printIn response to an exchange in the Comments Section on Christian forgiveness between Rob Murphy and Jess Strong: A growing number of Christians—Replacement Theology proponents, perhaps—pretend Jesus was not Jewish and was not steeped in the Hebrew (“Old”) Testament’s ethics. It’s as though he were an alien from Deep Space. Jesus was certainly a radical, very much in the mold of the classical prophets, some of whom had to sleep in the fields to escape the people’s wrath. Deuteronomy, an early book—the fifth of 39—showcases an advanced concept of Jewish social justice, and is replete with instructions to protect the poor, the weak, the defenseless, the widows, the orphans, the aliens, etc.
This ethical monotheism, developed centuries before classical Greek philosophy, is echoed throughout the Hebrew Bible (Exodus), and expounded upon by the classical prophets, who railed against power and cultural corruption so magnificently:
“There is blood on you hands; wash yourself and be clean. Put away the evil of your deeds, away out of my sight. Cease to do evil and learn to do right, pursue justice and champion the oppressed; give the orphan his rights, plead the widow’s cause.”—Isaiah 1:11-17
The claim, made by the dazzling Catholic controversialist Clare Boothe Luce, that “New Testament universalism superseded Old Testament particularism” can be dispatched with a reminder that the Ten Commandments preceded the Epistle of St. John.
Knowledge and wisdom don’t arise in a vacuum; like so many greats, Jesus stood on the shoulders of giants. As for retributive justice in the Hebrew Bible, it would be hard to rival the Book of Revelation–it is pitiless about those “cast into outer darkness.” Jesus, moreover, returns not as a Prince of Peace but as a warrior who “rule[s] the nations with a rod of iron.” If Revelation is not about violent retributive justice I don’t know what is. In fact, some contend that based on the allusions to Armageddon in Blair’s speeches and the apocalyptic themes in Bush’s, both are inspired by Revelation. All in all, history best attests to the propensity of the three major religions to inspire brutality in their followers. The Jews, a dispersed people until very recently, have been most likely to turn the other cheek.