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Posted by Brian Tubbs Dec 18, 2006 |
Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army in A.D. 70, historical records indicate that Christians operated, at least in part, as a sect of Judaism. Early Christian evangelists, like Paul, taught not only in house churches but also in Jewish synagogues. By the second century, the two faiths had completely split apart - and, since that time, have been frequently contentious in their relations. (The one exception to this would be generally strong support for Israel on the part of many evangelical Christians).
One recent example of tension....When Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ came out (the script for which was based on the Bible), Jews rose up against it and condemned it for stirring anti-semitic emotion. Christians responded (correctly) that Jesus died for the sins of the world, and thus every single human being is responsible for His death - not the Jews. However, Christians also pointed to the New Testament Gospel accounts, which show the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem pushing very hard for Jesus' crucifixion. This was a matter of not only historical record, but religious conviction (since many Christians hold to a literalist and infallible view of the Bible). Christians understandably asked: "Must we give up our faith in the BIble in order to appease the Jews? Can we not portray the death of our Lord for fear of offending the Jews?" Obviously, this is not a price that Christians are willing to pay. Not a concession they are willing to make.
And then to Christmas....there are many Jews who strenuously object to any public celebration or acknowledgment of Christmas - even if the acknowledgment is through secular symbols like reindeer and Christmas trees. With the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups often backing them, these groups have prevailed in many battles across America - pushing Christmas further back into private homes and churches and OUT of the public square.
A Christian observing this can reasonably construe that Jews are hostile to his or her faith and traditions. Moreover, a Christian can deduce that he/she is being actively discouraged from publicly celebrating Christmas (a very traditional American holiday) because a minority objects.
Does all this help bring people together? Does all this help in the area of reconciliation? In my opinion, it does not. If we want to have a society where majorities AND minorities can sit down together and have true reconciliation, then we have to get rid of all the politically correct nonsense running amok in our society. As long as there is this claustrophic atmosphere of political correctness and censorship (of majority beliefs and traditions, that is), there will continue to be frustration and animosity on the part of the majority toward the minority groups they deem responsible for that environment. This helps neither the Jew nor the Christian.