WHAT…‘Christian Antisemitism’?!?! -1

WHAT…‘Christian Antisemitism’?!?! -1
  Starting out as a young Christian and naive in my theology, I believed that a Christian could not be deceived because of the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Jn14:17;Jn20:22; Acts2:4). I derived my theology from studying such incredibly rich passages like, John 16:13-“Howbeit when He the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth”. Or, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom8:14). After pondering these and many other such passages, I immaturely concluded, “How can Christians be deceived if the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding them!?!?” However, in God’s grace, He had mercy on me. As I continued to study scripture and Christian history, learning more and more about Satan, man’s sin nature, and good and evil, my theological naivete quickly abated.
  This foundation brings me to the topic of this tidbit. Tragically, after researching the historic role “Christians” played in antisemitism over my past 45 years in the ministry, makes THIS tidbit series the most DIFFICULT I have ever written…period! In my opinion, for Christians to persecute Jews may be Christianity’s greatest sin! Just think about it for a moment--how can one who claims to be a Christian disrespect, dishonor or persecute Jews when the One whom Christians claim as their Lord & Savior i.e.Jesus--is Jewish?
  Therefore, the hypocrisy of ‘Christian antisemitism’ demonstrates at least two things:
           1.the power of Satan to deceive (2Cor4:4; 2Cor2:11)
2.the power of evil in the human heart (Jer17:9), i.e. the sin nature!
 
   The previous two facts exist in the context of the following 4 incontrovertible truths:
1.The OT is the foundation of the New Testament. The New Testament is completely dependent upon the Old Testament---which is the reason the NT so often cites the OT!
2.The citing of the OT in the NT verifies the divine inspiration of both testaments.
3.The Bible—i.e. the Old and New Testaments…were written by Jews!!!
4.Jesus did not preach the New Testament—He preached the Torah…BECAUSE He was
  a Jewish rabbi!!
 
  NOW…because there is no safe place to begin on the tragic topic of ‘Christian antisemitism’, I would like to start with a little ‘Christian history’ from the Reverend John Wise(1652-1725), who offers a short explanation on how Christians have been deceived in the past. I would like to defer to Providential Historian David Barton who explains Reverend Wise’s views best:
“Reverend Wise divided Christianity up into three epochs:
Period I includes the three centuries of Christianity immediately following the life of Christ. According to Wise, this was “the most refined and purest time, both as to faith and manners, that the Christian church has been honored with.” Period I is the “Period of Purity,” and Jesus’ followers throughout that time largely did just what He had taught them to do.
 
Period II spans the next twelve centuries, and according to Wise, it was a period that “openly proclaimed itself to the scandal of the Christian religion.” The State took control of the Church, with the State decreeing Christianity to be the official religion of the State and all other religions illegal. This was a time of “the secularization of the Church and the depravation of Christianity” a time when the State seized and corrupted the Church and its doctrines, wrongly asserting “that one of the chief duties of an imperial ruler was to place his sword at the service of the Church and orthodoxy.” Christianity became coercive through brutal civil laws attempting to enforce theological orthodoxy.
This age was characterized by autocratic leaders in both State and Church, with monarchies and theocracies (usually oppressive ones) as the primary forms of governance. The Founders frequently described Period II as a time of “kingcraft” and “priestcraft” – a time when kings and priests joined together against the people, using selfish ambition to gain personal wealth and power. Period II is called the “Period of Apostasy” or “Period of Corruption.”
 
Period III, according to Wise, is that which “began a glorious reformation.” Wise explains: “Many famous persons, memorable in ecclesiastical history, being moved by the Spirit of God and according to Holy Writ, led the way in the face of all danger . . . for the good of Christendom.” Early seeds of this change began with the efforts of numerous Christian leaders, including John Wycliffe (1320-1384), called the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” Nearly two dozen other Christian leaders also worked to spread Bible teachings across their respective countries, including Englishmen such as Thomas Cranmer, William Tyndale, John Rogers, and Miles Coverdale; Czechs such as John Huss and Jerome of Prague; Germans Martin Luther, Thomas Münzer, Andreas Carlstadt, and Kaspar von Schwenkfeld; Swiss Ulrich Zwingli; Frenchmen William Farel and John Calvin; Scotsmen John Knox and George Wishart; Dutchmen Jacobus Arminius, Desiderius Erasmus, and Menno Simons; and others.
This third era, called the “Period of Reformation,” emphasized a return to the Bible as the guidebook for all aspects of life and living.”
  American Founding Fathers and leaders (including John Adams) made a clear distinction between America’s Period III Christianity and Europe’s Period II Christianity. For example, Noah Webster emphatically declared: the ecclesiastical establishments of Europe that serve to support tyrannical governments are not the Christian religion, but abuses and corruptions of it.
  Other Founding Fathers made similar distinctions, including John Jay (the original Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court and a co-author of the Federalist Papers), who declared that the Period III Christianity practiced in America was “wise and virtuous,” and John Quincy Adams described it as “civilized”– terms certainly not associated with Period II Christianity.”
 
https://wallbuilders.com/resource/john-adams-was-he-really-an-enemy-of-christians-addressing-modern-academic-shallownes/
 
  As I mentioned earlier, ‘Christian antisemitism’ is an oxymoron! However, because Satan deceives through his devices(2Cor2:11), as well as through the human sin nature(Jer17:9), it is therefore possible to understand how even Christians can be deceived---even though the Holy Spirit indwells us.
  Allow me to conclude with two critical points. First, it is possible for people to declare, “I am a Christian!”, yet not be a Christian…at all! Jesus said, at the judgment there will be those who call Him “Lord, Lord”, and His response will be “I never knew you! Depart from me!” (Mat7:22-23). This is especially a terrifying thought for everyone who is literally born-again(Jn3:3; 2Cor5:17) because salvation comes ONLY through the acknowledgment of the Lordship of Jesus …with our mouths (Rom10:9,10)!!!
 And second, 1 John 3:15 declares, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” The Christian’s greatest earthly hope is to be with Jesus in heaven forever. However, if a Christian murders’ another human---this verse says ‘that’ Christian will go to hell!
  My point is that every person who declares, “I am a Christian!” does not mean he/she is one!
 
  Moving forward, for this series on ‘Christian antisemitism’, I would like to use the incredible work ‘Why the Jews?’ by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin. Although I will primarily focus on ‘Christian antisemitism’, I will do my best not to leave too much out on other forms of antisemitism.