Christ Church, Jerusalem, is an interesting place. From the moment you step inside, you are struck by the number of Jewish symbols in the place. Not that Jewish symbols are unusual in Israel, but this is a church after all. After we stood dumbstruck for a minute or so, a nice man came up to explain some of the history of Christ Church.
Turns out, the people who run it are a group of Christians who hope to educate the general public on Jesus’ Jewishness. Interesting. They want more Christians to respect and support Jews. Good. They want to help build a Jewish homeland so that, by returning there, Jews may hasten the return of the Messiah. Ok! Time for a big step back from the nice man.
We did not get away without having some literature foisted upon us; literature that made for interesting reading later on. Of all the points that the author made, the one that stuck with me was how offensive it is to call any religious gathering a “crusade” given the history of Crusaders murdering Jews as well as Muslims. One point for the crazy Anglican Messianic Jew dude.
“Crusade” has real meaning and perhaps ought not be thrown around so easily. We do the same thing with “war.” Oddly enough, we declared a “war” on poverty in the ’60s which was not a real war while we were fighting a war in Vietnam but never officially declared it. We declared “war” on drugs and it looked a little more like a war but we all knew it wasn’t really a war unless you lived in Philadelphia where they were dropping bombs.
The “war” on terror is not really a war, is it? Or wait, is it? We have not declared war on Afghanistan or Iraq, but we certainly have been fighting wars there, albeit not necessarily against Iraqis and Afghans. Someone, apparently, has declared war on Christmas. Someone else (or maybe the same asshat) has declared war on the Middle Class. Don’t forget the war on obesity.
With all these wars going on, it’s easy to forget the smaller conflicts. Party skirmishes. The words we use to describe the larger struggles get thrown around here too. Opponents become “targets” in the rhetoric of politicians who do not or can not use language with clarity. But we all know what they don’t really mean it, right?