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Books > Religion & Spirituality > General > Interfaith relations
This history celebrates the Catholic League, an ecumenical society
founded in 1913 to promote the unity of Christians and to encourage
the journey of all towards the visible unity of the whole Church.
It was founded by Anglicans who believed passionately that the
future of their Church lay in the reunion of all Christians in a
common Catholic and Apostolic faith in restored full communion with
the Successor of Peter in the see of Rome. Today, its members
include Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Eastern Catholic,
Free Church Christians who work together in pursuit of the League's
four objectives: - The promotion of fellowship among those who
profess the Catholic faith; - The union of all Christians with the
Apostolic See of Rome; - The spread of the Catholic faith; - The
deepening of the spiritual life.
The Fourth Gospel is at the same time a sublime work that has
inspired and enriched the faith of countless Christians and a
problematic text that has provided potent anti-Jewish imagery
exploited in anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic discourse over the course
of two millennia. The Fourth Gospel contains approximately 70
references to hoi ioudaioi, a designation most often (and best)
translated as "the Jews." Several of these references are neutral
or descriptive, referring to Jewish festivals or specific
practices, and some depict individual Jews or Jewish groups as
interested in Jesus' message. The vast majority, however, express a
negative or even hostile stance towards the Jews. These passages
express several themes that became central to Christian anti-Jewish
and anti-Semitic discourse. These include the charge of deicide -
killing God - and the claim that the Jews have the devil as their
father (8:44). The essays in this book address both the Gospel's
stance towards the Jews and the Gospel's impact on Jewish-Christian
relations from antiquity to the present day, in a range of media,
including sermons, iconography, art, music, and film. A short
volume of collected essays cannot hope to address the full history
of the Fourth Gospel's impact on Jewish-Christian relations.
Nevertheless, it is hoped that this volume will contribute to the
efforts of Christians and Jews alike to find ways to appreciate
what is good and life-affirming about the Gospel of John, while
also acknowledging the damaging impact of its portrayal of Jews as
the children of Satan and the killers of Christ. Only when
Christians disavow this portrayal can the Gospel of John continue
to be a true source of inspiration and perhaps even a path forward
in the relationships between Jews and Christians in the modern
world.
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