Can Christians appreciate the Torah for anything other than bolstering their understanding of the New Testament? It's a difficult question, but I believe that an impasse exists unless it can be achieved. Many Christians embrace the historical context of their faith but quickly dismiss the logical development of rabbinic thought as one of the legitimate streams of Second Temple Judaism. Unless the Torah and, by consequence, Judaism can be understood on its own terms, then a bias will always exist.
A recent listener objected to my podcast and suggested that I was unfairly characterizing all Christians in relation to negative attitudes towards the Torah and in some cases anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism. Have I done so? I explain why I don't believe that is the case and what the motivation for this podcast is.
In our previous episode, we discussed the odd fact that Marcion's complete disassociation of the New Testament with the God of the Hebrew Bible or "Old Testament" in Christian parlance actually left Judaism intact as it were. Christian theologians of the second century onward opted to retain the "Old Testament" as part of their canon but at a surprising cost to the Jewish people. Does contemporary Christianity offer a more positive approach to the fulfillment and continuing emphasis on the negation of the Torah?
For Marcion, the Christian God was completely distinct from the God of the Jews. A surprising result of Marcion’s radical position, strangely enough, is that they created such a division between Judaism and Christianity that the former was left intact with its understanding of the Divine, its sacred texts, and even its different interpretation of the Messiah. Oddly enough, Marcion’s views were much more “favorably’ disposed towards Judaism than those of "Orthodox Christians".
The early Christian movement in the 2nd century faced a problem. The idea of a relationship based apart from the Torah evolved into antagonism towards the Torah. This reality became exemplified and intensified in the ultimate battle over what was considered sacred Scripture. In this episode investigate this problem by first exploring a chilling legend included in an expected source.
A memory, the historian Neil Oliver writes, is precious but fragile. Any attempt to reexamine it is fraught with difficulties. Reaching out and touching it can destroy it, just like an outstretched hand touching a reflection in a pool of water. Doing so sends ripples far beyond the point of impact. The same is the case for reconsidering anti-Judaism in many Christian groups...
I reached out to Dr. Michael Heiser several years ago. He is a well-known author and a student of ancient biblical languages and near eastern history. During our friendly email exchange, I mentioned my inter-faith endeavors as a rabbi to address Christian anti-Semitism. His response was quite surprising and made me consider how extensive the problem is.
The reality of historic Christian ant-Judaism and anti-Semitism cannot be ignored or dismissed though it often is. As difficult as it is for most sincere Christians to acknowledge, elements of Christianity have generated and spread hatred of Jews. This is not a matter of personal opinion. It's something that academics, Jewish historians, and most importantly Christian historians and theologians have documented and admitted to their credit. Many Christians desire to rectify this great injustice.
The persistent use of the term “Old Testament” is a foremost source of the tension between the two communities. Interestingly, the extent to which the term is widespread can be seen how even in Jewish academic institutions, the term is often used perhaps begrudgingly. The continued use of the term simultaneously as the compulsion to convey the Old Testament's legitimacy in relation to the New Testament highlights the problem.Many might fail to see why the simple use of terms can be so problematic. Is this not merely a product of our current world that demands political correctness?
In our previous episode, we discussed a critical passage in the New Testament that is typically viewed as anti-Jewish and anti-Semitism. I made mention of Martin Buber's Tales of the Hasidim and a specific story included that is titled "Satan's Hasidim." The story might provide a possible understanding of an alternative reading to passages in the New Testament and recenter the friction in the New Testament as an "intra-Jewish" debate much like the invectives at Qumran against the Pharisees. In the desire for intellectual honesty, I wanted to include this interesting text.
Rudolf Bultmann, a professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg, like many theologians had a choice. He could alter his understanding of Jews and the Torah in light of having lived through the Shoah, i.e., the Holocaust, or he could continue as if nothing had happened. He believed that the Torah and the "Old Testament" were no longer meaningful to Christians in the same way they were for Jews. That might make sense, but his depiction of the Torah as the sinister foil to the gospel raises something very obvious. A Christian theologian can either address anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, or they can make it worse. They can help navigate passages that are problematic in their faith tradition, or they can let them pass as if there is no issue.
The foundation for historic Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism has been deicide, i.e., the charge that Jews killed G-d incarnate. But what about another perspective. Are Christians guilty of attempting to kill the foundation for Jewish identity? As we have noted, many Christians have acknowledged the tragic history and involvement of Christians in promulgating anti-Jewish sentiments. These should be applauded and recognized. One key area remains unaddressed for many - the Torah.
Before I began my academic in Jewish studies and my interest in Jewish-Christian dialogue, I witnessed antipathy towards Judaism by many Christians. It left me bewildered as to how individuals who purportedly claimed their faith was based on the Hebrew Bible and Jewish ideas could nevertheless maintain anti-Jewish biases. One scholar who helped me realized that not all Christians held such views.
The relationship between Jews and Christians includes historical and theological elements. It also includes an emotional aspect that most often surpasses the former. The emotions go both ways. For Jews there is a natural emotional reaction connected to historic Christian anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism. Many Christians, however, hold or retain very emotional responses to Judaism that are surprising to Jews. In order to fully appreciate this relationship and the source of Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, this component must be recognized.
This is the first episode of our second season. We now turn our attention to the topic of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism in Christianity. Most Christians would never consider themselves as holding anti-Semitic views. But anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish views often exist in latent form and in the most unexpected places.
As the rabbi of two small communities, I interact with a wide range of individuals. While the communities are small, there are always visitors. Some are Christians or former Christians moving towards Judaism. Some are Jews who for various reasons embraced Christianity. Both types of individuals often include those with less than glowing views of their former faiths and communities. They often express disdain, anger, and even hatred for their former co-religionist. This podcast, in part, is intended for them with the goal of fostering better relationships between both worlds. This is the end of season one. Continue the journey with me in season two.
The Clementine Recognitions and the Clementine Homilies in particular embraced a very different Christology than that of emerging Christian Orthodoxy. The bifurcation of God has been argued to have reflected a more authentic and ancient Jewish approach to the question of Christology. The Recognitions and the Homilies reveal however that while "binitarianism" may have been a valid description of various nascent "Christian" groups, it did not imply a singular approach to this issue.
The Clementine literature represents many intriguing perspectives on several key ideas that were contrary to the orthodoxy of Christianity in the third and fourth centuries. The Talmud records debates regarding Reshuyot, i.e., Two Powers in Heaven, and many of these occurrences may reflect the perspectives of groups that supported the messianic claims of Jesus and perhaps were in some form connected to communities similar to the those that authored the Clementine literature.
