Basis of Christianity is bloodily sodden with hatred of the Jews (Leading Belfast journo on Passion)

The Belfast Telegraph ^ | 04 March 2004 | Eamonn McCann

[Joblie]

MEL GIBSON says that his film, The Passion of the Christ, is a faithful representation of the biblical story of Jesus' trial and execution. He also says the movie isn't anti-Semitic. He cannot be right on both counts.

The New Testament is, among other things, an anti-Semitic tract. It is the source of the anti-Semitism which has characterised Christianity for two millennia.

If the film isn't anti-Semitic, it's out of line with the Gospel. In face of complaints from US Jewish leaders, Gibson removed from the film's sub-titles - although not from the Aramaic sound-track - the response of the Jews to Pilate's hand-washing disavowal of blame for sending Jesus to be crucified: "His blood be upon us and our children."

But why? The quote is there in Matthew 27:25. Its meaning is clear and has been fulfilled in unspeakable ways down the ages.

Luke 23:28-29 gives the same point a more vicious twist, depicting Jesus telling weeping women he encounters on the Way of the Cross: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me but for yourselves and your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!'"

Better for Jews that they'd never been born, then.

There's been no shortage of Christians ever since to ram this murderous message home to Jewish neighbours.

John's Gospel (8:44) has Jesus telling the Jews they are descended neither from God nor from Abraham but are children of the Devil.

The early Fathers of the Church took inspiration from the Bible as they preached hatred of the Jews.

In the works of Tertullian, Justin, John Chrysostom, etc., Jews are relentlessly libelled... the obscene Jew, the Satanic Jew, the murderer-of-God Jew, the whoremonger Jew, etc.

And so it continued. Pope after Pope, Council after Council, confirmed and codified the subhuman status of the Jews.

Every century is pock-marked by examples. (Council of Toledo, 694: Jews living in Spain declared slaves, possessions confiscated, all children removed from them at seven and prepared for marriage to Christians.)

Hitler didn't suck the idea of Jews wearing yellow badges out of his thumb. He took it from the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215.

The Nazi persecution can be seen as a practical expression of traditional Christian attitudes to Jews.

"From the beginning until the end of Hitler's rule, the bishops never tired of admonishing the faithful to accept his government," Guenter Lewy recalled in "The Catholic Church and Nazi Germany."

Individual Catholic clerics who opposed the Nazis' anti-Semitism were a tiny minority, totally unrepresentative.

Catholic apologists concede now that the Vatican and the German bishops should have given stronger, more courageous leadership.

But this is dodging the issue. One of the reasons they didn't is that, by and large, they agreed with the Nazis.

From its beginning, Protestantism was as bad. The editor of the Nazi hate-sheet "Der Sturmer," Julius Streich, cited Martin Luther, reasonably, in a plea of justification at Nuremberg.

In his disgusting treatise "On the Jews and their Lies" in 1543, Luther had called for the fire-bombing of synagogues, the demolition of Jewish homes, the silencing of rabbis, the banning of Jews from public places, the confiscation of Jewish property and the enslavement of "all strong young Jews and Jewesses."

Christian hymns provided the theme music for the Holocaust.

Even after the gates were flung open on the horrors of Auschwitz, Christian teachers, in Ireland as elsewhere, continued to instruct infants that the scattering of the Jews and the persecutions they endured were punishment for the killing of the Christ.

Argument over Gibson's blockbuster gore-fest diverts attention from what's important.

If the film fuels anti-Semitism, it's to be condemned, irrespective of its merits as a movie.

But let's not allow a satisfying controversy obscure the fact that the founding text of Christianity is bloodily sodden with hatred of Jews.

[henderson field]

Jesus was a jew like George Washington was an Englishman. When Jesus was born as the Son of God, he became a Christian. When George Washington pledged his life to the United States he became an American.

[eleni121]

The early Christian fathers responded to the anger and viciousness against the Christians by not only the Pagans but also by Jews (of course not all). The first Christian martyr St. Stephen was stoned to death by Jews.

Today we see anti Christian hatred and violence all over the world including in the US led by the rabid secularists many of whom are Jews along with their so-called Christian allies. They are bound and determined to force Christians into hiding.

[AmishDude]

There are only 13 million Jews. Thirteen million is a pittance!

Then perhaps it would be best not to unnecessarily isolate onesself.

[henderson field]

The right thing to do, when you come to America, when you are a guest of America, when you benefit from what others have created in America, is to convert to the Protestant Christian religion. We are waiting and hoping for the jews to do that.

[DestroytheDemocrats]

"I am Christian and it is Chirst you have a bone to pick with but you don't have the courage to take him on with his own WORDS. By the way you will have to start in Genesis, the beginning to take Christ on. "

I am a Catholic Christian. I was educated in Catholic schools for 12 years which means Sunday school EVERY school day. I know my bible and I go to mass every Sunday. I don't know why just taking an article and pointing out everything in that is true but unflattering to Christians is having a bone to pick with Christ.

[Just mythoughts]

I'm sorry you are a "Wolf in sheep's " clothing.

and further more you don't have a clue what is written else you would not need to bait and switch like you have the past two days.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The right thing to do, when you come to America, when you are a guest of America, when you benefit from what others have created in America, is to convert to the Protestant Christian religion. We are waiting and hoping for the Jews to do that.

