In response to improved relations between Christians and Jews, a group of Jewish scholars has issued a statement of common ground between the two faiths.
Among pronouncements, the document says that modern Christians are not to blame for the Nazi Holocaust, but it also says that Christians should respect Jewish beliefs and not attempt to convert Jews to Christianity.
A total of 180 Jewish leaders had signed “A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity” as of Sept. 20, according to the Institute of Jewish Christian Relations in Baltimore, which sponsored a national scholar’s project that drafted the document.
The statement describes “a dramatic and unprecedented shift” taking place in relations between the two faiths.
It cited statements by Catholic and Protestant groups expressing remorse for the Holocaust and other mistreatment of Jews across history.
“We believe these changes merit a thoughtful Jewish response,” the scholars say. “Speaking only for ourselves — an interdenominational group of Jewish scholars — we believe it is time for Jews to learn about the efforts of Christians to honor Judaism. We believe it is time for Jews to reflect on what Judaism may now say about Christianity. As a first step, we offer eight brief statements about how Jews and Christians may relate to one another.”
The document asserts that:
1. Jews and Christians worship the same God. Like Jews, Christians also worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the statement says. While Christian worship is not a viable religious choice for Jews, as Jewish theologians we rejoice that, through Christianity, hundreds of millions of people have entered into relationship with the God of Israel.
2. Jews and Christians seek authority from the same book. Jews call their Bible the “Tanakh,” while Christians call it the “Old Testament.” Christians and Jews interpret the Bible in different ways, the statement says, but such differences must always be respected.
3. Christians can respect the claim of the Jewish people upon the land of Israel.
Many Christians support the State of Israel for reasons far more profound than mere politics, the statement says. As Jews, we applaud this support. We also recognize that Jewish tradition mandates justice for all non-Jews who reside in a Jewish state.
4. Jews and Christians accept the moral principles of the Torah.
Both faiths accept the “inalienable sanctity and dignity of every human being” as expressed in the teaching that all are created in God’s image.
This shared moral emphasis can be the basis of an improved relationship between our two communities. It can also be the basis of a powerful witness to all humanity for improving the lives of our fellow human beings and for standing against the immoralities and idolatries that harm and degrade us.
5. Nazism was not a Christian phenomenon.
While Nazi ideology could not have taken place without a long history of Christian anti-Semitism and many Christians did not protest the Holocaust, others risked or sacrificed their lives to save Jews, the statement says.
6. The humanly irreconcilable difference between Jews and Christians will not be settled until God redeems the entire world as promised in Scripture.
Theological differences between the two faiths, such as Christians’ faith in Jesus Christ and Jewish belief in the Torah, will not be settled by one community insisting that it has interpreted Scripture more accurately than the other; nor by exercising political power over the other, the statement says.
7. A new relationship between Jews and Christians will not weaken Jewish practice.
An improved relationship will not accelerate the cultural and religious assimilation that Jews rightly fear, the statement says. It will not change traditional Jewish forms of worship, nor increase intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews, nor persuade more Jews to convert to Christianity, nor create a false blending of Judaism and Christianity.
8. Jews and Christians must work together for justice and peace. Both faiths are guided by the Old Testament prophets’ calls to work to bring justice and peace to our world, the statement says. (ABP)
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