Guest Voices

Disarming Holy Texts

By James Carroll
author, teacher


Every religion of revelation has a problem with its sacred texts. How can an inspired gift from God be a source of human suffering?


In no tradition does this question surface with more force than in Roman Catholicism, and at no time is the problem more evident than at Holy Week and Good Friday. In Catholic churches around the globe, the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ is recounted then. As has been true since the Gospels were composed, the main guilt for what to Christians is a transcendent crime is laid at the feet of a group referred to as "the Jews."


All four of the Gospels tell a story that is most commonly read as conflict between Jesus and his own people - "His own knew him not," John says - as if Jesus were not himself a Jew. "The Jews" are portrayed as manipulating the relatively more benign Romans into the murder of the innocent Jesus. "Let his blood be upon us and upon our children," Matthew recalls the Jewish crowd demanding. That the "Christ-killer" charged seems to be lodged against the Jewish people in the sacred most texts of Christianity has had lethal consequences down through the centuries.

Those consequences were reckoned with by the Second Vatican Council, which declared in 1965 that Jews must not be charged with the murder of Jesus, no matter what the Passion narratives seem to say. Thus, the highest teaching authority of the Catholic Church in effect condemned any fundamentalist reading of the texts. Catholics are not to take the Gospels literally, as fact-based, historical accounts.


Catholics - and certainly Catholic preachers - are required to understand the human factors that led to such anti-Jewish emphases in the Gospels: how they came to be written not by eyewitnesses, but by people living one or two generations after Jesus; how those people were mostly Jews engaged in disputes with fellow Jews over the meaning of Judaism after the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE; how those disputes, coming just as oral traditions of the Jesus movement were jelling into written texts, were read back into the time of Jesus, and presented as if involving him; how terms like "the Jews" were then misunderstood by Gentiles who came to dominate the Christian movement, and so on. Sophisticated modes of reading sacred texts - methods of the so called "higher criticism," insights of anthropology and archeology - must now inform every Catholic's appreciation of the Jesus story. Since the Holocaust, this once esoteric impulse has been understood as a matter of life and death.


Other religions have their versions of this requirement. Muslims undertake to grasp how verses of the Koran which seem to justify violence against "infidels" originated in Muhammad's early struggles against rivals in Mecca as he sought to advance his appreciation of the Oneness of Allah. The verses say nothing about an Islamic campaign against Jews or Christians. Similarly, Jews work to separate Biblical affirmations about the Land as a sign of God's covenant from today's contention between Palestinians and Israelis over occupied territories. The Koran and the Bible can be justifications for violence no more than the Gospels.


The disarming of sacred texts such as Roman Catholicism finally began at Vatican II is a project for which every religion of revelation is responsible.


James Carroll is author of the new book "Practicing Catholic" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). His other books include the National Book Award winning "An American Requiem," the New York Times bestselling "Constantine's Sword." He is Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Suffolk University in Boston. Read an excerpt from "Practicing Catholic."

By James Carroll |  April 7, 2009; 11:09 PM ET
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In the name of God, Mr. Carroll, why oh why are you still going off on this?

Posted by: enaughton27 | April 12, 2009 11:54 AM
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Testing Word: "SOURCE-ONE"
Testing Word: Source-1's BLESSings are Truly (opposite MYTH-illogical) thus "Non-Reversible"

Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 10, 2009 12:54 PM
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Note: BIOFINITY; Means; The appearance of Bio-{LOGiC}AL-LiFE as entity presently being in OUR own Holyi Photons mist forms (Carbon-Based, Justly for a man-made/time via holy-Cosmic/TIME) on this Blesseth (not Revers{i}ble) Earth(s) of Many via the TRAN{S/F}iNITizing of O.U.R. Holy UNIVERSE (an innate Constitution via a Dynamic Holyi-Cosmic HeartBeat, thats FOREVER in Sync , w/YE own, immortal Motions) from "SOURCE-1" of "IT". So, WE [i] art one of those Form(s), justly in TEMPerature {aka Holyi-TIME, not man made times}..

Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 10, 2009 12:51 PM
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Note: HUMAN S{i}N Means"Anything that can DIM the LiGHT of LOVE & Evilize yourself or Others."

Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 10, 2009 12:12 PM
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3 of 3 .

