Pittsburgh synagogue attack and Christianity

Robert Bowers entered that congregation at about 10:00 AM and began opening fire. The openly anti-Semitic nature of the attack was made very clear with the fact that Robert Bowers said that he wanted all Jews to die, that according to a statement that he made after he was wounded, a statement made to a Pittsburgh SWAT officer.

Throughout much of the history of the Christian church, there has been a struggle with anti-Semitism, but this is where Christians must understand theologically and biblically what is at stake. Israel is central to God's saving purpose for humanity. 

The promise of salvation comes, as we see in the covenant made with Abraham, that through Abraham and his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And of course, ultimately, the promise of salvation comes through a Savior, who was born to a Jewish mother and whose Jewish identity is central to our understanding of who Jesus is as revealed in Scripture. 

The Jewishness of Jesus is not an accident. It is central to the identity of Jesus and the promise Christ is the promised Messiah. A promise was given first to the Jews and only by extension, as the Apostle Paul makes clear, extended also to Gentiles.

We come to understand that the early church had to declare that it was not unusual that salvation would come to the Jews, that was declared to be God's purpose, rather it is the extension of salvation to the Gentiles that have to be explained. And of course, it is clearly explained within the New Testament. And of course, there is conflict even in the New Testament between Jesus and the Jewish authorities, and eventually, there is a separation between Judaism and Christianity.

But we need to note, the Bible is clear that God is not finished with Israel. Indeed, there are promises yet to be fulfilled, promises assured by the very character of God, and there is also promised a great display of the glory of God in an eventual turning of many Jewish people to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is a storyline of Scripture that also points us in eschatology, not to a new secular city, but rather to a New Jerusalem. That points to the continuing importance, not only symbolically, but in the substance of God's promises given through Israel. Promises that are given, not only through Israel but also to Israel. 

The Christian church thus must understand that there are two great illustrations of God's providence throughout history. One is the survival of the Jewish people and the other is the survival of the church. And here we have to understand that the survival of the Jewish people can be explained only throughout history by the fact that they are continuing to be a part of the sovereign intention of God.

To assert the truth as clearly as possible, any form of anti-Semitism is incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ and incompatible with the New Testament.

The Apostle Paul, in the book of Romans, makes very clear that we are to feel gratitude to the Jewish people and to understand that it is we, as Gentiles, who have been grafted on to the promises made to Israel. It is not Israel that is somehow grafted on to the promises made to the Christian church. Ultimately, the gospel of Jesus Christ points to the singularity of the saving work of Christ and to the fact that salvation comes only through the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and as Lord.

How do we place the evil we have witnessed over the past week in the larger context of history and a Christian worldview?


The Christian church holds, not in tension but rather in promise, a sense of protection for the Jewish people. Where you find the Christian church most faithful, you find the Christian church most respectful of Israel and most protective of the Jewish people. And you also, where you find the church most faithful, find the church asserting and affirming the dignity of every single human being.