Grace and calling without repentance

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Benedict XVI. (January 2013)

Grace and vocation without repentance is the title of a document in which Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. takes a position on the relationship of the Catholic Church to Judaism. Benedict XVI. had written this text, initially entitled “Notes on the De Iudaeis Tract ”, for internal use, but it was considered so important by Kurt Cardinal Koch , President of the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism , that he obtained the author's permission to publish it.

The essay is dated October 26, 2017 and was published on July 12, 2018 in the journal Communio . But already a pre-publication caused multiple, mostly critical reactions.

title

“Without repentance” and “irrevocably” are two ways to translate the Greek word ἀμεταμέλητα in Rom 11:29. The revised Standard Translation translates this key passage for Paul 's view of the people of Israel as follows: “From the gospel point of view, they are enemies, and for your sake; but seen from their election they are beloved, and that for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts of grace and the calling of God are irrevocable . "(Rom 11: 28-29)

occasion

The reason for the writing of “Grace and calling without repentance” was a document presented to the public in 2015 by the above-mentioned Vatican Commission on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of Nostra aetate (November 28, 1965), which was intended to enrich and intensify the Jewish-Catholic dialogue . It was entitled: "For irrevocable are grace and calling which God grants (Rom 11:29)." The central statements are:

  • negative: the rejection of the substitution theory (the Catholic Church had taken the place of the people of Israel);
  • positive: the affirmation of the “ never-broken covenant ” of God with the Jewish people.

In addition, Benedict XVI. critical position in "grace and calling without repentance". "Both theses are basically correct, but are in many ways imprecise and must be considered further critically."

  • The document published by the Vatican Commission under Cardinal Koch in 2015 draws conclusions from the above-mentioned, negative and positive position determination with regard to the dialogue with Judaism. “In concrete terms, this means that the Catholic Church does not know and support any specific institutional missionary work directed at Jews.” The dialogue serves to get to know one another, to work for peace and justice as well as to fight together against all forms of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism.

Benedict XVI comments on this. in "grace and calling without repentance" not.

Content of the document

Position of the Old Testament

Judaism and Christianity are two alternative responses to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and Israel's diaspora situation , with both religions reading the Old Testament as the basis of their beliefs, which kept them connected. But after the loss of the temple , the Old Testament could no longer be understood as before, so that Christians and Jews, struggling with one another, would each find their own approach:

  • For Christians, according to the document, the whole Old Testament has been dynamized towards Jesus Christ - as a forward movement towards a new form of worship, “whose center should be the gift of his body.” This is how the whole Old Testament becomes , also the books of the Torah, read as prophecy (sacramentum futuri), the content of which is Jesus Christ. The statement of the texts is "not canceled, but it must be exceeded."
  • Judaism developed its reading of the Hebrew Bible in the Mishnah and Talmud in response to the destruction of the temple and exile. The Torah is at the center, prophetic and wisdom writings have "secondary weight".

Despite this divergence, the Church of Rome made it clear early on that both communities worshiped the same God and that the holy books of Israel were sacred to Christendom. The differences lie in the interpretation and weighting of the Old Testament books and in the scope of the canon .

Critique of the term "substitution theory"

Contrary to the widespread opinion that Nostra aetate had overcome the substitution theory , the document states that the Catholic Church did not deal with the "substitution" of Israel by the Church as a subject of its own even before Vatican II. Rather, under the heading of substitution theory after the Council, various topics in which the election of Israel becomes concrete were summarized in retrospect:

