Monday, October 26, 2026

It is the 26th of October 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday to you- as is our practice, we head to the mailbag today. A quick note- I’m putting together a weekend edition on “the toughest questions”- there have been a couple I’ve kept in a file- really hard ones that maybe I’d rather not answer- BUT my very reticence to answer them seems like it could make for good content.

 

Got another question from Luke in Medford, Oregon. Medford- home of Dick Fosbury of Fosbury Flop fame- that’s doing the backward jump over the bar in the high jump. Also, both Harry and David are buried there- thanks for all the fruits and nuts at Christmas.

 

Luke’s question had to do with charges of anti-semitism from Luther to John Chrysostom and others. He wondered, “What do we do when it seems like these, and other, Christians really did have issues with the Jewish people?”

 

Ok- this question comes in just about quarterly. Someone starts digging into Luther or some church fathers and finds some really unpleasant stuff about the Jewish people. That, coupled with modern geopolitics, and we can (rightly) start to squirm.

 

First, we should define what we mean by anti-semitism. It is “hostility, prejudice, or hatred directed against Jewish people as a religious group”. We could expand the definition, but for our purposes we are looking at a kind of anti-semitism based on theology. Other kinds are just as pernicious, and if so and so doesn’t like the Jewish people because of their perceived influence, wealth, etc., that should be taken up. And oftentimes the motives are mixed- but I’m trying to isolate a particular thread.

I believe that a good bit of what we see as anti-semitism in the church fathers and in Luther and other Reformers is a kind of imitation of Paul.

 

Oh, you’ve read those sections before. Paul can be so cross with the Jewish people that it gets uncomfortable. Or, it gives cover to people who might say similar things.

 

A few words: Paul’s anger is personal and theological. He himself was Jewish. And as often as he says something about the Jewish people that sounds harsh, he is also lamenting and praying that they would come to the knowledge of the Messiah. There’s a parallel with Jesus, of course, too. He can condemn the Pharisees and then weep over Jerusalem.

 

It is theological in that the anger comes out of their not responding to the Messiah when the expectations were that they would. Part of this plays into both the early church and the Reformation when many thought the end was nigh. Apocalyptic expectation and a certain reading of the end times made them expect that a mass conversion of Jewish people was going to happen. When it didn’t, there was not only theological disappointment, but a kind of cultural disappointment as well (we thought we were going to be on the same team!).

 

The disappointment came precisely because they didn’t hold to a “replacement” theology- that Christians had “taken over” the place of God’s chosen people. The belief was that Christians had been grafted onto the Jewish branch- and that the two together would be one in the same covenant.

 

As for “what to do with authors who write or say offensive things”: perhaps some ground rules.

 

1. Call balls and strikes. Bad stuff is bad, and good stuff is good, and if you don’t think everyone is a mixed bag you’ll be disappointed.
2. There is no amount of “good theology” that can cover distasteful words.
3. Even distasteful words and a degree of hatred don’t undo good theology.

 

When there are claims of “anti-semitism” don’t work in vague generalities but instead get specifics. Let’s take Luther- if half of his work was anti-Semitic, I would have a hard time recommending him. Same with Chrysostom (there are more; these are the two that Luke brought up). Isolate those passages and works. To what extent are they imitating Paul (that’s not an excuse- but worth noting), and what is their motive in writing? To foment hatred? To encourage evangelism?

 

Antisemitism, like “racism,” is both pernicious but also sometimes a catch-all that tries to end conversation before it happens. So- with the claims, isolate them, read them contextually, and condemn what is wrong or overly harsh. If our doctrine of sin is what we think it is, it shouldn’t surprise us that even the best thinkers can have some really bad ideas- it's why we need to apply the sinner/saint distinction even to our favorite saints. Thanks for the email, Luke! You can send me your questions at danv@1517.org.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and a good word from James chapter 2:

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 26th of October 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by the man in the land of hesitant optimism… go Brewers… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who once spent a recess in second grade trying to explain and teach the Fosbury flop… he is Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.