Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

March 2021 – A number of AFA Journal readers responded with questions about a December 2020 article titled “Jewish Roots: His and ours.” The story referred to antisemitic statements by early church father John Chrysostom and 16th-century Protestant reformer Martin Luther.

AFAJ is grateful for the beneficial impact both men have had on the church; however, it is likewise appropriate to be forthright about antisemitic expressions that had longstanding effects on society. As antisemitic views currently increase in the U.S. and around the world, it is important to revisit historical attitudes that have the potential of being repeated.

Primary sources for the AFAJ article include Chrysostom’s transcribed sermons known as the “Eight Homilies Against the Jews” and Luther’s essay “The Jews and Their Lies,” written within a couple years of his death.

The April issue will include a review of Dr. Michael Brown’s new book Christian Antisemitism: Confronting the Lies in Today’s Church. Brown is of Jewish descent and hosts The Line of Fire, aired on AFR on Sundays 2-4 p.m. CT.