, (Jesus) Barabbas*, or Jesus called Messiah?" 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over. 19 While he was still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a message, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him." 20 The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus. 21 The governor said to them in reply, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They answered, "Barabbas!" 22 Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!" 23 But he said, "Why? What evil has he done?" They only shouted the louder, "Let him be crucified!" 24 When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. Look to it yourselves." 25 And the whole people said in reply, "His blood be upon us and upon our children." ** 26 Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified. *[Jesus] Barabbas: it is possible that the double name is the original reading; Jesus was a common Jewish name. The Aramaic name Barabbas means "son of the father"; the irony of the choice offered between him and Jesus, the true son of the Father, would be evident to those addressees of Matthew who knew that. **The controversy between Matthew's church and Pharisaic Judaism about which was the true people of God is reflected here. As the Second Vatican Council has pointed out, guilt for Jesus' death is not attributable to all the Jews of his time or to any Jews of later times.

  17. John’s Treatment of the Jews John’s community has become separated from mainstream Judaism; John lays the blame for Jesus’ death on “the Jews” “Exodus” by Marc Chagall - Adapted from Mr. Evans

  18. John’s Treatment of “the Jews” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. - John 9:22 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. - John 16: 2-3 “The Martyrdom of St. Stephen” by Bernardo Daddi in 1324. - Adapted from Mr. Evans

  19. John’s Treatment of the Jews “So the band of soldiers and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who has counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.” -John 18:12-14 The Taking of the Christ by Caravaggio - Adapted from Mr. Evans

  20. John’s Treatment of the Jews “The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of G-d.’ When Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid.” - John 19:7-8 - Adapted from Mr. Evans

  21. John’s Treatment of “the Jews” “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.” - John 18:36 “Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, ‘If you release him, you are not a friend of Caesar.’” - John 19:12 - Adapted from Mr. Evans

  22. Tenebrae:The Shadows of Christian Discipleship "The Yellow Crucifixion" (1943) Marc Chagall

  23. Pray for Greater Unity and Understanding During Holy Week and Passover "The White Crucifixion" (1938) Marc Chagall

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