Israel and the Church: Contribution to a Dialogue Vital for Peace

ISBN-10: 0804206503
ISBN-13: 9780804206501
Series: Israel and the Church
Pages: 125
Language: English
Published: 1969
Publisher: John Knox Press
Author: Markus Barth

Description

Ch. 2 (p. 43-78), "Was Paul an Anti-Semite?", appeared in the "Journal of Ecumenical Studies" 5 (1968). Ch. 3 (p. 79-117), "Israel and the Church in Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians", concludes that, among all the books of the New Testament, Ephesians speaks of Israel (i.e. the Jews) in the most positive terms. Notes that the use by Paul and other early Christians of passages from the Old Testament was not merely polemic, but was based on a genuine appreciation of Israel's role in the Divine intentions for non-Jews. On this basis, draws conclusions about Christian-Jewish relations for our time. Christians should focus not on their mission to Jews, but on their confession of indebtedness to them. The dreadful guilt of Christians reflects a long tradition of misunderstanding of Paul's attitude toward the Jews. Calls for genuine dialogue with the Jews on the basis of the above.