There are people around today, who point to the
holocaust as "proof" to the "truth" of Christianity. These
people see in the holocaust a clear indication that God was displeased with the
Jewish people. The holocaust was the punishment for some grievous sin that the
Jewish people had committed. These Christians continue the argument by asking
"what sin could it be that displeased God so much?" The only sin
which to these people is terrible enough to warrant such a punishment, is the
rejection of the "messiah". A similar thought is expressed by certain
Christian visitors to the holocaust museum in
This argument is amazing. It reveals a lot about
those who are not embarrassed to allow it to cross their lips. Here is an
illustration of the Jewish attitude towards the holocaust. In one of the German
labor camps, a Rabbi was being beaten by an SS man. The German taunted the
Rabbi, "Jew, do you still insist that you are the chosen nation?" the
Rabbi answered, "as long as we are the ones being beaten, and not the ones
that are doing the beating then we are still the chosen nation".
To the Jew the greater tragedy of the holocaust was
not the death of so many people, as painful as that might be. The terrible
shame of the holocaust was that man was able to sink so low, and commit those
crimes that make up the holocaust.
Imagine the following hypothetical situation. Two
brothers live during the times of Jesus. These brothers somehow get a glimpse
of the future. And it is the holocaust that they see. One of them decides that
he will do all he can in order to avoid having his descendants decimated by the
terrible event. The other is determined that he wants to guarantee that his
descendants do not participate in the holocaust as the murderers. In order for
each of these brothers to achieve their opposite goals, they can each take a
simple step. One should join Jesus’ following and the other should not. It is
as simple as that.
If the holocaust shows us that God was displeased
with the Jewish people, then what does it tell us about God’s feelings toward
the Christian nations of
The typical Christian reaction towards any
insinuation that the actions of members of their Churches reflects on the very
fabric of their faith, runs basically as follows. "Those people weren’t
Christians! Look at the beautiful and moral teachings of Jesus. Is there any
way that you can consider these cruel men as followers of such a kind
teacher?" The argument is that since Christianity preaches love and
brotherhood towards all, then anyone who doesn’t practice the kind teachings of
Christianity cannot rightfully be called a Christian.
If the Christians truly believe this argument, then
why is it that not one Church canceled the membership of those amongst them who
participated in the holocaust? Why is it that no one was excommunicated on the
basis of their violation of the kind and benevolent teachings of the Church? It
is not too late. Even today the Churches could make a public statement by
retroactively canceling the membership of the SS men who were members in their
Churches.
Furthermore, it is terribly naive of us to limit
the guilt for the holocaust simply to those who physically killed people. It is
obvious that when the Nazis killed the Jews, they had already dehumanized them
in their minds. It is also clear that the Nazis knew that the general
population of
So who was it that created this anti-Semitic
world-view that was the mind-set of
Anyone that has a slight familiarity with Church
history can tell you that Christianity taught that Jews are children of the
devil. Jews are evil, they are subhuman, and it is considered a religious
virtue to persecute them. For centuries this was considered basic Christian
dogma. Hatred of Jews was a popular topic for Sunday sermons. This is what the
European people heard from those who they looked to for moral guidance. This
went on for many dark centuries. There is no question that the Church was the
most important (if not only) factor that brought about the European attitude of
anti-Semitism. Although Hitler’s racial type of anti-Semitism was not the
traditional Christian version of anti-Semitism, the connection between the two
is clear. The Churches, who may have disagreed with Hitler’s irreligious
ideology, were nevertheless supportive of his attitude toward the Jews. Some
protested his persecution of Jewish Christians, others did not, but for the
most part Hitler’s campaign against the general Jewish population was viewed
positively by the various Churches, to say nothing of the European laymen. The
generations of Church leaders must share the guilt of
When modern day Christians are presented with these
facts, they generally admit that the Churches who preached anti-Semitism are
guilty of poisoning the European mind towards the Jews. But that is not
Christianity. All the many Christian leaders who taught hatred toward Jews had
no right to speak in the name of authentic Christianity. Jesus cannot be held
to blame for the evil teachings of his followers. What these people are saying
is that the anti-Semitism of the Church has nothing to do with the original
teachings of Christianity. The fact that for centuries, the scholars to whom
the various Churches looked to as authorities in the field of Christian
theology (they still are considered and respected authorities), all believed
that an essential teaching of Christianity is the evil and diabolical nature of
the Jewish people, is irrelevant. Their understanding of Jesus’ teachings and
their interpretation of the Christian scriptures (concerning this issue) was
totally wrong. All their anti-Semitic assumptions have no foundation in the original
true Christianity.
Is this true? Is it really a fluke accident that
the followers of Jesus turned out to be so thoroughly ant-Semitic? Is it only
an unfortunate coincidence that the disciples of Jesus became so cruel towards
those who refused to acknowledge their claims concerning their idol?