Soo, How to Prophetically to Biblioically & Quranically & Geetaically to Holy-i-Cosmically fix or experience a Miraculous Religio "CORRECTION OF "HUMAN-SIN(s)" * as NEW Butterflys, within ALL Ye (no longer OUR's) Old-Time [Man Made] COMPETiNG- Caterpillar religion(s) SYSTEMs!

Therefore: According to "OUR", "ULTRA-PARATESTAMENT Of The NEW-SONG" THAT

"CORRECTiON OF SIN" means: "Correction of SIN is not same thing as Punishment of Sineth or Cuseth behaviors because the-sinner? must do the correcting within HIS/HER own "BIOMENTALiTY," precept upon precept {Of ALL the 3-Major Pre-Apocalyptic Infixus Books} Line upon line, Sura upon SURA, Stanza upon STANZA, Script upon SCRiPTURE, Parsha/Pasak upon PASUK.. Here alittle & there alittle, Until the "O.ne U.niversal R.eligion Bible/Book/Pamphlet is inevitably BORNETH, as prophecied in All Every & Any of YE old-Time Religion(s)!

The New-Song of the "IT" (as a Revolution: aka opposite of Secret's) having a "DEEPER PROPHECY" as collectively Predicted for The-HOLY-i-Emerging, via O.U.R. "HEALING OF THe NATIONS" both individually & Prophetically. And "IT" is a process that begins (don't kid Ye selves nor loved Ones et al) until the "SINNER" (Pre-Apocalyptic at first blush) Whom then Transmutes "Biomentally" APOCALYPTICALLY strong enough to overcome that "Ancestral Overhang" in order to overcome the "JEALOUSY OF THE SATAN/JINN/KALI/DURGA.." behind YE (curseths) not OUR Blessings!

SO, humans, before becomming potential HUEMATE(s) must WORK YOUR OWN SALVATiON(s)"!

Continued for 3 of 3.

Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 10, 2009 12:05 PM
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And Farnaz again uses one of her aliases i.e. "nadinebatra".

Posted by: CCNL | April 10, 2009 10:52 AM
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Contuned Part 2 of 3

So, rejoice & SING HALLALUYA to {OUR, noy MY god] NEW-SONG from Oldy's but some goodys! OUR-VOGUE A-NEW!

HiNT: "BiO-FiNITE-DEATH" is not O.U.R. Holyi "TRANS{F}iNITE-DEATHs" anyway ye , i [WE] see "IT"!

WE art not Alone!

Please do not use this TRUTH (opposite MYTH) to advance Ye Preposterous "as if "IT" [G-D] is an 'Intel-Designer"! Else, Ye [Jealous Humans] , not [i] HUEMATE(s), are lost in Ye Trans-illlusions & contangeous self-serving POLYTHEO god(s) Dellusions! WE [JO{K}TANians, aka HUEMATES, not Humans anymore] hath genuine MONO awareness not Pre-Apocalyptic thinking POLY-THEOism aka Religion, "SPLIT MINDED PSYCHOSiS's"! Something that can only be cured on a GLOBA Faith-Exchanging "Endeavour" in order to CORRECT Ye own SINS/Curseth Story for EMOTiONAL-RESCUE, HEALING OF NATIONS & WORLD PEACE & HAPPINESS & for more GOOD-TiDINGS, as foretold in ALL ye (not OUR) infixus-Books" [Bible(s), Quran(s) & Geetas/Kangyurs..!].

Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 10, 2009 10:43 AM
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BEHOLD!

For the Nth-time; The RELiGION of everything, before the SCiENCE of everything" is now Upon Us: PROPHETiCALY & EVO-REVALUTiNGLLY!

"O.U.R.{One Universal Religion} is been Borneth/Begott, in MIRACLE never via any HUMAN-Made (not HUEMATE) Sin/Curseth Stories, FROM O.U.R.'s genuine-Source; Holy-i CONSTiTUTION, aka "OUR-HOLY-i UNIVERSE" {thee, Eterenal House or placeth, of Worship} AND

Thee LAW(s) of "IT" very own NATURE, via ALL, Every & ANY of "ITSELF" [G-D..} , aka "O.U.R. CLAUSES", that our (Manifest?)Destiny is simply & only to Magnify, Uphold & make Honorable; Until OUR last "MEME(s)" on Holyi NEBULA-BUiLT S.S. Earth's , DUE-TO-BE again, Apocalypse Cometh; in +/- 1.25 Billion Years from Now, starting NOW @ CALiNDATE: UYC {Universal Year Circa} 4.75 Billion.April.03/07.2009.

