The earliest such patristic work that has come down to us is “Conversation with Tryphon the Jew” by Saint Justin the Philosopher. The Holy Father claims that the powers of the Holy Spirit ceased to operate among the Jews with the coming of Christ (Trif. 87). He points out that after the coming of Christ they no longer had a single prophet. At the same time, Saint Justin emphasizes the continuation of the Old Testament actions of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament Church: “What has previously existed among your people has come to us (Trif. 82)”; so that “one can see among us both women and men having gifts from the Spirit of God” (Trif. 88).
Tertullian († 220/240) in his work “Against the Jews” substantiates the Divinity of Christ through the prophecies of the Old Testament, the miracles of the New Testament and the life of the Church. The Old Testament is a preparation for the New, in it there are two series of prophecies about Christ: some speak of His coming in the form of a servant to suffer for the human race, the second refer to His future coming in glory. In the person of the Lord Christ, both Testaments are united: prophecies are brought to Him, and He Himself brings to fulfillment what is hoped for.
Saint Hippolytus of Rome, in a short “Treatise against the Jews,” uses quotes from the Old Testament to show the predicted sufferings of the Messiah on the cross and the future calling of the pagans, and denounces the Jews for the fact that, when the light of truth has already been revealed, they continue to wander in the darkness and stumble. Their fall and rejection were also predicted by the prophets.
Hieromartyr Cyprian of Carthage († 258) left “Three Books of Testimonies against the Jews.” This is a thematic selection of quotes from the Old and New Testaments. The first book contains evidence that “the Jews, according to the predictions, apostatized from God and lost the grace that had been bestowed upon them... and that their place was taken by Christians, pleasing the Lord by faith and coming from all nations and from all over the world.” The second part shows how the main Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In the third part based on Holy Scripture briefly outlines the commandments of Christian morality.
Saint John Chrysostom († 407) at the end of the 4th century pronounced “Five words against the Jews,” addressed to those Christians who attended synagogues and turned to Jewish rituals. The saint explains that after Christ Judaism lost its meaning, and therefore the observance of its rituals is contrary to the will of God and the observance of the Old Testament instructions now has no basis.
St. Augustine († 430) wrote Tractatus adversus Judaeos at the beginning of the 5th century, in which he argued that even if the Jews deserved the most severe punishment for sending Jesus to death, they were spared alive by God's Providence to serve, together with their Scriptures, as involuntary witnesses of the truth of Christianity.
The Monk Anastasius of Sinai († c. 700) wrote “The Dispute against the Jews.” Here, too, the end of the Old Testament law is indicated; In addition, attention is paid to the justification of the Divinity of Jesus Christ, as well as the veneration of icons, about which the monk says this: “We Christians, when we worship the cross, we do not worship the tree, but Christ crucified on it.”
In the 7th century, the Western saint Gregentius of Tafra compiled a record of his dispute with the Jew Herban - the dispute took place in the presence of King Omerit. Kherban, despite the saint’s arguments, continued to persist, then, through the prayer of the saint, a miracle happened: among the Jews present at the dispute, Christ appeared in a visible image, after which Rabbi Kherban, along with five and a half thousand Jews, was baptized.
In the same century, Saint Leontius of Naples († c. 650) wrote an apology against the Jews. He says that the Jews, pointing to the veneration of icons, accuse Christians of idolatry, citing the prohibition: “You shall not make for yourself idols or graven images” (Ex. 20: 4–5). In response, Saint Leontius, referring to Ex. 25:18 and Ezek. 41:18, writes: “If the Jews condemn us for the images, then they should condemn God for creating them,” and then continues: “We do not worship a tree, but the One who was crucified on the cross,” and “icons are an open book that reminds us of God.”
The Monk Nikita Stifat (11th century) wrote a short “Word to the Jews”, in which he recalls the end of the Old Testament law and the rejection of Judaism: “God hated and rejected the service of the Jews, and their Sabbaths, and holidays,” which he predicted through the prophets .
In the 14th century, Emperor John Cantacuzene wrote “Dialogue with a Jew.” Here, among other things, he points out to the Jew Xenus that, according to the prophet Isaiah, the New Testament will appear from Jerusalem: “The Law will appear from Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Is. 2: 3). It is impossible to admit that this was said about the Old Law, for it was given by God to Moses at Sinai and in the desert. It does not say “given,” but “will appear” from Zion. John asks Xenus: if Jesus was a deceiver, then how is it that neither God nor the pagan emperors were able to destroy Christianity, which was preached throughout the world. The dialogue ends with Xen's conversion to Orthodoxy.
In the patristic works one can find many harsh words about the Jews, for example the following: “They (the Jews) stumbled across everyone, everywhere they became intruders and traitors to the truth, they turned out to be haters of God, not lovers of God” ( Hippolytus of Rome, saint. Commentary on the book of the prophet Daniel).
But it should be remembered that, firstly, this was fully consistent with the then concepts of polemics, and secondly, Jewish writings of the same time, including religiously authoritative ones, contained no less, and sometimes even more harsh attacks and instructions regarding Christians.
In general, the Talmud instills a sharply negative, contemptuous attitude towards all non-Jews, including Christians. The book of later halakhic rulings “Shulchan Aruch” prescribes, if possible, to destroy the temples of Christians and everything belonging to them (Shulchan Aruch. Yoreh de "a 146); it is also forbidden to save a Christian from death, for example, if he falls into the water and even begins to promise all his state for salvation (Yoreh de'a 158, 1); it is allowed to test on a Christian, the medicine brings health or death; and, finally, a Jew is charged with the obligation to kill a Jew who converted to Christianity (Yoreh de'a 158, 1; Talmud. Aboda zara 26).
