Catholic Hopes for Changes in Post-Shoah Jewish Theologies of Christianity

• In Event: Ethics and Theology

Abstract

Modern Jewish-Catholic theological dialogues have often seemed one-sided. Catholics, shocked by the Shoah, developed new, positive views of Judaism and initiated major theological changes. Jews, for obvious reasons, have largely been spectators to this process, and have seldom proposed changes in Jewish theologies of Christianity. Recently, however, Catholics have begun to comment on Jews’ lack of a desire for mutual theological engagement. They have proposed that Jewish theologians grapple seriously with Christian theological claims according to Jewish terms and categories.

I will survey some of the new issues prominent Catholic theologians and church leaders have said should be included in the contemporary dialogue, organized in three categories:

1 One shared covenant: Catholics affirm the Jewish covenant but insist that it is not a parallel covenant, unconnected to the Christian covenant through Jesus. The two communities are inextricably linked theologically. The hope is that Jews might affirm some type of covenantal linkage, for without an affirmation by both parties to separate-but-related covenants, the claim is one-sided and even incoherent.

2 Christianity within God’s plan: Catholics have hoped that Jews would cease to view Christianity as simply a non-Jewish religion, lacking any distinctive role or connection to the God of Israel. Jews are asked to consider a more positive view of Christians than that of Noahides. This is not a request that Jews affirm an exclusively Christian claim but that Jews, applying Jewish standards, would recognize that Christianity fulfilled some Jewish hopes.

3 The Jewish Roots of Christianity: The now-common Christian emphasis on Jesus’ Jewishness has been expanded to focus on other ways that Christianity is rooted in (Second Temple) Judaism. While recognizing Christian adaptations to Jewish ideas, Catholics hope that Jews might affirm Jewish precedents for Christian claims. They might then see previously unacceptable claims as less objectionable or foreign if their roots are Jewish.

These requests reflect a conflict between mainstream models of interreligious dialogue (in which all are expected to be open to change and growth in their understandings of the truth) and the distinctive features of the Jewish-Christian relationship (marked by deep structural, theological, and historical imbalances).

author

• Adam Gregerman, Saint Joseph's University