Thursday, 25 February 2016

Seeing Judaism Anew: Christianity's Sacred Obligation,
Ed. Mary C. Boys, Rowman and Littlefield, 2002
Chapter 13, "Covenant and Conversion" (pp. 151-162), page 158

Dr Cunningham concludes this review of the first of what he claims are invalid assertions by many Christians by looking towards the end of days. Suggesting that G-d wanted the two communities of Rabbinic Judaism and the Christian church toexist until the eschaton, so "bestowed the grace of faith ... selectively on some and not on others", he says:

Conceivably, at the end of days, Jews will come tp appreciate why Christians revere Christ Jesus, whil Christians will come to value Jewish love for the Torah. Both may profoundly recognise the presence of their divine covenant partner in the other ...

That sounds as if he agrees with his own assertion that the Jews will come round in the end ...

But until that day, we Christians should trust that G-d will bring abbout the new creation as G-d wills and that Jews are part of the divine plan for this. We should work for the kindom's coming along with those who we now affirm as covenantal partners with G-d.

I'm not feeling terrbly comfortable with this approach so far, which from a Jewish point of view sounds quite patronising, but we'll see how he get's on with his next assertion: Must the Whole World be Baptised?