Southern Baptist Resolution to Convert Jews

* I applaud Rabbi Jacob Neusner (“Firmly Held Beliefs Often Require Judgments,� Commentary, July 26) for having the courage and the insight to portray a different angle to the otherwise-resented quests of the Southern Baptists. Neusner clearly understands that Christianity must remain true to itself by seeking to convert everyone, not just Jews. Otherwise the Christian claim to exclusivity would be irrational.

Neusner is absolutely correct when he says, “From such a confrontation, the rebirth of informed and well-considered faith must come as the one sure result.� It is time for a rebirth and examination of our deeply held convictions and religious heritage, whether it results in conversions to Christianity or the affirmation of Judaic, Muslim or Buddhist beliefs.

EUGENE AGUIRRE

West Covina

* Some Jews accept Jesus Christ as a way to God, not the way they choose, but a way. This is open-mindedness, a recognition that God cannot be fit into a tidy theological box. Making value judgments on the “truth and error� of other religions has nothing to do with one’s religious conviction, except perhaps to question why making these value judgments is required. Both Neusner and Southern Baptists exhibit a thinly veiled intolerance. Is it necessary to describe the logical extension of this understanding? It is sad that Neusner believes that Judaism needs Southern Baptist proselytizers to renew itself.

MICHAEL F. CALLAHAN

Upland

* Where has Neusner been for the last 30 years? Surely he is aware of the 1965 documents from the Second Vatican Council and others since that explicitly affirm the validity and permanence of God’s covenant with the Jewish people. Most mainline Christian churches have issued statements that teach respect and esteem for Judaism. Why has Neusner chosen to ignore these developments?

Neusner states that a religious group that claims “exclusive possession of the truth� serves religious dialogue. On the contrary. To debate is not to dialogue. For 20 years Catholic and Jewish women have been in dialogue at a yearly meeting where we have practiced listening to one another’s beliefs and experience. We seek to understand each other and in the process deepen our knowledge and understanding of our own traditions.

People who take their religion seriously need to keep in mind our human limitations when trying to understand ultimate reality. God cannot be completely contained or constrained by human words and concepts. More than ever, what is needed in today’s world is dialogue and not debate.

DORIS ISOLINI NELSON

Los Angeles