James Parkes (clergyman)
Encyclopedia
James Parkes was born on the Island of Guernsey
in the Channel Islands
and was a clergyman, historian, and social activist. Starting in 1929 with the publication of The Jew and His Neighbour, he created the foundations of a Christian
reevaluation of Judaism
.
Drawn to his task by first-hand exposure to the brutality of antisemitism on the continent, Parkes traced its animus to the obdurate hard-heartedness and wrongheadedness of Christianity vis-à-vis the Jewish people and their faith. He discovered that the principles and practice of historic Christianity was responsible for the sins and excesses that culminated in the Shoah
. His life's work amounted not only to hundreds of articles and twenty-three books, among them The Conflict of the Church and the Synagogue (1934), his magnum opus, but also to social activism. In that endeavor, for twenty years his was a lone clerical voice against the missionizing of Jews, and he would be the driving force in the founding of the Council of Christians and Jews.
Following three years of active duty as an infantryman during World War I
, he took a degree at Oxford, orders in the Anglican Church, and spent the next 12 years on the continent as an activist in organizations that promoted international cooperation. It was there that he grew aware of the brutality of antisemitism and very early on spoke out about Nazism, surviving an assassination attempt in 1935.
Upon his return to England, he carved out a career as an independent scholar. He bequeathed his Judaica collection to the University of Southampton where it became the cornerstone of the Parkes Jewish Library and the Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/Christian Relations.
He also wrote Common sense about religion, as part of the Common Sense series
.
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
and was a clergyman, historian, and social activist. Starting in 1929 with the publication of The Jew and His Neighbour, he created the foundations of a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
reevaluation of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
.
Drawn to his task by first-hand exposure to the brutality of antisemitism on the continent, Parkes traced its animus to the obdurate hard-heartedness and wrongheadedness of Christianity vis-à-vis the Jewish people and their faith. He discovered that the principles and practice of historic Christianity was responsible for the sins and excesses that culminated in the Shoah
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. His life's work amounted not only to hundreds of articles and twenty-three books, among them The Conflict of the Church and the Synagogue (1934), his magnum opus, but also to social activism. In that endeavor, for twenty years his was a lone clerical voice against the missionizing of Jews, and he would be the driving force in the founding of the Council of Christians and Jews.
Following three years of active duty as an infantryman during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he took a degree at Oxford, orders in the Anglican Church, and spent the next 12 years on the continent as an activist in organizations that promoted international cooperation. It was there that he grew aware of the brutality of antisemitism and very early on spoke out about Nazism, surviving an assassination attempt in 1935.
Upon his return to England, he carved out a career as an independent scholar. He bequeathed his Judaica collection to the University of Southampton where it became the cornerstone of the Parkes Jewish Library and the Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/Christian Relations.
He also wrote Common sense about religion, as part of the Common Sense series
Common Sense (series)
The Common Sense series was a series of thirteen political books published by Victor Gollancz Ltd in the United Kingdom during the early 1960s...
.