American Jewish Committee Welcomes The Guidelines For Lutheran-Jewish Relations

American Jewish Committee
Monday, 23 November 1998

The American Jewish Committee warmly welcomes the "Guidelines for Lutheran-Jewish Relations" that were unanimously adopted on November 16th by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Council. The Guidelines break important new ground in Christian-Jewish relations with their emphasis on specific programs and actions that Lutherans should take in opposing all forms of anti-Semitism. The 5.2 million member ELCA is the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.

The American Jewish Committee has worked closely with the ELCA for several decades, and the adoption of the Guidelines is one result of that fruitful relationship.

"The new Guidelines go far beyond 'shallow tolerance or mere surface agreement' between Lutherans and Jews. Instead, the document explicitly urges Lutheran pastors and teachers not to use the New Testament 'as justification for hostility towards present-day Jews. Blame for the death of Jesus should not be attributed to Judaism or the Jewish people, and stereotypes of Judaism as a legalistic religion should be avoided'," said Rabbi A. James Rudin, the American Jewish Committee's Interreligious Affairs Director.

The rabbi added: "The Guidelines remind Lutherans that the Jewish community considers conversionary groups like 'Jews for Jesus' and 'Messianic Jews' as 'deceptive'. The Lutheran statement also cautions against 'trampling on [Jewish] holy ground' in the presentation of the Passover Seder and other sacred Jewish rituals. Such rituals must not be expropriated for Christian religious purposes, but must always maintain their unique Jewish authenticity."

"The Guidelines stress that 'Lutherans need to understand the depth of Jewish concern for communal survival, a concern shaped…by the Holocaust…centuries of Christian antipathy towards Judaism…topics such as the security of the State of Israel, intermarriage, and conversion…it is vital for us [as Lutherans] to understand and respect our [Jewish] neighbors' concerns'."

Rabbi Rudin concluded: "Hopefully, the new Guidelines will have a positive and constructive impact upon all aspects of Lutheran church life. Special praise must be given to Dr. Franklin Sherman, Associate for Interfaith Relations of the ELCA, who played a decisive role in making the Guidelines a reality. The American Jewish Committee looks forward to continued cooperation with the ELCA."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org