Winter 1984 - 1985 - Quarterly Review

QUARTERLY REVIEW, WINTER 1984
Among those Christians who have been touched by the dialogue
with Jews and the Jewish tradition there exists a growing conviction that
a subtle Marcionism still resides in the churches. This anti-Jewish
disease not only harms relations with Jews but blocks the church from
genuine engagement with the world. The latter point has been
emphasized, albeit indirectly, in the insistence of several prominent
liberation theologians that the liberating spirit of the Exodus covenantal
tradition must become central in present-day Christian faith expression.
Authentic renewal in the church is dependent on a recovery of the
Jewish context of its origins. Judaism stood at the heart of Jesus'
spirituality and that of the early church. Judaism was not merely
perceived as prelude, much less foil, as Christians have so often
maintained subsequently. So even if the Jewish response to actual
dialogue might be slow at times and places (at least partially
understandable given the history of Christian anti-Semitism) Christians
still have every reason to engage in a thorough study of the Jewish
tradition past and present for the sake of their own religious integrity.
In the following pages we will explore the issues from the church's
side in the dialogue, both in terms of improved Christian-Jewish
relations and the enhanced understanding of Christianity itself
through a greater appreciation of its Jewish roots. There are, of course,
issues that the Jewish community must face for honest encounter with
Christians. But before Christians push the Jewish community too
hard on some of these, we need to come to grips with the agenda on
our side. We must never forget that there has been a tremendous
imbalance in our relationship over the centuries. Though this fact
should not prevent Christians from making justified critiques of
Jewish stances on some issues, our historical "oppressor" status
relative to the Jewish people does place upon us the burden of starting
the reconciliation process as a demonstration of our sincerity and
conversion.
The first issue that deserves our attention is in fact one of the
oldest—the Crucifixion story. Throughout the centuries the accounts
of Jesus' death served as a source of deep conflict between the
communities. Jews, assumed by Christians to be responsible for Jesus'
death, were frequently persecuted as "Christ-killers." Vatican II and
numerous Protestant denominations have laid to rest this historic
deicide charge against the Jews which modern biblical scholarship has
shown to be baseless. But this change at the official teaching level has
not ended all the problems connected with the narration of Christ's
death. On a popular level many believing members of the church
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