Establish Productive Jewish and Christian Dialogue

Disputes can easily arise when those of Jewish and Christian faiths discuss their religious beliefs with each other, especially on Internet message boards. This wikiHow will attempt to provide some experienced advice to help foster productive exchanges and to avoid common mistakes which may cause more spiritual harm than good.

Steps

  1. Make sure everyone participating in the discussion is open-minded and willing to learn. A racist or preachy attitude is useless for interfaith dialogues.
  2. Learn as much as possible about the history of both religions. Ask a practitioner  of Judaism and Christianity for books that they feel give an accurate view of their own religions.
  3. Always remember that both Jews and Christians come in many types. No matter how big your group is, you will not be able to fully represent either religion in your dialogue, because there is just too much variety.
  4. Do not allow either group to proselytize (attempt to convert others) during the dialogue. Remember, a dialogue is not a debate.
  5. Set a specific topic and try to keep the conversation in that area. If things wander from history to philosophy and then over to culture, it may be harder to ensure things stay civil.
  6. Make sure there are rules about participants not touching one another, not shouting, and not using offensive language. Stop the dialogue if things get heated, before they get out of hand.
  7. Don't let people play victim or accuser. No one is directly responsible for things their ancestors or cousins did.
  8. Keep your goals realistic. Your goal should be to learn and teach, not to convert people from either faith, prove someone wrong, or rehash wars from thousands of years ago.

Tips

  • If a conversation gets overly-heated or abusive and all else fails, walk away or use the "ignore" option for troublesome posters.
  • If you are proven to be right about something, don't gloat about it. If you find you are clearly wrong, admit it promptly and apologize if needed.
  • When a point of debate has no resolution, try to introduce a new subject.
  • Rather than state beliefs as facts, share them as opinions.
  • Balance statements about your beliefs with sincere questions about the other party's beliefs.
  • Read "Confrontation" The author, Rav Soloveitchik, may the memory of the righteous be a blessing, who died 17 years ago, remains the number one influence on Jewish thought.

Warnings

  • Do not insist that your faith is the only true or valid one. Likewise, do not label other faiths as being false or invalid.
  • For Christians, do not cast blame on all Jewish people for actions during the crucifixion.
  • For Jewish people, do not cast blame on all Christians for actions during the Inquisition, Holocaust, etc.
  • Do not engage in personal attacks; stick to the subject.
  • Don't cite quotes from the Bible as proof of anything. Claiming that God backs you up is impossible to prove (especially since the Bible comes in different versions) and it is not conducive to a good dialogue.

Things You'll Need

  • A Christian Bible (New International Version-NIV, English Standard Version-ESV, New Living Translation-NLT, New American Standard Bible-NASB, New King James Version-NKJV, or the King James Version-KJV, etc.)
  • A Jewish Tanakh
  • Hebrew and Greek translation tools.

Related Articles

References

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