The Talmud contains many offensive, blasphemous statements about the Lord Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Theotokos. In the early Middle Ages, the anti-Christian work “Toldot Yeshu” (“Genealogy of Jesus”), filled with extremely blasphemous fabrications about Christ, became widespread among Jews. In addition, there were other anti-Christian treatises in medieval Jewish literature, in particular the Sefer Zerubavel.
Relations between Orthodox and Jews in history
As you know, from the very beginning of Christianity, the Jews became sharp opponents and persecutors of it. Much is said about their persecution of the apostles and early Christians in the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles.
Later, in 132 A.D., a revolt broke out in Palestine under the leadership of Simon Bar Kochba. Jewish religious leader Rabbi Akiva proclaimed him the “messiah.” There is information that, on the recommendation of the same Rabbi Akiva, Bar Kokhba killed Christian Jews.
After the first Christian emperor, Saint Constantine the Great, came to power in the Roman Empire, these tensions found new expressions, although many of the measures of the Christian emperors, which Jewish historians traditionally present as persecution of Judaism, were intended simply to protect Christians from the Jews.
For example, the Jews had the custom of forcing the slaves they acquired, including Christians, to be circumcised. On this occasion, Saint Constantine ordered the release of all slaves whom the Jews would persuade to Judaism and circumcision; Jews were also prohibited from purchasing Christian slaves. Then, the Jews had the custom of stoning those Jews who converted to Christianity. Saint Constantine took a number of measures to deprive them of this opportunity. In addition, from now on the Jews had no right to be members of the military service, as well as occupy government positions where the fate of Christians would depend on them. A person who converted from Christianity to Judaism lost his property.
Julian the Apostate allowed the Jews to restore the Temple of Jerusalem, and they quickly began to build it, but the storms and earthquakes that occurred, when even fire burst out of the ground, destroying workers and building materials, made this enterprise impossible.
Measures limiting the social status of the Jews were often caused by their actions demonstrating civic unreliability in the eyes of the emperors. For example, under Emperor Constance in 353, the Jews of Diocaesarea killed the garrison of the city and, choosing a certain Patricius as their leader, began to attack neighboring villages, killing both Christians and Samaritans. This uprising was suppressed by troops. Often, Jews living in Byzantine cities turned out to be traitors during wars with external enemies. For example, in 503, during the Persian siege of Constantia, the Jews dug an underground passage outside the city and let in enemy troops. Jews rebelled in 507 and 547. Even later, in 609, in Antioch, rebel Jews killed many rich citizens, burned their houses, and Patriarch Anastasius was dragged through the streets and, after many tortures, thrown into the fire. In 610, the four thousand Jewish population of Tire rebelled.
Speaking about Byzantine laws limiting the rights of Jews, it is worth noting that it is incorrect to interpret them as a manifestation of anti-Semitism, that is, actions directed specifically against Jews as a nationality. The fact is that these laws, as a rule, were directed not only against Jews, but against non-Christian inhabitants of the empire in general, in particular pagan Greeks (Hellenes).
In addition, it must be taken into account that Orthodox emperors also adopted decrees aimed at protecting the Jews.
Thus, Emperor Arcadius (395–408) charged provincial governors with preventing cases of insulting the Jewish patriarch (“nasi”) and attacks on synagogues and indicated that local rulers should not interfere in the communal self-government of Jews. Emperor Theodosius II also issued a decree in 438 in which Jews were guaranteed state protection in the event of a mob attack on their homes and synagogues.
Under Theodosius II, it was discovered that the Jews began the custom of burning a cross on the holiday of Purim, while in the city of Imme the Jews crucified a Christian child on a cross, and in Alexandria in 415 there were several examples of the beating of Christians by Jews. All these cases caused both popular indignation, which sometimes resulted in pogroms, and repression by the authorities.
In 529, the holy Emperor Justinian I adopted new laws, limiting the rights of Jews to property, inheritance rights, and he also forbade reading Talmudic books in synagogues, and instead ordered reading only books of the Old Testament, in Greek or Latin. Justinian's Code prohibited Jews from making any statements against the Christian religion, confirmed the prohibition of mixed marriages, as well as the transition from Orthodoxy to Judaism.
In the Orthodox West, measures similar to Byzantine ones were taken against the Jews. For example, under the Visigothic king Ricardo in 589, the Jews of Spain were prohibited from holding government positions, having Christian slaves, circumcising their slaves, and it was prescribed that children from mixed Jewish-Christian marriages must be baptized.
Regarding the Jews in Christian countries In the early Middle Ages, crimes did occur when, for example, a crowd could destroy a synagogue or beat up Jews, and some decrees of emperors seem discriminatory from the point of view of modern realities. However, it is worth considering that in those cases when the Jews came to power, the Christians subordinate to them faced no better fate, sometimes much worse.
In the 5th century, Jewish missionaries managed to convert Abu Karib, the king of the southern Arab kingdom of Himyar, to Judaism. His successor, Yusuf Dhu-Nuwas, gained fame as a bloody persecutor and tormentor of Christians. There was no such torture that Christians were not subjected to during his reign. The largest massacre of Christians occurred in 523. Dhu-Nuwas treacherously captured the Christian city of Najran, after which the inhabitants began to be led to specially dug ditches filled with burning tar; anyone who refused to accept Judaism was thrown into them alive. Several years earlier, in a similar manner, he exterminated the inhabitants of the city of Zafar. In response to this, Byzantium's allies, the Ethiopians, invaded Himyar and put an end to this kingdom.
