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| | | EXCERPTS FROM THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK: | | |
| | | WAS SHE A JEWISH CHRISTIAN? | | |
| | | by Beaufort Clifton Addison III | | |
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Most people have heard of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who wrote a
diary while in hiding during the second World War.
She was extremely well-read, highly intelligent, in possession of a
very observant knowledge of human nature, and a gifted writer. Among
the Jewish Community throughout the world she has become a memorial
to all the Jewish people who died in the holocaust.
What few people realize, is that this young girl is may be historical
proof that a person can be a Jew with Christian faith in "Jesus the
Christ." Jews have for centuries asserted that a Jew who becomes a
Christian has thus lost his Jewish identity and is therefore a Jew no
longer. But is this correct?
Did this young, talented girl possess Christian faith? Is there proof
for it to be found in Anne's own diary? Read these select parts for
yourself. I believe the proof is there! Permit me to show it to you.
The Frank Family Trusted the Christians in Amsterdam
Living in Holland, Anne Frank was surrounded by Christians. Her diary
opens at a period in time when the Jewish Community in Amsterdam is
becoming aware of an increasing threat to their existence. The family
starts to leave their things with those they can trust--Christians.
"I do wish I didn't have to go to school, as my bicycle was stolen in
the Easter holidays and Daddy has given Mummy's to a Christian family
for safe keeping." (Frank, Wednesday, 24 June, 1942)
Notice that the word "safe" is used. These Christians could be
trusted. But these Dutch Christians were not the only people of faith
living in Holland.
Anne Possessed Faith Like Her Father Abraham
The Jews in Amsterdam also possessed faith, and a personal faith had
been fostered in Anne. She unwittingly equates herself with her
forefather Abraham, whose faith was tested by God, when she confides:
"Sometimes I believe that God wants to try me, both now and later on;
I must become good through my own efforts, without examples and
without good advice. Then later on I shall be all the stronger. Who
besides me will ever read these letters? From whom but myself shall I
get comfort? As I need comforting often, I frequently feel weak, and
dissatisfied with myself; my shortcomings are too great. I know this,
and every day I try to improve myself, again and again." (Frank,
Saturday, 7 November, 1942)
We read the diary entries of a girl who was aware of her own
shortcomings, one who was endowed with a conscience, a conscience
lacking in many young people today. She believed that she, like
Abraham, could become justified through her works, as James asserts:
"Is it not so that our father, Abraham was labeled 'righteous' as a
result of the things he did when he offered up his son Isaac on the
pile of stones? We perceive that his faith worked alongside his
actions; by what was done the faith was made complete and the portion
of the Law was fulfilled which reads, 'Abraham had faith in God, and
it was credited to him as righteousness.' It was even the case that
he was called God's friend. We see that people are labeled righteous
as a result of what they do and not because of faith alone." (James
2:21-24, paraphrased)
The Frank Family Begins to Celebrate Christendom's Holidays
Very little time passed in Anne's diary before she started making
entries about her family's new hiding place set in the back of a
business building. A similar secret area was built by a Seventh Day
Baptist carpenter in Cornelia ten Boom's home. Her family shared this
apartment with another one named the Van Daan's. It is from this
family that we are provided a comparison to Anne's viewpoint. Both
families are Jewish, of course, and they continue to celebrate the
Jewish holy days, though now they celebrate Christian holidays also:
Dear Kitty,
Chanuka and St. Nicholas Day came almost together this year--just one
day's difference. We didn't make much fuss about Chanuka: we just
gave each other a few little presents and then we had the candles.
Because of the shortage of candles we only had them alight for ten
minutes, but it is all right as long as you have the song. Mr. Van
Daan has made a wooden candlestick, so that too was all properly
arranged. Saturday the evening of St. Nicholas Day was much more fun.
Miep and Elli had made us very inquisitive by whispering all the time
with Daddy, so naturally we guessed that something was on. And so it
was. At eight o'clock we all filed down the wooden staircase through
the passage in pitch-darkness(it made me shudder and wish that I was
safely upstairs again) into the little dark room. There, as there are
no windows, we were able to turn on a light. When that was done, Daddy
opened the big cupboard. "Oh! how lovely," we all cried. A large
basket decorated with St. Nicholas paper stood in the corner and on
top there was a mask of Black Peter. We quickly took the basket
upstairs with us. There was a nice little present for everyone, with
a suitable poem attached.... In any case it was a nice idea and as
none of us had ever celebrated St. Nicholas, it was a good way of
starting. (Frank, Monday, 7 December, 1942).
Knowing that these Jewish families were dependent on their Christian
benefactors to provide them sustenance and keep them hidden, it would
be fair to ask the following question: Were they simply showing their
gratitude, perhaps even coerced gratitude, to the only people willing
to risk their lives to safeguard some Jews, by celebrating Christian
holidays?
The answer must be "No," for though Anne turns to Kitty, as she has
named her diary, to confide in her about all of her secrets, she has
made no mention of being compelled to indulge in these "goyishe," or
"Gentile," holidays. In fact, she confesses that it was "a nice idea"
and that she found St. Nicholas Day "much more fun" than Chanukkah.
We cannot allow anyone to charge that this was an isolated event as
Anne reveals that she intended to make it a habit, a newly adopted
family tradition, when she writes that although none of them had ever
celebrated St. Nicholas Day before (as it was not a Jewish holy day),
it sure was a "good way of starting."
Anne's Father Wants Her to Read the New Testament!
