How should Christians view Judaism?
Christians should view Judaism with profound respect, recognizing their shared spiritual heritage and God's enduring covenant with Israel. While historical choices led to a tragic divide, Judaism's role in preparing for the Messiah and preserving God's word is indispensable. This teaching calls for reconciliation between faiths, repudiating anti-Semitism and replacement theology, to achieve a holistic understanding and realize God's ideal of one family under Him.
Christianity’s roots are deeply entwined with Judaism. Jesus Christ, a Jew, declared, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17). The earliest followers of "the Way" (Acts 9:2) were Jewish, adhering to Jewish customs and recognizing Jesus as the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures. Peter, at Pentecost, proclaimed, "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah" (Acts 2:36).
The Biblical Foundation: A Shared Heritage and Tragic Divide
A pivotal divide emerged from the majority of Jewish leadership and populace not accepting Jesus's messianic claims. Yet, this non-acceptance did not nullify God's covenants with Israel. The Apostle Paul, grappling with this paradox in Romans 9-11, asserts, "For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). He uses the metaphor of an olive tree, where Gentiles are "grafted in" to the cultivated tree of Israel: "If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you" (Romans 11:17-18). This emphasizes that Christians draw spiritual sustenance from Jewish heritage and should never claim superiority. Furthermore, the Bible states, "For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people" (1 Samuel 12:22 KJV).
However, historical developments led to a tragic divergence. As Christianity became predominantly Gentile, supersessionism or replacement theology emerged, wrongly claiming God had abandoned Israel and replaced it with the Church. This theological error fueled centuries of anti-Judaism and persecution, culminating horrifically in events like the Holocaust—a profound deviation from Christ's spirit and apostolic teachings.
Divine Principle's Clarification: God's Providential Purpose for Israel
The Divine Principle clarifies Israel’s unique role and historical choices. It explains that God chose the Israelite people as a special "root" to prepare a foundation for the Messiah. For two millennia, God prepared them to establish a foundation for the Messiah, enabling them to receive, protect, and support Him, thereby establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth. This preparation involved establishing foundations of faith and substance, with specific indemnity periods and conditions, mirroring God's time process in creation and re-creation (e.g., 40 years in the wilderness). These conditions were meant to separate humanity from Satan and restore original nature, enabling God to send the Messiah, who would come as the True Parents and offer rebirth and resurrection.
The Divine Principle stresses that history's course, especially the Messiah's reception, depends on humanity's responsible choices. The Jewish people, collectively, did not fully fulfill their responsibility to receive and protect Jesus as the Messiah. This resulted in Jesus’s crucifixion and a delay in God's providence, postponing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. This initiated 2,000 years of restoration history, where God worked through Christianity to establish a new foundation.
Despite this historical rejection, God’s original calling for Israel remains. The Divine Principle affirms that the Jewish people, as a chosen people, still hold a vital role in ultimate restoration and the establishment of God's Kingdom. Their spiritual lineage, profound understanding of the Old Testament, and covenantal relationship with God are indispensable. The completion of God's plan necessitates profound reconciliation between Judaism and Christianity, honoring the contributions and providential roles of both faiths. "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25 KJV).
Understanding the Deeper Meaning: The Imperative for Reconciliation
The Divine Principle explains that while the suffering of the Jewish people, including the Holocaust, was a result of human evil, it is also understood as a severe course of indemnity for the collective failure to embrace the Messiah, leading to a long period of wandering. Concurrently, Christians bore heavy responsibility for perpetuating anti-Judaism, contradicting Jesus's universal message of love. The establishment of Christianity as a new foundation for God's providence, intended to encompass and ultimately unify all cultural spheres, underscores the need for reconciliation. God intended Jesus to unify Judaism and Hellenistic civilization, then expand to all other religions, eventually leading to a world family under God.
Both faiths hold crucial pieces of God's providence. Judaism preserved the covenant, Law, and prophetic anticipation of the Messiah. Christianity centered on Jesus the Messiah, bringing salvation and a new covenant. However, each had partial understandings; Jews erred in not recognizing Jesus, while Christians erred grievously in their treatment of Jews and the development of replacement theology. The future demands a holistic understanding—a synthesis honoring and integrating both Jewish and Christian perspectives. This synthesis will be achieved by the Returning Christ, who will fully clarify historical and theological misunderstandings, uniting humanity under God as our Common Parent.
Living the Principle
Christians, guided by the Divine Principle, should approach Judaism with profound respect, reverence, and responsibility.
1. Actively learn about Jewish history, traditions, and God's unbroken covenant with them, recognizing their providential role in preparing for the Messiah. 2. Resolutely repudiate anti-Semitism and replacement theology, affirming God's enduring covenant with Israel. 3. Seek interfaith dialogue with Jewish communities to foster genuine understanding and mutual respect, paving the way for reconciliation. 4. Embrace Christianity's Jewish roots, recognizing their foundational spiritual parentage and the necessity of their integration for the completion of God's providence.
These answers explain the Bible in the light of the Divine Principle, the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Read about the author, Sun Myung Moon.
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Sources and further reading
- The Holy Bible, King James Version — Scripture quoted and referenced throughout the answers.
- The Divine Principle (full text) — The complete text of the Divine Principle, the teaching of Reverend Sun Myung Moon that these answers explain.
- Unification texts library (tparents.org) — Large online library of Unification texts, sermons and collected speeches, including the Cheon Seong Gyeong.
- Short video lectures in English — Playlist of short English video lectures presenting these same principles.