Jewish tendencies in the West / 09.05.2004
Many western theologians are charmed by Judaism and Jews. One of the great pontiffs called the Jews “older brothers”. They consider that the Old Testament still legitimizes Jews to be God’s people although our fathers have all said that the Church is the new Israel and that the legitimate covenant is now between God and the Church through Jesus’ blood.
This approach exists since exactly ninety years; however it became clearer after the Jews’ massacre during Hitler’s era in World War Two. This massacre created complications for western Christians although only one man committed it. Western Christianity, in clear texts, has condemned racial differentiation and also condemned the slaughter of these Jews. How could one incident, regardless of its cruelness that can’t be imagined, make such a deviation in western theology from what we inherited from our holy fathers knowing that our theological positions are based on God’s word only and not on a certain incident?
One of the signs of this Jewish tendency is a document from the Second Vatican Council in mid sixties that said “For what happened during the Savior’s passions we cannot blame all Jews in that time or the Jews of our time”. Our response to this is that the bible wasn’t interested in exonerating any group from the aspect of the penal code, and its position wasn’t that of a detective. When the Jews said: “His blood is on us and on our children”, they were aware that the nation of Jews is the one killing the Lord and Caiaphas was talking in its name. Also, when the prophets used to say that Israel is sinning, they talked about all Israel and they didn’t exclude individuals. In addition to Jews, the entire humanity is guilty towards Jesus and cannot be exonerated with a council document but through its repentance and accepting baptism. No one can speak on behalf of the Lord and give people a certificate of good behavior.
Moreover, the French historian Jules Isaac had a conversation that lasted several years with Pope Pius XII to convince him to enhance the relation between the Catholic Church and Jews. Western Christianity entered a state of regret for what it did to Jews in the middle Ages. They should regret, however they also killed a lot of Muslims in Spain and Christians in the West and Orthodox Christians during the crusades until the current pope apologized for that recently. However, the thing that dominated western Christianity is apologizing from Jews.
I didn’t talk yet about cinema, which is full of Jewish symbols. I also didn’t mention yet the scenes of half nude models hanging big crosses from their necks as a reference to that nudity is for Christians.
In addition to that, there is a big show on the French-German television “Arte” called “Corpus Christi” (Christ’s body), where Catholic and Evangelical ministers with Rabbis especially from the Hebraic University were invited. In this show, and in the name of history as a science, there is a distortion for the bible and a refutation of the entire Christian heritage that talks about the Savior. In this show there are interpretations based on assumptions; there is also a concentration on “Jesus’ brothers”, the thing that is known for our fathers as Jesus’ relatives as the expression “brother” in Hebrew includes first cousins. This concentration aims to doubt Mary’s virginity.
This television is presenting now a show about the emergence of Christianity that aims to prove that Christ’s preaching is a Jewish action and that Jesus’ Christianity could be considered a group of Judaism until Paul (and not Jesus) came and established the Christianity we know. Some of the speakers here are also scholars from the Hebraic University in Jerusalem.
This is why the Latin Church has cancelled from its Holy week’s rituals phrases that accuse the Jews of killing Christ. Western thinking started saying that the Romans, and not Jews, are responsible for killing the Lord even though the Jews are the ones that made the plot, accused Jesus of blasphemy and took him to Pilate Pontius. They are also the ones that said: Crucify him, crucify him.
Westerns stressed on Christ’s physical Jewish origins. However, Paul says: “We do not know now Christ in body but in spirit”. What really matters for us is that he is the incarnated Word of God that is over all races and kinds. We know him as the savior of the world, and his believers came to him from the Jews and pagans, and most Christians are from Pagan origins and have no relation with Moses’ law that the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem liberated us from. When will our western brothers be guided to Christ in the way our common fathers saw him before this illusive wave started?!
Translated by Mark Najjar
Original Text: “ميول يهودية في الغرب” –Raiati no19- 09.05.2004
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