The book of John records the following
conversation. (8:40-45) Some Jewish opponents of Jesus tell him "we are
not illegitimate children, the only father we have is God". Jesus answers,
"if God were your father you would love me ... you belong to your father
the devil". The simple meaning of the teaching seems to be that if one
does not adore Jesus that constitutes proof that he is a child of the devil.
There is no question that this understanding of John’s quote, helped to inspire
many Churchmen with a hatred for Jews. What can be brought into question is the
validity of the interpretation.
What do modern day Christians say to defend their
religion from the implication of this excerpt from the Christian scriptures,
and others like it? One point that is raised is the fact that the Jewish
prophets of scripture also condemned the Jewish people with very powerful
words. Moses tells the Jewish people "for I know your rebelliousness and
your stiff-neck, behold while I live with you, you were rebellious against the
Lord...@ (Deut. 31:27). Isaiah calls the Jewish people "officers of
Furthermore, we must take into account that the
writers of the Christian scriptures, and the founders of Christianity, were Jews
themselves. Had they been alive during the Second World War they would also
have been sent to the gas chambers. These are the defenses presented by the
modern day Christian who recognizes that anti-Semitism is evil.
There is a major difference between the
condemnation of the Jewish prophets and the condemnation of the founders of
Christianity. The prophets did not draw a line between themselves and the rest
of the Jewish nation. They condemned the people for their sins, both in action
and in attitude, but they did not claim themselves to be fundamentally
different from the people. Sometimes the prophets included themselves when
speaking about the national sins. Isaiah said, "I am a man of unclean
lips, and it is among a nation of unclean lips that I dwell"(Isaiah 6:5).
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, all included themselves when they
confessed the sins of the nation to God (Isaiah 59:12, Lamentations 3:42,
Daniel 9:20, Ezra 9:6, Nehemiah 9:33). The world-view which the prophets presented
was one in which all the Jewish people are God’s children. The strong words of
condemnation were meant to bring the Jews close to the God of their
forefathers. The fact that the prophets who rebuked the Jewish people
considered themselves as being in the same boat as the rest of the nation,
tells us that their rebuke was founded upon love.
The Christian scriptures on the other hand, present
a new world-view. In this world-view the most important factor that defines the
essence of a person is his attitude towards the Christian idol. A clear defined
line is drawn between those who believe in Jesus, and those who don’t. This
line is the most important line which exists in the universe of the authors of
Christian scriptures. The condemnation that comes from the authors of the
Christian scriptures is coming from people who consider themselves "on the
other side of the fence". As such, the words of condemnation appear to be
founded upon hatred and resentment. The very words that condemn the Jews are
the words that set the Jewish Christians apart from the main body of the
nation.
The chief accusation that the Christian scriptures
hurl at the Jew is that he refuses to acknowledge Jesus’ mission. This
accusation is not stated in cold, dry, matter of fact terms, neither is it
worded in a manner which would imply that the accuser loves the Jewish people
and is hoping that they accept his rebuke for their own benefit. The accusation
is laced with bitterness. The fact that the Jews rejected Jesus’ words is used
as proof that they are essentially evil. John has Jesus offering the following
explanation concerning those who refuse to believe his message. (John 3:19-21)
"This is the verdict, light has come to the world, but men loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates
the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be
exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be
seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God". Can we then
say that the Church Fathers who preached that the Jewish people (being the only
people who knew Jesus and still were not impressed by him) are children of the
devil, were not reading the Christian scriptures with an honest heart? The
resentment and exasperation expressed by the anti-Semitic Church when faced
with the Jew’s refusal to acknowledge that Jesus was anything more than a man,
is it not a direct continuation from the Christian scripture’s frustrations
with the Jewish people?
But, the Christians protest, is it not true that
the Christian scriptures have some positive things to say about the Jew? True,
and not true. Paul has some good words to say about the Jews. He admits that
the first advantage of being born a Jew is that the Jews are trusted with the
oracles of God (Romans 3:2). But then Paul takes a different stance than Jesus
when discussing the question of how it is that the Jews reject Jesus. Paul
claims time and time again that the Jewish people were affected by a
supernatural blindness, and it was this that caused them to miss the
"obvious" truth of Jesus’ words. Jesus, on the other hand does not
have a good word to say for the Jewish people. (The enigmatic statement
"salvation is of the Jews"- John 4:22, is interpreted by modern
Christian commentators to mean that Jesus was born to a Jewish mother, and not
as a praise for the nation in general.) Jesus himself keeps on coming back to
the Jew’s affinity for evil, as the prime source of their rejection of his
claims. Nothing that Jesus says would give you the impression that he loved the
Jewish people in general; his love is limited to those who joined his
following. All Jesus’ moral teachings about loving your enemies and blessing
those who curse you, explicitly refer to your personal enemies. Concerning
Jesus’ enemies, or even those who simply ignored him, there is not one word of
tolerance credited to Jesus in the Christian scriptures. There seem to be two
different messages that emerge from the pages of the Christian scriptures. History
testifies that it was Jesus’ hateful attitude that prevailed.
