Presenting the Passion … without blaming “the Jews”

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Source: ICCJ

In collaboration with its US member organization, the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR), the ICCJ publishes a video series on Jesus' passion.

Jesus’ Passion – arrested, sentenced to death, crucified – is retold through readings in Christian services during Holy Week. Tragically, over the centuries, these retellings have caused enmity between Christians and Jews and have even led to murderous violence. Such sinful consequences are contrary to the Good News of Christ.

In the video series, members of the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations (CSG), along with two Jewish advisors, explore four scenes in the Passion story. Based on decades of research, they consider how Jesus’ Passion can be presented in fresh ways that repudiate anti-Jewish biases and illuminate the gospel message.

The Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations (CSG) is an ecumenical gathering of Christian scholars who are aware that they are studying sensitive issues of significant religious import. They acknowledge with sorrow and shame the church's tragic legacy of anti-Judaism, and seek to use their scholarship to reclaim or reconceive elements of Christian theology and practice that offer a more adequate representation of its relationship to Judaism and the Jewish people. The CSG began in 1969 and today is assisted by Jewish experts on these matters.

In 2002, the CSG issued the influential statement A Sacred Obligation: Rethinking Christian Faith in Relationship to Judaism and the Jewish People, which can be seen as a complement to the 2001 text from Jewish scholars Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity.

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Presenting the Passion … without blaming “the Jews” Offered in collaboration with the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations, the United States national member organization of the ICCJ.

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About This Video Series:

Jesus’ Passion – arrested, sentenced to death, crucified – is retold through readings in Christian services during Holy Week. Tragically, over the centuries, these retellings have caused enmity between Christians and Jews and have even led to murderous violence. Such sinful consequences are contrary to the Good News of Christ.

In this series, members of the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations, along with two Jewish advisors, explore four scenes in the Passion story. Based on decades of research, they consider how Jesus’ Passion can be presented in fresh ways that repudiate anti-Jewish biases and illuminate the gospel message. This task is a sacred obligation (see: A Sacred Obligation: Rethinking Christian Faith in Relationship to Judaism and the Jewish People)

Judas and Betrayal (“Do you betray me with a kiss?”)

Ruth Langer and Jesper Svartvik

The Jewish Leaders and Conspiracy (“Looking for a way to arrest Jesus…and kill him”)

Katharina von Kellenbach and Peter A. Pettit

The Jewish Crowd, Pilate, and Guilt (“His blood be on us and our children”)

Victoria Barnett, Philip Cunningham, and Adam Gregerman

The Crucifixion and Accountability (“And they took him away and crucified him”)

Mary Boys, John Pawlikowski, Elena Procario-Foley