How Christians feel about Jews?

[mayapple]

Please forgive me for asking this question. It is quite important to me. I know you want me to become Christian. Yet being Jewish I have this nagging fear that most, if not all Christians view as "Christkillers." How can I turn to Christianity when believers have such a negative perspective on us?

[Ann]

Hello Lynda
I am very glad you asked that question. When I was growing up I knew some people who felt that way. They were gentiles but whether they were Christians in the sense of having Christ in them is pretty questionable. There are some people of every background who have preconceived ideas about other people, people who lump all people of certain groups together and put them down. It makes me sad to think that there are people who are Christians who think and act like that but we are not perfect and so there undoubtedly are. However, I really believe the great majority of Christians do not have bad feelings towards Jews. Most Christians think of the attitude you expressed as something that would be said by Nazi's or other "hatemongers" not something that would be said in our churches or in our families. I live in the South and I know there are people who claim to be Christians who still hate people whose skin is different from theirs but they are not in the majority and most people will not put up with that kind of talk. It is the same way with attitudes towards Jews.

May I insert a definition here to clarify things. When we say Christian we mean someone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. I would think that definition is also the one you are using in your question. Is that correct? We believe that everyone both Gentile and Jew has sinned and come short of God's holiness. We believe that no sacrifice whether an animal, a good intention, an offering, nothing, except a perfect man offering himself can make it possible for us to come to God's presence and not be destroyed when out unholiness comes into contact with His perfect holiness. We believe that the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross was the perfect attonement for sin and that anyone who will acknowledge their need for a Savior and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and their only means of getting rid of sin is saved. In this it is much like the way people of old laid their hand on the animal to be sacrificed to express their identitification with that sacrifice and that only as they did that was the sacrifice relevant to their condition. One does not stop being a Jew to or by becoming a Christian. Just as a person whose heritage is English or Polish or African does not stop being English or African or Polish.

Christians owe very much to the Jews and I think many realize that. Jesus is a Jew and He is our Savior. We believe that what we call the New Testament as well as the Law and the Prophets which we call the Old Testament is God's annointed Word. The New Testament makes very clear that that it is the Jews who preserved the Holy Word and gave us much of our understanding of God, of where mankind came from, of how God deals with man, of the promises of the Messiah, of the culmination of the ages and much more. The book we call Romans is one of many that has references that show this. Christian children learn the 10 commandments, the 23rd psalm, the wonderful history of David, of Abraham, of Noah, and more from the Law and the Prophets. With out the Jews we would have none of that. The majority of the writers through whom God gave what we call the New Testament were Jews who believed on Jesus and knew Him as the Messiah.

For many of us there is a real sense of having been grafted in to the great Jewish tradiitions and understanding of God.

Jesus forgave those who crucified Him both Roman (gentile) and Jew. Who are we who claim to love and live for Him to do anything different? He forgave us our sin. He ended our sure trip to hell by intervening on our behalf. It is a strong principle of Christian faith that if we want God's forgiveness we must forgive others. We also know the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a part of God's perfect plan for the redemption of mankind.

If you would like to discuss this further please post again or email. I would conider it a proivelege to talk with you about these things. In case you are wondering how I know your name I went to your website. It is excellent. My husband is disabled and I think I will find some good resources there. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[grandpa]

:angel: Hi Mizz Lynda: Grandpa Here. Welcome-Welcome. This purpose of this entire Site is to be as loving and Suportive as possible. Your Post was about four lines long but contains some serious points. First if anyone were to ask 100 people at random what they thought about the Jews, There would be about 100 different answers. These would include a number of different "I dont know and I am not sure" answers. If possible, do not worry too much about what others think.

On Becoming a Christian: Mizz Ann's point about being "grafted" is valid and Scriptural.
To become a Christian--Just Ask. Lord Jesus Save Me. After that, The Holy Spirit of God will begin to work in your life and you will see things that you never saw before. You will understand things That you never thought about before. It is a wonderful WAY of Life.

Keep us posted. We care. We Love You. Agape. Grandpa.:) :D :biggrin: :cool: