Podcast: Wilfred McClay on the Warming Relations between Christians and Jews

This Week’s Guest: Wilfred McClay

After centuries of antagonism and persecution, the second half of 20th century introduced profound changes to the relationship between Jews and Christians. In the shadow of the Holocaust, post-war America witnessed a flowering of interfaith dialogue, often spearheaded by the more liberal wings of both religions. This flowering was made possible by identifying the lowest common denominators between Judaism and Christianity—a shared attachment to the Hebrew Bible, similar ethical commitments—and eliding the more serious theological differences between them.

Today, perhaps, we are witnessing a different kind of rapprochement, not between the most progressive (and now weakly affiliated) Jews and Christians, but between some of the most traditional and committed members of both faiths. This historic new cooperation is the topic of Wilfred McClay’s July 2020 essay in Mosaic, “What Christians See in Jews and Israel in 2020 of the Common Era.” And in this podcast, he joins Mosaic’s editor to explore his ideas in greater depth.