|
|
|
Ask Your Angels For Help Prospering
Call on your guardian angel and your angel will come. Angels are not allowed to interfer in peoples lives unless invited. However, once invited they are more than glad to help. Try it get quiet, calm your emotions. Ask you guardian angel to help...
Meet Jesus' Sacrifice
Would Jesus go to through all the suffering of the cross If God's promises were a lie? Do we truly believe The entire Bible is the infallible word of God When we discount its application To the modern day church? When Jesus said we could do the...
Seven Truths - Perceiving this War Differently
Seven Truths - Perceiving this War Differently Dear Friends, May this find you all well and happy. I feel the need to share with you some thoughts about what helps me deal more positively deal with the impressions and feelings about this...
Stop Defending Your Faith
As a veteran catechist, I am often approached after class by fellow Catholics seeking help on issues of the faith. They usually come forward because someone challenged them to defend their beliefs. Embarrassment ensued when they were unable to offer...
The Athiest's Enigma
As an ancient African-American gospel song laments, life is filled with complications, sorrows and defeats for everyone. At times life can become an unmitigated horror as the world slowly but surely converts every plant that grows and ever creature...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
IT'S TIME TO RETIRE THE 'CHRIST-KILLER' CHARGE
Christ-killers!
That charge has been leveled against Jews for two-
thousand years. It has led to horrible, brutal
persecutions, culminating in the Nazi Holocaust and the
death of Six Million Jews.
The Holocaust brought about deep theological soul-
searching within Christianity. It led to a revised view of
the circumstances involving the Trial and Crucifixion of
Jesus, a more appreciative understanding of the Jewish
faith, and a more respectful approach to Jewish-Christian
relations.
Now comes Mel Gibson's highly controversial film, "The
Passion of the Christ," (premiere date: Ash Wednesday, Feb.
25, 2004). According to concerned Jewish and
Christian leaders, the film resurrects the Christ-killer
charge with a passion.
It is time to retire the Christ-killer charge, once and
for all. The Jews did not kill Jesus. The Romans killed
Jesus.
The most obvious evidence is the form of execution -
crucifixion - ordered by Pontius Pilate, the Roman
procurator of Judea. Crucifixion was not a Jewish form of
capital punishment.
The New Testament suggests that Pontius Pilate was
willing to release Jesus, but that the Jews wanted him
dead. It was the other way around. Pilate saw Jesus as a
dangerous messianic revolutionary, who had to be destroyed.
Pilate was a schemer and manipulator. He had full
control over the Jewish High Priest, who held office at
Pontius Pilate's discretion. He, Pilate, had final control
- since he kept the High Priest's officiating robes under
lock and key in the Tower of Antonia. The High Priest
needed these robes to officiate at major holidays, like
Passover. If he did not do Pilate's bidding, the robes
were not released to him, and he was replaced by a more
malleable High Priest (Source: "Man's Religions," by John
B. Ross [p. 574].)
Pilate was not the confused, conflicted, considerate,
stymied person pictured in the New Testament. He was a
harsh, brutal and cruel ruler. There was great unrest at
the time in the Holy Land. People were being oppressed by
Rome and craved liberation from Roman rule. They yearned
for the promised, triumphant Messiah.
The biblical accounts suggest that Jesus was put on
trial by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious court, yet the
religious Sanhedrin did not meet and would not have met at
night.
Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest, however, could and
apparently did meet that night with an advisory body - a
political
sanhedrin, which had no legal or religious
status. (Source: "Studies in the History of the
Sanhedrin," by Hugo Mantel, and "Who Crucified Jesus?" by
Solomon Zeitlin.)
What, then, caused the distortion of these details,
leading to such monumental, tragic consequences?
There was good reason for such caution in the telling and
writing of the story. With the death of Jesus, his
followers had to convince Rome that they had no issues with
Rome, and that they did not hold Rome or Pontius Pilate
responsible for Jesus' death. Above all, they had to
convince Rome that their "kingdom" was not of this world.
Even so, the Jesus followers were persecuted for years.
Christians faced horrible deaths by crucifixion or in Roman
arenas where they were fed to the lions for the
entertainment of emperors and the public.
Some years after Jesus, Jews did revolt, but the uprising
was crushed and the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E.
Another revolt followed in 132 C.E., led by Bar Kokhba, who
was declared the Messiah by Rabbi Akiba, a leading rabbi.
Three years later, Bar Kokhba and 580,000 Jews were killed
in battle, while tens of thousands of Jewish men and women
were sold into slavery.
It was not a good time to be a Jew or a follower of
Jesus, or to say or write anything that would have placed
Pontius Pilate or Rome in a bad light.
Those living around that time understood and knew how to
read between the lines. In time, however, the full story
was forgotten, lost or suppressed for ideological reasons,
leading to the formalization and institutionalization of
the perverse Christ-killer charge leveled against the
Jewish people.
