Is There Any Point in Dialogue between Christians and Jews?

Clive reminded the audience that the CCJ was founded in 1942/3, during the darker moments of despair when the world was at war and the atrocities being perpetrated against the Jews were becoming widely known. The world is a very different place today and it is obvious from the present global situation that understanding, forgiveness and reconciliation among all peoples is a prerequisite for peaceful co-existence. This means that the Muslim world must not be shut out, and a tripartite approach for rapproachment should be the aim.

Dialogue must be meaningful
The core theme of the evening, however, was the matter of dialogue between Christians and Jews. In answer to the question "Is there any point in this dialogue?" Clive said the answer is "yes", providing the dialogue is meaningful. It must enable us to learn about each other, and this brings about understanding. If we understand others we can respect rather than coerce them.

The current situation in the Middle East illustrates that the more you "push" people the more they resist. Understanding people means recognising that they don't necessarily think as you think; there are different cultural perspectives. By learning about Judaism the Christian can come to appreciate the Jewish philosophy that it is okay for the Jews to be different. However, so that Christians can learn about Judaism, Jews must be prepared to teach them. In practice this is often difficult because Jews tend to be somewhat "self-sufficient" and when they do explain aspects of their faith they tend to emphasise what they "do", that is, their observances rather than what they believe. Conversely, Christians need to explain their faith, in a non-proselytising or threatening manner to the Jew - but Christians tend to emphasise their beliefs rather than what they do. So very often neither side ends up with a meaningful understanding of either the otherŐs religious faith or philosophical outlook.

Meaningful dialogue involves robust arguing, disputing and debating
Secondly, the dialogue must get away from the form it has taken at the majority of CCJ meetings for the last 50 years. This form has been polite but with the avoidance of certain "contentious" matters, and therefore with the result that it has been superficial. For dialogue to be meaningful it must involve "eye to eye" contact and robust arguing, disputing and debating. By talking to each other in this manner we will be able to understand each other and thus be enabled to "reflect each other back to ourselves". In this way we will be able to free ourselves from unhelpful stereotyping.

Parallel Paths
In summing up Clive emphasised that Christians and Jews have different "stories" and are looking for different things. It must be accepted that in the fields of both religion and philosophy we are on paths which run parallel to each other and not on a collision course. "We don't need to be uniform to be united".

As dialogue between Christians and Jews is the "raison d'etre" of the CCJ, Clive's well argued and presented reasons that there is a point in meaningful dialogue was reassuring for the large audience.

- Bernard Tiley