“Prisoners of Hope”: Jews,Christians,and the Defining Issues of Dialogue

Abstract

Jews and Christians are still only at the beginning of a long overdue process of examining their troubled relationship and replacing it with one built upon mutual respect, understanding, and knowledge. This article reviews four defining issues that remain front and center in Jewish-Christian dialogue as that process of examination continues to unfold: The religious roots of anti-Semitism, the impact of modern Israel and Jerusalem upon Jews and Christians, being faithful Jews and Christians after the Holocaust, and the meanings of mission, witness, and “teshuvah” (Hebrew for “turning” or “repentance”). Though the treatment of these issues in this article is, of necessity, brief and presented in generalities, that does not diminish their central importance in the current Christian-Jewish encounter. I believe there is a dedicated group of Christians and Jews who have gained the trust of one another and who remain what the prophet Zechariah calls “prisoners of hope” in building constructive relations between their two communities.