Should the Church Survive? A paper by Deb Dale

One of the assignments I gave after a class on the history of the formation of the Christian Church at Louisiana Bible College was to write a paper on the question, “Should the Church survive?”  Deb Dale’s response is insightful.  I thought you would find it useful.

Should the Church Survive?

By Deb Dale, July 2017

In biblical scholar Lloyd Gaston’s acclaimed book, “Paul and the Torah”, he opens with these words: “James Parkes has devoted his life to the issue of Christian antisemitism, often as a rather lonely voice in the wilderness. The Holocaust and the refounding of the state of Israel have opened some startled theological eyes, but in general theology has gone on as if nothing had happened. Now Rosemary Ruether has posed in all its sharpness what must surely become the theological question for Christians in our generation. ‘Possibly anti-Judaism is too deeply embedded in the foundation of Christianity to be rooted out entirely without destroying the whole structure.’ It may be that the church will survive if we fail to deal adequately with that question, but more serious is the question whether the church ought to survive.” (1987, p.15)

Should “the Church” survive? This is a question most of us wouldn’t even consider, nor see the need to consider. While taking a closer look at the factual history of the Christian church and the anti-Semitism that propelled its growth and spread through the ages, it is apparent that a polemic was indeed present from the initiation of the messianic age that ultimately imploded within the family of God and severed the ties between siblings. In the first centuries after the resurrection of Yeshua, Messianic Jews and Gentiles were just beginning to see the intended picture of unity once described by Rabbi Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (4:4-6) Sadly, by the onset of the 4^th century, that accord had been completely broken as leaders within the Christian movement made it their mission to prove that the Jews had denied Yeshua as the Messiah and so were replaced by the Christians as God’s chosen people; grace replaced the Law; and Torah was obsolete. Due to its growing social and political power, coupled with the ignorance of the common people, Christianity became an unstoppable beast in and of itself, propagating its twisted theology from one generation to the next, to the point where the tradition had neatly disguised itself as truth, seamless and stealth. Today, as John Gager concludes in his introduction of The Origins of Anti-Semitism, “No twentieth-century child of the Western civilization is unaffected by the issues raised here.” (p.9-10) It is painfully obvious that today’s Christian, in spite of living in the middle of the “information age” is as in the dark as he has ever been. Just as Gaston describes above, it appears that those with the courage to lead the people back into the light, are no more than a “lonely voice in the wilderness.” The effort at reform seems impossible as well by the opinions of William Nichols as he echoes the concerns of Gaston, “Today the task for Christian theologians is to rethink from the foundations up the relationship of Christianity to Jesus, and to Judaism, the religion of Jesus. This course is most risky, for Christianity may not survive it.” (Christian Anti-Semitism: a History of Hate, p. 429) And should it? I believe that it should.

And why should it? Foremost, because even in its blindsided state, there are countless Christian communities that authentically love God and love others, which is what we’ve been called to do. Aside from any theology, they seem to know how to do that, even if they’re not doing it completely according to scripture. And that in itself is not about theology. Who am I to judge whether their love counts? There are also many, who in spite of having some knowledge of the truth, would refuse to recognize any anti-Semite attitudes within their communities, which is actually more about the theology ingrained within them then they realize. Take for example Mel Gibson. While directing the film The Passion of the Christ, he was questioned, ridiculed and even personally judged for the film’s obvious antisemitic interpretations of certain characters in the storyline of the passion. In his Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer, he responded with, “To be antisemitic is to not be a Christian…this is not a blame game. It’s about faith, hope, love and forgiveness.” To his defense, that statement can be taken two different ways. However, both would admit a certain level of naivety as well as an inerrant refusal to recognize the truth. A re-programming of the truth is obviously necessary, but will take time. Lastly, the Christian Church is more than a religion (and this is more of an admission than a personal reason.) The Church has become over the centuries a cultural, social and political power. As Gregory Baum notes in his introduction of Rosemary Ruether’s Faith and Fratricide, “The symbols of exclusiveness belonging to a religion that has become culturally successful are objective factors that will affect the consciousness of a people and promote their cultural and/or political domination, a trend that no subjective factors, such as love and generosity, can overcome.” (p.14) Christianity appears to be an unstoppable beast in and of itself. However, as Baum challenges, “A religion that has achieved cultural success, therefore, must be willing to submit itself to an ideological critique.” (p.15) It is this statement that points to the “how.”

Scholars, theologians, priests, pastors, teachers and especially lay membership – all Christians – must be willing to take a closer look at the past, the present, and their implications for the future. We must all be willing to objectively critique our own theology and belief system. We have to not only be willing to ask the hard questions, but also, be willing to accept the need and challenge for change. In its present state, and even though it appears to be oblivious to its past, the Church still represents a history of prejudice, deceit, and hatred toward Judaism. This is not good. In it’s present state, the Church ignores its past and basically continues to “sweep it under the rug.” This is definitely not good. As long as this mentality dominates Christianity, then the “unity” spoken of by Paul will remain but a distant untouchable. How can we ever be united with this chasm of differences between us? I believe it is the life work of individuals like those cited here, as well as those on the front line today that are making a difference. It is a slow process to turn a ship out at sea. It takes time and distance. It is the same as shifting a paradigm. A shift is happening. It just takes time and distance.

Works Cited

Gaston, Lloyd. Paul and the Torah (1987) University of British Columbia Press

Apostle Paul. Book of Ephesians, Chapter 4, verses 4-6

Gager, John G. The Origins of Anti-Semitism: Attitudes Towards Judaism in Pagan and Christian Antiquity (1983) Oxford University Press

Nicholls, William. Christian Anti-Semitism: a History of Hate (1993) First Rowman and Littlefield published in 2004

ABC News, Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer and Mel Gibson, February 17, 2004

Ruether, Rosemary Radford. Faith and Fratricide (1974), The Seabury Press, New York