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The Church and the Jews
Biblical relationship
$ 11
When the matter concerns the relationship between Jews and Gentiles, the main direction of traditional theology in the Church – is division. (This is also the direction of traditional rabbinic theology.) From the other hand, GOD’s main direction – is unity: take both and make a new creation out of them. In marriage with men and women, as well as in Biblical union with Jews and Gentiles, GOD’s purpose is neither subdual, nor abolishment of individuality, but mutual consolidation, service, and fruitfulness.
Theology that opposes the Church to the Jews is a substitutive (anti-Semitic) theology. The substitutive theology appeared as a response to Jewish Nation being “chosen”. Anti-Semitic tendency appeared long time ago. Shaul (Paul) refers to it in his letters to Romans. Nicene Counsel, 325 b.c.e. became a distinct and turning point in the history of the Church. Since then the theology accepted by the Church was built on anti-Semitic bases. Theological changes, accepted in Nice deprived the Church of its ability to stay faithful to GOD’s given mission. Those changes were fundamental and lasting. They consisted of seven parts:
1. Rejection of literal meaning of the Scripture in its context
2. Submission of the Scripture to authority of Church hierarchy
3. Determination that the Church doctrines and practice will oppose Jews
4. Set up of the mandatory uniformity in practice
5. Accepting government and sword as a way to keep cleanness in the Church (instead of being a way to victoriously fight sins in individual’s life, the cross became a way to have victory over the sinners in the society)
6. Accepting the sword of the government instead of the sword of the Spirit, the blood of the Lamb, and blood of believers as a way to triumph in the world
7. Accepting government’s support for the Church instead of the Church’s support of the government (the Church submitted its prophetic service to the government)
You cannot call these changes insignificant. That is a well-grounded falsification. The Church became the Church of Constantine. This book does not show all the changes and their consequences. It shows a historical testimony and major theological shift. The theological shift contained the idea: the Church called itself “New Israel”, taking place of the Jews. As the “New Israel” the Church identified itself as the Kingdom of GOD, because GOD promised to restore the Kingdom of Israel. Because of the fact that GOD entrusted the sword to the kingdom (nation) of Israel, “New Israel” got a hold of the sword as well. Even though this book doesn’t go through all the documentation of the Church in the first four centuries of its existence, it contains enough information to notice the development of that kind of theology, which was triumphal in Nice. We have enough reasons to understand the result of those changes. The disclosure of this Anti-Jewish (anti-Semitic) foundation will allow to bring light to two things: 1) what was built on this foundation and why it was built; 2) why modern theologies in some ways are different from Biblical teachings.
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