SO, WELCOME & Usher-In "O.U.R. NEW-SONG" Begott from ALL, Every & Any of our OLD-Songs!

WHEREFORE: The Apocalyptic-Deliverence, without a Massiah, or a Mahdi, or a Maityeya.. of OUR "TRUTH" (opposite of competing for a name for Ye god(s), INSTEAD OF OUR G-D, MYTH/system(s) .

OUR REALiTY on a GLOBAL (not 'Flat-Earth) Cosmic Mission, becoming what 1-ONE (Ek, W/Achad, Uno..) is becoming, in & out of UsS ALL; For Another DUE-TO-BE Miracle In Motion via Holyi PHOTONS {a Matter of LiFE & DEATH}!

SO, WE [i] are Immortal & neither can ever be Created nor be Destroyed.............!"

AND because nothing is External to "IT"s [G-D..] UNiVERSE (OUR CONSTITUTION) that, our Creator of the Frequency, Vibration, Flash & Big Bang, Contrary to what todays Pre-Apocalyptic-Scientists or Theologian army might propose, so to spaketh TRUTH (opposite MYTH), that the "HOLYi-NO-MAN nor WOMB, Knows ALL!


HENCE, there is NO-ESCAPE from OUR Holyi-Cosmic, innate, PALINDROME of that good ole mighty HEART-BEAT.

Incamera (Secret): According Through "IT" {Source-1.., aka G-D by 1,000+ names & no more 99- names} That "IT" is Possible for thee DEAD/DECAY'd'd to REVERSE "iTSELF" {via "IT"s own Universal-Palindrome} and begin the Procees A-NEW! Like a NEW-SONG coming from All our Old Songs awareness of "IT" being "iTSELF" in and out of Us All via All "IT"s Holyi Cosmic Stuffs & Things of the Matter at Hand, of the Invisable, Holy-i NO-MAN/WOMB!

Continued part 2 of 3 to END?::

Posted by: INGOODFAITH | April 10, 2009 10:35 AM
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The basic problem in the usage of the words, "Jews", "Christians", "Muslims", or "Hindus" is using these words of identity to be monolithic.

For example, there are many Jews today who do not agree with the Israeli policies against the Palestinians. Such Jews live both in Israel and outside Israel.

The author's example of verses from the Koran about Jews, Christians or Pagans are met with similar confusion of identity.

The Koran is a collection of messages from God to Prophet Muhammad over a period of 22 years. The prophet was preaching monotheism. Pagans, who had 360 gods in kaaba--a great source of revenue for the pagans, did not like his message.

They made attempts to kill him. He, with his small group of followers, escaped to Yathrab. The people of Yathrab were waiting for him. They accepted his message of monotheism and reform of the then Arab society.

In the beginning both Jews and Christians supported him for his message was also the message of Abraham.

Muhammad built his army of 10,000 and conquered Mecca. He declared total amnesty.

Now the Jews and Christians of the time felt threatened with his popularity. There were wars between Muslims and Christians and Jews. Killing of infidels refers to specific people under war conditions on a day to day basis.

Those verses against Jews and Christians of THE TIME refer to battle condition on day to day basis. THERE IS NO BLANKET CONDEMNATION OF JUDAISM OR CHRISTIANITY.

On the contrary, Jews and Christians in the Koran are called "people of the book" to be respected.

Posted by: nadinebatra | April 10, 2009 10:23 AM
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Please note Farnaz aka Farnaz2 aka Observer12 aka Observer31 aka Yael1 aka ivri5678 aka IVRI5678 aka Billy8 aka "nadinebatra aka Stadtbear aka Jewish atheist was NOT accused of being "Hitler- like" except her bearing of false witness.


And note, she has never denied being any of these aliases.


Posted by: CCNL | April 10, 2009 8:52 AM
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For James Carroll's eyes only:


From Professors Crossan and Watts' book, Who is Jesus.


"That Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, as the Creed states, is as certain as anything historical can ever be.


: “ The Jewish historian, Josephus and the pagan historian Tacitus both agree that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea. And is very hard to imagine that Jesus' followers would have invented such a story unless it indeed happened.


“While the brute fact that of Jesus' death by crucifixion is historically certain, however, those detailed narratives in our present gospels are much more problematic. "


“My best historical reconstruction would be something like this. Jesus was arrested during the Passover festival, most likely in response to his action in the Temple. Those who were closest to him ran away for their own safety.


