Krauthammer: "Gibson's Blood Libel"

Washington Post ^ | Mar. 5, 04 | Charles Krauthammer

[churchillbuff]

Gibson's Blood Libel

By Charles Krauthammer Friday, March 5, 2004; Page A23

Every people has its story. Every people has the right to its story. And every people has a responsibility for its story. ...[snip]

Christians have their story too: the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Why is this story different from other stories? Because it is not a family affair of coreligionists. If it were, few people outside the circle of believers would be concerned about it. This particular story involves other people. With the notable exception of a few Romans, these people are Jews. And in the story, they come off rather badly.

Because of that peculiarity, the crucifixion is not just a story; it is a story with its own story -- a history of centuries of relentless, and at times savage, persecution of Jews in Christian lands. This history is what moved Vatican II, in a noble act of theological reflection, to decree in 1965 that the Passion of Christ should henceforth be understood with great care so as to unteach the lesson that had been taught for almost two millennia: that the Jews were Christ killers.

[dennisw]

Do you consider Levitt to be a "poached" Jew?

If he was born Jewish he is half poached. I say half because he still calls himself Jewish as well as Christian

BTW, Levitt didn't write the "Blood Libel" article you excerpted from his website, it was written by Todd Baker, Th.M.

Sorry, correct you are! But the website it's on is Zola Levitt's

[ultima ratio]

"Then how come Jews were called Christ killers for centuries?"

How the hell should I know--or care? What I DO KNOW is that the Church has never declared Jews "Christ killers" as you say. Besides, Jews and Christians had mutual animosities of all sorts having nothing to do directly with religion, but having to do with cultural differences. This is not unusual. It happens everywhere. Jews are not special in this! Do you think Catholics weren't persecuted and killed for centuries in England? Do you think Christians are tolerated in countries like Pakistan and Egypt even today? Do you wring your hands over the 300,000 Catholics in a single province who were slaughtered in the French Revolution; do you fret over the hundreds of thousands of Christians killed and enslaved even today in the Sudan? Give me a break--it's the human condition for ALL people to suffer these persecutions--not just the Jews. People of one religion for the most part don't especially like people of another--unless they are enlightened and true to the tenets of what they believe. But to take a leap from this virtually universal situation to a condemnation of the Catholic Church over two millenia, or to go even further and to blame Christianity itself for setting-up the Holocaust, is sheer slander. It is bigotry, pure and simple--and it elicits anger and hostility, rightfully so.

[philosofy123]

If you're not aware of the background and what havoc that has wrought to the Jews in the last 2000 years, you should read about it.

You must be kidding! Everybody is familiar with religious hate and hostility between people in the name of God. Christians killed Jews, and, Moslems killed, and still killing Christians, by the millions! Do you see Christian hysteria over the killing of Christians? Of course not. Only last week, 48 Christians in Nigeria were killed as they ran for refuge in their church. That was committed by the religious of peace. Tell me if that loser Krauthammer or any other columnist have written hysterical condemnation of the killing of Christians, as they have been writing hysterically about the POTENTIAL killing of Jews because of a movie! How many people came out of this movie to burn out Jewish businesses? Moslems come out of Friday prayers all the time to burn Christian businesses. Christians, specially the ones that go to a religious movie like this are aware that Jesus asked us to love our enemies. Christianity has no room for violence, at least in recent years. To worry, and become paranoid about some stupid historical dictator like Hitler, is to waste your peaceful life in hysteria over nothing. Christians and Jews are best of friends, and should never lose sight of our common enemy the Moslems. This Idiot, Krauthammer should devote more energy to expose the hatred of Islam against minority Christians and Jews. It is because of the negligence of these stupid columnists of the excesses of Islam that we ended up with 9/11. If our politicians were aware of that constant hate and plotting of radical Islam, and if our opinion makers like this loser were focusing on the real danger that was brewing in our backyard, our population would have been more vigilant and 9/11 would have been more difficult to have taken place. If all the editorials and energy are wasted on an imaginary “potential” problem of anti-Semitic, we are losing valuable time and energy being aware of Islamic hate, and expansionism. I do like Krauthammer writing, but he need to give it a rest – focus on Islamists taking over our prisons instead.

[sinkspur]

Do you understand why I'm confused?

Your confusion extends beyond this thread.

[Scenic Sounds]

Human beings killed Christ. Those particular Romans and Jews most directly involved just happened to be those human beings charged with protecting and preserving the traditional values and institutions that existed at the time. Killing Christ was a very human thing to do, actually.

How differently would Jesus be treated if He showed up tomorrow? Outside of Texas, He might not be executed, but would He be accepted or rejected again?

