WN: Jesus lives on in Jerusalem - Ynet News

[Guest shiloh357]

Yes , Yes we know all that Shiloh. hupo is talking of his personal experiences. Your comeback is always along the "Christians have persecuted Jews so it is understandable that Jews persecute Christians" line.

NEWSFLASH...It is wrong for either side to persecute the other.

Number one, I am speaking from history; 1,700 years of history. My personal experiences are anecdotal, but there is overwhelming history to support what I said. Furthermore, I have not said that it Jewish persecution is okay. I am explaining the rationale for why Jews reject Christianity and react with such anger and contempt when Jews convert to Christianity. I never said it was okay, nor did I attempt to justify it.

Saying it is understandable is not the same as saying it okay or justifiable.

I know the history and there is too much tension on both sides.

That is an understatement and an attempt at moral equivalence. Jews have far more grievances agasint Christianity for the last 1,700 years. That is historical fact. It doesn't make persecution right, but it helps Christians better understand what is really at the heart of why Jews oppose the gospel.

Israel does not oppose or persecute Gentiles to convert to Christianity in the Land. The attempt by the Orthodox Jews to keep Jews from converting and to prohibit conversion activities in Israel is seen by them as a preservation of their people. It is seen as a rejection of the centuries of deadly persecution that Christians inflicted upon them in the name of Christianity.

Christians in general, in Israel, enjoy a wide latitude of freedom of religion and freedom of worship. Christians are not persecutred for being Christians as they are in other countries. Israeli law forbids active conversion activities, but do not prohibit free expression of the Christian faith. Freedom of religion for Jews, Christians and Muslims is protected in Israel. That is why when Christian Palestinians in Bethlehem were persecuted by Muslims, they fled to Jerusalem to find relief and protection to practice their faith.

Like I said earlier, this is issue is often skewed by anti-Zionists (modern anti-Semities) who claim to be Chrisitians, but reject Israel as the fulfillment of the promises of God made to Israel through His prophets.

[psalmone]

There are Christians who hate Israel, who believe the founding of Israel was illegitimate, who side with anti-Zionists/anti-Semites and cite Jewish persecution of Christians as one of many reasons to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Israel. They use this persecution as means of singling Israel out for special condemnation despite the fact that Christians are persecuted everywhere in the world and other nations are not disparaged in the same way for it.

While Jewish persecution of believers in Israel is horrid, it is worth pointing out that it does not occur in a vacuum. Jewish backlash against Christians is rooted in 1,700 years of Jews being labled by Christians as a cursed race, subjected to merciless pogroms and other forms violence leading up to and including the Holocaust. Jews have, for nearly two millenia, been on the receiving end of intense hatred aimed at them by baptized Christians in good standing in their local churches. Many of the guards who worked in the concentration camps of WWII attended church every Sunday. The Jews have been held up as the emblem of God's eternal contempt and disdain. Theology was erected to elevate the church as the true Israel meant to replace the cursed and discarded Jewish people. The promises of God to restore Israel were selectively reinterpreted by Christian theologians as references to the "church age."

It is against that 1,700 year long backdrop of darkness and anti-Semitism that Jewish contempt of Christianity must be understood. There is no justification for persecution, but it is easier for Christians to be more patient and realize that from the Jewish perspective, conversion to Christianity from Judaism is viewed as treason, as siding with those who tortured and murdered Jews in the name of Jesus. To become a Christian in the eyes of most Jews, particularly those who still remember the holocaust is akin to siding with Hitler. They are not theologically equipped to understand the difference between nominal Christianity and genuine folllowers of Christ and so there needs to be greater patience on the part of Christians who are reaching out to them. The church has historically done almost incalcuable damage to Jeiwsh-Christian relations and the lines of communication are slowly being repaired.

well said!!!!!!!