Biblical anti-Semitism in Australia

It's hard to fight anti-Semitic thinking and behavior when said thinking and behavior is explicit in the New Testament and has not only been taught to the uncritical masses in the churches for the past 2 millenium, but has been acted out ad nauseam annually on stages and screens in various "Passion Plays" around the world.

The Gospel of Matthew's the worst, where at an unhistorical evening trial in front of the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, the High Priest puts words in Jesus' mouth and then accuses him of blasphemy and the council members condemn him to death while spitting at him and hitting him. Matthew is the Gospel where Jesus is brought before Pilate who ends up washing his hands of the whole business and the "Jews" cry out "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

And then those awful words that have authorized sick minds to commit the most horrible atrocities in the name of Christianity, "His blood be on us, and on our children!"

It's no wonder so many Christians believe the Jews killed Jesus!


Many scholars today are in agreement that the stories of Jesus' trial and crucifixion in the New Testament are not historical. They contradict each other on major points, for one thing. For another, the Sanhedrin would never hold a trial at night. Additionally, the charge of claiming to be the "Messiah" was not blasphemous, and would not have concerned the religious leaders at all.

Unfortunately, while these tales are fiction created to serve the needs of a particular religious community of the time, they have also served to create a 2000-year legacy of hatred and horror for the Jewish people, culminating in the Nazi holocaust--the final confirmation God does not exist.


Still, the legacy of hatred and horror continues. In Australia, Jewish leaders are concerned that a visit by Pope Benedict XVI "could incite anti-Semitism." Benedict is arriving in July and Aussie Catholics have planned a "Stations of the Cross" procession. Because of criticism by the Jewish community, the number of stations has been cut back from 14 to 8, but they have left in the worst of the bunch which depicts Jesus being condemned by the Sanhedrin.

Vic Alhadeff, director of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, thought it possible that some of the 500,000 pilgrims viewing the procession may find justification for expressions of anti-Semitism. A resolution by the board noted that "The historical and biblical questions surrounding the notion that there was a formal Sanhedrin trial argue for extreme caution and, perhaps, even abandoning the device."

It appears the feelings of the Jewish leaders will be ignored. A spokesman for the organizers of the procession said that "we've accommodated them [the Jews] where appropriate, but we're unable to change the New Testament. Ultimately, we're acknowledging that Christ was crucified for and by all sinners."

Rubbish! That's not the lesson the faithful will receive from this procession. They will be told again the Jews killed their savior! Furthermore, the Catholic church, just like all the others, picks and chooses what it wants to believe, follow and emphasize in the New Testament depending upon what particular doctrine they want to stress.

So why the Stations of the Cross? Why not a dramatization of Jesus preaching the "Sermon on the Mount"? Why not a reenactment of Jesus teaching in a synagogue? He was a Jew, after all! Why the constant and unremitting emphasis on death when Jesus is supposed to the giver of life?