  1. Jerusalem temple cult: The material sacrifices in the temple are already viewed critically in some places in the Hebrew Bible. In Hellenistic Judaism, a purely spiritual understanding of the sacrifice regulations developed. The giving of life of Jesus on the cross, on the other hand, means for Christians a synthesis of physical and spiritual sacrifice, which was only possible but necessary from God. The sacrifices in the temple were an approach to the sacrifice of Christ. Only in this would they find meaning and fulfillment. "So there is in fact no" substitution ", but" being on the way "to the Eucharist , even if this literally takes the place (" substitution ") of the actions in the Jerusalem temple."
  2. Cult laws that affect the individual ( Sabbath , circumcision , kashrut ). Here Benedict XVI mentions the position taken by Protestants during the Reformation, according to which the Catholic Church had established a new legal system. This is a historical internal Christian controversy that is irrelevant today. The observance or non-observance of these Torah directives had been identity-building for both Jews and Christians: "In this respect, these questions are no longer a real problem for both sides since the separation of Israel and the Church." What it means from a Catholic perspective is that Jews now observe these cult laws in everyday life is not an issue.
  3. Legal and moral commandments of the Torah. Benedict XVI. A distinction is made here between the casuistic legal texts, which had undergone dynamic further development in Judaism itself, and the moral commandments ( Decalogue ), which remain valid for Christians, "although in the new context of love and being loved by Jesus Christ." He also emphasizes, "That the moral instruction in the old and the new covenant is ultimately identical and that no actual" substitution "can take place here."
  4. Messiah . Benedict XVI. sees in the question of Jesus' messiahship "the real issue between Jews and Christians". The more recent exegesis shows a polyphony and diversity of the hope of Israel, whereby the hope in the Messiah is "only one form of hope among others". Within the Old Testament there was a dynamic development of the Messianic hope, directed less and less towards political and earthly power and increasingly focused on suffering (passion) as an essential element of messianic expectation. The hopeful figure of the Son of Man formulated in the Book of Daniel , the songs of the Servant of God in the Book of Isaiah or the visions of suffering in the Book of Zechariah "appear as essential stages on the path of God with his people, which run towards Jesus of Nazareth". The author sees the Emmaus story ( Lk 24 : 13–55  EU ) as an instruction for reading the Old Testament, which could also be a model and ideal of Judeo-Christian conversation.
  5. Land promise. Christianity as a "people out of all peoples" claimed no particular land for itself (ie not substituted for Israel). But here the question arises as to how the Catholic Church assesses the Zionist project . The Vatican had always rejected the idea that the State of Israel was the fulfillment of biblical promises, but at the same time affirmed Israel as a modern constitutional state and legitimate home of the Jewish people, “the justification of which, of course, cannot be derived directly from the Holy Scriptures, but nevertheless in expresses God's faithfulness to the people of Israel in a wider sense ”.

In determining the relationship between the Catholic Church and Judaism, a static view of substitution or non-substitution, "which stands behind the undifferentiated no to the substitution theory", does not make sense. Instead, the dynamics of the entire history of salvation should be looked at, "which finds its ἀνακεφαλαίωσις in Christ." The author uses the key term anakephalaíosis (ἀνακεφαλαιόω anakephalaióo ) from the letter to the Ephesians ( Ephesians 1,10  EU ) Meaning of Irenaeus of Lyons . The course of history shows "a growing and unfolding of the promises". That is why Benedict XVI. in the various thematic fields of the election of Israel always a journey to Christ.

Criticism of the term "never canceled covenant"

In the final part of the document, Benedict XVI. dealt with a teaching development in the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. Not in Nostra Aetate, but only in a speech given by John Paul II in Mainz in 1980, the formulation was found, "that the covenant that God made with his people Israel remains in place and will never become invalid." has been included in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 121) and is therefore binding.

Again, Benedict XVI uses To clarify what is meant, the idea that in the Old Testament a dynamic forward movement towards the new can be ascertained, i.e. not the one covenant of God with Israel, but a variety of covenants (Noah, Abraham, Sinai and New Covenants Federation). A new covenant is also mentioned several times in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament: Jer 31.31–34  EU , Ez 16.59-62  EU , Isa 55.3  EU and Hos 2.21  EU . In the formulation of the "never canceled covenant" it is "correct that there is no termination on the part of God." The story of the golden calf, however, is a model showing the breach of the covenant on the human side.

The dynamics of God's covenants take place in stages. In Jesus Christ and in his blood ( Eucharist ), that is, in his love overcoming death, the Sinai covenant is “re-established” into a new and eternal covenant. By instituting the Lord's Supper, Jesus “answers” ​​to two historical developments that took place a few years after his crucifixion : the destruction of the temple and the dispersion of Israel into a worldwide diaspora . The formula "never terminated covenant" may have been helpful in the past, but in the long run it was unsuitable for "expressing the size of reality reasonably adequately."

