Christian Antisemitism: A Call For Repentance

Published By: Irene Petrakis

The world has witnessed an unprecedented surge of antisemitism and hostility towards Israel since the tragic events of October 7, 2023. The disproportionate focus on Israel often appears irrational, with no equivalent focus on other conflicts or territorial disputes. Why does this tiny sliver of land provoke such chaos worldwide?

The growing hostility shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who know their Bible. The prophets foretold that hostility against Israel would intensify as we approach the last days, culminating in the surrounding nations gathering against her: “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it”. (Zech. 12:1-3). However, God will ultimately destroy these armies and deliver Israel, leading to her final restoration (E.g. Ezk. 36:22-38; 37; 38:21-23; Jer. 30:3, 33:6-18).

With the modern reestablishment of Israel in their land, Satan knows that the time is near for him to be crushed under the feet of the promised seed (Gen. 3:15), which is why he is pursuing God’s people so relentlessly. This spiritual hostility will only escalate, with God ultimately intervening on Israel’s behalf and destroying Satan’s hold over this world. This explains why we are witnessing such a surge of antisemitism on a global scale.

Recognising the spiritual underpinnings of this conflict, the Church must stay awake, lest it fall into deception and the arrogance that Paul warned about (Rom. 11:18).

Regrettably, some professing Christians have increasingly expressed antisemitic sentiments, including conservative influencers. While we often focus on the antisemitism of the far left and radical Islam, it is even more imperative that we address the Church’s own problems with antisemitism, both historically and today. Afterall, judgement must first begin with the household of God (1 Pet. 4:17). This is essential for the health of the Church, lest we ourselves are subject to judgement for how we treated the apple of God’s eye (Zech. 2:8). Rather than fall into deception, the Church is called to stand with God against the schemes of the enemy in these times.

To illustrate the importance of addressing antisemitism within our own house, it is instructive to reexamine the history of Christian antisemitism, culminating in the Holocaust, when much of the Church failed to stand with the Jewish people. We must learn from this history, repent and ensure the mistakes of the past are never again repeated. To move forward and truly align with God’s will for Israel, we must also repudiate replacement theology, for it is this theology which ultimately bred Christian antisemitism.

Replacement Theology And Its Fruits

‘Replacement theology’ (or ‘supersessionism’) is the idea that the Church has replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. According to this view, Israel no longer has a role in God’s plan for redeeming creation. Essentially, God has rejected Israel on account of Israel having rejected Christ. 

The development of replacement theology can be traced to the first century, when the Church was becoming increasingly Gentile in composition following the Jewish War against Rome. While a Jewish expression of Christianity continued, it was largely marginalized by the second century. The Gentile Church increasingly defined itself in opposition to the Synagogue, subsequently promoting a prejudiced message against Judaism. Anti-Jewish homilies would come to litter the writings of the Church’s most prominent fathers, including Irenaeus, Justin Martyr and John Chrysostom.

Replacement theology was also a consequence of the Hellenistic worldview having displaced the Jewish worldview of the early disciples, which led to an allegorical interpretation of scripture. Israel’s promises were thus construed as having been spiritually fulfilled in the Church, rendering literal Israel irrelevant and setting the stage for Christendom’s anti-Judaism.

The Council of Nicaea (AD 325) was a consequential moment in the Church’s turn to anti-Judaism. In the context of splitting Easter from the date of Passover, Constantine remarked, “We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews”. This encapsulated the notion that Christianity no longer had any business with Judaism. Jewish people would ultimately come to be demonized and portrayed as Christ killers. They were also subject to “blood libels”, including false accusations of ritual murder and host desecration. One common accusation was that Jews ritually sacrificed Christian children at Passover to obtain blood for unleavened bread. This manifested in centuries of violence and pogroms, including the Spanish Inquisition, ultimately setting the stage for the Holocaust.

Christian Anti-Judaism In Nazi Germany

A dichotomy is often presented between Nazi antisemitism and Christian anti-Judaism to absolve Christians of responsibility for the Holocaust, with the latter being construed solely as a religious prejudice as opposed to the Nazis’ racialized hatred towards the Jews. However, the Nazis could not have come to power had it not been for centuries of Christian anti-Judaism, rooted in replacement theology, having primed majority Christian Europe into ambivalence regarding the plight of the Jews.

