6/4/2023 0 Comments Scripture on jews as a bywordAt the very least, the Jews were chosen to receive the revelation of God contained in the Old Testament to expect, pray for and prepare the world for the coming of the Messiah to receive him when he came to be the first generation of disciples and apostles and to spread his Gospel throughout the world.ĭespite the popular misconception that the Jews failed in their mission, they in fact succeeded - Christianity itself is proof of that success. Schoeman: Looking backward, the role of Judaism is pretty easy to discern. Q: What is the role of Judaism in salvation history? In the destiny of the world? To Catholics, it teaches not only about Judaism, about the Jewish Scriptures and about the origins of the Catholic faith and Church, but also a great deal about the structure of salvation history itself and how God works through history and peoples to affect his plans. To Jews, it reveals the full majesty and importance of being Jewish, how sympathetic a view of Jews and Judaism is given in Catholic doctrine, and that being Catholic does not mean no longer being a Jew. Schoeman: My book was quite consciously written for a dual audience of both Catholics and Jews, although I realize that the majority of readers will probably be Catholic. Q: Is it intended mainly for Christians or Jews, or both? I felt that Jews were being deprived of an opportunity to see the full glory and nobility and importance of their own identity and religion, and that Catholics were being given an extremely limited and watered-down view of what Judaism really means.Īll of this is in the context that our Lord and our Blessed Mother are Jewish. Yet I did not find these topics being actively discussed and explored in the Church today, although there have been periods - such as in the late 19th century - when they were. We also know that the fullness of God's written revelation to the Jews in the Old Testament has been confirmed and adopted in its entirety by Christianity worldwide and the salvation of all of mankind came about through the Jews - Jesus himself said in John 4:22 that "salvation is from the Jews," hence, the title of the book - and the Jews in fact succeeded in their God-given task of bringing that salvation.Īlso Christian Scripture also suggests, for instance in Romans 11, that the unique importance of the Jews in the economy of salvation will last through all of this world's existence, until the Second Coming. But that very sense of privilege and pride in being Jewish exploded a hundredfold when, as a Catholic, I realized the full significance of Judaism as revealed in Catholic doctrine.įor instance, Catholic doctrine teaches that the Jews, in praying for and preparing the way for the Messiah, actually brought about the incarnation of God as man that the ultimate creature whom God ever created or will create, the absolute perfection of human nature, was a Jew - the Blessed Virgin Mary and that even God himself, when he became man, became a Jew and a faithful follower of the Jewish religion. Schoeman: It seems obvious to me, as a Jew who has entered the Catholic Church, that the Church is nothing else but "post Messianic" Judaism - that is, the continuation of Judaism after the coming of the Jewish Messiah, now opened up to all peoples.īefore my conversion I was proud of being a Jew, having a sense of the importance and privilege of being Jewish, of being one of the "chosen people" - chosen to receive God's genuine revelation in the Old Testament and to prepare the world for the coming of the Messiah. Schoeman shared with ZENIT why Judaism and Christianity can only be fully understood in relation to each other, and how the role of the Jews did not necessarily end with the first coming of Christ. Since then, the former faculty member of Harvard Business School has studied at several seminaries and has recently written "Salvation is from the Jews" (Ignatius). Roy Schoeman, who grew up in a Conservative Jewish home and studied extensively with rabbis, realized the full significance of Judaism as revealed in Catholic doctrine after he converted. 2003 (ZENIT).Ī Catholic convert from Judaism believes that the Jews are not only our "elder brothers" in the faith, but that their prayers and actions prepared the way for Jesus Christ and the salvation of mankind. JEWS' ROLE IN CHRIST'S FIRST AND SECOND COMINGīOSTON, Massachusetts, 10 NOV.
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