Coming To Terms with Judaism

By Richard N. Ostling

Does the modern state of Israel fulfill God's biblical promise, which bestowed the Holy Land upon the Chosen People? That question has been the source of considerable spiritual and political debate among Christians ever since Israel was founded in 1948. The problem came to the fore again last week in Biloxi, Miss., for 665 delegates to the national assembly of the 3 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The Israel issue led to a dispute that stirred passions over six days before the assembly finally approved an eight-page statement. The document is probably the most amicable declaration any U.S. denomination has yet issued on Jewish-Christian relations.

The words of goodwill, however, were nearly overshadowed by the intense debate over Israel. After considerable soul-searching, the church agreed that the "state of Israel is a geopolitical entity and is not to be validated theologically." As originally proposed by a special task force, the paper said that Presbyterians "take no position on the theological significance of the state of Israel."

The campaign to shift from the neutrality of that initial wording to a statement opposing pro-Zionist theology was led by the Rev. Benjamin Weir, the former U.S. missionary in Lebanon who was held hostage by Muslim terrorists for 16 months until his release last September. To him, both Jews and Palestinians have the right to a homeland. Weir is completing a year as the church's Moderator (titular head). Besides amending the section on Israel, Weir's allies, primarily churchmen who have worked in the Middle East, got the document downgraded from a church-policy statement to a study paper, pending further discussions in 1989.

The final text recognizes the overriding spiritual importance of the Holy Land for Jews, but it adds an expression of sympathy for Palestinians and "all people to whom rights of 'land' are currently denied." (In a separate action, the church pledged to counteract bigotry against Muslims and Arabs in the U.S.) The document also considered the touchy matter of converting Jews to Christianity. The approved text asserts that "Christians have no reason to be reluctant in sharing the good news of their faith with anyone." It adds, "Many Jews have been unwilling to accept the Christian claim and have continued in their covenant tradition."

Insistence upon respect for the continuing validity of Judaism was the important achievement of the assembly. The delegates repudiated the idea that God turned against the Jews because they rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and expressed repentance for Christianity's part in past anti-Semitism. The American Jewish Committee said the document is "potentially of great historic importance" and has "broken significant new ground."

Turning to internal business, the assembly voted to move the church's headquarters from New York City and Atlanta to Louisville. The head of a site % committee, which had selected Kansas City, glumly eyed the Louisville lobbyists' brochures and gift baseball bats and grumbled, "Glitz and hype carried the day." Not exactly. To gain 900 Presbyterian jobs and a $32 million payroll, the Kentuckians will give the church a downtown building virtually free.

With reporting by Richard Woodbury/Biloxi