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Reply To: Why is it important for Christians to keep the sad history of Christian antisemitism in mind when responding to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the present?

#3351
Griffin Weiss
Participant

Hello Stevin,

I agree with your point that Christianity, like any and all world religions and ideologies, can face corruption and become a weapon or tool of discord and division. However, I am curious about your concept of disconnecting antisemitism from scripture. I think that throughout the old testament, there is a strain of antisemitic behavior from other people groups. The fact that Israel is constantly at war and being attacked by other groups is one evidence, but more visibly is the treatment of the Jews in the book of Esther, which is commonly seen as one of the first obvious cases of antisemitism. Also, in reference to your point about Jesus and his apostles, they were all Jewish people, and their teaching was also directed at redemption for Jews as well as Gentiles. Christian anitsemitism, I agree with you, is not something espoused in scripture, but I do think that there is evidence of it already occurring as Jews are targeted and mistreated in the Old Testament.