Our Hands Are Stained with Blood

The Gryphon said:

Our Hands Are Stained with Blood - By Michael L. Brown

From the first "Christian" persecutions of the Jews in the fourth century to the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust, from Israel-bashing in today's press to anti-Semitism in today's pulpits, this shocking and painful book tells the tragic story of the "Church" and the Jewish people. It is a story every Christian must hear.

No one can be the same toward the Jewish people...after reading Our Hands Are Stained With Blood. —From the Foreword by Pastor Don Wilkerson, Times Square Church

Words are tragically inadequate to express the pain, the horror, the unbelief, the shame I felt in reading this work. It is conceivable that this book will be the catalyst God uses to awaken followers of Christ to recognize their legacy from the Jews, and Jews to appreciate the identification followers of Christ feel with the Old Testament faith, as well as helping both Christians and Jews understand the meaning of love as Christ lived it. —Rev. Richard Halverson, Chaplain of the Senate

Though strongly disagreeing with the book theologically, I was deeply moved as I read it. I pray that Dr. Brown's message penetrate the souls of Christians everywhere. If his words are absorbed "like showers on young grass, like droplets on the grass," glory will indeed be given to God (Deuteronomy 32:2-3).—Rabbi William Berman, formerly instructor of Bible, Jewish Theological Seminary

I was pained, provoked and profited as I read this book. It left me with scars—and with tears. Every true believer needs to read this vital work!—Leonard Ravenhill, Author,Why Revival Tarries

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Why don't the Jews ever feel ashamed about killing the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't they feel ashamed for their persecutions of Christians?

While I do appreciate Dr. Michael Brown and his work in many cases, I highly disagree with him here. Although Christendom has had its share of horrors against the Jewish people. And so do Jews have their horrors against believers in the one identified as The Christ otherwise known as Yeshua or Jesus, And we have apologized many times over our crimes against the Jewish people. But this trend of forcing the guilt of the Holocaust down Christian throats is one that needs to end. Nazis weren’t Christians, Hitler wasn’t Christian, he believed in the Aryan faith of Germanic supremacism. Hitler even tried to reform Christianity because it was to “Jewish” in his opinion. It’s also a common myth that Jews endured severe persecution in the fourth century under Christian Roman emperors, the only actual thing which could be regarded as persecution and restrictions that Jews did endure in the fourth century is that under Constantine (306-337), the restrictions were few in number, and due to his interest in the welfare of his Christian subjects and in the promotion of the true religion. He made the passage from Christianity to Judaism a penal offense; prohibited the Jews from circumcising their Christian slaves; protected converts from Judaism against the fiery vengeance of their former coreligionists; but never deprived them of their citizenship, and never went beyond constraining them—with the exception of their rabbis—to take upon themselves certain public offices which had become particularly burden-some. These laws were reenacted and made more severe by his son Constans I (337-350), who attached the death penalty to marriages between Jews and Christians. The severity of these and other laws of Constans was but too fully justified by the dreadful excesses of the Jews in Alexandria, and by their temporary revolt in Judea. The only one that I could consider unjust was forbidding conversion from Christianity to Judaism, but even then Judaism doesn’t convert people.

The Gryphon said:

from Israel-bashing in today's press

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The present day nation of Israel is a secular state. Being critical of some of the policies of Israel is absolutely not the same thing as persecuting Jews.

Christian hands are very much stained with the blood of Jews, especially during the Crusades and WWII. For those of you who say that it is not the fault of Christians that 6 millions Jews died in the Holocaust, I refer you to Catholic theologian Hans Kung. He said that the Holocaust probably would never have happened without the history of Anti-Semitism within the Church.

The High Priesthood was certainly complicit with the Romans in the execution of Jesus but to blame "the Jews" is just as certainly incorrect. The vast majority of Jews in the world at that time had never even heard of him.

Al Masihi said:

These laws were reenacted and made more severe by his son Constans I (337-350), who attached the death penalty to marriages between Jews and Christians.

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In the modern US, marriage between Catholics and Jews isn't too rare, even if it's uncommon. In the Orthodox Church, on the other hand, you can be excommunicated for it still.

Nicolaus Mourer said:

Why don't the Jews ever feel ashamed about killing the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't they feel ashamed for their persecutions of Christians?

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Good point. "fear of Jews" is a common phrase is John's gospel.

I'm not opposed to Israel; the reality is that the situation in Jerusalem today is better for Christians than at any time since the Crusader kingdoms fell to the Islamic jihad.

Still,we must keep these things in perspective. Trust, but verify so to speak.

The Gryphon said:

Well, I for one will answer your question this way. The Jews did not kill Yeshua (Jesus) he willing sacrificed His life for mans' sin. If you really want to blame someone then blame every sin you, I and every person has ever committed because they bond Him to that Cross out of LOVE for us! Some Jews have persecuted Christians and some Christians have persecuted Jews. Jews have been rounded up by so called "Christians" and burned alive in their Synagogues (men, women, children and infants). Some "Christians" promulgated the saying kill a Jew and save your soul. I think some "Christians" have a LOT to be ashamed off. You know what it means when you justify evil by others evil don't you?

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Jesus died for our sins, but the Jews crucified the Lord of glory.

And for that reason, wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judæa are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."

There you have it. If you want to keep defending them, go ahead, but the Bible is clear about what God thinks of those imposters over in Israel.