Baptists, Jews break bread together, build relationship_71204

Posted: 7/09/04

Baptists, Jews break bread together, build relationship

By Kirsten Pasha

Associated Baptist Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP)–Members of Jewish and Baptist communities met for lunch during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship general assembly to share stories and encourage an interfaith relationship.

Just in time, according to some Jewish and Baptist leaders.

The relationship between Jews and Baptists began “to atrophy” in the 1980s, said Jonathan Levine, national director of community services for the American Jewish Committee. Since then, Baptists and Jews have been like strangers to each other, he observed.

Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, which sponsored the luncheon, said the relationship between Southern Baptists and Jews hit “rock-bottom” in the last 25 years.

Southern Baptist leaders have injured the relationship by refusing to participate with Jews in interfaith services after the Sept. 11 attacks, prioritizing conversion of Jews on their high holy days, not acknowledging any anti-Semitism in the movie “The Passion of the Christ” and comparing Judaism to a deadly tumor, Parham asserted.

Scott Hausman-Weiss, a rabbi at Temple Emmanu-el in Birmingham, said he came to recognize the “evil menace” as Baptist at rabbinic school as a result of the Southern Baptist attempts to proselytize Jews.

However, soon after Hausman-Weiss became a rabbi, his congregation's need for a place of worship led them to Southside Baptist Church in Birmingham. He said the church's building–which he may have considered to be the enemy's headquarters–became his own synagogue.

“When I saw the huge, purple banner above the door that said, 'A house of prayer for all peoples,' I truly thought, 'Oh, my God,'” Hausman-Weiss said. During the time of worship with the Baptists, he said, he considered the experience “truly a godly moment.”

Steve Jones, pastor of Southside Baptist Church, said his congregation received criticism from Christians for opening its doors to the Jews.

“We're not going to change (the Jews), but we will be changed by our relationship with them, and they will not change us, but they will be changed by their relationship with us,” Jones said. Hausman-Weiss “has said to me, 'You have been a Christian witness to us.' And Temple Emmanu-el has been a Jewish witness to us as well.”

The presence of two religions in one building has created situations that provoked both laughter and distress. Jones chuckled as he recalled the time he found a yarmulke in the baptistery. For the Jews, however, the cross was a painful reminder that they chose to cover during their services for their first couple of months at the church.

“It wasn't out of a need to defy or deface the Baptist church,” Hausman-Weiss said. “The problem with the cross … is it has historically represented the opposite of salvation and life eternal (for the Jews). … It's mayhem, murder and institutional hatred.”

Considering the deeply opposite sentiments tied to the cross for Jews and Christians, a bond between the two religions is “a relationship to be celebrated based on history, common humanity and good neighborliness,” said Arnold Belzer, a rabbi of Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah, Ga.

The interfaith movement, according to Belzer, began with Congregation Mickve Israel's establishment in Savannah in 1733. The congregation has a special relationship with First Baptist Church in Savannah that, Belzer said, is a wonderful example of interfaith dialogue.

Levine, of the American Jewish Committee, said an interfaith movement will take work on the part of Jewish and Baptist congregations, but he insisted it is necessary for both groups.

“For those of us who look outward, coalitions are crucial,” he said. “The only way to break down stereotypes is ongoing dialogues. … My organization is absolutely committed to re-engaging with moderate Baptists. We really want to, and it's important for both of us.”

The Baptist Center for Ethics luncheon, though not officially part of the CBF assembly, was one of several CBF-related events involving Jewish relations. The CBF's ecumenical task force met with Huntsville, Ala., rabbi Jeff Ballon prior to the general assembly. And a CBF breakout session June 24 dealt with “developing a healthy and productive Jewish-Christian dialogue.