Can Jews really trust Christians?

Over the past few years the growing accommodation between Jews and some sections of the Christian community has become increasingly obvious – and that relationship has further strengthened since the horrific events of 7 October, last year.

In fact, the alliance between these groups has become so strong that it’s now common to see joint Jewish/Christian rallies in the cities of the west and much of the narrative in defence of Israel is actually coming from Christians – some of whom have developed international profiles built around this single event.

But how ‘safe’ is that relationship, for Jews? Afterall, while things might seem cosy with Christians right now – it certainly wasn’t always that way. Down through history the two groups from which Jews had the most to fear were Muslims and Christians and while Muslim aggression has continued into the 21st century, the nature of the historic Christian atrocities against Jews has been every bit as grisly. A full list of these atrocities would fill several books – but here are some examples:

• During the Crusades Jewish communities in France and the Rhineland were repeatedly massacred by Christians.
• By the 12th century, we saw the emergence of the ‘blood libel’ in which Jews were hunted down and killed based on the false claim that they murdered Christian children in order to use their blood for ritual sacrifices.
• From 1215, following the Catholic Fourth Lateran Council, Jews were ordered to wear distinctive clothing or symbols in a chilling precursor of a similar order which would be enacted seven hundred years later.
• By the late 13th century Jews were being increasingly expelled, in their entirety, from locations across Western Europe including Germany, England, France and also Spain and Portugal where they were given a few weeks or months to convert to Christianity or leave the country.
• By the 14th century Jews were being blamed for the Black Death which devastated Europe. Many Jewish communities were destroyed in an hysterical wave of violence between 1348 and 1350 and in Strasbourg alone, two thousand Jews were burnt to death before the plague had even reached the city. In Germany, around 300 Jewish communities were destroyed over this same period of time.
• As antisemitism grew, an increasing burden of restrictions were placed on the Jews in many countries, and they were also excluded from many occupations because of fear of competition with local populations. In many countries they were also prohibited from owning land and their places of residence were often limited to specific areas known as ‘ghettos’.

However, these persecutions took place in Papal Europe under the authority of Catholicism and you’d expect that things got better for the Jews once the Protestants arrived on the scene in the 16th century, right?

Wrong. In his shocking book ‘On the Jews and their Lies’, Protestant Reformer Martin Luther proposed that Jews should have their synagogues and schools burnt down, be banned from Christian homes, have their holy writings taken away, be banned from preaching, be offered no protection on highways, and be put to work in manual roles.

Unsurprisingly, this ongoing tide of relentless antisemitism and evil fuelled resentment and defiance in the Jews, and, in a very real sense, drove the creation of the ‘Zionist’ movement and the aspiration for a Jewish homeland in the late 19th century.

Even today, in the 21st century, a significant portion of Christendom maintains antisemitic positions despite attempting to give the pretence of these views being in the past. Catholicism’s overt support of Hitler and endorsement of his attempt to eliminate the Jews is still a bloody stain on its modern history and papal edicts continue to spout antisemitic positions in line with Catholicism’s shameful past. Likewise, the revolting emergence of ‘Replacement theology’ within Protestantism – which claims that God is ‘done’ with the Jews and that all biblical references to Israel should now be inferred to mean the Church – is an evil doctrine from the pit of hell. Yet it continues to hold strong sway over the thinking of many millions of Christians.

And even amongst their Christian supporters, many Jews harbour a suspicion that their real motivation is a desire to attempt to ‘convert’ them at the appropriate opportunity under the sneaky guise of a helping hand.

So can Jews really trust Christians – and if so, which ones?

That’s a difficult question to answer generally because the ‘broad church’ of views within Christianity is as diverse as the number of its followers and there is no single denomination or belief system within that faith to which I can point and unequivocally state ‘they’re safe’. But I can certainly speak for myself and my motivations in the knowledge that they will be similar to those of many millions of others – so perhaps these can act as a useful guide?

As a Christian I’m motivated to unconditionally support the Jewish people and defend Israel:

1. Because common decency compels me to. No reasonable person could observe the extraordinary hatred being directed at the Jews and Israel, right now, and stand back and do nothing. Putting aside issues of politics and faith, the simple requirement to be a decent human being with a moral compass should drive us all to support the Jews in any way that we can.
2. Because Genesis 12.3 instructs me to. This scripture, given by God / HaShem, made a promise to Abraham: “I will bless those that bless thee and curse those that curse thee”. This simple statement, which has proved 100% accurate throughout history, should guide every Christian and nation on the planet.
3. Because scripture repeatedly tells me that the Jews have a very distinct purpose within Gods plan. Despite bad teaching by some Christian denominations, Gods ‘special’ relationship with the Jews is clear throughout scripture (Old and New). He refers to them repeatedly as His ‘elect’, His ‘chosen’, and His ‘holy people’ and they have never ceased to be the key part of His plan for human history. Those Christians who don’t understand this do not understand their own faith and I deal with this issue in much more detail in my upcoming book ‘Daniel Decoded’.
4. Because this is an existential issue of good over evil. The existence, survival and endurance of the Jewish people – and the reemergence of the State of Israel with its capital in Jerusalem – lie at the very core of the Christian faith for those who understand it. None of this has happened by chance, and events are playing out exactly as foretold by Biblical Prophets going back over 3,000 years.

But what about that fear that Christians are motivated to ‘convert’ Jews? Sadly, that will certainly be true of a handful of sincere but deluded Christians – but astute Jews will pick up on it pretty quickly. More importantly – those Christians who are a bit wiser or who have been in their faith a bit longer – the kind of people likely to recognise their responsibility to support the Jews – understand that HaShem has His own purposes for His people and that their relationship with Him is between them and Him.

So how can Jews identify these Christians who hold views like mine? In the same way that any relationship is developed – by building trust over time and by becoming more open as that trust is earned.

It may also be helpful to note that, as a general rule, it’s unlikely that anyone, Christian or otherwise, will put themselves publicly on the front line in support of Israel and the Jews unless they are sincere in their motivations. In other words, if someone is out there defending Israel on social media or at rallies, you can probably trust them.

So, if you’re Jewish, you can take comfort from the fact that you’re not alone. Yes, it’s an historical irony that your most erstwhile supporters are drawn from the very same faith that, throughout most of history has tried to kill your people – but their intentions are sincere and, within the caveats outlined above, you can trust them.

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