[sinkspur]

So it's disengenuous of you to suggest this is merely about a movie review and opinions on the artistic merits of a movie.

Buff, Krauthammer's perspective is just as valid as yours.

Twenty minutes from now, you'll be in high dudgeon about something else.

[Sabertooth]

If he was born Jewish he is half poached. I say half because he still calls himself Jewish as well as Christian

So the congregation of self-described Jewish Christians I attended was also "half-poached?"

Sorry, correct you are! But the website it's on is Zola Levitt's

I don't know of Todd Baker, but you should tread carefully around schisms within greater Christianity. There are Protestants who are anti-Catholic bigots, and Catholics who are anti-Protestant bigots.

Each will be more than happy to provide you with heinous-sounding evidence against the other.

[GraniteStateConservative]

That's what I thought. Thanks for answering my question.

[Romulus]

On the lower local levels this was done all the time without reprimand and lead to pogroms and a holocausts.

It's a favorite tactic of Catholic bashers to blame the Church for being alternately too authoritarian and not authoritarian enough.

[Agnes Heep]

He made a linkage between Christianity and the Holocaust.

There is a linkage between Christianity and the Holocaust. Anti-semitism fostered by Christianity created the climate by which Jews could be scapegoated by the Nazis.

The most unendearing aspect of Christianity is its insistence that only through Christianity can one "be saved"; all others being damned to eternal torture. Such a belief system breeds a certain arrogance, and fosters contempt for people of other faiths. The Jews have taken the brunt of this contempt for two thousand years, and they can hardly be blamed for being suspicious of anything that fuels its fire, especially when the fire itself is lit from a tinderbox of fanaticism.

[DestroytheDemocrats]

Krauthammer says: "The blood libel that this story affixed upon the Jewish people had led to countless Christian massacres of Jews and prepared Europe for the ultimate massacre -- 6 million Jews systematically murdered in six years -- in the heart, alas, of a Christian continent."

This is the unvarnished TRUTH and there is NO getting around it.

[Dr.Deth]

I think the only columnist that hasnt used up at least one strike with me is Mark Steyn, A-number-1.

[Romulus]

Well done, bravo.

[ninenot]

Dennis, let's examine this with less heat and more light, please.

Perhaps the official party line in Rome (Vatican) was not to name Jews as Christ killers. On the lower local levels this was done all the time without reprimand and lead to pogroms and a holocausts.

You do know that Rome's official party line regarding ordination of homosexuals and playing 'hide-the-perp' is substantially different than that of certain local Bishops, eh? You can find a LOT of points on which the Church's teachings are different from Churchmen's practices. It's what we call the human condition.

Why else do you think the Vatican II conclave did away with the Christ killer libel (collective guilt, persecution for all Jews) for good?

If you are referring to the Good Friday prayer for 'the perfidious Jews,' your dating is wrong. That phrase was removed in at LEAST the early 1960's--before VII.

[duckln]

Wow, you guys are working pretty hard today.

I'm not ready to throw Krauthammer overboard, but this bigoted rant of his will color my view of his columns indefinitely

It's colored mine. I thought of Krauthammer as being a rational objective writter for the most part, now I'm seeing through him. The amen corner doesn't want Passion Plays and Nativity Scenes (and Catholic 'priests')in the public domain. It still is as it was.

I can't source it now, but Mel was irritated that the 'critics' are trying to blame the Holocaust on Christianity. Nothing could be further from the truth, but yet, it's a big part of their arsenal in taking down Catholicism.

Then it was Barrabas or Jesus? Today it's Christians or Islamists? The ADL, has made its choice, with Krauthammer and Safire in tow. So far with the mainstream, they are slipping, hopefully some of the 'damage' done over the last 45 years can be undone. The Passion may be the kickoff point in taking our culture back, to the chagrin of the 'NYT'.

[Mamzelle]

Check out Gorin's article in NRO---

[rbmillerjr]

"Krauthammer says: "The blood libel that this story affixed upon the Jewish people had led to countless Christian massacres of Jews and prepared Europe for the ultimate massacre -- 6 million Jews systematically murdered in six years -- in the heart, alas, of a Christian continent."

LOL, I really find it hard to believe that a man of Krauthammer's intellect could be such a simpleton.

[Hollywoodghost]

Also--many Jews in the Passion are Good Guys who do not go along with the Jewish leadership. I believe this fellow is looking at the film while wearing the blinders of history and nazi Germany. They must move on if they are to be taken seriously in the future.

[.45MAN]

I am totally surprised at this. Up until now I have pretty much listend to what he had to say. Now I will be very careful to filter what he says..