Tom Wright: Christians Must Confront Antisemitism - and the Church’s Own Failures

Antisemitism, Mike Bird says, is “possibly one of the oldest prejudices there is.” In a recent episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, for subscribers, he and Tom Wright discussed what Bird calls “the scourge of antisemitism”, and why Christians must face not only contemporary anti-Jewish hatred, but also the Church’s own failures across history.

The conversation begins with the painful reality of current events. Wright says, “At the moment, I see in my own country, in the UK, a lot of anti-Jewish violence.” He is careful with terminology, noting that he does not know whether all of it is “technically anti-Semitic or not.” But he is clear that Jewish communities are once again facing hostility and danger.

Part of the difficulty, Wright argues, is that anger at the actions of the modern state of Israel can become “a breeding ground, like a swamp for mosquitoes,” where those who already have reasons to be “anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic” may “see this as their opportunity.” The result is that outrage over events in the Middle East can become an excuse for hatred directed at Jewish people elsewhere.

Wright then traces the story further back. In the ancient world, he explains, Judeans were often viewed with suspicion because they “did not worship the gods.” In a society where public worship was believed to keep the world in order, this made Jewish people appear “antisocial.” If disaster struck, people looked for someone to blame: “Well, it’s that lot who haven’t been worshipping the gods.”

That older anti-Judaism, Wright says, must be distinguished from modern antisemitism. “Technically, anti-Judaism is going back a long way,” he explains. “Antisemitism, properly speaking, is the result of this social Darwinism.” The racial theories of the 19th century, he says, created a new and dangerous context in which Jewish people could be cast as a supposedly inferior or threatening race. Wright calls those theories “self-serving nonsense and dangerous nonsense”, and says he would be prepared to call them “wicked.”

Bird then turns the conversation to Romans 11 and Paul’s image of the olive tree. Could this passage help “inoculate Christians” against antisemitism? Wright says it can, if read carefully. Paul is not saying that “all Jews are automatically saved,” but he is warning Gentile Christians not to despise the Jewish people or imagine that Christianity has become a Gentile movement. The Jesus movement, Wright says, is “Jewish in origin and retains that Judaic character.”

For Wright, Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son also gives Christians a powerful image. Christians are like the younger brother, “astonishingly” welcomed by grace. Jewish people, in this analogy, may look at the Christian Church and say, “If that’s the sort of party we’re having, we don’t want to join.” Wright says that response is understandable, because “Christianity has not been a good witness.”

So what should Christians do? Wright’s answer is not abstract. “Please, let’s have constructive, wise dialogue,” he says. “Let’s have friendship across the boundaries. Let’s get to know one another.” When antisemitism appears in society, Christians should be able to stand alongside Jewish neighbours and say, “Not in our name.”

The episode ends with Wright recalling Pope John Paul II’s visit to Israel, where, he says, the Pope “apologised to the Jewish people for what the Church had done in the name of Jesus.” For Wright, this remains an example of what the Church can still do today: “show penitence for our failures in the past.”

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