#Jewish-Christian Dialogue

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25 August 1975 Pinchas Lapide and Hans Kung Dialogue #otdimjh

25 August 1975 Pinchas Lapide and Hans Kung Dialogue #otdimjh

Pinchas Lapide (November 28, 1922—October 23, 1997) was a Jewish theologian and Israeli historian. He was an Israeli diplomat from 1951 to 1969, among other position acting as Israeli Consul to Milan, and was instrumental in gaining recognition for the young state of Israel. He wrote more than 35 books during his lifetime. Pinchas Lapide was married to Ruth Lapide with whom he shared his…

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“God of Israel” in Ecumenical Contexts

“If we don’t address the religious justifications for occupation and violence, and help change that narrative, it is hard to imagine that any political settlement will be possible, and even if it happens that it will hold,” I said in a speech to a group of about 100 German pastors and church leaders in Rothenburg, Germany on January 7, 2012. The gathering was a Continuing Education conference of those who had participated in a year of study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem as a part of the “Studium in Israel” program of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).

The topic for the key note address, “God of Israel” in Ecumenical Contexts arose out of my work while at the World Council of Churches in bringing together Christian theologians from the western tradition of Jewish Christian dialogue together with Middle Eastern (including Palestinian) theologians as well as from Asia, African and Latin America. In that tradition, the event included Prof. Nicolas Abou-Mrad from Belamand University in Lebanon and Rev. Ashraff Tannous, former associate pastor of the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and a resident of Ramallah in the West Bank.

The medieval city of Rothenburg (which still has its ancient city wall in tact) is evidence of the long history of Christian anti-Judaism that occurred in Germany. A walk through the ancient Jewish quarter provides ample evidence of how Jews were persecuted through the centuries and not just at the time of the holocaust. It was clear that Jewish communities lived in great fear and anxiety about when the next pogrom would arise.

The German churches, very conscious of their role in this terrible history have led the ecumenical world in Jewish-Christian relations. They have been closely followed by other churches in Europe and North America. This conference marks a shift in seeking to engage other ecumenical voices in the theological debate.

The presentation looks at the question from the perspective of contextual theology, critiques the some of the positions that the German churches have taken, and locates the conversation in the context of the struggles of Israelis and Palestinians for justice and peace. It examines the question of God of Israel from the perspective of Asian, Orthodox and US American perspectives.

Read the text here.

Original Article