Restorative Reponse in a Post-Holocaust Era

[Alonzo E Thornton, D.Min.]

On April 11, 2010, there will be National Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust [Yom Ha-Shoah Ve Mered Ha-Getaot]. While there are a percentage of people who believe that the Holocaust did not happen, there are a perhaps larger percentage of people that firmly believe that God doesn’t exist. How can a God exist and possibly permit the Holocaust to happen? Equally, how can so many, who believe in God, remain so silent during these horrific times of man’s inhumanity to mankind?

Author Barry R. Leventhal, Ph.D. sheds much needed light on these very difficult and very real questions. He offers for our consideration, an apologetic argument for the existence of God in the midst of a Post-Holocaust era. In his well written article which is entitled, Holocaust Apologetics: Toward A Case For The Existence Of God, he comments about the bitter reaction that he and missionary face with the tragic history of the Holocaust deeply imbedded in the minds of Jews. He states, “In our sincere attempt at presenting the biblical case for the Messiahship of Yeshua [Jesus], we are abruptly interrupted with the angry response: “There is no way that I want to investigate whether Jesus is the Messiah. I don’t even believe in God! Since the Holocaust, it is impossible for a Jew to believe in God!” [Barry R. Leventhal, Christian Apologetics Journal: CAJ 01:1 (Spring 1998), article: Holocaust Apologetics: Toward A Case For The Existence Of God].

The Jewish theologian Seymour Cain makes a bold proclamation concerning Auschwitz [or the Holocaust] in our contemporary worldview in regard to Jewish and Christian theology. He states that the Holocaust looms as the stumbling block in all modern theology. Yet for the Jewish religious thinker, they are left to confront the full-force of that horror as interpreting the Holocaust as the uttermost evil in all Jewish history. [Seymour Cain, “The Question and The Answers After Auschwitz,” Judaism 20 (Summer 1971): 263]. The late Messianic theologian, Jakob Jocz makes the necessary plea in our current needed responds toward effectively dealing with the Holocaust. He asserts that Auschwitz cast a black pall upon the civilized world. This is two-folded, not only is man’s humanity put under a question mark, but God Himself stands accused. [Jakob Jocz, The Jewish People and Jesus Christ After Auschwitz: A Study in the Controversy Between Church and Synagogue (Grand Rapids: Baker Books House, 1981), pp 23, 34.]

Leventhal offers the much needed appeal for both Jewish and Christian believers in Messiah by providing a worthwhile biblical defense for the existence of God. He quotes the Apostle Peter in this manner, “We must sanctify the Messiah as Lord in [our] hearts, always being ready to make a defense [Gr., apologia] to everyone who ask [us] to give an account for the hope that is in [us], yet with gentleness and reverence; and [we must] keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which [we] are slandered, those who revile [our] good behavior in the Messiah will be put to shame [1 Peter 3: 15-16 NASB].

The Holocaust has produced two forms of religious atheism within Jewish Brothers and Sisters. One kind is an emotional atheism which arises out of the painful depths of the human heart. This type as noted by Leventhal will not respond to rational and logical reasoning. This kind of atheism needs pastoral love, care, patience and much prayer.

The second kind of Holocaust-induced atheism is a belligerent atheism that arises out of an arrogant and foolish heart. “The Fool [Heb., nabal] has said in his heart, “There is no God”’ (Pss. 14:1; 53:1, NASB; cf Ps 10: 1-4 ff). In its senseless and rebellious posture [i.e., nabal], Leventhal states that this kind of atheism refuses to submit to the truth (Rm. 1: 18-32). What it really needs is a loving, logical and firm encounter with the truth of the Word of God and the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit.

In building a case for God’s existence during and since the Holocaust, two very important aspects must be presented. They are The Nature of Law Itself and The Nature of Morality Itself.

