• Introduction
  • Point 1
    A Call to Christians and Christian Communities to Combat Religious, Racial, and All Other Forms of Antisemitism – Biblically, Liturgically, and Catechetically.
  • Point 2
    A Call to Christians and Christian Communities to Promote Interreligious Dialogue with Jews
  • Point 3
    A Call to Christians and Christian Communities to Develop Theological Understandings of Judaism that Affirm Its Distinctive Integrity
  • Point 4
    A Call to Christians and Christian Communities to Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
  • Point 5
    A Call to Jews and Jewish Communities to Acknowledge the Efforts of Many Christian Communities in the Late 20th Century to Reform Their Attitudes Toward Jews
  • Point 6
    A Call to Jews and Jewish Communities to Acknowledge the Efforts of Many Christian Communities in the Late 20th Century to Reform Their Attitudes Toward Jews
  • Point 7 and 8
    A Call to Jews and Jewish Communities to Differentiate between Fair-Minded Criticism of Israel and Antisemitism and to Offer Encouragement to the State of Israel as It Works to Fulfill the Ideals Stated in Its Founding Documents, a Task Israel Shares with Many Nations of the World
  • Point 9
    A Call To Both Christian and Jewish Communities and Others... to commit ourselves to the following goals and invite Jews, Christians and Muslims, together with all people of faith and goodwill, always to respect the other and to accept each other’s differences and dignity.
  • Point 10
    A Call To Both Christian and Jewish Communities and Others... to commit ourselves to the following goals and invite Jews, Christians and Muslims, together with all people of faith and goodwill, always to respect the other and to accept each other’s differences and dignity.
  • Point 11
    A Call To Both Christian and Jewish Communities and Others... to commit ourselves to the following goals and invite Jews, Christians and Muslims, together with all people of faith and goodwill, always to respect the other and to accept each other’s differences and dignity.
  • Point 12
    A Call To Both Christian and Jewish Communities and Others... to commit ourselves to the following goals and invite Jews, Christians and Muslims, together with all people of faith and goodwill, always to respect the other and to accept each other’s differences and dignity.

Paul's Profound Identity as a Jew of His Day

A Time for Recommitment also urges that antisemitism be combated "by recognizing Paul's profound identity as a Jew of his day, and interpreting his writings within the contextual framework of first-century Judaism."


By Philip A. Cunningham

Perhaps no single topic illustrates the recent change in Christian attitudes toward Judaism than the history of the interpretation of the New Testament letters of St. Paul. For centuries, he was understood to have abandoned Judaism and converted to Christianity. He supposedly found the effort to earn salvation by obeying the commands of the Torah to be futile or unavailing, and therefore proclaimed the end of "the Law" for Jews and Gentiles alike. However in recent decades biblical scholarship has begun to see Paul in a very different light, though widespread consensus about every aspect of his thought has yet to emerge.

Even in ancient times, another New Testament writer described Paul's letters as "hard to understand" (2 Peter 3:16). Indeed, certain features of Paul's writings have always encouraged misinterpretation. There are several reasons for this...    [ read on... ]


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