The Blood Curse LIE Greg Albrecht Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Berlin. When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, justification to absolve all anti-Semitism— but that instead an uproar was starting, he took virulent hatred of Jews—by saying that God uses water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. the hatred or bigotry of other humans to ensure “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is the Jews got exactly what they asked for and your responsibility!” All the people answered, “His richly deserve. blood is on us and on our children!” —Matthew The so-called blood curse , the myth that a 27:24-27 crowd gathered before Pilate accepted A toxic and Christless belief persists within responsibility the death of Jesus on behalf of all Christendom, fatalistically concluding the generations of Jews, is ludicrous for many crowd’s reply to Pilate was a self-pronounced reasons. curse on the Jews, an argument for the Three specific reasons speak against the unfathomable outpouring of hatred of Jews fallacious blood curse and its bitter harvest on since the crucifixion of Jesus. the Jews. MYTH OF THE BLOOD CURSE PRECONCEIVED CONCLUSIONS The myth of a blood curse evolved and gained First, reading a blood curse into Matthew 27:24- credibility, casting God the Father in the mold of a 27 is an example of how scripture might be used to vengeful, punitive and retributive god who takes arrive at any predetermined conclusions in the delight in pain and punishment. This myth of a mind of those who twist scripture to suit their own blood curse presumes the horrific pogroms, purposes. persecutions and ethnic cleansings the Jews have If we impose preconceived notions on biblical suffered over the last 2000 years, climaxing in the passages, we read our biases and prejudices into Holocaust, were their own fault. The blood curse the text, rather than subjecting ourselves to the proposes all Jewish suffering since Christ’s death is potential teaching that springs from that text. God granting their self-condemning wish that the Instead of assuming that God holds all Jews blood of Jesus would be on their hands. responsible for all time, thus ensuring horrific This malignant superstition is also used as a suffering after a statement made in the heat of APRIL 2019 7 the moment, a Christ-centered see any Muslim and instantly United States. Knowing Jack as interpretation asks us to place judge them as being a violent, a friend helps me realize the ourselves in this crowd. Instead of bloodthirsty terrorist. stupidity of stereotyping blaming others, we might We are all humans, regardless people, pigeonholing everyone consider how we all have times of our religious background of a particular race, culture or when we embrace Jesus, and other and racial heritage. Some Jews religion. times when we scorn him. today blame all Germans for Instead of falling for hateful and the Holocaust—even though MONSTROUS LIE, vindictive superstitions, as Christ- virtually every German who MONSTER GOD followers, we are more likely to was actively engaged in the Finally , this monstrous lie of a read ourselves into the time and Holocaust is now dead. blood curse on the Jews turns place described in Matthew 27:24- I know Jews who refuse to God into a monster. It crucifies 27. Instead of the despicable buy or drive a German car the love, mercy and grace of God conclusion of a blood curse, Christ made by Volkswagen, BMW or and recasts God as a god of evil leads us to ask the question posed Mercedes. For that matter, I who takes pleasure in the pain by the African-American slaves in know some American veterans and suffering of humans. the spiritual, “Were You There of World War 2 who are not Misunderstandings and When They Crucified My Lord?” Jewish, but nonetheless refuse perversions of God grow like an This detestable lie of the blood to own or drive a German or out of control Frankenstein curse on all Jews is a voodoo-like Japanese car. monster until a monster-god is belief. It is an example of the Of course, we are free to mainstreamed and accepted as illogical and superstitious notion boycott any product we wish the norm. Like a plague born of what generically is called for whatever reason. We are by a toxic virus, lies and “collective guilt.” free to avoid violating our deceptions about who God is conscience, but we are not become accepted as truth. free, in Christ, to condemn The god created by the myth all for the sins of a few. of a blood curse is a tyrannical I was not yet born when the god who demands that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor consequences taken by a few happened on December 7, 1941. cause misery for many. The As I grew up in these United preposterous myth of a blood States, I heard the American curse eventually became version of World War 2 so accepted as truth and in the often, read so many books and process, condoned and excused saw so many World War 2 hatred, warfare and bloodshed. movies, that it was difficult for As Jesus said in John 16:2, there me to realize that all Japanese would come a day when those are not guilty of what who kill others think they are COLLECTIVE GUILT happened in World War 2. doing God a service. My wife and I have a dear We are blaspheming God Second, Collective guilt — friend named Jack, who, as a when we, imperfect and finite assigning blame to whole people young Japanese American human beings, undertake to groups for the actions of a growing up during World War smear and corrupt the name minority, is itself another attempt 2, was assigned to an and attributes of our perfect, to blame and condemn. It lays internment camp because the loving, eternal God. There is blame on the whole for the sins of U.S. government was nothing on “God’s green earth” the part. Despite the fact that a concerned that some Japanese- that justifies a belief that God small minority of radical Muslims Americans would be more holds his children responsible are terrorists, many people today loyal to Japan than to the for the mistakes of others. We 8 CWRm are not robots—God has not rigged the final and delight compared with which the most outcome of our lives. To cite C.S. Lewis, rapturous love between a man and a woman on this God created things which had free will. That earth is mere milk and water. means creatures which can go either wrong or And for that they must be free. right… free will, though it makes evil possible, is also When we are truly free in Christ, we the only thing that makes possible any love or individually admit and accept responsibility for goodness or joy worth having. A world of … creatures the consequences of our actions, we surrender that worked like machines would hardly be worth our condemnation of others and we certainly do having. not blame God as the cause of suffering and The happiness which God designs for all of his misery. q creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily Greg Albrecht is the President of Plain Truth united to him and to each other in an ecstasy of love Ministries. The Sign that Saves the World Look to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! —Isaiah 45:22 — Brian Zahnd eri and I are on our way to humble faith, is the locus of human history. How many speak at the Christ at the salvation. The cross is the sign billions of crucifixes have been PCheckpoint conference in that saves the world. formed, fashioned, carved, and Bethlehem and we’re spending a The crucifixion of Jesus is painted over the past two few days in Florence, Italy easily the most depicted event in millennia? And yet what is it exploring the cradle of the that is being depicted in Renaissance. these billions of crucifixes? Visiting the museums On a purely objective level, and art galleries, I’ve seen it is the torture and murder hundreds of crucifixion of an innocent man at the paintings, and I’ve tried hands of those who run the to view each one with a world by the means of reverent eye. I never look violent power. The at depictions of Christ crucifixion is the damning crucified with a indictment of the world as it jaundiced eye. Their has been arranged. religious nature and The cross tells us that ubiquitous presence may when the Son of God illicit a yawn from the entered our world—the secular cynic, but not world created by Cain and from me—I’m an all the kings who followed incorrigible Christian. in his bloody wake—our I believe the cross is systems of violent empire where Christ saves the and sacrificial religion world. Looking at the nailed him to a tree. This is cross with the right eye, the moment when the the reverent eye of principalities and powers Coptic cross in the APRIL 2019 T e m p l e o f I s i s , P h i la e , E g y p t 9.