“Christianity . . .
may be entering the equivalent of its own ‘Rabbinic Era’, a age marked less by
direct revelation and less hierarchically controlled channels to God. In this scheme, the lay people of God play a
more influential role in discerning God’s purposes and carrying out divine
mandates.”
Rabbi Irving Greenberg
Rabbi
Irving Greenberg is a pioneer in Jewish/Christian dialogue and has thought
deeply about the brutally failed relationship between Christianity and
Judaism. That relationship has been
undergoing a slow, cautious renaissance with many fits and starts in the
aftermath of the murder of Europe’s Jews by the Nazis. It became appallingly clear in the wake of
the Shoah that Christian teachings of
contempt for Jews and Judaism had at the very least rendered millions of
Christians indifferent as their neighbors disappeared and at worst encouraged
and enabled their slaughter. Greenberg
suggests that a chastened and more reflective Christianity could emerge from
this tragedy—an outcome that would be good for both Jews and Christians. But this would require Christians seriously
rethinking their relationship with power.
The
seduction of Christianity by the imperial power of Rome in the aftermath of
Constantine’s conversion is a common enough trope these days. Some lay the blame for everything wrong in
contemporary Christianity at the feet of the servile bishops of the imperial
church. Others contend Constantine’s
influence is overstated or was, in fact, a good thing. But there is no doubt that the Christian Church
in the West (and in the East, for that matter) greatly benefited from the
support of emperors and kings. The
benefit was mutual. Rulers wanted a
unified state and this was enhanced by a common religion. So emperors as diverse as Constantine and
Justinian weighed in on the Christological conflicts of their days. The goal of such interventions was one God,
one Lord, and one king or Emperor ruling over one people. For centuries, in Europe at least, this was
more or less the case.
Now,
however, it has become clear that the influence of the church in the west has
been in decline for the last two centuries at least. European countries have disenfranchised their
state churches or marginalized their influence.
Even in the United States the moral and spiritual influence of the
church has been compromised—in spite of the quadrennial orgy of civil religion
we call the presidential election. We
have, as Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon famously said, lost our home
field advantage. Realizing this, some religious leaders have been reduced to
the equivalent of toddler-like temper tantrums to get attention. This has, to say the least, been ineffective
and more than a little embarrassing.
Greenberg
suggests Christians pay attention to what happened to the Jews. By the time the second temple was destroyed
in 70 CE the Jews had been without real political power for more than a
century. The Torah, of course, had been
and remained central to Jewish life and experience. But the temple, its priesthood and rituals
had long been a critical element of the glue that bound Jews together--whether
they lived in the land itself or in the diaspora. Following the disastrous rebellion the Jews were
forced to rethink the nature of Judaism.
What did it mean to be a Jew when the temple was destroyed and the land
was lost? This was the burden of the “Rabbinic
Era.” The courage, foresight and genius
of the ancient rabbis enabled the Jewish people to survive through centuries of
powerlessness and oppression. The rabbis
were not priests. They served no
sacerdotal function. They were teachers and interpreters of Torah. They were
men of prayer and learning, bearers an ancient and flexible tradition. They served the community as a whole, not a
church or even, for that matter, a synagogue.
Through them Jews inculcated a way of life, a culture, rooted in the
very words of Moses and the prophets.
What have
Christians done as their political and cultural power disappeared? Roman Catholic leaders like John Paul II and
Benedict the XVI marched into battle against the evil secular world and
attempted by dint of their intellect, and in the case of John Paul II at least,
their charisma to turn the tide. In the
United States the “religious right” has regularly and frantically denounced
people and practices they deem contrary to Christian faith. They appear incapable of recognizing the loss
of political and social power and the realities of a diverse society. And they have largely succeeded in making
themselves and their views odious to a large number of American people. The more liberal, mainline tradition dithers,
unsure of its message and place in the world.
It too seems to cling to the old illusions of power and influence as the
tide inexorably moves out. Perhaps the
“mega-churches” are the most obvious sign of Christian attempts to restore
power and influence. The massive
complexes seem to shout, “See, we are still important! We are still a big deal!” All of this is the equivalent of running down
the aisle of a train in the opposite direction it is travelling.
As long as
Christians were supported by the wider culture of Europe or the United States,
the church was satisfied to “form” individual Christians, not a genuine community of faith and practice. Among Evangelicals it seemed that a
“personal relationship with Jesus Christ” was enough. Add to that a few significant do and don’ts
(mostly don’ts and mostly associated with sex) and you’re good to go. Mission was about converting individuals and
producing places of worship, not forming communities and following the commands
of Jesus. Perhaps it is time, as
Greenberg suggest, for Christians to move away from “hierarchies” and
orthodoxies. Perhaps it is time to move
toward the formation of a people. Christianity has a rich tradition to draw
from. Followers of Jesus are not without
resources or examples of such communal formation. But this will require church hierarchies and
pastoral leaders letting go of their power.
It will require them permitting and even encouraging some of the messy
realities of life with people in community.
It will require the church giving up on the Constantinian vision of one
church, one emperor, controlled from the center. And, perhaps most important, it will require
paying attention to the actual teachings of Jesus and what he expected of a
people committed to representing in their communal experience the presence of
the kingdom. The rabbis provided a way
forward for the Jewish people. Can they,
perhaps ironically do the same for Christian
