Posted on 04/29/2013 6:50:30 AM PDT by Cronos
..it was the Christians who refined anti-Judaism into a core theological and political ideology. Christianity had a particular problem: to show that it had overcome Judaism — overcome its adherence to the laws of the “old” testament, overcome its tribal particularity with evangelical universalism. The idea of Judaism — together with the fact that there were still people in the world who chose to remain Jews — was an affront to that universalism.
...a struggle against the “Jews.” The quotation marks are especially important as his account moves beyond the medieval period, because between 1400 and 1600 Western Europe was more or less “a world free of Jews.” Banished from most countries, and existing only in the tiniest numbers through special exemptions, actual Jews were hardly ever seen.
Martin Luther brought this rhetoric to a fever pitch. In 1523 he accused the Roman Church of becoming “more ‘Jewish’ than the Jews,” and as he grew older he tried to convince his contemporaries that “so thoroughly hopeless, mean, poisonous, and bedeviled a thing are the Jews that for 1400 years they have been, and continue to be, our plague, pestilence, and all that is our misfortune.” Don’t believe in conversions, the aged Luther urged; the only way to baptize Jews was by tying millstones around their necks.
... He shows that many of the important conceptual and aesthetic developments in that culture — from Saint John to Saint Augustine to Muhammad, from Shakespeare to Luther to Hegel — depend on denigrating Jews.That’s what’s so chilling: great cultural achievements built on patterns of scapegoating and hatred.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Luther was a pig
Arrest all the Lutherans.
Yes, Christians have caused trouble for Jews for centuries upon centuries. The problem Jews face now, though, is from Muslims, atheists and university professors.
Once again, current Moslem hatreds are compared to beliefs of Christians over 500 years ago in the moral equivalency game.
:)
A lot of Jews are anti-Judaism.
What a disgraceful bunch of instigators the WP is...
Divide and concur is what fascist do...just like you,wapo!
Always single out the sect to paint the broad picture. Your point that a lot of jews are anti-judaism is a winner. The story is most likely written by an athiest.
Gentlemen:
While I received with much satisfaction your address replete with expressions of esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced on my visit to Newport from all classes of citizens.
The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security.
If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good government, to become a great and happy people.
The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy—a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.
It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.
It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration and fervent wishes for my felicity.
May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.
May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy.
G. Washington
Luther was probably thinking of the Jewish theocracy in place around the time of Jesus in comparing the Catholic Church to the Jews? Certainly the Jews in Luther’s time had no organizational structure at all, a trait that served us well except when it really really didn’t.
I am a CHRISTIAN and I will stand with Israel and my Jewish brothers and sisters whenever they need me to.
LLS
That was then and this is now. The Jews in Israel do not fear terrorism from the Christian Arabs living there. They do not have any expectation of rockets being fired at them from the Christians in Lebanon. The Jews in France are not in fear of any hostile actions from the Catholics there. Why doesn’t the author address the problems regarding the current persecutors of the Jewish people? As far as I know, some of the strongest supporters of the Jews tend to be conservative Protestants. I know first-hand that conservative Mormons tend to be very supportive as well. And conservative Catholics...Pope Pius XII is starting to receive due recognition for his role in saving European Jews during World War II. The current reality regarding who are friends and who are enemies to the Jews, does not coincide with the author’s desired narrative.
More anti-Christian propoganda. It was primarily the evangelical Christian “West” that rescued millions of Jews from the Nazi extermination plans. The “West” welcomed Jews with open arms also. We were fortunate to get many Jewish scientists who defected to the West.
Real Christianity was never anti-Judiasm. During the times when the New Testament was written, Christianity was considered one of may Jewish sects. Jewish Christians retained their Jewish identities and customs. Gentile converts to Christianity were not required to convert to Judiasm. Today we have this weird amalgamation of carry-over Judiased Christianity which tries to apply Jewish ceremonial law to Gentile Christians while simulteously disallowing Jewish Christians from keeping their Jewish heritage. We also split Christianity into ethnic groups which was unthinkable in the New Testament era.
Rather, most of the historical persecution was directed by Jewish leaders toward both Christ and His followers. Jewish leaders did everything in their power to stop the spread of Christianity both among Jews and Gentiles in the first century.
Today’s so-called “Jews” (mostly secular) continue to attack Christianity, whether it is the less open bigotry of Jews who run things in Hollywood, or the more direct assaults coming from groups like the ACLU, or the “Jews” in Obama’s administration. For yet another example, see...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3013607/posts#11
And 'arrest all Lutherans' is a jest of course :)
Jest kidding.
Good post btw.
This is related to the country being founded by religious sectarians who themselves suffered enormous prejudice from the established churches and governing elites and were intent on creating a safe haven for dissenters of all stripes. Among most Protestant sects the emphasis on Biblical veracity and scholorship (both books) entirely alters the status of the Jews compared to pre-Reformation Church dogma. They also thrived in Protestant Holland and were welcomed back into Britain by Cromwell after the English Civil War. In the last century the Roman Catholic Church and other "established" Christian churches have also shed much if not all of their institutional antisemitism.
The broad statement that the Jews suffered under "Christianity" is the kind of half truth which Leftist Jews, many of whom are themselves Jewish in name and bloodline only, use to demonize all believing Christians of any type. It reeks of a divisive and deceptive political agenda on the part of the writer.
This article is hitting home at a time when I need clarity. I’m a member of a Lutheran church and our new associate pastor has invited pro-Palistine speakers, and shares posts from the “Activists Around the World for Palistine” facebook page. While I can see her point of view on the plight of the Arab-Christians in the area, I feel the rest is anti Isreal and realy anti American. I want to call her out on her “agenda” but I don’t want to destroy our church either.
Chrstian Arabs are more anti-Jewish and more anti-Israel than the moslems. It's also chrstian Arabs who make up the bulk of Communists in the Arab world. The chrstian village of Nazareth had a Communist mayor for years because the chrstians kept electing him.
Lebanon was originally every bit as anti-Israel as the other Arab states and took part in the Arab invasion in 1948. They've changed their tune somewhat because Israel rescued them from the PLO, but most Arab-American and Lebanese-American chrstians are fanatically anti-Israel.
American-style "Bible-believing" chrstians are a new phenomenon in the chrstian world and are unknown to the ancient churches. They are the chrstians who support Israel and their reward has been to be denounced as "not chrstian at all" by the Council of Middle East Churches.
"Real chrstianity" (pro-Jewish Fundamentalist Protestantism) is only some three hundred to four hundred years old. Historical chrstianity is rabidly anti-Jewish.
Of course, if you're one of those dogmatists who hold that the "original chrstianity" became corrupt and had to be "restored" later (under Luther, Calvin, Smyth, Wesley, Campbell, Smith, Russell, Hensley, etc.) then you can't admit this.
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