Brutal Jewish persecution of Christians also occurred in the 610–620s in Palestine, captured by the Persians with the active support of local Jews. When the Persians besieged Jerusalem, the Jews living in the city, having entered into an agreement with the enemy of Byzantium, opened the gates from the inside, and the Persians burst into the city. A bloody nightmare began. Churches and houses of Christians were set on fire, Christians were massacred on the spot, and in this pogrom the Jews committed even more atrocities than the Persians. According to contemporaries, 60,000 Christians were killed and 35,000 were sold into slavery. The oppression and murder of Christians by Jews occurred then and in other places in Palestine.
Persian soldiers willingly sold the Christians captured into slavery, “the Jews, because of their enmity, bought them at a cheap price and killed them,” reports the Syrian historian. Many thousands of Christians died this way.
It is not surprising that at that time Emperor Heraclius treated the Jewish traitors harshly. These events largely determined the anti-Semitic sentiments of the entire European Middle Ages.
Jews often, speaking about the history of Christian-Jewish relations, emphasize the topic of forced baptisms, presenting them as a widespread and common practice for the Church in the Middle Ages. However, this picture does not correspond to reality.
The tyrant Phokas in 610, after the Antiochian uprising mentioned above, issued a decree that all Jews should be baptized, and sent the prefect George with troops to Jerusalem, who, when the Jews did not agree to be baptized voluntarily, forced them to do so with the help of soldiers. The same thing happened in Alexandria, and then the Jews rebelled, during which they killed Patriarch Theodore Scribo.
The heretical emperor Heraclius, who overthrew Phocas and propagated Monothelitism, was, as has already been said, irritated by the betrayal of the Jews during the war with the Persians, declared Judaism outlawed and tried to forcibly baptize the Jews. At the same time, he sent letters to Western Christian rulers, urging them to do the same with the Jews.
The Visigothic king Sisebut, influenced by the letters of Heraclius, also issued a decree that the Jews must either be baptized or leave the country. According to some estimates, up to 90,000 Spanish Jews were baptized at that time, who, among other things, swore in writing not to engage in usury. The Frankish king Dagobert then took similar steps and for the same reason on his lands.
The Orthodox Church reacted negatively to this attempt, both in the East and in the West.
In the East in 632, the Monk Maximus the Confessor condemned the forced baptism of Jews that took place in Carthage, carried out by the local ruler in fulfillment of the will of Heraclius.
In the West, in 633, the IV Council of Toledo took place, at which Saint Isidore of Seville condemned King Sisebut for excessive zeal and opposed the work he had undertaken. Under his influence, the Council condemned all attempts to forcibly baptize Jews as categorically unacceptable, declaring that conversion to Christianity could only be achieved by gentle methods of verbal persuasion. Saint Isidore even asked forgiveness to the Jewish community for the king’s “zeal.” The king himself canceled his anti-Jewish decrees.
As for Byzantium, although a case of forced baptism of Jews was recorded in Carthage, “however, in relation to the majority of Byzantine Jews of that time, the edict of 632 apparently did not have serious consequences... There is no indication that in Greece and even in Constantinople itself it was carried out somewhat consistently... According to the 9th century chronicler Nicephorus, it is known that already in 641, when Heraclius died, the Jews of Constantinople took part in street riots against his widow, and 20 years later - against the patriarch, and at the same time they even stormed the city cathedral - Hagia Sophia."
In Byzantium, another attempt at forced baptism was made in 721 by another heretical emperor, Leo III the Isaurian, who instilled iconoclasm and issued an edict on the baptism of Jews and Montanists, which forced many Jews to move from the cities of Byzantium. The Monk Theophan the Confessor reports about this event with obvious disapproval: “This year the king forced the Jews and Montanists to be baptized, but the Jews, baptized against their will, were cleansed from baptism as from defilement, accepted holy communion having eaten and thus mocked the faith” (Chronography. 714).
Jewish historians also point out that the forced baptism of Jews allegedly took place under Emperor Vasily I (867–886), however, Byzantine sources, in particular Theophanes’ Successor, although they mention Vasily’s desire for the Christianization of Jews, testify that he did this through peaceful means - the dispensation polemical disputes and a promise for newly converted ranks and rewards (Biographies of the Kings. V, 95). Jewish sources (chronicle of Ahimaaz) say that Jews who refused to be baptized were enslaved, and that there were even cases of torture, albeit isolated ones. Be that as it may, there is information that even under Vasily the Orthodox Church reacted negatively to his initiative.
Thus, four important circumstances are visible in this issue.
Firstly, attempts at forced Christianization of Jews took place later than the attempts at forced Judaization of Christians known in history.
Secondly, these attempts were the exception and not the rule in the policies of Christian rulers of the early Middle Ages.
Third, The Church negatively assessed these attempts and unequivocally condemned such an idea itself.
Fourthly, in many cases these attempts were made not by Orthodox emperors, but by heretics, who also persecuted the Orthodox at that time.
Jewish authors, reluctant to talk about historically known facts of conversion from Judaism to Orthodoxy, probably try to call almost every one of them “forced” or “forced due to anti-Semitic discrimination” because they cannot imagine that a person belonging to Judaism, capable of independently, voluntarily and wisely making a choice in favor of Orthodoxy. However, this is confirmed by many facts, for example, such as examples of conversion to Orthodoxy of Jews living in Catholic countries, examples of their loyalty to Christianity even to death in a communist state, examples of conversion to Orthodoxy in fascist and communist concentration camps, etc.
In general, despite the above laws, the Jews in Byzantium lived prosperously; it is known that Jews in other countries were amazed at their wealth and moved to the Orthodox empire; for example, it is known that Jews persecuted in Fatimid Egypt fled to Byzantium.
