I have such issues with Christians who call other Christians "not real Christians" b/c they're harmful--it's gaslighting to the victims of Christianity's brutal history.
Here's what engaging w/harmful branches of a tradition can look like, from Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David. 1/x
This is part of Rabbi Ner-David's letter out to encourage people to support @rhreng@twitter.com, the Rabbis for Human Rights org that's been helping act as a human shield against settlers during the Palestinian olive harvest & protesting/blocking house demolitions since 1988.
Rabbi Ner-David is an incredible author and the ED of the only pluralistic mikveh (not run by the rabbinate/queer friendly/etc) in the country. Her book on getting/staying married Jewishly & Chana's Voice are my faves...
https://rabbihaviva.com/
And OK, the extended dance remix for people who are doubling down on the "but they're not real Christians."
Friends.
It's true that y'all have St. Francis and all the Theresas and Julians, Dr. King, James Cone, Delores S. Williams, Merton, so many other greats before & since.
But you also have the Crusades, Easter and Christmas pogroms, Luther penning On the Jews and Their Lies (which, then, bc a key Nazi text), the Inquisition, the Doctrine of Discovery, use of the Bible to defend slavery and colonialism, use of Bible to defend oppressive misogyny...
It's all there. It's all Christianity. It's all the work of Christians. You, lone, irritated individual person, do not get to be the sole arbiter of who is and who is not a true, authentic follower of Jesus, I'm sorry.
My dead ancestors were murdered by Christians. Own that.
I am not going to weigh in on who Jesus was or what he did or did not teach.
But I am telling you that the white supremacist Christian nationalists trying to ban contraception right now are reading the same texts that you are. And you have to deal with that in a real way.
When you say, "oh, those weren't Christians," it's a way for you to dismiss the fact that you are part of a significant world and national hegemony that has had real implications and consequences for many of us.
It's a way to pretend you don't have privilege that you do have.
It's an insult to every single human life that was harmed in Jesus' name. Every Jew. Every Indigenous person. Everyone of African descent. Every Romani person, disabled person. Every LGBTQIA person forced into conversion therapy, everyone denied abortion care.
"Oh, I don't have privilege, I'm not part of making your family feel like shit every December when the public square goes full-on Christmas and your kids know it's not for them. That's commercialism, not the REAL Christmas."
It's like white people insisting that since they read WHITE FRAGILITY they're not part of the problem of racism anymore, don't have anything else they need to do to end white supremacy. Or, better yet, their ancestors weren't enslavers so it's super not their problem.
Do you hear it now? I hope? I am begging you. You don't have to do much--as you see, R. Ner-David didn't spend a lot of time engaging with the horrific, racist fascism of the Kahanists, just acknowledged that this, too, is (unfortunately) a thread in our tradition.
We say that every generation receives the Torah anew. Every generation has the opportunity to see what has been created in the past and use it to live into the future. But we can't do any of that properly if we are not honest about what is.
After the 1619 Project came out, 36 states banned the teaching of our history in some way. Is that what you want for your theology? The whitewashing? The fingers in your ears, while hurting others?
Or do you want an honest theology that names all the truths, faces them?
A theology that owns all of what is and has been done in the name of all you call holy and sacred, and wrestles with it. And creates your Christianity of now, of moving forward that holds that truth while living into the world that we all desperately need.
The theology that this world needs is one that does not gaslight victims, but rather holds them, sees them, takes them into account as we create tomorrow. Not pretends they don't exist, that they're not your problem.
Let us crate a new, more whole world together.
PS I'm not looking for individual Christians to apologize to me on behalf of history in the thread. That's not the point. I WANT you to read it carefully, think it through for real, commit to learning more about the ugly parts of Christian history (the history of antisemitism +
in Europe seems to be one place of particular ignorance to a lot of people that's a huge part of both Christian and Jewish history for, like, 1000 years, just saying. But also colonialism, also slavery, also so many things) and grappling with what this means for theology + AND
I want y'all to do this grappling IN YOUR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES. Please bring this conversation in. Please help it spread. That's how we can all create a more honest, more whole world together. OK?
