Conference taveng::bagels

745.0. "Conversion Document Sparks Debate" by ABE::STARIN (The Attentive Ear) Mon Jul 31 1989 13:38

The following article is produced here with permission from AP:

This note has also been entered in the CHRISTIAN notesfile.

From my perspective, I think the rapprochement mentioned in the article 
is the best thing that has happened to interreligous relations in 
years. I have gotten myself in hot water of late because I openly 
state to conservative Christians that I refuse to participate in any
church activity that promotes conversion of Jews to Christianity. So 
you can see where I stand with respect to the article.

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     		CONVERSION DOCUMENT SPARKS DEBATE

NEW YORK (AP) - A key producer of an evangelical declaration 
stressing conversion of Jews says it was aimed mainly at some fellow 
Christians and not at Jews whom it has keenly offended.

They're incensed by it. So are some Christians. They say it's 
contrary to developing Jewish-Christian reciprocity.

As the conflict smouldered, the chairman of the panel that produced 
the document, the Rev. Vernon Grounds of Denver (Colo.) Seminary, 
said it was directed at an "in-house issue" among the churches.

"A movement is gaining ground that repudiates the New Testament 
mandate and says it's not necessary to evangelize the Jewish 
people," he said in a telephone interview.

"More and more, this position is coming to the fore. We feel it 
imperative to reaffirm the historic Christian position that the 
gospel be preached to the Jew first."

The declaration asserts that Jews can be saved only by accepting 
Christ. This contrasts with a developing, historic rapprochement 
between Judaism and Christianity as both bound to G_d.

That evolving concord, expressed lately in official statements of a 
growing list of mainline denominations, Protestant and Roman 
Catholic, has marked a watershed in religous annals.

It comes after centuries of Christian demeaning of Jews.

"A major shift has occurred among mainline Protestant churches and 
Roman Catholics, but it's not without some challenges and pain," 
said retired Ohio Episcopal Bishop John H. Burt.

Burt, of Marquette, Mich., who chaired development of a new 
Episcopal Church stance toward Judaism, said the trend "has 
triggered some backlash."

Some of that backlash was indicated in the evangelical declaration 
drawn up by 15 scholars in April and since endorsed by the World 
Evangelical Fellowship, which estimates its global adherents at 100 
million.

"Some church leaders have retreated from embracing the task of 
evangelizing Jews," maintaining that "G_d's covenant with Israel" is 
sufficient for all times, the declaration says in its preamble.

However, it says the biblical status of Jews as "G_d's people" 
cannot save them without accepting Christ and that G_d's covenant 
with Jews was conditioned "upon the fore-dained sacrifice" of 
Christ.

While the declaration repudiates past persecutions of Jews and 
condemns anti-Semitism, the declaration describes "evangelizing of 
Jewish people as a priority," and discounts dialogue without that 
purpose.

The "biblical hope for Jewish people centers on their being restored 
through faith in Christ to their proper place as branches of G_d's 
olive tree from which they are at present broken off," the 
declaration says.

Jewish leaders voiced outrage. Rabbi Alexander Schindler, president 
of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations called the declaration 
"retrograde and primitive."

"It is a desperate attempt to stop the clock of progress in 
interreligous relations. Jews have no interest in dialogue with 
those who feel that they alone are worthy of G_d's grace."

Rabbi A. James Rudin, interreligous affairs director of the American 
Jewish Committee said the document is "shot through with the ancient 
Christian "teaching of contempt" for Jews and Judaism."

He said if the declaration's objective of converting Jews were 
totally successful it "would mean the end of Jewish life throughout 
the world," amounting to "spiritual genocide."

The Rev. Galin Hiestand of Wheaton, Ill., North American director of 
the World Evangelical Fellowship, said it had realized that making 
the declaration "would not be a popular thing to do."

Many noted theologians and actions by several denominations, the 
Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA) and United Church of 
Christ, have underscored the continuing validity of G_d's covenant 
with Jews.

The Rev. A. Roy Eckhard, a United Mthodist specialist on 
Christian-Jewish ties and longtime head of the religion department 
at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., termed the change in church 
attitudes "a revolution."

"It's the wave of the future, a very solid thing, so different from 
what has gone on for centuries," he said. "The other point of view 
is simply wrong and centuries of church history doesn't make it 
right."

He said the deepened New Testament understanding is that G_d's 
covenant with the Jews was opened "to the Gentiles" through Christ. 
"It's not a denial of roots but a rediscovery of roots."

He said the "other side" is "not really being faithful to 
Scripture," but does have "a little bit of partial truth" - that 
"Christians must not close the church doors to Jews or anyone. The 
doors must always be open."

    This is one of those things that comes around periodically.  In the
    early 70s there was a big project to evangelize college campuses.  I
    happened to be doing community relations work at the time and did some
    work with local groups to get them to be explicit about focusing on
    Christians and not Jews.  Most church organizations did, indeed,
    recognize that if they could succeed in getting Christians to practice
    Christianity they would have accomplished quite a bit.  Unfortunately,
    there are always some people who have no self-doubt; they KNOW they
    have the whole TRUTH...

    BTW, this is not a trait that is confined to one particular group, nor
    is it a hallmark of religious fundamentalists.  I have yet to meet a
    person that I consider religious that was sure that he/she had the
    answer for everybody.  There are, however, a lot of people who are
    sufficiently threatened by differences that they need to validate their
    own beliefs by imposing them on others.  Sometimes these people are
    liberals, sometimes conservatives, sometimes fundamentalists, sometimes
    freethinkers.

    Aaron

	I don't mind a Christian who says that he wants to convert Jews
	to Christianity, and I can't understand why other Jews get so
	upset at the theological underpinnings of such a statement.
	So some think we are doomed to hellfire ..... so what?
	Some think that God doesn't hear Jewish prayers .... so what?
	
	I think that extremist Christians have every right to believe whatever
	they want about the requirements for salvation. If extremist
	views on this topic strike me as somewhat crazy, all the better!
	The "crazier" these views are, and the more candidly they
	are expressed, the less likely they are to make headway with
	anyone.

	What I object to is preying on poor, friendless, confused or
	otherwise defenseless Jews (or anyone, for that matter) -- and
	I know for a fact that some missionary movements DO that! But,
	again, I think that we should distinguish between these 2 things.
	I have bemused respect for a traditional Christian who says,
	"Look, my understanding of my faith is that until all Jews accept
	Jesus the world will not be redeemed." 

	Except that he shouldn't hold his breath waiting!

	-Zaitch

    Re .2:
    
    >Except he shouldn't be holding his breath!
    
    Gee, I don't know, Zaitch......I've seen a lot of people coming
    out of church on Sunday with their faces blue from lack of air!
    
    Mark

    Bullshit not even worth to react to...
    
    Darkmoodedly yours,
    
    Chris