By claiming to be Christians, we inherit all the tradition’s past glories and mistakes.
I pray that the current Israel-Gaza conflict will not jeopardize our desire to purge antisemitic views and expressions. The following reflection has nothing to do with being pro-Israel; it has everything to do with correcting the age-old myths and misunderstandings Christians had about Jews and Judaism. In our efforts to bring peace and justice in the world, it is urgent to understand the ancient source of injustices. I invite you to reflect on how the ancient Christian church helped develop antisemitism, and how best to avoid making the same mistakes again in our time.
I experienced an accidental discovery in my faith journey as I began doctoral studies in New York City in 2000. Far away from my original idea of doing intercultural theological education, I engaged in exciting dialogue with Jewish students in the classrooms, including rabbinic students from Jewish Theological Seminary across the street. To say it was “far away” isn’t totally correct; dialogue with Jewish people should be part of this area of studies. I just wasn’t intentionally prepared for it. Like many ethnocultural folks, I thought my task was primarily to bring my own culture to the world of education; I wasn’t aware that unknowingly I excluded the need to pay attention to other cultures, especially Jewish cultures, as I vowed to confront the Western establishments.
Even church ministers who did well during the days of theological training may not have enjoyed the kind of encountering opportunity that I had. Those were the days when I found myself building friendships with several Jewish people, attending Shabbat services in a nearby synagogue and Passover Seder in Jewish homes. These experiences greatly enriched my understanding of contemporary Jewish life, a vibrant faith tradition that significantly confronted my previous misunderstandings. I was enlightened and saddened to learn of the centuries of false Christian assumptions that went into interpreting everything about Jewish people, Judaism, and the Bible.
Although fascinated by my new learnings, I struggled to connect those experiences with Asian Christianity. In the end, I turned my struggle into writing. My dissertation, entitled Teaching Asian Seminarians in the Shadow of the Holocaust, is a testimony to my faith journey. In it I answer questions most racialized Christians may have asked: Did antisemitism and the Holocaust have anything to do with us? Weren’t they European issues? We weren’t there, after all, and by the way we are already busy fighting racism aimed at us. We have no time for other people’s issues.
I write as a person of colour of Chinese background. There is a myth among many ethnic Chinese Christians that says we had nothing to do with the Holocaust. Considering the ongoing racism against Asians, many have turned their energy to fight discrimination against their own people, and they should continue this struggle against racism. I wonder how many racialized Christians consider the Holocaust an exclusively European issue, which frees them from any responsibility? I want to tell you that that is an extremely dangerous Christian mindset.
The moment we claim to be Christians, our hands are not clean. By claiming to be Christians, we inherit all the tradition’s past glories and mistakes. Every mistake the church has made that justified the mistreatment of Jews has been glorified in centuries of teaching and learning and has been passed down to us as truth. Some of this misunderstanding has become embedded in how to think theologically and how to conduct biblical interpretation. Without intentionally addressing those areas of concern, the church is not better off when it works against racism and discrimination. In fact, we may unknowingly be continuing those mistakes, thinking such beliefs and practices are integral parts of the Christian faith.
Purging antisemitism should concern all of us because Christianity provided the theological seedbed for the Holocaust. Conventional Christianity—the kind of Christianity that most people come to know—was built upon certain erroneous assumptions that say Judaism is obsolete, Jews collectively are Christ-killers, Judaism is an inferior religion, and Jews shouldn’t be respected in the same way as Christians. The seedbed of exclusivist Christian thinking was laid long ago.
The Holocaust was not an accident but a scaffolding of religious ideas that had deep Christian roots. The ongoing antisemitism in the world can be traced to the ancient Christian establishments that contributed to antisemitic attitudes.
Faith Reflection
Antisemitism isn’t a European issue; it is a global issue. Antisemitism isn’t just another ethical failure, but also a Christian failure. My challenge to all of us, including many ethnocultural Christians:
- Where and what have we learned about Christianity and Judaism?
- What do we know about Jesus and why Jesus died?
- What assumptions did our teachers have when they taught us the Christian faith? How do we evaluate those teachings today?
The Christian Bible presents Jews and Judaism as enemies of the gospel, and it presents a challenge to anyone who reads it.
Depending on where we live, our interaction with Jews as a living people and contemporary Judaism as a living faith tradition may be minimal. This challenge is even more dramatic for some who have never met a Jew and possess no knowledge of what contemporary Judaism is like. Without paying attention to the history and the problems of antisemitism, contemporary Christians could jeopardize their commitment to fight racism and discrimination.
Living It Out
Christianity is a global religion, and the challenge to purge anti-Judaism and antisemitism from Christianity is also global. The call to reject anti-Jewish Christian teaching is extended to all Christians regardless of race and culture. It has nothing to do with being nice to Jewish people, or pro-Israel for that matter, but to correct Christians’ self-created myths about others and us. Revising Christian understanding of Judaism is not simply a matter of justice or correctness. It is essential for the integrity of Christianity itself to have keen understandings of the Jewish people and Judaism because it is impossible to proclaim Christian faith without reference to Judaism. The question is: How does the church understand Judaism and the Jewish people?
—Alan Lai (he/his) is the Principal of the Centre for Christian Studies in Winnipeg. Alan was born and raised in Hong Kong; he came to Canada when he was 19 years old. He has taught formerly at Vancouver School of Theology in BC, and Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario. His publications are in the field of Jewish‒Christian relations, Asian North American theologies, and intercultural teaching and learning. Alan enjoys music and photography.