Comments on: Judeans Rather Than “Jews” — Sensitizing Good Friday Passion Readings

By: Mars Girl

Mars Girl — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:27:45 +0000

I like the mention of the Muslims also in the Krister Stendahl. As I try to remind my fellow Americans on a daily basis, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all worship the *same* God. They are all rooted in the same history, the same origin stories. They are branches of the same tree. I think everyone seems to forget that (or are unaware of it). Christians, especially in this post-911 era, point fingers at the Islamic faith for being the root of all evil… and it really makes me mad because none of these religions promote violence; it’s the extremists in all corners who makes a religion look bad.

By: marcia

marcia — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:14:02 +0000

Thanks Scott, and thanks PB for bringing this to our attention. It’s a sore spot, and I’m grateful to have a legitimate way to distinguish.

By: Teri

Teri — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:26:40 +0000

We say “the chief priests” instead of “the Jews” in order to make the subtle point that the whole deal was orchestrated by the few with power, not by the whole people.

I’ll float “the Judeans” as a possibility for next year…

By: Sarah Dylan Breuer

Sarah Dylan Breuer — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:21:58 +0000

Thanks for posting this, PeaceBang. “The Judeans” is a totally responsible translation of the Greek *hoi ioudaioi* — more faithful by far to the sense of the Greek than translating it as “the Jews.” Literature of the period in Greek doesn’t use *hoi ioudaioi* to refer to all Jews, and sometimes uses it to contrast one party or branch within Judaism (those with particular ties to Judea and who are loyal defenders of the Temple system) to others.

And I love the Krister Stendahl quote, which is going in my file right now for future use in Holy Week bulletins.