Based on the first ten chapters of the book Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths by Karen Armstrong, I would sum up the history of the city of Jerusalem as follows: As empires conquer one another, different rulers take control of Jerusalem. The Temple is built, it is destroyed, it is rebuilt, it is destroyed, it is rebuilt, and it is destroyed. As different religious groups come to power, they exclude other religions from Jerusalem and claim the holy city for themselves.
In their feelings towards sacred spaces, Jews and Christians switched roles. Before the Temple was destroyed, Jews felt that it was the only place where one could find God's presence on earth. The destruction of the Temple caused Jewish belief to change and evolve. Instead of finding the Divine in sacred space, Jews found God in their fellow human beings; "Jews must realize that their dealings with others were sacred encounters. Now that the divine could no longer be experienced in sacred space, Jews must find it in their fellow human beings"(157). During this time period, rabbies began to codify oral law, which became the Mishnah. Reading Armstrong's section about the Mishnah, reminded me of lessons I was taught in Jewish day school and Sunday school. I could hear Rabbi Levy's voice in my head saying "Though shalt love they neighbor as thyself." I remember Mrs. Bornstein emphasizing that Jewish law prohibits lashon hara, or gossip, and feeling guilty for talking behind Emma's back at lunch. In this period instead of focusing on their lost Temple, the Pharisees taught that the family home is a holy place or a "mikdash m'at ('small sanctuary')"(166). God's presence was dependent on the community of the Jewish people.
Before Constantine declared Christianity as one of the official religions of the Roman empire, Christians practiced their faith in a spiritual manner that was independent from sacred spaces. Eusibius purported that dedication to sacred spaces or objects was akin to paganism. He believed that, "The attachment of permanent value to Jesus's humanity was as perverse and irrational as the Jews' attachment to an earthly city"(178). Once the Tomb of Christ was unearthed (and the Temple of Aphrodite above demolished) and Constantine's basilica was completed, Christians became tied to these sacred spaces, "It had become a symbolic 'center,' where the divine power had touched the frail world of humanity in a unique way. It represented a new start for humanity, a fulfillment of the religion of Abraham and a new era in Christian history"(183). Despite their previous antagonism towards sacred space, Christians felt connected to these holy sites.
Throughout Armstrong's book, I have found it fascinating to learn about how these monotheistic religions have changed over time. Both Christianity and Judaism have proven resilient in times of turmoil. Jews adapted their belief system when the Temple was destroyed. They tranisitioned from feeling that the Temple was the only place to enounter the Divine (and dying for this belief) to believing that God's presence could be found in a fellow human being. Christians placed emphasis on certain holy places to create a 'sacred geography' for their religion.
Religious conflict in Jerusalem is a historic conflict. From the Jews separating themselves from the "goyim," to Christians expelling Jews from the city, religions have fought with one another for centuries over control of Jerusalem. Reading about religious intolerance even in these historic times makes me feel angry. Armstrong accurately articulated my frustration with religious intolerance when she wrote, "Persecution does not always make its victims compassionate. From the start the New Jerusalem involved the exclusion and denigration of others in a way that was far removed from the compassionate ethic of Jesus"(186). (I drew a smiley face by this statment)