Why a Lutheran-Jewish Dialogue at Christ the King?

A considerable emphasis on Lutheran-Jewish relations is taking place at Christ the King Lutheran Church this fall. Rabbi Roy Walter, Senior Rabbi at Congregation Emanu El, has both preached at Christ the King Church and taught an Introduction to Judaism in our Sunday School. On Sunday, November 2, the Melanchthon Institute together with the Holocaust Museum will co-sponsor a conference on "Martin Luther and Judaism" with special guest, the Rev. Dr. Franklin Sherman, chair of the Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). What has precipitated this rapprochement?

The study of Early Judaism has undergone some significant changes over the last 50 years. Throughout the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, descriptions of Judaism written primarily by Christian scholars tended to contrast Judaism and Christianity. Judaism, often called "normative Judaism," was the inferior religion. It was profoundly legalistic, fixed on fulfilling the Letter of the Law in the hope of divine reward. Some of the most influential scholars found a set of dichotomies with Judaism. For example, they described a development of the Jewish religion throughout the biblical period from the pure, prophetic origins to an increasingly deteriorated and legalistic form of faith during New Testament times. This was contrasted with early Christianity of the New Testament, particularly with the liberating events of the life of Jesus. Judaism, represented by the Pharisees as described in the Gospels, was finally overcome-or better, superceded-by the Spirit of Life. This meant nothing less than a liberation from an aberrant form of belief that brought about religious inclusivity rather than exclusivity.

Since the 1950s, major changes have taken place in the study of Early Judaism that call into question many of these assumptions. Of the many factors that brought about this change, four in particular stand out.

1. In North America, the creation of Departments of Religious Studies brought together Jewish and Christian scholars. These departments help to complement the Christian theological interpretation of the ancient world with a historical perspective.
2. Methodologies have changed, and scholars have become significantly more self-conscious about their methods and prejudices. The need for a dark foil of Pharisaic Judaism against which the life of Jesus shines bright does not inspire much confidence in the Christian message.
3. Christian reflections on the Holocaust have challenged many of the Christian stereotypes of Early Judaism, in particular the polemical and denigrating descriptions of early Judaism that stem, in no small measure, from Christian theological agendas.
4. Finally, manuscript discoveries of the twentieth century, particularly of the Dead Sea Scrolls, have not only brought together Jewish and Christian scholars. These texts have also forced us to come to a much more differentiated view of Jewish groups during the time of Jesus.

As a result we are seeing old stereotypes beginning to collapse. Instead of the monolithic block of legalistic Judaism, there begins to emerge a picture of a variegated Judaism. There were many groups of Judaism during the time of Jesus, just as there were many groups of Christianity in the late first century. In fact, the new appreciation for the diversified nature of Judaism opens up new avenues of research regarding the origins of Christianity.

In light of this new assessment of early Judaism the following question offers itself. When we come to realize that our historical description was too facile and driven to a significant degree by stereotypes, are we capable of taking the next step then and change our theology vis-a-vis Judaism as a consequence? This is precisely what has happened in the ELCA over the last decade. The ELCA has come up with a number of thoughtful declarations that seek to redefine the relationship between Lutherans and Jews. Other denominations have done the same. In fact, this willingness among several Christian denominations to reassess their relationship with Judaism has been so significant that a few years ago a group of Jewish scholars in return got together and produced a paper titled Dabru Emet ("Speak truthfully!"), in which they acknowledge and support these remarkable changes. We too at Christ the King Church are embracing these developments.

— Matthias Henze, chairperson of the adult curriculum committee

Last updated: 2003-10-01