Why are so many Xtians so insecure about their religion? Why do they try to talk over Jews about how Judaism works? Why do they insist they understand it better than we do?
The answer is, of course, horrifyingly simple.
In order for their religion to be true, they have to understand our holy texts, and our philosophy, better than we do. Because that’s what their Messianic tradition is based off of.
After all, why else would we have rejected Jesus as the Messiah?
We (Jewish people) are wrong, and don’t understand our holy texts
They (Xtians) are wrong, and don’t understand Jewish holy texts
We (Jewish people) are deceitful, and are lying about something
They (Xtians) are deceitful, and are lying about something
Obviously, Xtians do not want to accept 2 or 4 (if they accept 2, that is because they have managed to divorce their Messiah from the concept of the Jewish one, and more power to them, because that’s the only way our religions can ever peacefully coexist - we each have a different concept of the Messiah, which is fine; we each have a different religion that speaks to us, which is fine; but those Xtians who insist that Jesus fulfills the Messianic tradition as set forth by Second Temple Judaism are going to have problems)
Historically, Xtians have either adopted 1 (ironically, the more charitable of the two) or 3. 3 has helped to fuel much of the antisemitism of history, but is unrelated to my topic today, so we’ll leave it at that.
1 is what leads to Xtians, especially Evangelicals, and culturally xtian Atheists as insisting they understand Judaism better than Jews. Because if they don’t, then Xtianity is wrong (and, in the case of culturally xtian Atheists, they have only learned the Evangelical model as a form of religion, and to accept that Judaism does not function like the religious structure they were raised in would require a radical shift of worldview they aren’t prepared to take). If Jews understand their Mosiach better than Xtians do, then Jews are right, and Jesus can’t be the Mosiach. And, for as long as Xtians insist that Jesus is the Mosiach as spoken of in the Tanakh, they can’t accept that.
So they insist they know better than us, that they understand Torah and the rest of the Tanakh better than us, and they refuse to budge, because then they’re wrong (something they don’t want to face) or we’re liars (which is where they usually end up, but at least they try to resist it for like, five seconds)
Again, I am not advocating that Xtians and Jews will always be at war with one another. I firmly believe that it is very, very, very easy for us to coexist - I know many Xtians who have either accepted that A) not every religion is true for everyone and, thus, though Jesus might be the Mosiach for them, he’s not for Jews; or B) Jesus isn’t the Mosiach, but another sort of Messiah for Xtians, specifically [kind of ties into A but takes a different route to get there]
Note that both of these interpretations prevent proselytization towards Jews on a philosophical level; which is why MANY Evangelicals can never get to that point without literally self-imploding
2087
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