The fact that the Byzantines were not prejudiced against the Jewish nationality itself is evidenced by the fact that in the 14th century the Orthodox Jew Philotheus even became the Patriarch of Constantinople, and according to some historians, Emperor Michael II had Jewish roots.
Another popular theme in the history of Orthodox-Jewish relations is pogroms. They, indeed, took place, but the desire of Jewish historians to see behind each such case an indispensable conscious inspiration on the part of the Church is, to say the least, tendentious. On the contrary, the Orthodox Church, in the person of its most authoritative saints, has repeatedly condemned the actions of the pogromists. In particular, righteous John Kronstadtsky spoke out with a sharp denunciation of the Kishinev pogrom, saying: “What are you doing? Why did you become barbarians - thugs and robbers of people living in the same fatherland as you? (My thoughts on the violence of Christians against Jews in Chisinau). Also His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon wrote: “We are hearing news of Jewish pogroms... Orthodox Rus'! May this shame pass you by. May this curse not befall you. May your hand not be stained with blood crying to Heaven... Remember: pogroms are a dishonor for you” (Message dated July 8, 1919).
During the Jewish pogroms in Ukraine period civil war, as well as in the lands occupied by German troops during the Second World War, many Orthodox priests and ordinary believers sheltered Jews, saving them. In addition, the Russian Orthodox Church blessed the soldiers of the Red Army for their feat of arms, who in 1944–1945 liberated prisoners of such camps as Auschwitz, Majdanek, Stalag, Sachsenhausen, Ozarichi, and saved hundreds of thousands of Jews from the Budapest ghetto, Terezin, Baltic and many others . Also, clergy and laity of the Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian Churches took active measures during the war to save many Jews.
In general, we can say that in the history of relations between Jews and Orthodox Christians there were indeed many dark pages, but the facts do not provide grounds for presenting one of the parties to these relations as an innocent sufferer and victim, and the other as an unreasonable persecutor and tormentor.
(The ending follows.)
prot. Alexander Men
What's the attitude Orthodox Church to Judaism?
We call Judaism a religion that arose after Christianity, but very soon after it. There was only one basis for the three major monotheistic religions: this basis is called the Old Testament, created within the framework and in the bosom of ancient Israelite culture. On this basis, the later Judaism first arose, in the womb of which Christ was born and the apostles preached. By the end of the first century, a religion called Judaism emerged. What do we Christians have in common with this religion? Both they and we recognize the Old Testament, only for us it is part of the Bible, for them it is the whole Bible. We have our own statutory books that determine church and liturgical life. These are typikons, new canons, church charters, and so on. Judaism developed similar, but already its own, canons. In some ways they coincide with ours, in others they are separate.
How do modern Jewish priests understand God's chosenness? Why don't they recognize the Savior?
From the biblical point of view, being chosen by God is a calling. Every nation has its own calling in history, every nation bears a certain responsibility. The people of Israel received a religious messianic calling from God, and, as the apostle says, these gifts are irrevocable, that is, this calling remains until the end of history. A person can observe it or not, be faithful to it, change it, but God’s calling remains unchanged. Why didn’t they accept the Savior? The point is that this is not entirely accurate. If the Jews had not accepted Christ, who would have told us about Him? Who were the people who wrote the Gospels, the messages that were spread throughout ancient world news about Christ? These were also Jews. So some accepted it, others did not accept it, just like in Russia or France. Let's say Saint Joan of Arc accepted him, but Voltaire did not accept him. And we, too, have Holy Rus', and there is God-fighting Rus'. Everywhere there are two poles.
What can be done to prevent there being too many Jews in the clergy, in particular in Moscow?
I think this is a deep mistake. For example, I don’t know anyone in Moscow. We have about half of the Ukrainians, quite a lot of Belarusians, there are Tatars, there are a lot of Chuvash. There are no Jews there. But, according to the definition of the Russian Orthodox Church, according to its charter adopted at the council, it is a multinational Church. And the expulsion of Jewish elements from the Church must begin with taking out all the icons of the Mother of God, who was the daughter of Israel, throwing away the icons of all the apostles, burning the Gospel and the Bible and, finally, turning our backs on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was a Jew. It is impossible to carry out this operation on the Church, but they tried to carry it out several times. There were Gnostics who wanted to cut off the Old Testament from the New, but they were recognized as heretics, and the Fathers of the Church did not allow the spread of Gnosticism. There was a heretic named Marcion in the 2nd century who tried to prove that the Old Testament was the work of the devil. But he was declared a false teacher and expelled from the Church. Thus, this problem is old and has nothing to do with the Church.
Christianity came to the world, bringing the brotherhood of people. At a time when peoples were destroying and hating each other, it, through the mouth of the Apostle Paul, proclaimed that in Christ “there is neither Greek, nor Jew, nor barbarian, nor Scythian, neither slave nor free.” This does not mean at all that it denies the existence of people of different cultures, languages, histories, and nationalities. has always developed and supported all national forms of Christianity. Therefore, when we celebrated the millennium of Christianity in Rus', we all, believers and non-believers, knew what a huge influence the Church had on Russian culture. But it had the same influence on both Greek and Roman culture. Enter the temple and see the great contributions each nation has made to the Church. I have already said about the role of Israel: Christ, the Virgin Mary, Paul, the apostles. Next come the Syrians: countless martyrs. Greeks: Church Fathers. Italians: countless martyrs. There is no people who would not make their contribution to the huge and grandiose building of the Church. Each saint has his own fatherland, his own culture. And for us, who, by the will of God, live in a multinational state, the Christian ability to love, respect, and honor other peoples is not some idle addition, but a vital necessity. For he who does not respect foreign people does not respect himself. A people who respects themselves will always respect other peoples, just as a person who knows his language well loses nothing by knowing and loving other languages. A person who loves icon painting and ancient Russian singing can love both Bach and Gothic architecture. The fullness of culture is revealed in the joint creativity of different peoples.
