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Posted on 04/05/2004 4:45:35 PM PDT by presidio9
AUGUSTA -- As Christians and Jews enter a week marked by its religious significance, their leaders are using the hype generated by Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" as a way to spark dialogue between two faiths some say have drifted apart.
In Augusta, Rabbi Susan Bulba Carvutto of Temple Beth El is using the film to close the growing gap between the faiths.
Bulba Carvutto has seen "The Passion" twice. Both times she watched the movie with religious leaders representing other faiths.
The Rabbi called the film a "jumping-off point for a lot of interfaith dialogue," and she already has acted on her words.
Bulba Carvutto has invited two families from St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Gardiner to celebrate a Seder -- a banquet, one of the most widely observed Jewish religious traditions, that celebrates the Exodus -- with members of her congregation Tuesday. She also delivered a sermon about the film at Temple Beth El on Friday.
Her actions reflect a growing national trend.
"The Passion" has caused controversy because of the way it depicts Jews. Since its recent release, many Jewish leaders have welcomed the chance to talk with members of other faiths about the film. Many of those leaders have watched the film alongside clergy representing other faiths.
Some see Gibson's film, which depicts the final hours of Jesus Christ, as the perfect conversation piece this week, as Christians observe the death and resurrection of Christ and Jews commemorate the Israelites' flight from Egypt.
As the Jewish holiday of Passover begins at sundown Monday and Christians observe Holy Week, leaders of both religions say more must be done to build connections between them.
"The ongoing work has slowed down tremendously," said Rabbi Leon Klenicki, a 30-year veteran of interfaith outreach with the Anti-Defamation League.
One sign of the times: The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League are now the only major Jewish organizations with full-time interfaith relations people on staff, experts say.
Jewish success assimilating into American culture is a main reason for that, said Rabbi James Rudin, who worked for 32 years as the head of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee. As Jews focused inward -- on issues such as religious education and intermarriage -- national agencies responded by trimming their outreach programs, he said.
"Many Jews saw interreligious (work) as a way to fully integrate into the American mainstream. Younger people think this has been done," Rudin said. "I think that's unfortunate. I think the work is so important."
Meanwhile, Christians have been struggling with their own troubles -- involving homosexuality and, for some mainline Protestant denominations, steadily declining membership.
Top American evangelical and Jewish leaders generally disagree on domestic issues and have little formal dialogue, even as the Israeli government honors religious-right figures such as Pat Robertson for their support. The Jewish willingness to work with Christian conservatives on Israel has further alienated liberals.
Still, when the controversy about Gibson's film erupted, most U.S. Christian leaders, including the Rev. Franklin Graham, put aside any differences with Jews and responded to their concerns. They told their adherents that Jews could not be blamed collectively for killing Jesus.
David Elcott, director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, likes to raise this point in his meetings with Jews.
He contends they focus too much on anti-Semitism in interfaith dialogue, making prejudice the main issue instead of religion, no matter how much their Christian counterparts denounce past wrongs and apologize.
"All the churches bent over backwards to say it's a sin to say Jews killed Jesus," Elcott recently told a group of Jewish community leaders in New Haven, Conn., as they discussed Gibson's movie. "If Christians say, 'We are not anti-Semitic any longer,' can we believe them?"
Elcott thinks the answer should be yes, otherwise fear -- however well-founded -- will cost Jews a historic chance for reconciliation. He has been traveling the country to say so, at near-nightly interfaith events about the movie.
"Both sides are diminished by the loss of conversation," Elcott said. "I'm taking steps to assure them that our passion for peace is real."
Bulba Carvutto said she hopes Gibson's "Passion" will jump-start conversation between Christians and Jews.
"Given that (the movie) is a phenomenon, I'm hoping we can turn it into a useful one," she said.
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Yes yes, people who's full time job is to second guess, impugn, and lay guilt trips on people. There aren't too many organizations that would pay a salary for that other than the ADL.
Jewish success assimilating into sterilizing public Christian American culture is a main reason for that, said Rabbi James Rudin, who worked for 32 years as the head of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee.
"All the churches bent over backwards to say it's a sin to say Jews killed Jesus," Elcott recently told a group of Jewish community leaders in New Haven, Conn., as they discussed Gibson's movie. "If Christians say, 'We are not anti-Semitic any longer,' can we believe them?" Elcott thinks the answer should be yes, otherwise fear -- however well-founded -- will cost Jews a historic chance for reconciliation. He has been traveling the country to say so, at near-nightly interfaith events about the movie.
The only thing costing Jews anything is this endless, whiney kvetching and the credability and relevance of Jews screaming "hate monger" at all Christians through the failed attempts to tank this film. These "interrelgious" conferences have always been a way for a whole lot of cries of being a Victim, but not alot of listening and seeking common ground those involved claim they want.
"When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this." Acts 3:12-15
See "Historians and Scholars" now believe the crowd was undoubtly mostly woman, and that makes the New Testament story of this unlikely. Blah blah your faith is ignorant blah.
According to ABC and Peter Jennings, its uncertain if there was even a "St Luke" he was more likely just a symbolic amalgym of differnent people, some interpretations by scholars say the word "Luke" actually means "false" or "Luk" meaning to persecute unjustly. /sarcasm. These people make me sick.
Actually, I'm pretty good at BSing like these people, and I wasn't even trying. Say...I should become a Biblical Scholar! What an easy job.
No one can say.
or did the conspirators make him up as the recipient of Luke's Gospel, in order to make the wold thing more believable?
Many scholars believe this not to be the case.
When this Amalgam got together earlier to write Acts
A growing number of historians actually think it was written much later, by anti Semetic pagans in Rome excusing the bondage of the Jewish people.
were they even then planning on writing a Gospel at some later date?A growing number say as late as the Spanish Inquisition, in order to further bolster the authenticity of the authorities to hurt the poor.
See how easy this is? Not a shread of proof, just nit pick and poo poo, its not even hard. And if anybody challenges you on your facts, just call them a bigot and an uninformed fundamentalist. Works every time at college.
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