The Nature of Law Itself

Laws do not come from nowhere. There has to be a Law-Giver or a Law-Maker. If there is no God, these laws, by the very nature of the case, must come from men; that is, they must be man-made laws, derived from the best or even the worst of what men can purpose. To embrace a religious atheism [or for that matter, any form of atheism] is to embrace a world without any transcendent Law-Giver, a world, therefore that is devoid of any true meaning, purpose, or value. Further, without moral transcendent laws, from a moral transcendent Law-Giver, those who govern [control] will be the power elite at the top, either the consented majority or the empowered minority or individual (e.g. Hitler and the Nazis, ect.)[CAJ 1:1 (Spring 1998) p. 8].

The Nature of Morality Itself

Morals and ethics do not come from nowhere. They come from moral and ethical determiners. This consequence is closely related to the first consequence concerning the nature of law itself. Any morality that is not transcendently-based, that is, from outside the human system, must be determined, by the very nature of the case from within the human system. In other words, any moral or ethical system, derived from this kind of divinely-absented world, must be relative to the core. [CAJ 1:1 (Spring 1998) p. 10]

Needful Transformation of the Soul of Humanity

There were many interrelated immoral and unethical factors that enabled the horrors of the Holocaust to exist. None were greater than the spirit of Anti-Semitism. The basic definition of Anti-Semitism is hatred of Jew and Judaism. Even today, in our Post-Holocaust era, this evil exists in many ways. One of the most effective means of propagating this evil historically has been through religious dogma of the false teaching of Replacement theology. This unbiblical theology teaches that “Old Israel” [the Jews], and the “Old Testament” [the Torah of Moses] has been replaced by the “New Israel” [the Christian Church] and the New Testament.

Author A. James Rudin, writes a very supportive perspective in this matter of Anti-Semitism that is deeply imbedded within Christendom. He writes, “Anti-Semitism was the leitmotif in the long centuries of Christian “teaching of contempt”, in which a false and distorted picture of Judaism was offered to generations of Christians. In such Church instruction, Judaism was relegated to being only “The Old Testament,” while the profound teaching and books of post-biblical Judaism were either omitted or made a kind of “retro-rocket” to be quickly discarded once Christianity emerged.” [A. James Rudin, Review and Expositor: REVEXP 103:1 (Winter 2006), article, “Prisoners of Hope,”: Jews, Christians, and the Defining Issues of Dialogue.] It is this type of historic evil teachings and hostile language that help fueled the fires of the systemic evil of the Holocaust.

Rudin comments that it is impossible to overstate the importance of the Holocaust in Jewish-Christian relations. Even though the mass murders of Jews ended in 1945, there is a growing interest in the Shoah, [the Hebrew word for Holocaust], continues to grow.

In 1995 the Alliance of Baptist issues a statement on Jewish-Christian relations recognizing that the Nazi Holocaust was made possible only by “centuries of Christian teaching and Church-sanctioned action directed against the Jews simply because they were Jews. As Baptist Christians we are the inheritors and, in our turn, have been transmitters of a theology which lays the blame for the death of Jesus at the feet of the Jews…, a theology which has valued conversion over dialogue, invective over understanding, and prejudice over knowledge.” [Rev Exp 103: 1 (Winter 2006) p. 56.]

The Alliance confessed further those Christian sins of complicity…, of silence…, of indifference and inaction to the horrors of the Holocaust. As a result of this heart-felt spirit of repentance of this organization, the following list was constructed for our consideration.

· Affirming the teaching of the Christian Scriptures that God has not rejected the Community of Israel, God’s covenant people (Rm. 11: 1-2).

· Renouncing interpretation of Scripture which foster religious stereotyping and prejudice against the Jewish people and their faith.

· Seeking genuine dialogue with the broader Jewish Community, a dialogue build on mutual respect and the integrity of each other’s faith.

· Lifting our combined voices quickly and boldly against all expression of Anti-Semitism.

· Educating ourselves and others on the history of Jewish-Christian relations from the First century to the present, so as to understand our present by learning from our past.

HaYesod [The Foundation]

One of the ways that you may consider learning to implement these restorative measures of learning is through our HaYesod Program. HaYesod is the Hebrew word, which means “The Foundation]. This unique and exciting educational program was created by First Fruits of Zion, [http://ffoz.org]. The HaYesod program is composed of ten compelling lessons that explore the foundational truths of the entire Word of God from a Hebraic perspective-building an understanding of the Bible and igniting your relationship to the Land, the People, and the Scriptures of Israel [http://hayesod.org/index.html].

