Posted by hyperfocus on September 3, 2010, at 11:46:44
In reply to Lou's reply-owelleah? » hyperfocus, posted by Lou Pilder on September 2, 2010, at 5:01:42
I read the posts and it seems that the main conflict here is about this post:
I personally believe the passage in the bible that states
> "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17)Which Dr. Bob said is ok according to the posting rules on the Faith board. So I guess you feel that Dr. Bob is sanctioning a post which could be construed as demeaning to Jews. The thing is Lou like I said about supersessionism - the theory that the 'new' Christian covenant replaces the 'old' Jewish covenant is just a misguided theory. Maybe it has been used by people to marginalize Jews and may even have been used by the Nazis. But it's just one theory. I'm sure you know of the New Testament verse where Jesus states directly that the law of Moses must be fulfilled before any one can reach salvation. And I'm sure you know that the dominant supersessionism theory today is that the new covenant is just an extension, not replacement, of the old covenant.
My limited understanding of supersessionism is that the new covenant was a way to open up salvation to the Gentiles. I know that Paul and some other New Testament writers give opinions about this that might seem prejudicial against Jews, but Paul also wrote that women shouldn't be in the ministry too. I think it's important to take the context of these writing in light of the historical and social circumstances of the time. Early Christians were extremely traumatised by the betrayal and execution of Christ. So I don't doubt that in these writitngs you can find perjorative things said against Judaism. But scholars of the Bible and history know that there exists a huge about of prejudice and prejudice in the Bible. Most Christinas today think of Mary Magdelene as a minor character in the story of Jesus - a prostitute who just received forgiveness from Christ. But if you just skim Bible scholarship and search for things like Bible apocrypha, Gnostic Gospels and The Gospel of Mary, you will see that most scholars today believe Mary Magdalene was actually quite a significant figure in the story of Jesus who was marginalised by Paul and other early Christians due to sexism and just plain jealousy. Some scholars believe that Mary Magdalene was actually the closest apostle of Jesus, greatly envied by the other apostles, whose influence and writings were hidden by the early Christian Church out of prejudice and jealousy. So what consequences for Christians will arise out of this piece of deliberate sabotage? The point I'm making is that while we believe the Bible to be the word of God, it is still written by men. So while you may find prejudicial and demeaning things in the New Testament about Judaism, these things have absolutely nothing to do with the real principles of Christianity, which are simply love for others and salvation for all.
What concerns me Lou is that you're sort of holding on to this and you're not really allowing yourself to participate in the PB community. So I've written the above to try and convince you that there is no antisemitism in Christianity. And people who affirm their Christian faith on the Faith board are not intentionally trying to demean Judaism - that would be as far from real Christianity as one can get. Antisemitism is just a small part of a more general trend of antihumanism, which I grant you is extremely prevalent and can be found all over in the world. I can't speak absolutely but I don't believe that Dr. Bob or any deputy is antisemitic or wants to encourage or condone antisemitic violence. And the truth is that you really need to let this thing go because we are all supposed to share the boards and by repeatedly posting the same issue over and over again you're discouraging other posters from posting on the Faith board and you're turning away people from the many good things and support which I'm sure you want to share with them. So I hope you take these words to heart and can allow yourself to participate in this community without letting other people's perceived actions hold you back.
poster:hyperfocus
thread:960265
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20100714/msgs/961136.html