The document concludes with the consideration that, should a new short formula for determining the relationship between Jews and Christians be necessary, Paul's statement about the Jews, Rom. 11:29  EU , should be supplemented by the sentence that the Holy Scriptures say "to all" say: If we stand firm, we will rule with him too; if we deny him, he too will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains loyal because he cannot deny himself »( 2 Tim 2,12f  EU , the context makes it clear that“ he ”means Jesus Christ).

Reactions

From the Christian side

On July 6th, Jan-Heiner Tück , Viennese dogmatist and editor of the magazine Communio, spoke to Kathpress about the upcoming publication. He saw in it a more precise and further development of the official church texts on Judaism, for example by speaking of several covenants between God and Israel, following the example of the Apostle Paul . However, the document also leaves questions unanswered; the Jewish diaspora, for example, is interpreted as a "mission" into the world, but not developed, in which the mission of Judaism in the world consists.

On July 8th, Christian Rutishauser summarized the essay written in the “old brilliant manner” in the NZZ in such a way that Benedict XVI. it is true that the reorientation of the relationship between the Catholic Church and Judaism is in favor, but that the content is largely undermined. Christian identity is formulated at the expense of the Jewish one. Nowhere did the author approach Jewish interlocutors, and did not mention two recent Jewish-Orthodox contributions to the conversation with Catholicism ( To Do the Will of Our Father in Heaven 2015 and Between Jerusalem and Rome 2016).

The Catholic New Testament scholar Thomas Söding recalled that with the heading the reflections of Benedict XVI. a motto from Romans is prefixed. The whole text is a development of Pauline Israel theology.

The International Conference of Confessing Communities (IKBG / ICN) welcomed the draft of Benedict XVI “with great gratitude” on the occasion of Israel Sunday on August 5th. as an “encouraging clarification”, which is also important for Protestant Christians and has been falsely portrayed as anti-Jewish in the press. (Members of this organization in German-speaking countries are: Conference of Confessing Communities in the Evangelical Churches in Germany , Collection about Christ and His Word (Switzerland), Working Group of Confessing Christians in Austria.)

From the Jewish side

Walter Homolka commented already on July 9 during a hard lecture on "gifts and calling without repentance" and then detailed in an article in Time on July 19. He saw the essay of the former Pope in a series of problematic developments during his pontificate, especially the traditionalist change in the Good Friday Prayer in 2008. Today's living Judaism meant nothing to the author. In particular, the formulation that the Sinaibund had been "reorganized" into the new federation was a resumption of traditional thought patterns believed to have been overcome. “Joseph Ratzinger may not be an anti-Semite. But he appropriates our covenant with God, steals into it like a thief in the night. "

David Bollag noted with astonishment in the NZZ that the resigned Pope had only been given the floor by Cardinal Koch in order to question positive developments in the dialogue during the pontificate of Pope Francis. He wondered how Cardinal Koch could see this essay enriching the dialogue.

Arie Folger first recalled in the Jüdische Allgemeine that the text was written for internal use in the Vatican and should therefore not be measured against the standards of interreligious dialogue. “What do we expect from a Pope? Do we Jews really expect the church to have to accept Judaism as a legitimate detour around church doctrine? We do not need the confirmation of the church to believe in the truth of Judaism. ”The thesis that there are two covenants of God with Israel and with the peoples (Christianity) is only a minority vote within the churches. However, Folger rejected the assertion that there was no substitution theory in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council as ahistorical revisionism and criticized just as sharply that the Vatican did not recognize any religious relevance in the existence of the State of Israel. The correspondence between Ratzinger and Folger is published in issue 6/2018 of Communio.

Pinchas Goldschmidt , President of the Conference of European Rabbis, commented on the essay by the former Pope (an official translation into English is not available) on July 20, in a text on the occasion of Tischa beAv . The document shows that the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem has theological significance for Christians, and therefore a return of Jewish life especially to Jerusalem, the blossoming of a large number of yeshivot and synagogues in this city, is a theological challenge for Christians. That is why Benedict XVI emphasizes. the secular nature of the State of Israel.

