Dave Perry on Methodism and The Council of Christians and Jews
For the last decade I have been one of the Joint Presidents of the Lincoln Branch of the Council of Christians and Jews. So when of late there have been accusations in the blogosphere that Methodists are anti-semitic because our annual Conference accepted a report on Israel-Palestine which took seriously the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, I find such attacks hurtful and untrue.
I genuinely believe that Methodists are called to be ‘the friends of all and the enemies of none’. At our best this allows us to stand in places of dispute which are often difficult and demanding, between opposing groups in conflict, where our motives and integrity will be called into question by those whose views on such divisive matters are invariably black and white. Always our vocation is to be true to our understanding of scriptural and social holiness, and to hold out a hand of friendship which seeks to build bridges of trust and understanding.
In no way shape or form is the Methodist Church anti-semitic or racist. As a church we fully support the CCJ and are willing participants. However, this is not the same thing as being uncritical friends of the State of Israel, in much the same way that our commitment to the wellbeing of our local communities does not preclude our Church being highly critical of the current governments spending review which seems to be hitting the poorest hardest.
Today the CCJ stands as a beacon of hope in a world grown distrustful of religion. The fact of our continuing engagement together both as people of differing faith traditions, and as those who are passionately committed to each others wellbeing and vitality, is especially important in today’s Britain.
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Mark Byron 10.28.10 at 9:05 pm
Methodist aren’t anti-Jewish; they tend to work well in inter-faith setting where they downplay the need to know Jesus. The Jews in the UK and the US aren’t going to have to worry about a Methodist Kristalnacht.
The UK’s Methodist leadership is anti-Zionist, loosely defined. When modern Israeli policy bumps up against Palestinian, the modern Methodist sides with the Palestinian almost reflexively.
In years past, Jews were the put-upon have-nots and Methodists went to bat for them on interfaith grounds. In the last 40+ years (post 1967’s war), a successful Israel has become a domineering geopolitical have and thus gets the stinkeye from progressive religious folks.
Sometimes the rhetoric gets hot enough so that the progressive anti-Zionism can sound a bit like anti-Jewish, especially when the many of the Muslim radicals that the church is siding with are anti-Jewish.
dh 10.28.10 at 9:48 pm
Great analysis on the threads and the situation. As usual love your responses, relies and insights.