Reconciling Christianity and Judaism

The Fellowship should present a message that allows for a reconciliation and harmony of Christianity and Judaism.

The early Christian Church, perhaps as soon as AD 80 and definitely by AD 150, began to characterize Judaism in a negative manner. This denial of their roots was one of the influences which eventually resulted in complete apostasy. By AD 365 there was a law prohibiting Christians from being "Judaizers" by following Old Testament Laws such as Sabbath observance, the punishment of which was excommunication.

This may have resulted from a radical interpretation of the Apostle Paul's statements, so it would be worthwhile to compare Galatians 5:2-4, Acts 16:1-3, Acts 21:1-6, and 1 Timothy 1:18 to get a picture of how Paul treated the Law.

As the Church became more distant from its roots it became offensive in the eyes of the Jews, so that they could no longer join themselves to it with a clear conscience, acting uprightly before God. As a single point among many, I will suggest the progressive increase of Jesus Christ's role as an object of religious worship in ignorance and defiance to the first of the Ten Commandments as listed in Exodus 20:5. Because of these changes, the Church was no longer adhering to its founding principles, and was no longer a Universal Church, fit for membership of those who sought earnestly to follow the commandments of God.

Within the Fellowship, obedience to the commandments should be seen as a virtue, and therefore the Jewish understanding of God is warmly welcomed, while a purer understanding of Jesus Christ, his life and ministry, a view significantly different from the theories which developed out of apostate Christianity, is humbly presented for the consideration and benefit of all. We should never turn someone away for believing too much, for having too much faith, or for being too obedient.

To achieve reconciliation between these traditions, some cooperation and willingness to change will have to exist on both sides of the equation. In order to reconcile, Jews must come to consider the pure and ancient Christianity established under Jesus Christ's ministry as a continuance of their religion, and the Christians must abandon the subsequent apostate ideas that build up unnecessary walls which are offensive to God, no matter how precious these ideas may seem to their senses.

Joseph Smith Jr. taught that "By proving contraries, truth is made manifest."