I do not presume that there were any high-level confrontations between Caiaphas and Pilate and Herod Antipas either about Jesus or with Jesus. No doubt they would have agreed before the festival that fast action was to be taken against any disturbance and that a few examples by crucifixion might be especially useful at the outset. And I doubt very much if Jewish police or Roman soldiers needed to go too far up the chain of command in handling a Galilean peasant like Jesus. It is hard for us to imagine the casual brutality with which Jesus was probably taken and executed.


All those "last week" details in our gospels, as distinct from the brute facts just mentioned, are prophecy turned into history, rather than history remembered."


See Professor Crossan's reviews of the existence and crucifixion of Jesus in his other books especially, The Historical Jesus and also Excavating Jesus (with Professor Jonathan Reed doing the archeology discussion) .


bottom line: There were no Jews yelling "Crucify Him" at the simple preacher man's (aka Jesus) crucifixion!!!!

Posted by: CCNL | April 10, 2009 8:47 AM
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Concerned Constantine Nuts Loosening:

See, if you turn your antennas NT-ward, you'll note that hierarchy and religion don't mix all that well. In your JC period, oddly enough (!), the rabbinic age was underway. (What an odd coincidence, wholly unnoticed in the "NT") END of priestly caste. Then there was the definitively then extant Akiva, a poor man, among some other poor men of the Tannaim.

You see, Constantine, Prada slippers, fancy clothes, castles, etc. weren't in vogue among any religiously minded Jews, including JC, if he existed.

Horror of horrors, Constantine. But, surely, a scholar such as you knows all this. Why not face the awful truth? In fact, you are a Protestant. The Protestants won't have you? Is that it?

Sarcasm aside, I think they would. Anyway, some of them would. You've got to face facts, Constantine.

Posted by: Farnaz2 | April 10, 2009 6:25 AM
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For James Carroll's eyes only:

Please be aware, sir, that your CCNL, your co-religionist (dare I say), has ascribed to me the identity of HITLER. (I am Jewish.) It would seem that Catholicism has a ways to go.

Posted by: Farnaz2 | April 10, 2009 6:12 AM
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Mosquitos with spelling problems:

CCNL/Stadtbear/Whatever should know that Carroll has two ll's. Also, I suspect the fellow doesn't need Flying Thingies like yourselves to tutor him.

Btw, Concerned Constantine Nuts Loosening aka Stadtbear aka Whatever, 'lest someone less tender-hearted than I break the news to your intolerant, intolerable, insufferable self, the simple preacher man was, well, yunno, gay.

Don't get your panties all in a knot. He didn't do anything about it, realizing, of course,that the RCC would make gay sex sinful. Very prescient was that simple preacher man. But, in his heart of hearts, he didn't approve of your RCC, did he, Concerned Constantine? Never approved of it, even as a dim vision.

Posted by: Farnaz2 | April 10, 2009 5:57 AM
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For James Carrol's eyes only:


From Professors Crossan and Watts' book, Who is Jesus.


"That Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, as the Creed states, is as certain as anything historical can ever be.


: “ The Jewish historian, Josephus and the pagan historian Tacitus both agree that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea. And is very hard to imagine that Jesus' followers would have invented such a story unless it indeed happened.


“While the brute fact that of Jesus' death by crucifixion is historically certain, however, those detailed narratives in our present gospels are much more problematic. "


“My best historical reconstruction would be something like this. Jesus was arrested during the Passover festival, most likely in response to his action in the Temple. Those who were closest to him ran away for their own safety.


I do not presume that there were any high-level confrontations between Caiaphas and Pilate and Herod Antipas either about Jesus or with Jesus. No doubt they would have agreed before the festival that fast action was to be taken against any disturbance and that a few examples by crucifixion might be especially useful at the outset. And I doubt very much if Jewish police or Roman soldiers needed to go too far up the chain of command in handling a Galilean peasant like Jesus. It is hard for us to imagine the casual brutality with which Jesus was probably taken and executed.


All those "last week" details in our gospels, as distinct from the brute facts just mentioned, are prophecy turned into history, rather than history remembered."

See Professor Crossan's reviews of the existence and crucifixion of Jesus in his other books especially, The Historical Jesus and also Excavating Jesus (with Professor Jonathan Reed doing the archeology discussion) .


bottom line: There were no Jews yelling "Crucify Him" at the simple preacher man's (aka Jesus) crucifixion!!!!

