Dear Colleagues:
Please, let's stick to medieval religion.
Thomas Sullivan, OSB
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sylvan Beer [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2000 9:40 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: adultery and murder/seeds of the Holocaust
>
>
> Luciana:
>
> The literature on his anti-Semitic preaching is actually fairly extensive.
> Rosemary Ruether in 'Faith and Fratricide', The Seabury Press, NY (1979)
> discusses some of it.
>
> The matter of his anti-Jewish attitude is important not because of how he
> felt or
> expressed himself. That can be understood, if not forgiven, in light of
> the
> extreme feelings generated in the early days of the Christian/Jewish
> defensive
> positions. The main problem is that he is venerated without regard for the
> destruction wrought by this aspect of his teachings, which the Church has
> not
> condemned in the strongest possible terms. Because the Church needs to be
> seen as
> perfect, it simply cannot admit ANY wrongdoing of its saints. That is one
> reason
> why it has little credibility in the rest of the world. In defending the
> Church's
> indefensible position on anti-Semitism, its partisans resort to silly
> arguments
> that there are Jewish anti-Semites and that Jews have spread
> anti-Semitism! To the
> former, minorities often conform to their majority oppressors as a means
> of
> escaping the pain. To the latter, no reasonable argument is possible.
> Indeed if
> anything, it supports the suspicion that regardless of what has been
> stated
> recently about progress in Jewish/Church understanding, in fact there has
> been
> nothing of importance.
>
> Test this for yourself. Ask anyone of the Faith what they know of
> Chrysostom and
> see what you get in response. Indeed, your question is an indication of
> the
> ignorance fostered by the guarded, restrictive teachings of the Church
> itself.
> Introspective, self-criticism is hardly a characteristic virtue of it.
>
> Finally, it is of no value to claim that future relations between the two
> faiths
> will be cordial if admission of past transgressions are not fully and
> openly
> admitted and taught to the Faithful. Because if past sins are not
> recognized and
> admitted, it means that there is no recognition that they were evil. Thus,
> if they
> are not evil there is no prohibition against their repetition. If anything
> it
> guarantees that they will be retained as part of the 'folklore' teachings
> transmitted by the Faithful among themselves.
> Sylvan
>
> Vivario wrote:
>
> > --
> > ****************************************
> > Luciana Cuppo Csaki
> > Societas internationalis pro Vivario
> > e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> > http://www.geocities.com/athens/aegean/9891/
> > ****************************************
> > To Sylvan Beer (and anyone else who might be interested):any evidence
> > (bibliographical references) on the virulent anti-semitism of St. John
> > Chrysostom? Thanks
> > Luciana Cuppo Csaki
>
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