CHRISTIAN CONFLICTS CONCERNING
JEWISH CONVERSION
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As with so many other theological beliefs, conservative and liberal Christian faith groups have diametrically
opposed responses to Judaism - particularly over the
question whether Christians have a religious obligation to convert Jews to
Christianity.
Generally speaking:
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Fundamentalist and some Evangelical Christians take an
exclusive
position. They believe that of all the religions and denominations in the world, their
religious beliefs alone are fully valid. Their doctrines are based on
beliefs that the Bible is inerrant and that
God inspired its authors. Trusting
Jesus as Lord and Savior is the only path that will lead
people to salvation and to a living knowledge and intimate
relationship with God. Other religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism,
Sikhism, Zoroastrianism all
lead individuals away from salvation and towards Hell. |
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Liberal Christians take an inclusive
or pluralistic position. They often believe that there
are many paths to God. Many use the analogy of a mountain: there are many paths leading up
the mountain from different locations in the foothills. But all routes eventually reach
the top. All great religions of the world inspire people to lead ethical lives, and
motivate them to love and care for others. All faith traditions
are valuable, valid to their own followers, and should be respected. Part of this respect is to not proselytize
those faith groups which do not wish to be converted to Christianity. Judaism is one such
religion. |
Christian beliefs are split with regard to the historical covenants described in the
Hebrew Scriptures (a.k.a. Old Testament). Generally speaking:
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Many Fundamentalists and some Evangelical Christians hold to the
traditional " 'supercessionist idea' that
Christianity replaced Judaism and that God no longer has a covenant with the Jewish
people." 1 This is sometimes called the "theology of displacement."
It relegates Judaism to an inferior position and "regards the Christian Church as
the 'true' or 'spiritual' Israel." This concept was first developed by Justin
Martyr (circa 100 to 165 CE) and Irenaeus of Lyon (circa 130 to 200 CE). It was largely
accepted within the church by the 4th century.
One indicator that this
belief has gone out of fashion even among conservative Christians was a
poll conducted by ChristianWebSite.com, an
Evangelical Christian Internet site. Of those visitors who answered the
poll, a significant majority, 86.3%, agreed with the concept that Jews
are still considered God's chosen people. 23.7% disagreed. 2
Many believe that anyone following the
Jewish faith is doomed to spend eternity in Hell, just as will Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims
and others who have not repented of their sins and trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior. This motivates many conservative
Christians to attempt to lead Jews (and others) to a "saving knowledge"
of Jesus. They feel that to ignore the Jews would be discriminatory. "If Jewish people are
denied the opportunity to hear about Jesus because of Christian self-censorship, then
Christians truly will be guilty of anti-Semitism." 3
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Mainline and Liberal Christians typically accept the
"dual
covenant" belief:
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That the original covenants between God and the Jewish people
are still valid today, and |
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God has also established a new, parallel covenant with Christian believers. |
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References:
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"Saving our souls," The Southern Shofar, Birmingham, AL, at:
http://www.bham.net/shofar/1996/0796/ss0796.html
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Christian Web Site has a home page at:
http://christianwebsite.com/ Their
survey was taken between approximately 2002-AUG-28 and SEP-3.
Their question was: "Are Jews still considered God's
chosen people?"
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R. H. Hamel, "Real anti-Semitism," The Globe and Mail
newspaper, Toronto, ON; letter to
the editor, 1998-MAY-27 Page A18
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Copyright © 1998 to 2004 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2004-OCT-30
Author: B.A. Robinson
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