You’re invited

to Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

1501 Gilbert Rd., Madison, WI 53713

this Sunday, June 2, 2024, 9 am

Alfred Swan Room

Antisemitism Then and Now:

The Christian Origins and Legacy

Facilitator: Baxter Richardson

This adult education session will be an inquiry – an attempt to answer one question: How does one explain the enduring reality of antisemitism in Christian cultures? Other questions we might explore: Is there some inherent quality of Christianity, or religion itself, that prevents us from freeing ourselves from the pernicious form of racism that we call antisemitism? Or is it possible that antisemitism is the manifestation of the human need to define who one is by who one is not? Or is it something else?

To help us understand the Christian origins and legacy, please read ahead of time and come prepared to discuss James Carroll’s article “Easter, Christianity, and Antisemitism” (2024) and excerpts by Martin Luther, “On the Jews and their Lies” (1543).

If time permits, we will consider how the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) have responded, officially, to antisemitism. Copies of “Nostra Aetate” (1965) and “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Jewish Community” (1993) will be available on June 2.

Click here for first reading

Click here for second reading

Questions? Contact Baxter Richardson at [email protected]