If you live in Georgia, and are interested in forming a HaYesod study group or you may be interested in hosting a study group at your House of Worship, please contact me @ [e-mail]. If you are in other states and wish more information, please contact First Fruits of Zion, http://ffoz.org and they will kindly assist you.

Charis-Shalom

Brother Alonzoe’ Thornton

Sharing The Light of The Messiah…until He Returns

[Christopher R. Dockrey]

Thanks for the response, Brother Alonzoe'. I definitely believe God is a covenant-keeping God and not a covenant breaker. Replacement theology, from my limited perspective, seems to suggest that God is a covenant breaker.

I suspect it will be some years before I am able to sort out and answer the questions I have about God's dealings with Israel. I'm looking forward to your future articles, and thanks for the recommendation.

[Alonzo E Thornton, D.Min.]

Thank you Brother Christopher for taking time out to read and respond to this article. In an effort to at least to communicate to your two questions, I would briefly state:

Affirming the teaching of the Christian Scriptures that God has not rejected the Community of Israel, God’s covenant people . (Rm. 11: 1-2) was one scripture but perhaps one of the most prophetic scripture is Jeremiah 31: 33-34; and Ezekiel 36:24-27. These scriptures are reflective of God's perpetual covenants [which is a central theme of the entire Bible][these include the Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic and New Covenant. Many in Christianinty teach that the New Testament has replace the Torah, yet looking at Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:8-13 , the New Covenant is being discussed. All of these discussed covenants [including Noah's were noted by a "sign" as a reminder of the covenant's terms and obligations. Thus one does not cancel each other out; but just builds progressively on the previous ones leading to the Holy Spirit being give by God due to the death and resurrection of Messiah. In reading Jeremiah 31, the New Covenant was made only with God's chosen people Israel. All Gentiles who wanted to have a share in the New Covenant, must do so by participation in Israel through the Messiah of Israel.

Renouncing interpretation of Scripture which foster religious stereotyping and prejudice against the Jewish people and their faith. This came about in The restoration of the Jewish people in the land of Israel, The Holocaust and the dicovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls all sparking a complete renaissance in the way that early Christianity is studies and understood. Jewish Scriptures, and extra-biblcal Jewish sources added a Hebraic perspective to the Scriptures, the Land and the People of Israel-thus anti-Semitism in Western theology was confronted. Now as in the 1st century, there is inclusion of both Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Messiah due to the listed above historical events.

Some helpful resources:
Our Father Abraham: by Marvin Wison
Restoration: by D. Lancaster
King of the Jews and Grafted In by D.Lancaster

Grace and Peace
Brother Alonzoe'

[Christopher R. Dockrey]

Brother Alonzoe',

Thank you for another well-written and well-thought out article. For me, your passion for the Jewish people seems to echo the prayer of the Apostle Paul:

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved." (Romans 10:1, KJV)

I have always appreciated ministries such as yours. It really takes a special approach to reach the Jewish people with the Gospel.

For my own edification and that I and others might gain a breadth of perspective on the matters you have discussed, I would like you to consider expounding on these points in future articles:

Affirming the teaching of the Christian Scriptures that God has not rejected the Community of Israel, God’s covenant people (Rm. 11: 1-2). Specifically I would like to gain a greater knowledge of your theological perspective here.

Renouncing interpretation of Scripture which foster religious stereotyping and prejudice against the Jewish people and their faith. I would like to understand which religious stereotypes and prejudices you seek to address, and the interpretations of Scripture used to justify them.

I can potentially see some minor points of disagreement on some of these things, but it is my desire to come to an understanding of other points of view rather than jumping to conclusions about things I may not understand. And in my mind, disagreement isn't necessarily bad, and people may not disagree so much if they sought to educate themselves on other perspectives. At any rate, thanks for your contribution as always.

Chris