They won't, especially with that kind of attitude, and I won't. And by the way, what is this, "Protestant Christian religion" of which you speak? Lutheran? Anglican? Methodist? Baptist?

[eleni121]

St. John Chrysostom was not an anti semite. His works have been mischaracterized and mislabled. He was in fact an admirer of the hardiness of the Jewish people but spoke against the Judaizers of the early Christians.

[freebilly]

No

[DestroytheDemocrats]

"Responsibility is individual. The Roman church and its successors in the mainline Protestant community engaged in many actions that fly in the face of the Christian message of the New Testiment."

True.

"We might have been equally guilty if we had been there."

True. And let us NEVER EVER forget this point.

"but we were not--and today, the clear message from the Christian community to the Jews is one of love and support at every level."

True and well put.

[freebilly]

You've one strange agenda.

[Agnes Heep]

You have shown up on almost every thread about this movie to denigrate Christians. Whatever your problem is with the faith, sir (I remember that you are a man, you see), I respectfully request that you quit the attacks. You aren't winning converts and are stirring up a level of animosity that isn't necessary.

What I stated: That might not be a bad thing, considering that the minute you came out of them [the catacombs] you started cutting each other's throats.

That's not an attack. It's a statement of irrefutable fact, calculated to show that Christians--especially the ones "attacking" every individual, no matter how sincere, who dislikes their precious Mel Gibson offering--ought to show a bit more humility.

[DestroytheDemocrats]

"Then if the problem is misreading and abuse of the texts then why don't you spend your time in pointing out the misreadings and abuse from the original so then you can set us straight. Start in Genesis with that word "touch"."

The writer of the article does not need a bible exegete. Or the EVERYBODY DOES IT (all religions have bad people in them) defensive speil. He needs reasurrance that we are sorry for all the sins of the past and present comitted by Christians.

[Just mythoughts]

"What I stated: That might not be a bad thing, considering that the minute you came out of them [the catacombs] you started cutting each other's throats.

That's not an attack. It's a statement of irrefutable fact, calculated to show that Christians--especially the ones "attacking" every individual, no matter how sincere, who dislikes their precious Mel Gibson offering--ought to show a bit more humility."

What exactly do you expect Christians to do given what they are taught. Who is stirring the pot, pointing fingers of blame of thousands of years and yet think they have the "authority" to demand words written in the Gospel removed.

You see it was not the Christians that brought my attention to Mel and his movie. So you may have cause in some specific instances to castigate Christians, you have missed the agenda.

[Just mythoughts]

Right, those sinning Christians. Clean up your own sins, repent.

Interesting how long it has taken you to declare yourself a Christian Catholic, when did you decide to come clean?

[DestroytheDemocrats]

"Eamonn Mccann was part of the Bloody Sunday march in Belfast in 1972. He's been a well known Marxist ever since."

Yuck. Still most, (not all) of what he wrote was factually true. We gave him the ammunition by our past bad actions. It is the same way with the slavery issue. We would love to have these issued resolved and forgotten and not thrown n our faces. After all OUR generation did not do all those terrible things. Yet who among us can say that we would not have held slaves if we lived in that era?

These kinds of attacks I see as kind of a penance that we must still expiate. And how bad is that penance really? American Christians have a better life than any people in the world. I do get so sick of right wing Christians griping about how bad we have it and equating attacks on bad Christian behavoir as attacks on Jesus.

[tuckrdout]

The founding Text of Christianity is bloodily sodden....with the blood of Jewish men--who spilled that blood for their brother's salvation. This man is horribly ignorant. The Gospels are clear, that Jesus came as the Messiah of the Jews. His blood was spilled FOR the salvation of the Jews. And many Jews accepted that salvation.

All of the first followers of Jesus were Jews. Paul was even a religious Jew.

The New Testament NEVER advocates killing anyone...especially the children of Abraham! If people use Jesus as an excuse to kill anyone they are acting AGAINST the teachings of Christ. The "founding text" never, ever says to kill those who do not convert. This is the big difference between Christianity and most world religions.

Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves....not blow up our neighbor with ourselves!

[DestroytheDemocrats]

"What I stated: That might not be a bad thing, considering that the minute you came out of them [the catacombs] you started cutting each other's throats."

Well that is hyperbole of course but it is true. St Paul had to constantly admondish Christians toward unity. There were many sects and offshoots in competion with one another.

[Just mythoughts]

Paul was a Roman citizen and from the TRIBE of Benjamin.

Romans 11:1 Paul's own words

I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Benjamin was born in Bethlehem.

There were 12 tribes, 2 Houses, House of Israel = 10 tribes == Christ called the "lost sheep"
House of Judah, Judah and Benjamin and some from Levi the priest tribe.

As it is written these two HOUSES will not be rejoined until Christ returns. HAS not happened yet!

[Salman]

Well I'm Jewish and I saw the movie. I thought it was too violent for the many small children whose parents took them, but otherwise I found it unobjectionable. It was a good movie.

Yes some of the bad guys were Jews. So were *all* of the good guys. There wasn't a decent Gentile in the whole movie.