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The Anti-Defamation League has accused the theological arm of the World Evangelical Alliance of issuing a call that they allege is “disrespectful to Judaism’s own teachings” and a “serious affront to the Jewish people.”
“Though the World Evangelical Alliance claims it seeks to convert Jews out of their ‘love’ for Jews, we believe that if the WEA really loved Jews, they would respect Jewish teachings and recognize the integrity of Jewish tradition,” expressed ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman and ADL Director of Interfaith Policy Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg in a recent statement.
“It is especially troubling that the WEA includes and validates the deceptive proselytizing tactics of Messianic Jews and groups like Jews for Jesus,” the ADL leaders continued. “To issue this declaration from Berlin, where the Nazis directed their Final Solution to exterminate the Jewish people, is the height of insensitivity.”
On Aug. 29, the WEA’s Theological Commission released “The Berlin Declaration on the Uniqueness of Christ and Jewish Evangelism in Europe Today,” reminding Christians that they are “called to share this good news, with sensitivity and humility.”
“While respecting the views of others, we still challenge them to consider the message of the Messiah,” states the 1,200-word document issued one week after the conclusion of the Theological Commission’s consultation in Berlin, Germany.
During the Aug. 18-22 meeting, 13 scholars from the WEA Theological Commission, key seminaries and other organizations discussed how the Christian community might express genuine love for the Jewish people, especially in Europe.
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“We believe that genuine love cannot be passive,” concluded the document, which the task force said was distributed for study and consideration and not considered an official document of the WEA.
“Jesus taught that authentic love could not be unfeeling when other human beings are in misery and need. Honest love must include an expression of Christ’s good news in word and deed,” the task force continued.
“Therefore, Christians everywhere must not look away when Jewish people have the same deep need for forgiveness of sin and true shalom, as do people of all nations. Love in action compels all Christians to share the gospel with people everywhere, including the Jewish people of Europe.”
In their response, however, ADL leaders said the Evangelical document “is not an offer of love, but a prescription for hate.”
“As long as the WEA teaches that Judaism is incomplete or misguided, anti-Semitism will continue,” they stated.
“We urge on the WEA to withdraw its call to target the Jews of Europe for conversion and immediately begin serious dialogue with Jewish interfaith representatives, so they can understand the immense pain and anger they are causing with their ill-advised and theologically misguided position,” Foxman and Greenberg concluded.
The recent declaration follows in the wake of earlier documents produced by the WEA on Jewish evangelism. The first was the Willowbank Declaration of 1989 which was hailed at the time as a decisive statement and continues to be referred to as a landmark document. The second was a brief statement published and endorsed by the WEA reinforcing the validity and importance of Jewish evangelism which appeared in the New York Times in 2008, with initially 54 signatures.
On the Web:
Berlin Statement at worldevangelicals.org.