A Jew-Christian is the greatest shame for a Jew. After all, you are a stranger to both Christians and Jews.
This is not true. Christianity was created in the bosom of Israel. The Mother of God, who is revered by millions of Christians, was a daughter of Israel, who loved her people just as every beautiful woman loves her people. The Apostle Paul, the greatest teacher of all Christianity, was a Jew. Therefore, the belonging of a Christian, especially a shepherd, to this ancient family, dating back four thousand years, is not a disadvantage, but a wonderful feeling that you are also involved in Sacred history.
I am completely alien to national prejudices, I love all peoples, but I never renounce my national origin, and the fact that the blood of Christ the Savior and the Apostles flows in my veins gives me only joy. It's just an honor for me.
For almost two millennia, Christian missionaries persuaded Jews to accept their faith, but each time they failed. What motivated our ancestors? Why did they turn out to be so “unyielding”?
IN Lately a lot is said and written about a number of religious movements of the Judeo-Christian persuasion. One of them, perhaps the loudest and most active, is “Jews for Jesus.” Apparently, a small group of Jews have discovered something very attractive in the tenets of Christianity, although the overwhelming majority of the Jewish people, as before, resolutely reject this religion.
For almost two thousand years, Christians have been flirting with Jews in the vain hope of winning them over to their side. But why do Jews so stubbornly reject an outstretched hand? Why is Jesus bad for us? In other words: why aren't we Christians?
To answer this question, let's take a look at the origins of Christian doctrine, about the founder of which Christians themselves say that he was a Jew. It is also known that this founder lived according to Jewish laws, and the timing of his life fell on a very turbulent time. Contemporaries of Jesus were the greatest Talmudic sages. Just one generation before him lived the great teacher of the law, Hillel, and a generation later, Rabbi Akiva. It is true that our national sources report very little about the private life of Jesus. Almost all available information goes back to the Gospels of the New Testament, written by figures of the early christian church for his flock. But the main purpose of the Gospels was to establish and spread the doctrine of the new religion. This is why it is so difficult to separate the real, historical Jesus from the mythical Christ (“anointed one”) that early Christian theology invented for its own ideological purposes.
Immediately after the death of Jesus, his followers made fundamental changes to their teaching. The foundations of modern Christianity were laid by Paul of Tarsus (Hebrew name Selah, in the accepted transcription Saul), former student the great Jewish sage Rabban Gamliel. This Sela began his career by actively fighting against the early Christians. Then, “having had an epiphany” on the way to Damascus, he converted to Christianity and soon became one of its leaders. The convert Paul never met Jesus, but claimed to have spoken with his spirit. It was under Paul that Christianity first proclaimed its most important dogmas, which have remained virtually unchanged since then. Paul's instructions are recorded in the so-called Epistles, which form the second part of the New Testament.
Paul formulated the following main tenets (dogmas) of the Christian faith:
- Jesus was the Messiah, in Greek Christ (anointed one). His coming was predicted by the biblical prophets and long awaited by the Jews. He is also the son of God and, as a son, has almost the same qualities as the Father.
- Man is bad and sinful by nature. All of humanity was cursed due to Adam's original sin. The Jewish Torah cannot save a person because its many commandments are too difficult to fulfill. The only thing that can save you from complete damnation and hell is faith in Christ.
- In the beginning, the Jews were the chosen people, but then God rejected them for refusing to accept His son, Jesus. The very name Israel, given by God to His people, no longer belongs to the Jews, but to those who believe in Jesus the Messiah. Only they are worthy of His love and protection.
All others are doomed to burn in “fiery Gehenna.”
- With the coming of Christ, only one law remained. It is a duty to love. People should take the example of Jesus, imitate his sacrifice, humility, long-suffering - in the hope that God will show mercy towards them.
Just by listing these four dogmas, it is clear why Jews do not accept the Christian faith. Let us try to raise objections to them from the Jews.
- Jesus could not be the Messiah. The biblical prophets, who actually predicted that the Messiah would come, at the same time promised that after his arrival there would come an era of universal peace and love. But, as we see, this has not happened yet. In addition, any talk about the Messiah being the “son of God” is absolutely unacceptable for Jews. According to the same biblical prophecies, the Savior (if we use this word) will only be an outstanding leader and teacher, but nothing more.
- Although original sin does exist, the Torah teaches that man can overcome it. It does not dominate a person like an irresistible rock. Yes, man is a sinner, but it was for our correction and perfection that we received the Torah from G-d. It is absurd to claim that the Law given by G-d is impossible or very difficult to fulfill. Moreover, we do not know of a single Jewish source that speaks of the possibility of salvation (even from damnation, for example) through faith alone. Sincere faith in G-d should lead to keeping His commandments. Save, i.e. Only the observance of the commandments can justify a person’s life.
- It is impossible to imagine that G‑d would one day decide to reject the Jewish people. The Torah clearly and repeatedly speaks of the eternity of our union with Him. The Almighty is not a man to revoke His promises.
- The Torah was given to people for eternity. She herself repeats this promise several times. Therefore, it cannot be replaced by some new agreement or law. Love alone is clearly not enough; you need to be able to express it. This is exactly what the Torah teaches us. Love for one's neighbor is only one of her commandments; but love must be supported by good deeds.
