Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mls@sfsup.att.com (Mike Siemon) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Of Christians and Jews (was Re: Questions about the Messiah) Message-ID: Date: 11 Mar 91 08:15:19 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 38 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , rjb@akgua.att.com (Robert J Brown) writes: > ... We are not going to go away, we are not going > to stop talking about it, and we are probably not going to ever > let you be done with us even over in s.c.j. The moderator interpolated his own protest at this, but without quite touching the points I want to emphasize. Like Mr. Brown, and OFM, I must inform Mr. Kayman and other Jews that, their comfort notwithstanding, Christians will insist -- because we cannot understand ourselves otherwise -- on on dealing with Judaism, at least in its forms of 2000 years ago. Current Judaism is less centrally a problem, though I think that we have much to learn *from* the Jews and their own 3000+ years of response to God. Not least, we have to see Jesus' Jewish environment, especially the Pharisaism that *we* know only as a negative caricature, as being the origin of a deeply faithful response to God. However. Our participation as individual Christians in soc.culture.jewish had *better* be conducted under a considerable constraint of politeness. If we read, or post, in s.c.j., it behooves us to *understand* the Jewish context before we say ANYTHING. In particular, Christians MUST understand the intense resentment of Jews at what appears to them BIZARRE and forced misreading of texts that they regard as no business of ours at all. We need not (we cannot) accept their evaluation in this -- but to ride rough- shod over Jewish sensibilities does NOT speak well for the gospel. What I would strongly recommend is that NO Christian post to s.c.j. unless it seems essential to correct mistatements about our, Christian, positions. I have made such posts, despite their being uncomfortably close to the kind of coercion Jews have been subject to from Christians all too often. If you MUST post to s.c.j., PLEASE do so with trepidiation, remembering all the crimes committed by Christians against Jews -- out of our "certain" faith that they are "wrong" -- over the last 2000 years. -- Michael L. Siemon "O stand, stand at the window, m.siemon@ATT.COM As the tears scald and start; ...!att!attunix!mls You shall love your crooked neighbor standard disclaimer With your crooked heart."