We cannot change the past. But we can avoid the mistakes
of the past, now that we know better. It is time that we
retire the pernicious Christ-killer charge and bury it
forever. It has no legitimate place any more in decent,
knowledgeable, responsible Jewish-Christian relations,
teachings, or story-telling.
About the Author
Rolf Gompertz, who came to America as a refugee from Nazi
Germany, is the author of two current, biblical novels,
"Abraham, The Dreamer - An Erotic and Sacred Love Story"
and "A Jewish Novel about Jesus," and a self-help book,
"Sparks of Spirit - How to Find Love and Meaning in Your
Life 24 Hours a Day," which may be inspected or ordered at
www.amazon.com or www.iUniverse.com . He lives in North
Hollywood, CA. Mailto: rolfgompertz@yahoo.com .
|
|
|
|
|
| Religion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Religion may be defined as the presence of a belief in the sacred or the holy. ... The development of religion is therefore the course of religions aligning ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| religion online |
| Full texts by religious scholars. Topics include Bible, Theology, Ethics, Church and Society, Communication, Cultural Studies, Homiletics, Missions, ... |
| www.religion-online.org |
|
| Religion and Spirituality in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Yahoo! reviewed these sites and found them related to Religion and Spirituality. |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| Yahoo! - Document Not Found |
| Document Not Found. The document you requested was not found. The category you are trying to reach may have moved. To find a relocated category, ... |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| Virtual Religion Index |
| has moved! It is now located at. http://virtualreligion.net/vri/. Note the change of domain & Please notify the source of the link that landed you here. ... |
| religion.rutgers.edu |
|
| Religious News and Information |
| The latest news and coverage from the world of religion. From across the globe to here in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Time covers the most pertinent news ... |
| www.latimes.com |
|
| World Religions Religion Statistics Geography Church Statistics |
| Resources for research into world religions, large and (very) small. Includes links to websites, research papers, statistics, and specialized search ... |
| www.adherents.com |
|
| BBC - Religion & Ethics |
| News, features and weekly summary about religion in the UK. Includes information about religions, ethics issues, and BBC religious TV and radio programming. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| BBC - Religion & Ethics - Religions |
| An introduction to many of the religions of the world. Includes Jainism, Shinto, Sikhism, Rastafari, Paganism, and many others. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| Open Directory - Society: Religion and Spirituality |
| Kids and Teens: People and Society: Religion and Spirituality (307) ... World Religions and 101 Cults - Contains descriptions and personal commentary of ... |
| dmoz.org |
|
| Google Directory - Society > Religion and Spirituality |
| Kids and Teens > People and Society > Religion and Spirituality (347) ... Contains descriptions and personal commentary of religions, cults, sects, ... |
| www.google.com |
|
| Promoting religious understanding, tolerance and freedom. |
| Conflicts, evolution, science & religion evaluating each other ... "Study of the world's religions will lead to an understanding of religious diversity; ... |
| www.religioustolerance.org |
|
| Religious Studies Page |
| Gene Thursby's extensive collection of information and links for the study and interpretation of religions. Categories include religious traditions, ... |
| www.clas.ufl.edu |
|
| Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Religion |
| Religion blog: DMN writers and editors explore issues of faith, spirituality and values ... Religion links: Alphabetical list of religious and spiritual ... |
| www.dallasnews.com |
|
| Free Religion Ecards, Religion Greeting Cards, Religion Greetings ... |
| More of Religion ... Home : Religion Greetings ... Food And Drink | Gifts | Invitations | Kids | Love | Music | Pets | Religion | Specials | Sports | Stay ... |
| cards.123greetings.com |
|
| Religion -- Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Most evangelicals now live in China, South Korea, India, Africa and Latin America, where they are transforming their religion. In various ways, they are ... |
| www.philly.com |
|
| Religion | The WWW Virtual Library |
| Religions and belief systems (ancient and contemporary), religious history, mythology, ethics and humanism. this resource in English is indexed under: ... |
| vlib.org |
|
| Religion - washingtonpost.com |
| We explore matters of faith and religion on the first Sunday of each month. ... Religion Online Chats. Thursday, Nov. 16, 11 a.m. ET: Faiths Condemn Gay Sex ... |
| www.washingtonpost.com |
|
| allAfrica.com: Religion |
| All over Africa, religion is big business. In East Africa, I am particularly impressed by the rate of its growth in Uganda. Uganda is also the country in ... |
| allafrica.com |
|
| Error: Invalid story key (C3,20061205,,612040318,AR). |
| Obituaries · -- Death Notices · Schools · Detroit History. Nation/World. Nation/World · Politics/Gov · -- Election · Health · Religion · Technology. Sports ... |
| detnews.com |
|
|