Faculty Rejects Anti-Jewish Hate-Filled Ideology
November 9, 2021
We, members of the Lancaster Theological Seminary faculty, strongly voice our opposition to the claims being made by the white nationalist Charles Bausman and those who share his anti-Jewish hate-filled ideology. As reported by LNP/Lancaster Online journalists, Bausman and others who have gathered in Lancaster Township promote anti-Jewish propaganda that denies the Holocaust and casts Jews as the enemies of Christianity.
These are long-standing and dangerous lies, rejected by the majority of Christian faith traditions—Roman Catholic and Protestant. In the words of Pope Francis, “God continues to work among the people of the Old Covenant and to bring forth treasures of wisdom which flow from their encounter with his word. For this reason, the Church also is enriched when she receives the values of Judaism” (Evangelii Gaudium, 2014, §247-249). The United Church of Christ, with which our seminary is affiliated, likewise affirms that “God’s covenant with the Jewish people has not been rescinded or abrogated by God, but remains in full force, inasmuch as ‘the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable’ (Rom. 11:29)” (“The Relationship Between the United Church of Christ and the Jewish Community,” General Synod resolution 1987). In our seminary classrooms, we teach Scripture in ways that affirm the integrity of the Jewish faith and work in partnership with those seeking greater interreligious understanding.
We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community of Lancaster and throughout the world. We reject any definition of Christianity that aligns our faith with hatred, racism, and nationalism. The vicious and vile tenets of the Bausman group are contrary to the spirit of Christ.
Julia M. O’Brien, Paul H. and Grace L. Stern Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Vanessa Lovelace, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Anne T. Thayer, Paul and Minnie Diefenderfer Professor of Mercersburg and Ecumenical Theology and Church History
Greg Carey, Professor of New Testament
Lee Barrett, Mary B. and Henry P. Stager Chair in Theology
Catherine E. Williams, Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship
Heather H. Vacek, Dean of Lancaster Theological Seminary
Myka Kennedy Stephens, Associate Professor of Theological Bibliography