What is this accusation anyway? Why is it so
terrible to question the veracity of Jesus’ words? It seems to be that the
authors of the Christian scriptures thought Jesus to be so righteous, that in
order for one to know of him and still remain unimpressed, there must be
something supernaturally wrong with this person. The two choices given are
Paul’s explanation that the Jews are supernaturally blinded, or Jesus’
explanation that the Jews are fundamentally evil. In any case neither of them
(Jesus or Paul) imagined it possible to remain unimpressed by the righteousness
of Jesus’ character. Why not? How righteous was he? How did he display his
righteousness? Why is this "crime" considered by the authors of
Christian scripture to be the worst that one could commit? (1 John 2:22 -
"who is the liar? One who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is
the antichrist - he denies the father and the son. No one who denies the son
has the father, whoever acknowledges the son has the father also"). Is it
because of the "overpowering evidence" that Jesus and his followers
presented? Where is it? It is 2000 years now and the "evidence" is
still not forthcoming.
Is it perhaps because the Christians believe that
if you fail to acknowledge the righteousness of a righteous person you must be
a terrible person yourself? Then please consider the following. Christianity
has vilified the Jew. In the past this meant that Christianity taught that the
Jewish people are the most evil race which exists on this planet. But even
today when this belief is no longer fashionable, the Jew who insists on
following in the footsteps of his forefathers is vilified by
"Jew-loving" Christians. These Christians profess a love for the
Jewish people in general (which may well be sincere - most Jews today pose no
threat to the faith of these Christians), but "Rabbinic Judaism" is
still despised. It is considered a dishonest and immoral belief system. The
Talmud and "Talmudic Judaism" is scorned and rejected as evil and
hypocritical.
But let us face the facts. Solid, statistical,
documented facts. The Jewish people who lived by the teachings of the Talmud,
(the disciples of the Pharisees) were the most righteous people on the European
continent. We are not going to play the game of the Christian and tell you that
anyone who committed a crime cannot be counted as a Talmudic Jew. We will
include everyone ─ the criminals and the saints;
the learned and the unlearned, and even those who threw their religion out the
window. Compare us as a group to any other national entity. How many murderers
did we produce? How many rapists? Does any other national group give anywhere
near the amount of charity that we do? Remember, we used to be the poorest
nation on the European continent, yet still we were the most giving. No nation
reacts to the experience of poverty the way we do. What of the solidity of the
Jewish family? Or the Jewish work ethic? Respect of parents and the elderly,
respect for the weak and persecuted? Who compares to our value for education?
The Jew comes out on top when he is compared as a group to any other national
group. But the statistics favor the Jew even more when you focus on Jews that
have a connection to the Talmud and its teachers. Who produced the moral giants
that Rabbinic Judaism did? Which national group chose their leaders based on
their moral caliber? There is no question that Rabbinic Judaism is a very
righteous belief system. And there is no doubt that the Talmud induces people
to live on a higher moral standard.
Why do Christians not recognize these documented
facts? We never asked to be considered sinless, nor did we ask to be worshiped.
All we ask for is a bit of respect. Not respect for ourselves, but respect for
our belief system which came through where others failed.
Do we have to resort to supernatural explanations
to help us understand these phenomena? Not quite. The explanation is obvious
and simple. The Christian scriptures contain many words of vilification against
our belief system and against our righteous teachers. The word Pharisee has
come to be synonymous with the word hypocrite. This is totally due to the evil
ranting of the Christian scriptures. We know who the Pharisees were. They lived
amongst us, and they were our teachers. These were the people who transmitted
that which they received, and thereby taught us how to live our lives. These
people set the example for us in humility, charity and honesty, and their
disciples continue to do so today. The belief system that they taught is the
only Jewish belief system that has a direct continuity from the times of the
temple. And it is their belief system that proved itself in the crucible of
Christian hell.
The Jews in Jesus’ times may not have been able to
predict the future. But the present was in front of them. On the one hand they
saw Jesus, claiming to be the sinless lamb of God. On the other hand they had
the Pharisees. Jesus declares that the Pharisees are hypocrites, snakes, and a
brood of vipers. (Matt. 23:5-39). He says this in public, without making any
distinction between one Pharisee and the next. He just gives his blanket
indictment. But the Jew knew the Pharisees; they were not strangers to him.
These were the people to whom he looked for moral guidance, to set an example
in human righteousness. These were men like Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai, Rabban
Gamliel Hazaken, their colleagues and disciples. The Jew may not have known the
verdict of history, that the followers of Jesus will produce the crusades and
the inquisition. Nor did he see the 2000 years of simple moral beauty that the
teachings of these "vipers" will produce. But the Jew saw the two
parties in front of him. Could it be that the Jew sensed the seething hatred in
Jesus’ words? Could it just be possible that without knowing the future, the
Jew realized that Jesus was lying when he attacked the Pharisees? Do we have to
resort to unnatural explanations, to understand why the Jews who saw Jesus were
not impressed?