Why do we believe in these ideas, and not in the Christian postulates of Paul and his followers? The fact is that Jesus did not show himself in any way to be the Messiah that the Jews expect. Prophecies about the messianic era predict what awaits people in the future happy life in a conflict-free world, with the complete triumph of love and universal truth, when evil in all its manifestations disappears: there will be no lies, no hatred, no violence, no idolatry. As we see, Christianity failed to fulfill any of these conditions.
Christians do not agree with our objection. All these changes, they say, happened with the coming of Jesus. They are simply invisible, since the person is still sinful and does not want to accept Christ and his teaching. Therefore, they say, the Messiah-Christ must return to earth one more time to prove the legitimacy of his mission.
For their part, Jews do not accept the argument that the main biblical prophecies about the Messiah and his era will come true only after the “second coming.” We are convinced that the Messiah will complete his great task at the first try, which means that his coming has not yet taken place.
But we're talking about not only about the personality of the Messiah and the time of his coming. Christianity also teaches that Jesus was, as it were, a “double” of God, endowed with human flesh. Jews strongly reject such a concept. Anyone who claims that G-d takes the form of a person thereby belittles His greatness and undermines faith in His Unity and Absolute Omnipotence.
To speak of a “god-man” means to be an idolater.
Jews differ from Christians not only on matters of faith; We have different views on the role of man in this world. Christianity does not see the benefit in human actions, in his striving for perfection. The only thing that can save him, they say, is a state of extreme disappointment with material life, the bearer of sinfulness, as well as complete dependence on G-d. Jews are convinced that a person can get closer to G-d by FOLLOWING His commandments and submitting to His will. But at the same time remaining those who have freedom of choice.
Thus, Christianity and Judaism have completely different, essentially opposite concepts of man.
Judaism asserts that man is created “in the image and likeness of G‑d.” Therefore, he can easily find Divine qualities in himself and in the people around him. By fulfilling the commandments, we thereby allow the Divine spark to flare up in us. The Jew strives not to miss this opportunity.
At the same time, the original postulate of Christianity tries to convince us of the original sinfulness and inferiority of man. Left alone with himself, a person is doomed to complete damnation. His nature is drawn to evil, so he must do something to save himself.
“What have you done to save yourself?” This is the first question of Christianity. To a Jew, such a formulation of the question seems meaningless. She is generally far from the Jewish way of thinking. The Jew puts the question differently: “How can I serve G‑d? How can I keep His commandments?” For the main goal of Judaism is to observe the laws of the Torah. We see in man, first of all, his potential greatness, for he alone in the entire universe is endowed with the ability to fulfill the commandments and carry out the will of the Creator.
Man is so bad, Christians say, that true service to G-d is simply beyond his capacity. The Torah is too difficult for people. Therefore, they can only believe in Christ and wait for salvation.
The Jews answer: since God Himself gave us the commandments and ordered us to fulfill them, it means that we are able to serve Him and carry out His will. Is it possible to believe that He deliberately placed an unbearable burden on His chosen people?
Although all of Jesus' disciples were Jews, they were unable to convince their fellow tribesmen of the correctness of the new religious doctrine. Already at its inception, Christianity was closer to paganism than to Judaism. Time passed, but the differences between these two worldviews did not soften, but, on the contrary, began to intensify. The Jews more and more decisively rejected the new teaching; representatives of other nations enthusiastically joined the ranks of Christian proselytes. As a result, Christianity increasingly turned into a non-Jewish, and sometimes anti-Jewish, religion. The Church persistently called on Jews to join it, using persuasion, and since the Church established itself as the state religion in the Roman Empire, resorting to violence and cruelty. But the Jews held firm. Christianity has achieved considerable success; it has changed the course of history. But he never succeeded in subduing the Jews. The people of Israel clung tenaciously to the Torah as they continued on their unique path.
The Jews most consistently rejected two of the most important Christian tenets: that Jesus is G-d in human form and that the Torah has lost its original meaning. Even the threat of death could not force the Jews to accept these provisions.
But while rejecting Christianity as a whole, Judaism did not challenge the spiritual side of its teachings. Despite the banality of Jesus’ sermons from the point of view of the Torah, they made an undeniable contribution to the formation of the spiritual and moral values of the non-Jewish world.
But every Jew always knew that the Torah gave him a unique connection with G-d. Everything he discovered in Christianity interfered with this connection and contradicted its essence. This is why the Jewish people rejected Christian dogma for centuries. He believed with complete faith that he was following the only correct path, ordained by G‑d, and categorically refused to leave it.
“We do not have the luxury of fighting on all battlefields.
This way we will never achieve our goal. We are too much for this
are few in number, and the blood of the children of Israel is too precious.
Our weapon is the Bible, and the world of the goyim must be laid at our feet by the goyim themselves,
whose blood and property rightfully belong to us.”
Rabbi Yechiel Michl Pines
"The unity of Judaism and Christianity has a real basis of spiritual and natural kinship
and positive religious interests. We are united with the Jews, without abandoning Christianity,
not in spite of Christianity, but in the name and power of Christianity"
Alexy II
The very existence of the Jews, their incredible vitality and stunning triumph in the enslavement of peoples already suggests serious thoughts. Where is the answer to the fact that one single tribe, without its own shelter and scattered among other peoples, despite repeated persecutions and expulsion from all countries, has retained its appearance and continues to nurture its manic idea of world domination?
We need to start with Judaism - the religion of the Jews, since Christianity is its direct and immediate product. And second: if you want to understand the people, study them national religion and culture. We will not understand Christianity or Jews if we do not understand Judaism. A peculiarity of Judaism is that the Jews are fueled by the evil belief that they are “God’s chosen ones,” chosen by their god to exterminate other peoples. With the exception of those whom they will make their direct slaves. According to the Bible, according to an agreement with Jehovah, they should receive power over the world by sacrificing the blood of pagan foreigners.
