I agree that there are dangers in glibly assuming that Judaism and Christianity are basically the same thing. They are radically different in theology, in ethics and everything else, and any attempt at dialogue which doesn't acknowledge that is at best meaningless warm fuzziness and quite likely actually harmful. There is a long history of antagonism between the two religions too, primarily in the form of Christian persecution of Jews after the first couple of centuries, and it's dangerous to gloss over that to claim that we all love eachother and everything is harmonious.
However, I don't entirely agree with this lecture as summarized here. For one thing it puts way too much emphasis on the Bible. It's true to say we don't really have much of a shared text, and that's an important point. Though there is a much bigger range in Christian attitudes to the Bible, particularly the question of whether authority is primarily textual or primarily Apostolic, than this summary would suggest.
But aside from the important differences in the way we read some of the same words, the point this talk is completely omitting is that Judaism and Christianity very much do have a shared cultural heritage. Jews and Christians have lived together for the whole of European history, and the two traditions have inevitably influenced eachother, with repeated cross-fertilizations continuing for centuries after the original split and into the present day. I agree it's a problem if this is used as an excuse for Jews and Christians to respond negatively to Islam. But the fact is that Jews and Christians do have a much more closely linked history with eachother than either group has with Muslims.
The point of saying Judeo-Christian rather than just Christian, though it definitely can be used too loosely, is to acknowledge the Jewish contribution to Western civilization and not to be chauvinistic. Our culture is shaped by Jewish as well as Christian (or post-Christian) writers, scientists, politicians, philosophers and so on.
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Date: 2007-01-03 08:04 am (UTC)However, I don't entirely agree with this lecture as summarized here. For one thing it puts way too much emphasis on the Bible. It's true to say we don't really have much of a shared text, and that's an important point. Though there is a much bigger range in Christian attitudes to the Bible, particularly the question of whether authority is primarily textual or primarily Apostolic, than this summary would suggest.
But aside from the important differences in the way we read some of the same words, the point this talk is completely omitting is that Judaism and Christianity very much do have a shared cultural heritage. Jews and Christians have lived together for the whole of European history, and the two traditions have inevitably influenced eachother, with repeated cross-fertilizations continuing for centuries after the original split and into the present day. I agree it's a problem if this is used as an excuse for Jews and Christians to respond negatively to Islam. But the fact is that Jews and Christians do have a much more closely linked history with eachother than either group has with Muslims.
The point of saying Judeo-Christian rather than just Christian, though it definitely can be used too loosely, is to acknowledge the Jewish contribution to Western civilization and not to be chauvinistic. Our culture is shaped by Jewish as well as Christian (or post-Christian) writers, scientists, politicians, philosophers and so on.