brunson@usfbobo.UUCP (David Brunson) (09/02/84)
[] A while back I managed to irritate a number of Christians with an article titled, "Christian Persecution of Jews", a book report on "The Anguish of the Jews" [Edward Flannery, Macmillan Pub.], which describes the past 2300 years of Western anti-semitism. Some felt that the article only gave fuel to the unlearned. This could be why we are seeing so many references to Torquemada lately, for example. Others said that the people who did these things weren't really Christians. I disagree with both of these positions. In the first place, I don't think that I am the only Christian who was in the dark in this matter. If there is or has been sin in the body of Christ, then we need to understand it, and *actively* separate ourselves from it. I fail to see what difference it makes if unbelievers look on while we are washing our dirty laundry. The truth is the truth, and Christians especially should have no reason to be afraid of it or pretend it isn't there. If the unenlightened feel strengthened in their antagonism, then what of it? They will grasp at any real or imagined straw anyway. I am convinced that the strength we can gain from boldly dealing with this sort of thing will more than compensate. My point here would be moot, of course, if the laundry had already been washed. This may *not* be the case and I would like to feel free to discuss the issue. To the second objection: how can you say that John Chrysostom, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Luther were not Christians? They all professed faith in Christ. Will you judge the quality of their discipleship? Can you pass your own judgement? "... to his own master he stands or falls." The fact is that there is *at least* a gross insensitivity to the Jewish community on the part of Christians. For example, how many of us have seen pictures of an Anglicized Jesus chiding Pharisees drawn with marked Semitic features? We need to get it straight. If you have an image in your mind of "the typical Jew", then you need to frame it and put a caption under it that says, "Yeshua the Messiah, Lamb of God, Redeemer, my Lord". Recently across the bay in St. Petersburg there was a Baptist church that proudly advertised its upcoming Sunday sermon: "The Jews Killed Jesus". What kind of a title is that for a sermon? As recently as 1969 the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith came to the conclusion that 38 percent of all conservative protestants are *ANTI-SEMITIC*. What's going on here anyway? --- David Brunson ... better understanding through higher education