KEY 73

KEY 73. "Key 73," was a nationwide ecumenical project during 1973 with its motto being "Calling the Continent to Christ." The project was the result of a 1967 interdenominational meeting arranged by Carl F. H. Henry, a Baptist theologian and former editor of Christianity Today. Five years of planning on a cooperative basis and joint activities brought together about 150 denominations ranging from the United Church of Canada, black denominations, Pentecostal and evangelistic organizations, numerous Roman Catholic dioceses and major Protestant church organizations. (1)

The movement led to widespread concern. The leaders of “Key 73,” gave assurances to Jewish groups that they repudiated anti-Semitism and any evangelical resort to coercion. This was reported by Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, director of the American Jewish Committee’s inter-religious affairs department who has been corresponding with the “Key 73” leadership.

Rabbi Tanenbaum made public a letter he received from Dr. Theodore Raedeke of St. Louis, executive director of “Key 73” in which he stated, “We do not wish to persecute, pressure or force Jews to believe or do anything against their will.” Dr. Raedeke insisted that “There is no anti-Semitism in either the ideology or the thrust of ‘Key 73.'” He added, however, “We are confident that the Jews do not wish to undermine our holy faith or deprive us of our rights to propagate our faith–the privilege we enjoy in America.” Rabbi Tanenbaum said the statement was a “welcome clarification” although it did “not respond to all the questions that the Jewish community would want clarified.”

Among those questions, he said, were the implications of a nationwide evangelical campaign for the pluralistic character of America; whether a campaign that viewed Christianity as a “substitute covenant” for that of Judaism which he contended fed negative and anti-Semitic attitudes among the people it reached; and would the emphasis on personal testifying for Christ through neighborhood door-to-door canvases and college and high school campus crusades lead to coercive pressures against Jewish individuals and others?

Jews were especially sensitive to the impact “Key 73” and similar evangelical drives such as the “Campus Crusade for Christ” might have on Jewish high school and college youth. Rabbi Tanenbaum said he hoped the repudiation of coercive measures by the “Key 73” leaders would filter down to the many evangelists on campuses.

Differing views of the threat–or lack of it–of “Key 73” to Jewish youth and Jews generally were expressed by two other New York rabbis. Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht, executive vice-president of the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education, declared that the well-organized, heavily-financed evangelical drive “is bad news for Jews.” According to Rabbi Hecht, the target of “Key 73” was “to Christianize everyone in the United States who is not yet a Christian” and this “could not come at a less opportune time” with respect to Jewish youth which “like all youth today…are beset with many problems.”

Rabbi Charles Sheer, the Jewish Chaplain at Columbia University, however, believed that Jews “over-reacted” to “Key 73” and similar crusades. He said Jews were frightened by announcements that the evangelical drives had staffs of hundreds and $18 million in financing with which to blanket the media. But there are far more serious concerns within the Jewish fold, he declared at the Yeshiva University’s midyear conference. “Why are we not distressed when college-age Jews who are for Judaism do not know how to live, talk and think like Jews?” he asked. “Why must ‘Paradise Lost’ introduce Jewish students to Genesis. Couldn’t this exciting awakening happen earlier and under Jewish auspices?”

Nationwide, thirty-two youth impact weeks were planned. (2)

Saturday night Bible study and prayer sessions were scheduled at WAHLERT CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL. Locally, 1,500 people attended the initial program of Key 73 in November, 1972. The focus was on self-renewal through prayer, penance and the study of Scriptures. By March 1973, 25 of Dubuque's 40 congregations had joined the program. A Seven and Seven Committee composed of seven Protestants and seven Roman Catholics led the activities. Seventy-five percent of the congregations joined in the project. As part of the program, 20,000 copies of the New Testament were distributed to every home in Dubuque, East Dubuque, Key West, and Asbury on Sunday, May 6. (3) During Holy Week, services were open to Roman Catholics and Protestants at ST. RAPHAEL'S CATHEDRAL. (4)

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Source:

1. "Calling Our Continent to Christ," Telegraph Herald, December 26, 1972, p. 2

2. Rabbi Says ‘Key 73’ Leaders Repudiate Anti-Semitism, Coercion," Jewish Telegraphic Association, Online: https://www.jta.org/1973/01/19/archive/rabbi-says-key-73-leaders-repudiate-anti-semitism-coercion

3. Tighe, Mike, "'Key 73 Picks Up in Dubuqueland, Telegraph Herald, March 4, 1973, p. 3

4. "Holy Week at Cathedral," Telegraph Herald, April 8, 1973, p. 36