Benedict might have been successful in his effort to create a bridge between Judaism and Christianity via the idea of covenants if he had conceived of covenants as being more conditioned by time, place, and culture. If a covenant is a contract and a relationship, this would make sense; however, Benedict wants the Christian covenant to be eternal and independent of time, place, or culture. That’s the only way for Christianity to be proclaimed in the manner he does, but it also requires at least an implicit denigration or devaluation of every other religion — including Judaism.
This may be a reason why Benedict’s depiction of Judaism is so superficial. Like many Christian writers who discuss the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, Benedict talks about the ancient Judaism of the patriarchs, the Judaism of Jesus’ time, and Auschwitz — as if nothing significant had occurred in the interim. For Jews, though, quite a lot happened. Benedict ignores the development of Judaism as a religion independent of the Temple in Jerusalem, a massive oversight in light of the fact that he regularly references the “historic mission” of Judaism.
Come to think of it, what “mission” would that be? Is the mission of Judaism independent of Christianity or only to be regarded as an adjunct to Christianity? The latter perpetuates the idea of Judaism as being inferior to Christianity. The former would seem to be incompatible with the idea that Christianity is the only path to God. Moreover, if the mission of Judaism is a valid one, then it must include theological and cultural developments since the time of Jesus — exactly the developments which Benedict ignores. How can he speak of a “mission” if he makes no mention of what it is and what it is supposed to accomplish?
Like other theologians, Benedict uses the traditional idea that Christ “fulfilled” the covenant with the Jews — that’s why Christians today don’t have to obey all of the laws which God handed down in the Old Testament. The very word “fulfilled,” though, suggests that there is something inadequate about Judaism. If the covenant or law is fulfilled, then it’s not really necessary anymore. Once again, Benedict’s desire to create a bridge between Judaism and Christianity is hindered by the fact that his words and ideas won’t allow it.
As I noted earlier, a necessary premise of the truth of Christianity is the truth of Judaism — unless the Jewish scriptures are regarded as true, a major basis for acceptance of Christianity is removed. At the same time, though, this premise cannot be accepted without also thinking that the Jewish covenant is inferior or surpassed in some way. There is a contradiction here because that covenant was supposed to be instituted by God, yet the Christian understanding of God doesn’t allow for the creation of inferior, inadequate, or incomplete covenants.
It is, then, self-defeating for Christians to treat Judaism as if it were inferior, for if Judaism is inferior, then some of the basic premises of Christianity itself are undermined. That’s probably one reason why Benedict wrote this book; but rather than rectify the situation he has only demonstrated that even those who seek better relations cannot help but to use words and ideas that create problems. This, in turn, suggests that perhaps the contradiction is insoluble.
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