Jesus was a Racist? The Anglican Church of Canada Gives “Clues”
Jesus was a reformed racist, says Anglican Church of Canada
By Damian Thompson
The Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) has published a Lenten reflection that portrays Jesus as a racist who saw the error of his ways after being challenged by the Canaanite woman in Matthew’s Gospel. The ACoC was long ago taken over by politically correct bores but, as Anglican Samizdat notes, this “reflection” turns Jesus into a sinner – in Christian terms, a pretty basic heresy. Here’s the reflection. Sick-bags at the ready:
“… a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’ †– Matthew 14:22-27
This not a story for people who need to think that Jesus always had it together, because it looks like we’ve caught him being mean to a lady because of her ethnicity. At first, he ignores her cries. Then he refuses to help her and compares her people to dogs.
But she challenges his prejudice. And he listens to her challenge and grows in response to it. He ends up healing her daughter. What we may have here is an important moment of self-discovery in Jesus’ life, an enlargement of what it will mean to be who he was. Maybe we are seeing Jesus understand his universality for the first time.
Or maybe not. Maybe someone has been on a “racism awareness course” and decided to redefine the divinity of Jesus in a way that flatters ethnic sensibilities. How very Anglican. How very Canadian.
Posted by LBG
Hat tip – Damian Dewitt
Image - Jesus poster
This is the liberal church at its worst. I was an Episcopalian until I could no longer ignore the hatred of the Bible and of the Biblical Jesus. They want the social gospel and nothing but the social gospel, (ie: “we’re all ok, thinking you are a sinner is unhealthy. Homosexuals are fine and should be welcomed in the church with open arms, including making them Bishops.â€) This is fine, but it is not traditional Christian thinking, it is base hearsay. The Anglican Church is not a Christian Church, it’s a social feel good support group.
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Consider that the Bible was written long after its putative events,
For the new testament, some parts were written as late as the 4th century AD, Constantine may have been unclear about one G-d, but he was dead certain abouth one empire. Religious texts that suggested that not all knowledge flowed from the central authority were rewrittenor ruthlessly suppressed.
Daniel, putatively written about events in the 7th century BC, was written in support of the Maccabees, around 165 BC, long after the 325BC Alexanderian siege of Tyre and Sidon which it “prophesied”.
The Qu’ran was also written long after the Arab conquest, and should be seen as a propaganda document to justify Arab supremacism, perversion, and cruelty by pointing to the behavior of Mahomet, the “messanger of G-d” as a supposedly good example.
Religious people have always reformed and deformed their “unchanging G-d” to create a message that resonated with current events.
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BlackCalvinist Reply:
June 15th, 2010 at 16:11
Don – even the most liberal of scholars (folk in the Jesus Seminar) believe all the NT documents were written in the first century. The ‘fourth century’ argument was disproven 50 years ago by liberal german scholars. Get your scholarship up to date.
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Not to worry. The Anglican Church in Canada is not going to last much longer. Consider anything they do as those hanging out before they turn off the lights.
Let’s consider the frustration of this dead denomination. Jesus won’t save our group. See, he is late, it took him time to realize others even while he was alive.
Just regular animists hoping to get paid for praying aloud.
To quote Jonny Fever: Call him louder babies!
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the first of the Gospels is thought to have been written in Greek as soon as 30 years after the death of Jesus, the last 60 years. Some such as Paul’s letters were never meant to be chronicles, but they add a great deal of authenticity to Gospel dating. As for Islam. Arabic did not exist in written form at the time of Mohamed. it is unlikely any of the Koran is truly the word of Mohamed. Not one word.
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What a load of garbage! I am entertained at the stupidity of people that will believe it and go on to share it with others (most likely). Jesus loved all people and clearly demonstrated it as noted in the bible. Trust some religious offshoot group to create contoversy. The bottom line is you either have a relationship with God or you are bound to religious rules and ideologies. We were created to be in relationship with Him.
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FUUCCKKKK UUUU
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Umm, this passage is from Mathhew 15, not 14. Attention to small details like that will add to yer credibility, if you care about such things.
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you people are blinded by your father the devil, but im not suprised you’ve denied him before so why not this time coz its what yoy used to
1 peter chp 1vs 22 he committed no sin he was a righteous man. this Anglican church don’t know what they talking about this man healed me from HIV im now negative because of his blood so please if you don’t know what to say shut up and leave him alone for God will judge you hussy May DA lord have mercy on you for you don’t know what you are doing
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[...] absurd analysis of Ms. Jefferts Schori’s thriving Episcopal Church and its tiny cousin, the ACoC (Anglican Church of [...]
I always understood this event as a test of Faith. For some of us the test seems compartively easy, for others comparatively hard. The lesson to be learned from this event is simply this. Be persistant in your Faith and God will hear your prayer.
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CONTEXT
This is the key to all biblical passages. We use studying context for all other historical texts.. why don’t we use it for the bible?
This passage has nothing to do with ethnic prejudice or whatever!
When Jesus was meeting people, He was never thinking about their race and discriminating against them that way.. but He would have been thinking about general areas and people in them who have mostly been incredibly anti-God. Those kind of people He will turn away from, because they generally don’t even want to know the truth, or the gospel. He did minister to the tax collectors and the sinners the most.. yes.. but His ministry was balanced by not forcing those who were unwilling and anti.
So this lady is showing that she is willing.. she isn’t anti-God.. she wants her daughter healed.
This has nothing to do with racism.. and all to do with teaching and historical context.
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It’s one thing to disagree with someone, but completely another to condemn a whole group of people based on “what the church believes.” If you don’t want to be a part of that group, fine, but don’t tell them what they are or are not. The social gospel IS an important part of Jesus’ message. His BIBLICAL message. Now I’m not saying that I agree with the idea that there is any way Jesus could have been a racist (I believe that Jesus was using that situation as a teaching moment to His disciples and to the Canaanites, as well as possibly testing the woman’s faith). However, you can’t forget that Jesus also said that the greatest command was to love the Lord your God with all you heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and that the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. God speaks through Jeremiah saying “If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.” His message, follow only God, and care for others. So don’t focus so much on doctrine, but rather on what God is asking us to do.
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I want to know where you got that information from, regarding the Arabic language, because I read that the first written document was from the the 4th century. That would mean that Arabic was around for at least a hundred years before Muhammad was born.
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The previous comment is to pat.
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Nice Post, it was a pleasure to read you again !
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