If #Jewish people are modern-day Pharisees, and #Christian people look unfavorably upon Pharisees, then what does that mean for #antisemitism?
#religion #Judaism #Christianity
6 thoughts on “”
@kolev What I’ve heard from progressive, educated Christians is that Pharisees AS A GROUP weren’t bad people. Only the specific INDIVIDUAL Pharisees who butted heads with Jesus behaved badly.
Unfortunately, the writers of the New Testament were sloppy, and they often just wrote “a Pharisee” instead of using the individual’s name. I believe that this is a major factor in the rampant antisemitism in some churches, especially the so-called “Bible churches”. It would have been so much better if Jesus’s enemies had been identified as named individuals. As a comparison, it would be okay for someone today to say “Pierre Poilievre and Bonnie Henry are bad people”, but it would be sloppy and harmful to say “Canadians are bad people”. Using actual names makes it clear that the individuals, not the entire group, are at fault.
I’m really lucky in that I live in a neighborhood where most of the churches are progressive, and there are good relationships between Jews and Christians. How are things where you live?
In my area, most Christians are respectful, but some non-denominational Christians have their eyes buried so deep in their Bibles that they can’t see the people in front of them. And what’s worse is that these types don’t subscribe to any outside authority; they depend only on their own interpretation of scripture, so positing popular arguments like the ones in Nostra Aetate fall on deaf ears. So much for “Do not rely only on your own limited understanding!”
@kolev What I’ve heard from progressive, educated Christians is that Pharisees AS A GROUP weren’t bad people. Only the specific INDIVIDUAL Pharisees who butted heads with Jesus behaved badly.
Unfortunately, the writers of the New Testament were sloppy, and they often just wrote “a Pharisee” instead of using the individual’s name. I believe that this is a major factor in the rampant antisemitism in some churches, especially the so-called “Bible churches”. It would have been so much better if Jesus’s enemies had been identified as named individuals. As a comparison, it would be okay for someone today to say “Pierre Poilievre and Bonnie Henry are bad people”, but it would be sloppy and harmful to say “Canadians are bad people”. Using actual names makes it clear that the individuals, not the entire group, are at fault.
I’m really lucky in that I live in a neighborhood where most of the churches are progressive, and there are good relationships between Jews and Christians. How are things where you live?
@Lkdc
In my area, most Christians are respectful, but some non-denominational Christians have their eyes buried so deep in their Bibles that they can’t see the people in front of them. And what’s worse is that these types don’t subscribe to any outside authority; they depend only on their own interpretation of scripture, so positing popular arguments like the ones in Nostra Aetate fall on deaf ears. So much for “Do not rely only on your own limited understanding!”
https://calebh.top/2025/03/29/in-my-area-most-christians/
Lkdc (@Lkdc@dmv.community) – Caleb Herbert
@kolev Sorry to hear that you have to deal with some of the more difficult Christians. I wish that I knew how to get through to them.