Bishop recommends Judaism
A STORM HAS erupted over a recent article written by the Bishop of Oxford. The Rt Rev. Richard Harries's self described "reflections" on Jewish evangelism have been widely interpreted to suggest that he recommends conversion to Judaism as a 'second best' option for those who cannot accept the teachings of the New Testament.
The Bishop's press officer, the Rev. Richard Thomas, slammed this interpretation of the Rt Rev's views by the broadsheets. He singled out an article published in The Times on 28th April, describing it as "very, very poorly reported".
Thomas denied that the Bishop's comments were ambiguous, suggesting three reasons for the alleged inaccuracies. First was that "the correspondent can't read". The Bishop's press officer admitted that this was unlikely, and thought it more probable that "a subeditor altered the story in order to get a punch" for the front page item. But the Rev. concluded by claiming that, in general, "the Murdoch press has a pretty strong bias against the faith community".
When contacted by the Oxford Student, The Times's religion correspondent, Ruth Gledhill, had the following comment to make about the Anglican attack on her article: "If the Church has stopped persecuting Jewish people, and started persecuting journalists instead, that can only be for the good."
The Bishop's representative confessed to not having complained directly to The Times about the article. His view was that "if you complained, you'd be there all your life". About the press coverage, he had been "irritated" rather than angered. Further, he believed that there had ultimately been "no damage to the Church of England", and that by contrast the incident had "shown up The Times".
Bishop Richard Harries's original article was written in Manna, a journal linked to Reform Judaism and published by the Sternberg Centre. The Bishop himself is seen as a liberal within the Church of England and chairs the Council of Christians and Jews. What has caused controversy is where the bishop commented on the current plight faced by "natural monotheists who cannot believe Christian claims about Jesus but who would love to have a spiritual home". Following this he mentions that in contrast to "new age religions", Judaism "has been tried and tested".
Where this is misread as a recommendation, the Rev. Richard Thomas argued that the "really controversial" aspect of the Bishop's message to Jews is being lost, stemming from the Bishop's interpretation of a passage from the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. There God said to the Jews "I will make you a light to the nations" since "it is too slight a task for you ... to bring back the descendants of Israel". The Rt Rev. Harries believes that this urges Jews to be "more ambitious" in their response to "a more missionary minded Judaism".
The Bishop's view was directly challenged by Ruth Bookatz, chair of the Union of Jewish Students. She sees the extract from Isaiah as calling on Jews simply "to be an example to other nations". "I don't think Judaism is a missionary religion," she claimed, adding that she thought the priority for modern Jews was "to bring lapsed Jews in".
She believes attempts at active conversion are against the Jewish tradition. "In any religion, people should find their own faith". She described becoming a Jew as "a rigorous process" - it could only be after much soul searching that anyone should "believe that Judaism is for them".
Whoever is right, one thing is certain - the two thousand year old question of the relationship between Christians and Jews has not gone away.
27th Apr 2000