The Witness-People Myth and Its Alternatives

Abstract

Jews are an important sign. A useful index of the witness-people myth’s influence among Christians is the degree to which Jews and their fate are profoundly significant for Christians. The special stature of the Jewish people was not lost in the angry disputes of the first century or the fateful parting of the ways in the second. Emerging “Christianity” of the first century ce defined itself primarily in relation to mainstream Judaism and its interpretation of Jewish Scripture.¹ From the second to the fifth centuries the Jewish communities scattered about the Roman Empire remained special objects of curiosity and derision for Christians, as a vast body of adversos Judaeos literature from the pens of the church fathers attests. Even as the authorities of Talmudic Judaism were almost completely ignoring Christianity, Jews and Judaism remained of crucial interest for Christians.² Since the time of Paul, in fact, the fate of “unbelieving” Jews following the appearance of Christ has been considered a divine mystery; and although this mystery is fully comprehended only by God, it is nonetheless significant for the church, since the ultimate salvation of Israel (Romans 11:26) is a sign of the consummation of God’s plan for history.

The feelings of Gentiles toward Jews are marked by an absence of balance, impartiality and ease. They gravitate between opposite poles.

J. L. Talmon, “European History — Seedbed of the Holocaust”

In this chapter some leading features of Christian thinking influenced by the witness-people myth will be elaborated and some scholarly alternatives for understanding the Christian attitude toward Jews will be evaluated.