What conclusions can be drawn if in the Bible Moses sent Joshua and Caleb Jephunnene on reconnaissance. When they return, they say: “Do not be afraid of the people of this land, for they will be devoured by you” ( Numbers 14:9). “Meek” David does not just kill all foreigners in a row (adults, babies, elders), but sweetly invents sophisticated tortures, puts them under threshing machines, under iron axes, burns them in fiery furnaces ( 2 Samuel 12:31).
All the psalms of David are imbued with bloodthirstiness, hatred of other peoples, and the desire to enslave them. "...ask of me, and I will give the nations as an inheritance to you, and to possess the ends of the earth for you. You will strike them with a rod, like a potter's vessel, you will crush them in pieces..." ( Psalm 2:8-9). "...let the saints triumph in glory and rejoice on their beds, praises to God in their mouths and a two-edged sword in their hand. To bring vengeance on the nations, punishment on the tribes. To imprison their kings in chains and their nobles in iron fetters ..." ( Psalm 149:5-8). "Daughter of Babylon, desolator! Blessed is he who repays you for what you have done to us! Blessed is he who takes and dashes your babies against a stone!" ( Psalm 136:7-9).
"You (Jews) will take possession of nations that are larger and stronger than you; every place you set foot on will be yours; no one will stand against you" ( Deuteronomy 11:23-25).
“Your (Jewish people - SCh.) thy God is leading you to the land which he swore... to give you, with large and good cities, which YOU DIDN’T BUILD, and with houses filled with all good things, which YOU DIDN’T FILL, and with wells hewn from stone, which YOU DIDN'T CUT, with vineyards and olive trees, which YOU DIDN'T PLANT, and you will eat and be satisfied" ( Deuteronomy 6:10-11).
The greatest and most joyful Jewish holidays are Passover (Passover) and Purim.
Easter- a holiday in joy about the complete killing of Egyptian children ( Exodus, ch. 1-16).
Purim- a holiday in joy about the slaughter of 75 thousand pagan Persians. And they executed not only men, but women and children ( book of esther). Jehovah promised his followers enslavement and dominion over the world, but only for strict observance of his commandments.
The content of the Shephokh prayer, said on Easter evening, is compiled from the psalms of David: “Pour out your wrath on the pagans who do not recognize you, and on the kingdoms that do not recognize your name... Pour out your wrath on them, and let the flames of your wrath engulf them them...Pursue them in wrath and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord" ( Psalms 79:6, 69;25; Lamentations 3:66).
An expert on the history of Rome, the Englishman Edward Gibbon testifies that in Cyrienac under Emperor Trajan, Jews massacred 220 thousand Greeks, in Cyprus - 240 thousand. A huge number of Egyptians also became their victims. Many of these unfortunates were cut into pieces, content with the example of David.
Jewish historians of the early 20th century either remain silent about these events or mention them in passing. Usually all that is said about this uprising is that it was brutally suppressed by Roman troops with the victims of the “poor,” “unfortunate,” “humiliated” Jews. And not a word about the gigantic victims of the innocent indigenous population, destroyed by the Jews at the request of their religion. But no one forcibly resettled Jews either to Cyrenaica or Cyprus. They appeared there as ordinary settlers - merchants and moneylenders. The indigenous population did not pose any obstacles to their arrival. They are kind when they come. But not when they settle down and begin to live among the peoples who sheltered them.
Judaism is defined by the Talmud, the “holy” book of the Jews, the highest code of Judaism. The very word "Talmud" in Hebrew means "instructions." It's like a set of rules, both civil and religious. The Talmud includes 52 volumes, and 6 of them, with abbreviations and elimination of some “inconvenient” places, have been translated into non-Jewish languages. The remaining 46 volumes are kept strictly secret and are known only to the top rabbis. About getting acquainted with such a book as " Ibbur", many rabbis of the lower degrees dream. The Old Testament grew out of the Talmud, the Old Testament is the smoothed out and sleek 6 books of the Talmud, from which the most disgusting moments were removed (but the tails still remained). The New Testament, which describes the adventures of Christ and the letters of the apostles, grew out of of the old testament. Both of these testaments define a single whole - the Bible. Contrasting both covenants with each other is demagoguery for the weak-minded. In fact, the old covenant serves as the basis for the new covenant. Without the Old Testament, the new covenant is unthinkable.
Both in the Talmud and in the New Testament, only Jews act as teachers of the law, only under different names: in the first - rabbis, that is, rabbis, in the second - apostles, which in Greek means “messengers”. What is meant, of course, are the messengers of the same Jewish god Yahweh, whose name in the Bible, which the Jews themselves first translated into Greek, so as not to irritate non-Jews, is everywhere replaced by the word “Lord.” But the sum, as is known, does not change due to changes in the places of the terms.
Misunderstanding of the essence of the Bible reaches the point that Christians are unable to answer even the simplest, most elementary questions regarding this book - the direct subject of their faith. Ask any Christian: “How many religions does the Bible define? What are they called? How are they different? Why are they in the same book?” You will most often hear incorrect answers. Most likely, no one will answer them at all. And the trick is this.
All canonical religious books Usually they ask one religion. For example, the Koran defines Islam and nothing else, while the Avesta defines only Zoroastrianism. In the case of the Bible, everything is different: it sets TWO religion. One (Old Testament) is Judaism, the other (New Testament) is Christianity. What's the difference? The difference is huge, but this is hardly clearly highlighted anywhere, which allows you to fool your head as much as you like. Judaism and Christianity are almost opposite in their value systems. But why are they in the same book? How can they get along together even though they are so different from each other? The answer is quite simple.
