credmond@watmath.waterloo.edu (Chris Redmond) (05/29/90)
In article <May.23.23.31.18.1990.17316@athos.rutgers.edu> emory!dragon!cms@gatech.edu writes: > >In a technical sense, we celebrate Passover every >time we celebrate the Mass, albeit in a new way which is different from the way >those Jews who rejected Jesus continued to celebrate Passover after the >Resurrection. Judaism became a different religion from ancient Judaism when it >rejected Jesus. Christianity continued the old religion by practicing the old >religion in the new way according to the fulfillment of the prophecies. This >isn't a swipe at Judaism. >. . . What I'm trying to say is, many people say Christianity became a >different religion without noting that Judaism also became a different >religion; unfortunately, since modern Judaism retained the name Judaism, >people are often confused on this point. These comments make me uncomfortable; despite the disclaimer, they do sound to me like "a swipe at Judaism", something I am distressed to see. Perhaps others on the net will be able to articulate the issue better, but it seems to me that this poster is saying, in effect, that Judaism was "right" up to the time of Jesus, but "wrong" thereafter. Can we legitimately say that? Shouldn't we rather say -- as many Christian leaders in our generation have finally allowed themselves to say -- that Judaism is, like Christianity, an appropriate way for some people to encounter God? It is certainly true that Judaism has changed. (So has Christianity, as many of the church-history discussions here attest.) But the change has less to do with Jesus than with the destruction of the temple a generation after the death of Jesus. With the end of the temple, and the beginning of the diaspora, the centre of Judaism changed from animal sacrifices to teaching and "prayer" in a sense that a Christian would also recognize. CAR credmond@watmath [I certainly agree with the original point that it's important to understand the changes in both religions over time. To say that Christianity has more continuity with "original" Judaism than current Judaism does seems to me rather odd. However this is going to depend upon one's views on a number of issues within Christianity. As I'm sure you know, there's a good deal of discussion within Christianity about proper use of the OT. To many Christians, the OT contains many pointers to Christ, and the OT patriarchs awaited Christ's coming. From this perspective Christinaity can be seen as a completion of their faith, and later Judaism as a detour. However this is the sort of discussion that can easily lead us into areas where little good is to be accomplished. There's simply no way to prove whether various prophets would really have recognized Jesus as fitting their messianic visions. It's a lot like trying to figure out which side of the fence the Reformers would come down on in modern debates. Both those who believe in inerrancy and those who do not are convinced that Calvin is on their side. It seems to me an unanswerable question. In this particular case it's one that has a great potential for pouring salt into wonnds. Nor is it necessarily relevant to the original question of Christian celebration of Passover. It is not necessary to deny Judaism's right to claim continuity with the OT in order to claim a similar right for Christianity as well. Both Christians and Jews are siblings of the same parent religion, and I don't see that either of us can be expected to disavow our heritage. I would like to hope that any Christians who celebrate Passover do so in a way that maintains solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters. --clh]