Abstract
Many +people connected with the Christian-Jewish dialogue as well as some ecclesial documents, including THE GIFTS AND THE CALLING OF GOD, have declared the church's relationship with the Jewish People totally unique. There is certainly an important dimension of this claim. Christianity has a theological and historical link with Judaism that is sui generis. The church accepts the Jewish Scriptures as revelatory and since Vatican II has proclaimed a special bonding with the Jewish People, a bonding it does not enjoy with any other world religion. But there is a danger that the uniqueness is sometimes overemphasized including in THE GIFTS AND THE CALLING. Such overemphasis has the potential to marginalize the Christian-Jewish dialogue as exclusively a North Atlantic issue. There is need to show how the documents generated by the Christian-Jewish dialogue have relevance for global Christianity and for the dialogue with other world religions.
Highlights
G&C boldly states its claim of uniqueness for the Christian-Jewish relations is the opening sentences of section #2
The second section of the document released on December 10, 2015 by the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews titled “ ‘The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable’ (Rom 11:29): A Reflection on Theological Questions Pertaining to Catholic-Jewish Relations on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate (No 4)” focuses on the special theological status of the Jewish-Catholic dialogue within the wider context of the interreligious dialogue as a whole
Our understanding of the Christian-Jewish relationship has been profoundly altered by the scholarship of the last several decades, an alteration which has left a permanent impact on how the church defines itself today. Such a re-definition of fundamental ecclesial identity needs to be carried over into any dialogues we develop with the Jewish community, as well as other religious communities. This realization of the church’s redefinition in light of the dialogue with Judaism and the new scholarship this dialogue has generated leads me to restate a basic point I emphasized in a recent plenary address on the implications of chapter four of Nostra Aetate for an Asian context given at a conference in Hong Kong
Summary
The second section of the document released on December 10, 2015 by the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews (part of the Pontifical Council for Ecumenism) titled “ ‘The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable’ (Rom 11:29): A Reflection on Theological Questions Pertaining to Catholic-Jewish Relations on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate (No 4)” (hereafter, G&C) focuses on the special theological status of the Jewish-Catholic dialogue within the wider context of the interreligious dialogue as a whole. In dialogues with representatives of the Asian religions Christian participants need to present their tradition in light of the revised perspectives on Christology and ecclesiology that have emerged from the scholarship generated as a result of chapter four of Nostra Aetate.[9] While G&C does acknowledge the impact of first century Judaism on the teachings of Jesus and the initial Christian communities it does not draw out the full implications of that influence for Christian self-identity today. It should be noted that there is one sentence in G&C on chapter four of Nostra Aetate which does posit a connection between the Christian-Jewish dialogue and the wider interreligious scene: “The relationship with Judaism can in that sense be seen as a catalyst for the determination of the relationship with the other world religions” (§ 19) This statement receives no further explication and is rather overwhelmed by the strong emphasis on the absolute uniqueness of the Christian-Jewish encounter
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