The Bible is ONE book made up of TWO religious systems . The Bible is a worldwide blueprint for building a slave system. In every slave-owning system there is a class of slaves, who are a thing, and a class of slave owners, who have slaves and do with them what they want. Judaism is a religion for slave owners (Jews). Christianity is a religion for slaves (non-Jews). That's the whole Bible. The main point Christianity - to nurture more despicable slaves. Judaism and Christianity form two opposing psychotypes. Judaism shapes the slave owner's thinking. Christianity shapes the slave's thinking. That's all the Jewish games at Christianity.
Judaism raises the self-esteem of a Jew to spiritual heights. The Jew is told: “You are chosen by God. All other peoples are non-humans, service animals. You must manage other people. You must make your way everywhere and pull your own. The property of the goy is your property, which is temporarily with him. An eye, a tooth for a tooth." Therefore, Jews do not go to weld steel or mine coal in mines or repair elevators, but go to banks, to the media, to managers, to commercial structures, where there are people everywhere.
Christianity teaches a person the opposite: “You are a servant of God. You are a small, sinful person. You need to repent, humble yourself, pride is a sin, interest in women is a sin, a full-blooded life is a sin. The thought of sin is also a sin. Don’t worry about tomorrow, this is what Jesus said. Be patient, for God endures and he commanded us. If you hit us in the face, turn the other cheek. If they take away your outer clothing, give us your shirt too. If they rape your wife, offer your daughter as well. Give your property to the poor, take your cross and forward. And His grace will descend upon you. And if you are self-willed, you will go to hell."
Christian hierarchs do not hesitate to openly call Christians lambs (sheep) that need to be shepherded. And those who shepherd are directly called shepherds (shepherds). And the Christian agrees with this. Christians are called servants of God, and they call themselves that too. They consider such treatment of themselves normal. It's natural for them. One can recall the wedding ceremony of “a servant of God to a servant of God.” But it’s even better to remember the very characteristic saying of the apostle Pavel: "Slaves, obey your masters with humility"The main thing is that he should not just be a servant of God, but a sinful slave.
Churchmen love to talk about returning the herd of 24-hour rams (sheep) to the fold (to the bosom of the holy church). This is one of their favorite topics. The sheep is the most frequently mentioned animal in the Bible.
Ideally, Jewish slave owners would like Christian slaves to behave as Christ teaches them: “... love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who mistreat you” (Matthew 5:43-44) . That is, the ideal Christian is a wretched and hunted creature who, after a blow, readily turns the other cheek.
The Bible is the history of the Jews. Jesus is a Jew. The apostles are Jews. These books were written by Jews. All characters are Jews. This story is intended for Jews and promotes the superiority of Jews over other peoples.
It is difficult to unambiguously determine the attitude of Jews towards Jesus Christ, since most of them are adherents of rabbinic Judaism, based on the Talmud, the predecessor of which was the Pharisaic teaching. The main difficulty that causes such an ambiguous attitude is that he did not establish the prophesied kingdom of Israel, which was supposed to bring liberation to the Jewish people, did not realize or fulfill most of the prophecies that are in Old Testament. Therefore, many Jews do not see Jesus as the Messiah who was supposed to bring prosperity to the whole earth.
Due to the fact that, unlike other Christian religions, Judaism requires the literal, not delayed in time, occupation of the throne of David by the Messiah, and eternal reign on it, the attitude of the Jews towards Jesus Christ remains unchanged in its denial of him as the Messiah. Therefore, one should not count in the future on mass voluntary faith of Jews in Christ as God, especially for the Jews of the Haridim, that is, Orthodox, world. For them, if such a process is possible before his Second Coming, then only in the same supernatural way as happened with the Apostle Paul, to whom Jesus appeared personally, and the appearance of a direct prophecy associated with the blindness that appeared in the apostle. Even though Paul was familiar with the teachings of the Jewish Christians, and was personally present during Stephen's dying sermon, only a miracle helped him to be convinced of the correctness of the teachings preached by the first followers of Jesus.
Described in the words of the Apostle Paul, the prophecy of Isaiah, foreshadowing the salvation of Israel, speaks of the coming of a deliverer for Zion. Only at this moment, according to Zechariah’s prophecy, will believers be able to understand and accept his coming, that is, see the Messiah in him and really believe in him. At this point, God will be able to take away the sins of the Jews, and the Jewish people will be saved by their Messiah Jesus. And it is precisely this interpretation, which does not coincide with classical expectations and ideas about how salvation will take place, that is more correct than the point of view accepted today.
Based on this, the understanding of some events becomes more consistent and logical, but does not change the previously established attitude of the Jews towards Jesus Christ. According to biblical texts, the Jewish people are to meet their Messiah on Earth, and will remain the people of Israel for the entire thousand years of the coming Messianic period. At this time, the Church from a part of the Jews and Hellenes remains to “reign with Christ”, while the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the great apostles of the Church will remain separately on the New Jerusalem, and its inhabitants, that is, people living in the New Jerusalem, will be called simply servants of God . This means that neither absorption nor, especially, displacement of one another occurs.
Based existing system Jewish faith, and its basic criteria regarding how the Messiah should act, and what results this should bring to the Jewish people in a literal sense, there is an obvious conclusion about the attitude of the Jews to Christ as having failed in his obligations to the people of Israel. Only literally and accurately fulfilled prophecies found in the holy books can change this point of view. Therefore, today there is no significant amount of evidence that would allow us to expect the Jews to quickly believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior and Messiah, and this situation will continue until the Second Coming of Jesus.