Tahnk you for the information. I’ll look up this passage. I’m still not sure about Cardinal Ratzinger. Regardless of the circumstances, I would still expect him to issue an apology to the Jewish people (And I don’t know if he’s done this or not either.) As for him being pope, I don’t know. This is a bit of a shock, and I’m still processing this information.
I’m stil praying about Cardianl Ratzinger. I can imagine how you felt when you met those German men. I’ve experienced anti-Semitism many times, right here in the USA. And mostly from Christians. I’ve been called “Jesus killer” several times in my life.I appreciate your honesty.
I was only Jewish for 6 years and didn’t lose anyone in Nazi Germany, so I can’t claim to fully understand the visceral response to such a charge. I did have the weird experience of meeting a friend’s father and his friend, whom it turns out had been foot soldiers in Hitler’s army. These young soldiers were not guilty of the extremely gross crimes committed by the Nazi’s and yet they were even then (this was the early '80’s) anti-semitic. I was with my then fiance who was Israeli and they mistook me for also being Jewish (I hadn’t decided to convert yet). I will never forget what it was like to meet someone with hate for me merely because of who they thought I was.
I don’t believe in any way that Cardinal Ratzinger is anti-semitic, but I only caught a brief mention of the fact that he’d recently been scandalized by the mention of it in his youth. There were absolutely no details given. But he was one of Pope JPII’s closest confidants. I know JPII and I don’t think he would have drawn in someone who was anti-semitic.
But enough on that subject. How about the fact that the earliest Christians were Jews and that they had difficulty with the idea that salvation was meant for all the nations!
CARose
My guess is that as the Church expanded, there were more Gentiles than Jews. Catholicism is still very grounded in its Jewish roots. Who else has a hierarchy of priests or has a Sacrifice anymore?
Probably a little bit of pride. They were the chosen people who had stayed faithful and followed the law. Then these pagans who had worshipped false gods are given salvation. They (the Jews) probably thought they (the Gentiles) didn’t deserve salvation, which they didn’t. But neither did the Jews. It is only through the mercy of the Lord, without Him all are lost.
I can see that. Jews are a minority in the world, and always have been.
I remember seeing a news report on TV about Pope John Paul apologizing to the Jewish people. I guess that’s why so many Jews loved him. I remember when Jewish/Catholic relations were terrible. They seem to have gotten alot better in recent years.
I think PhilNeri answered this well. But this then leaves the question of how do we know it was supposed to happen in the first place. It makes me think of the story of Jonah, swallowed by a whale and only spit back out on the third day (a foreshadowing of Jesus’s resurrection) when he agrees to continue in his duty of warning the non-Jews of their imminent death if they don’t amend their ways. He was not happy to have to go and preach to Gentiles in the first place and then, when they listened and repented, he was really ticked-off that God would spare them.
That does make alot of sense. I’m sure the Jews of that day felt that they were no longer special when Gentiles started converting to the faith. That might be why the big split between Judaism and Christianity occurred. I’ve never heard of this before.
Several people on here have referred to the Catholic faith as the fulfillment of Judaism. This is really starting to spark my interest now.
I’ve actually heard that before, from some Protestant friends of mine. I must confess, I never really bothered to stop and ponder it.
Thanks for the information. I’ll read Hebrews. I take it this book was written to Jews, or written about Jews? Can you explain the context to me please?
There is some dispute in these days regarding the precise context. There is an excellent lecture that I think will help if you can manage to listen to it, Scott Hahn’s “The Book of Hebrews: The House of the Rising Son.” Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem during the years leading up to the destruction of the Temple by the Romans (i.e., prior to 70 AD). There is a lot in it but I guess the basic message is that Jesus had not only established a New Covenant with its priesthood but had also said that the Temple would be destroyed.
Thank you. I’ll try to find this Scott Hahn lecture. (I’ve read "Rome Sweet Home, by the way.) I’ll keep this context in mind when reading Hebrews.