And if you want to know why an apology to me now is not helpful--and what else might be--this might be a great place to start...
@TheRaDR Rabbi Ner-David says this very well. I often attack rw Christians as having betrayed or ignored Jesus, but it's impossible to separate them from all our other betrayals over the centuries. Coming from that branch where some still recognize the heirs of Henry VIII as head of the church, I'm very aware of the need for humility in this.
@DrewKadel I left Christianity (RC) for a long time, and it's been striking how since coming back (via TEC) the folks whose use of Christianity once just made me angry now make me *sad*, like they're my family that I want to help. Which, I mean, they are.
Thank you, @TheRaDR, this is a great example.
@gatesong @TheRaDR I've been a priest now for most of my life. There's no escaping being part of the church and its culpability. I've stop defending even our little corner of the church--but on every Sunday I encounter the saints of God. I get angry at the way they are betrayed by sanctimonious, angry and violent Christians who use Jesus' name, but pay no attention to what he says or does.
@DrewKadel @TheRaDR The repression and bigotry inherent in Christianity aren't a bug they're a feature.
@TheRaDR Definitely second this.
@TheRaDR i mean, especially when they’ve spent years telling Muslims that they are all terrorists because of the extremists among them.
@TheRaDR
100%
It's giving... "not all _____"
The strife between them who wish to battle against evil, and them who want to continue it, is as old as human history.
@TheRaDR you call it theology, I call it ethos.
@TheRaDR Boy, you're on a roll today! And speaking of "roll," i'm looking for an app on here that rolls up threads... This is a keeper!
@TheRaDR Your posts have answered a lot of issues my heart has been wrestling with. I'm bnei anusim and have quite a large percentage of indigenous ancestry. I did not know how to come to grips with... all of it. Thank you.
@TheRaDR, YES!!! and thank you. I wish anyone well who seeks to have those conversations within Christian community. There are some who do. Most can’t and/or won’t. After decades of attempting honest discourse on topics of privilege, power and harm, I found I had to leave for my own well-being. So much good could come from an embrace of both honesty and nuance. And yet… Thank you for your voice and your work.
@TheRaDR @TiredPsychologist I similarly no longer have a community to discuss this with. I just picked up On Repentance and Repair and have begun reading it. I hope it helps me broaden my understanding and improve my discourse/actions.
As a geeky aside; it is such a pleasure to be able to find out about a book, buy it on Google Play, and immediately begin reading it on all my devices. And as long as Google exists I’m pretty sure my library will. I prefer the feel of a physical copy but I’m running out of space and I fear my family will evict me (or at least my library) if I buy more books.
@TheRaDR The truth is hate to them. They hate to admit they were taking the wrong side while claiming divine rights.
Isn't the "real way" by confronting them that their beliefs are not based on Christianity at all? That they might be "white supremacist nationalists" but not in any way consistent with Christianity?
Their "proof texts" are often misappropriation of the Hebrew scriptures interpreted in such a way that no Rabbi would recognize; God's promises to ancient Israel applied to the "new Jerusalem" of America are prominent.
@LockeLiberal1 @TheRaDR I used to be Catholic and on the religious right, as a side effect of that I'm pretty well schooled in christian theology. I can definitely tell you bigotry and a whole host of other toxic behaviors and belief are in fact an integral part of christian doctrine. That's why I'm an atheist.
Not arguing with your experience at all, but bigotry is not in any way a Christian value, any more than it is for any other religious belief.
@TheRaDR Strange how the 'pipeline' of Christianity seems to be a desire to shed any responsibility/community for the faith. From Catholicism to Protestantism to vague personal relationship w/ Jesus.
All seems to be effort so the individual believer can excuse themselves for anything anyone else does.
Combine that with the personal relationship aspect and the belief in the atonement (professions of sin w/ no actions to rectify) means one also gets to excuse all personal actions.
Its scary
@TheRaDR Since Christianity became the state religion of Rome, Christians have been persecuting Jews.
@TheRaDR
And not just people who happen to be Christian; but *because* they are Christian. Because they believe their Christian faith *requires* them to murder in the name of Christ.
Onward, Christian soldiers.