Posted by: CCNL | April 10, 2009 12:18 AM
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ALIAS ALERT FOR THE DAY:

Farnaz aka Farnaz2 aka Observer12 aka Observer31 aka Yael1 aka ivri5678 aka IVRI5678 aka Billy8 was caught "red handed" using all these aliases some threads ago.

After this, she said she would no longer participate in said discussions. As seen, this has not happened but we continue to remind everyone about this "devilish"/delusional woman as a service to our fellow bloggers.
On occasion, she even "talks" to herself in her commentaries i.e. To: ivri5678 From: Farnaz2. She is definitely one strange woman!!

Her newest alias is "nadinebatra

Posted by: CCNL | April 9, 2009 11:39 PM
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"Similarly, Jews work to separate Biblical affirmations about the Land as a sign of God's covenant from today's contention between Palestinians and Israelis over occupied territories."

Not quite accurate, with all due respect, sir, and a great deal of respect is due. The "current work" you describe began in the 1970s since prior to that date, no such association was given much credence. In the 1970s, after decades of terror, after two wars, a group known in Israel as the Haredi began to make this argument. Every time a terrorist blows up Israelis, whether Jewish or not, new Haredi are born.

Although the wall has decreased the number of successful terrorist attacks from about 160 to four, the very presence of the wall is a continual reminder to Israelis of danger and of failed efforts. As well, Jews have more access to the Internet despite endless Israeli government attempts at censorship and, therefore, are more aware than they've ever been of antisemitism outside Israel. This knowledge, while it probably doesn't produce more Haredi, may increase sympathy for them. Thus far, Ratzinger hasn't helped the situation. Not one bit.

If we want to see fewer take the Haredi route, then we must do much, much more to end antisemitism, in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the US. We must end the exceptional behavior we demand of Israel, while we, here in the US, genocide Iraq, which never attacked us, and level Afghanistan to the ground. We must do what we can to bring the Palestinians under a single responsible government that doesn't steal from the mouths of its people, controls terrorist violence, etc.

And Jews, all Jews, everywhere must have the right to go to the Temple Mount. Never, never underestimate the power of symbol. Particularly, not in the Middle East. Remember, Israel is in the Middle East, not in Midtown, Manhattan.

Posted by: Farnaz2 | April 9, 2009 6:28 PM
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I'd certainly like to see some 'textual disarmament' out there.

Sure, I'm queer, and another one of those 'to be killed and their blood shall be upon them' (even if textual literalists claim their Bible's very specific, they don't mind extending this notion to the gals, even if strictly speaking it's about gay *men.*

Of course, some like to try and transfer the anti-Semitism onto 'Pagan Rome' and by extension all non-Abrahamics, even if within the story it makes perfect sense for a provincial governor to not want to get mixed up in a religious conflict in Judaea he probably didn't even understand... to him it was probably just some random street guru stirring up the locals, likely to mess things up for the regime the Empire was dealing with: why the Hel would you cheese off the local authorities *and* populace over something like that when someone manages to both violate local tabooes *and* be presented as a source of insurrection?


Not like I approve of empires of *either* kind, but looking for a substitute 'evil religion' isn't the answer, either. Frankly, a lot of Goddess-loving folk did warn them, but you don't hear much about that.

Frankly, I don't believe the Scriptural thing about 'Let his blood be upon us' was historical of *any* situation, however magnified. ...to my understanding, though the Jews at the time apparently did make animal sacrifices aplenty, this very sentiment would violate purity laws. Maybe some would bay for blood, but not *on them.* In fact, it seems their preferred execution methods were designed specifically to avoid this sort of thing happening.

More likely they would consider the blood of a blasphemer *tainted* and have no interest in being anywhere near it. When they did make sacrifices, they had to be without blemish, so, I'm not seeing that happening, even in a shred of historicity about the tale.

Sounds like a much later addition, to be honest. Not claiming I *understand* the Hebrew culture of the time, but that doesn't *fit.*

I think a lot of the stuff that *does* fit is also horrible, mind you, but it's out of place.

Which is a problem with 'textual literalism.' As long as it was stuck in later, or in terms of a 'New Translation' then to be used to say something the original never heard of is condemned for all time...

Then people feel they can refer to the 'fine print' to 'justify' things that, ...don't fit.

I

Posted by: Paganplace | April 9, 2009 4:07 PM
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