Besides benefitting from Christian anti-Judaism to gain popular support, the Nazis found a model for their antisemitic policies in Christendom. Some of the Nazis’ most notorious policies had precedent in Christian councils and practice, which sought to marginalise Judaism, in line with their replacement theology. One striking example is the infamous badge, which had previously been implemented in Christian Europe. Other parallels include compelling Jews to live in ghettos, forbidding intermarriage between Jews and Christians and destruction of synagogues. Ultimately, a Christendom beset by replacement theology set the very precedents which Nazis would capitalise on.

The Nazis’ use of Martin Luther also demonstrates how the Nazis appropriated Chrisian prejudice to advance their agenda. Luther’s notorious treatise  On the Jews and their Lies provided a blueprint for Nazi policies. Luther called for Jewish synagogues to be set on fire and homes to be destroyed, which recalls Kristallnacht. He also called for Jews to “earn their bread in the sweat of their brow”, recalling Nazis concentration camps. It is no wonder the Nazis eagerly used Luther for their propaganda purposes and that Hitler would cite Luther in Mein Kampf.

While there were stories of heroic Christian resistance to the Nazis, the fact remains that the Nazis were able to succeed in a majority Christian nation. Had the Church stood up in unison against Nazi antisemitism, it could have stripped the Nazis of moral legitimacy. It is hard to imagine the Nazis having gained support in the face of a German Church which held to the irrevocability of God’s covenant with Israel, including the notion that God blesses those who bless Israel (Gen. 12:1-3).

Ultimately, this history should serve as a warning to Christians about the dangers of replacement theology and the antisemitism which often accompanies it. Afterall, a tree is known by its fruits (Lk. 6:43-35), and replacement theology’s fruits have undoubtedly been tragic. Given its fruits throughout history, ultimately culminating in the Holocaust, can it really be said that this is from God? It is time for the Church to repent from this ideology and stand with Israel in its time of need.

The Consequences Of Christian Antisemitism

It is also important to examine the theological consequences of Christian antisemitism and the necessity for repentance. Scripture warns about the fate of those who treat Israel with arrogance and seek to disrupt God’s plans to Israel. For example, Joel 3:1-3 lays out the judgement to come for those who are unaligned with God’s plans for Israel: “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgement with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land…”.

Jesus is likely referring to this same event when outlining the sheep and goat judgement in Matthew 25:31-46, noting that He was overlooking the Valley of Jehoshaphat from the Mount of Olives. If it is indeed Israel that Jesus is referring to as his brethren who were hungry, sick and imprisoned, then the consequences for those nations and peoples that aided and abetted antisemitism throughout history are stark. What is clear is that we will be judged for our stance on Israel. Yet, during centuries of persecution culminating in the Holocaust, the Church stood by and did not help Jesus’ brethren when they were in need. We cannot allow history to repeat itself, yet many in the Church are turning a blind eye to hatred of Israel.

In Isaiah 60:12-14, we also read that the nations that afflicted Israel will end up bowing at her feet: “…The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel”. This should also serve as a warning to those in the Church who actively stand against the Jewish people: it is time to repent, lest you be judged to be in opposition of God’s plans.

Implications For Christians Today

Christians today must repent for the dark history of Christian antisemitism, rooted in replacement theology. We must repent for the hurt and devastation that it caused the Jewish people and for acting antithetically to God’s heart for Israel.

Repentance requires actively realigning ourselves with God’s purposes for Israel. In Isaiah 62:1-5, God provides a blueprint for how we should view Israel, explaining his own heart for the Jewish people: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch…”. We must join God in prayer and stand with Israel, knowing that its restoration is connected to the restoration of creation itself. By standing with Israel, we are making a statement that we are aligned with God, not the enemy.

We must also exhort the Church regarding God’s plans for Israel and ensure we are a people prepared, unlike the Church at the time of the Holocaust. This does not mean we have to support everything the Israeli government does. However, events have shown that active opposition of Israel is often a fig leaf for antisemitism. Afterall, anti-Zionism opposes the self-determination of the Jewish people, denying their historical and biblical rights to the land, as established by God.

We must make a choice, and we cannot afford to hold a Laodicean view on this matter. Yeshua will judge us on how we treated his family, and it is time for the house of God to take a stand.

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