The Orthodox Rabbinical Conference of Germany wrote to Cardinal Koch on August 2nd with an open letter. It basically asks for clarification “whether the Catholic Church can value contemporary Judaism and how this value is expressed theologically.” If the talk of the non-terminated covenant is inadequate, it remains open what should take its place.

Title information

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walter Bauer: Greek-German dictionary on the writings of the New Testament and early Christian literature . Ed .: Kurt and Barbara Aland. 6th edition. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1988, Sp. 88 .
  2. ↑ Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism (Vatican): "For irrevocable are grace and calling that God grants" (Rom 11:29) Reflections on theological questions in Catholic-Jewish relations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of "Nostra aetate" (No. 4). In: German Bishops' Conference. Retrieved August 8, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b Grace and calling without repentance . S. 392 (It is true, however, that the church taught the rejection of Israel and largely perceived Judaism from this perspective. This teaching is corrected on p. 402: the Jewish diaspora is "not only and not primarily a state of punishment, but rather means one Broadcast "into the world.).
  4. ↑ For the grace and calling granted by God are irrevocable . No. 17 , p. 7 : "Some church fathers increasingly favored the so-called substitution theory (supersessionism), which ultimately represented the standard of theological basis for the relationship to Judaism in the Middle Ages."
  5. ↑ Grace and calling without repentance . S. 392 .
  6. ↑ For the grace and calling granted by God are irrevocable . No. 40 , p. 14 .
  7. ↑ a b Grace and calling without repentance . S. 390 .
  8. ↑ a b Grace and calling without repentance . S. 389 .
  9. ↑ a b c d Grace and calling without repentance . S. 391 .
  10. ↑ Grace and calling without repentance . S. 406 .
  11. ↑ Felix Neumann: Stumbling blocks in the Jewish-Christian dialogue. In: kathisch.de. July 28, 2018, accessed on August 13, 2018 : "With this, Ratzinger, as is often the case in his work, strengthens a hermeneutic of continuity instead of clearly naming breaks in the council."
  12. ↑ Grace and calling without repentance . S. 393 .
  13. ↑ Grace and calling without repentance . S. 394 .
  14. ↑ a b c Grace and calling without repentance . S. 395 .
  15. ↑ a b c Grace and calling without repentance . S. 396 .
  16. ↑ Grace and calling without repentance . S. 397 .
  17. ↑ Grace and calling without repentance . S. 398 .
  18. ↑ a b Grace and calling without repentance . S. 401 .
  19. ↑ a b Grace and calling without repentance . S. 394 .
  20. ↑ Walter Bauer: Greek-German dictionary on the writings of the New Testament and early Christian literature . Sp. 109 .
  21. ^ Henning Graf Reventlow: From the Old Testament to Origen . In: Epochs of Biblical Interpretation . tape 1 . CH Beck, Munich 1990, p. 158 : "A thought that was significant for Christian theology in all subsequent centuries is thought here for the first time: the thought of salvation history."
  22. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church. Retrieved August 8, 2018 : “The Old Testament is an inalienable part of Scripture. His books are inspired by God and have a lasting value. DV 14.], because the old covenant has never been revoked. "
  23. ↑ Grace and calling without repentance . S. 403 (The use of the word "terminate" in this context is rejected as inappropriate, p. 405.).
  24. ↑ Grace and calling without repentance . S. 403-404 .
  25. ↑ a b Grace and calling without repentance . S. 405 .
  26. ↑ a b Grace and calling without repentance . S. 406 .
  27. ^ Söding defends Ratzinger's theology of Judaism. In: kathisch.de. Retrieved August 13, 2018 .
  28. ↑ The Gospel and the Jews. The IKBG praises the contribution of the Pope emeritus. Retrieved August 8, 2018 .
  29. ↑ Walter Homolka: We are not an unsaved people!
  30. ^ Letter exchange Benedict XVI. - Rabbi Arie Folger. August 2018. Pre-publication on Communio.de
  31. ^ Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt: Without Regrets: Commemorating the 9th of Av. In: World Jewish Congress. July 20, 2018, accessed August 8, 2018 .