Before long, we are provided with evidence of Anne's exposure to the
sacred writings of Christianity:
Dear Kitty,
In order to give us something to do, which is also educational, Daddy
applied for a prospectus from the Teachers' Institute in Leiden. ...
To give me something new to begin as well, Daddy asked Koophuis for a
children's Bible so that I could find out something about the New
Testament at last. "Do you want to give Anne a [Christian] Bible for
Chanuka?" asked Margot, somewhat perturbed. "Yes--er, I think St.
Nicholas Day is a better occasion," answered Daddy; "Jesus just
doesn't go with Chanuka." (Frank, Wednesday, 3 November, 1943; see
also 7 December, 1942)
(There is a New Testament reference to the observanve of Chanuka also
known as the Festival of Dedication. (see John 10:22)
Later, we see evidence that Anne did indeed receive and begin to read
the Bible and, having read it, she would have had an opportunity to
come to believe in Jesus. Apparently, this was an opportunity that
Otto Frank did not withhold from his daughter. In Addition, we should
note that there were no feelings that the "Nazarene" was despised in
this household. If anything, Otto Frank sponsored, endorsed and also
promoted the Messiah that might otherwise have been termed "a false
pretender from Nazareth."
"Frank Incense"--Anne Prays for a Friend
Anne makes us plainly aware by her words that she had a belief in God
and his power to save from peril. And, the person she beseeches the
Lord to deliver from peril is her old girlfriend, Lies, whom she grew
away from before the Jews started getting persecuted. Ironically, it
was Lies, not Anne, who would survive the concentration camps.
Dear Kitty,
Yesterday evening, before I fell asleep, who should suddenly appear
before my eyes but Lies! I saw her in front of me, clothed in rags,
her face thin and worn. ...And I cannot help her, I can only look on,
how others suffer and die, and can only pray to God to send her back
to us. Oh, God, that I should have all I could wish for and that she
should be seized by such a terrible fate. I am not more virtuous than
she; she, too, wanted to do what was right, why should I be chosen to
live and she probably to die? What was the difference between us? Why
are we so far from each other now? Good Lord, defend her, so that at
least she is not alone. Oh, if only You could tell her that I think
lovingly of her and with sympathy, perhaps that would give her
greater endurance. ...I shall always pray for her.
(Frank, Saturday, 27 November, 1943)
St. Nicholas' Day Rolls Around, Again
For Anne, St. Nicholas' Day does roll around again, temporarily
taking her mind off of her condemned friend. Picture a Jewish person
writing the following, and ask yourself if Anne ceased to be a Jew
upon celebrating this Christian holiday:
Dear Kitty,
When St. Nicholas' Day approached, none of us could help thinking of
the prettily decorated basket we had last year and I, especially,
thought it would be very dull to do nothing at all this year. I
thought a long time about it, until I invented something, something
funny.
I consulted Pim [my Daddy], and a week ago we started composing a
little poem for each person.
On Sunday evening at a quarter to eight we appeared upstairs with the
large laundry basket between us, decorated with little figures, and
bows of pink and blue carbon paper. The basket was covered with a
large piece of brown paper, on which a letter was pinned. Everyone was
rather astonished at the size of the surprise package.
I took the letter from the paper and read:
Santa Claus has come once more,
Though not quite as he came before;
We can't celebrate his day
In last year's fine and pleasant way.
For then our hopes were high and bright,
All the optimists seemed right,
None supposing that this year
We would welcome Santa here.
Still, we'll make his spirit live,
And since we've nothing left to give,
We've thought of something else to do
Each please look inside his shoe."
As each owner took his shoe from the basket there was a resounding
peal of laughter. A little paper package lay in each shoe with the
address of the shoe's owner on it.
(Frank, Monday, 6 December, 1943)
Cho! Cho! Cho!
What do we find here? Jewish people exchanging Christmas presents!
We received extra oil for Christmas, sweets and syrup; the "chief
present" is a brooch, made out of a two-and-a-half-cent piece, and
shiningly beautiful. (Frank, Wednesday, 22 December, 1943)
. . . I couldn't help feeling a great longing to have lots of fun
myself for once, and to laugh until my tummy ached. Especially at
this time of the year with all the holidays for Christmas and the New
Year, and we are stuck here like outcasts.
(Frank, Friday, 24 December, 1943)
What happened to Chanukkah?:
Dear Kitty,
On Friday for the first time in my life I received something for
Christmas. Koophuis, Kraler and the girls had prepared a lovely
surprise again. Miep has made a lovely Christmas cake, on which was
written "Peace 1944." Elli had provided a pound of sweet biscuits of
prewar quality. For Peter, Margot, and me a bottle of yoghourt, and a
bottle of beer for each of the grown-ups. Everything was so nicely
done up, and there were pictures stuck on each of the packages.
Otherwise Christmas passed by quickly for us.
(Frank, Monday, 27 December, 1943)
Again, what happened to Chanukkah?
Anne Stands in the Gap for a Fellow Hebrew
After the holidays are over, Anne's thoughts turn back to her friend.
The voices of Moses and the Apostle Paul are echoed as she intercedes
for Lies, offering a prayer of faith that will be heard and granted.
With Moses it was, "But now, if you will only forgive their sin--but
if not, blot me out of the book that you have written." (Ex. 32:32)
Moses was willing to die for his brothers who had erred. With Paul it
was: ". . . there is great sorrow and unremitting agony in my heart:
I could pray that I myself might be accursed and cut off, if this
could benefit the brothers who are my own flesh and blood. They are
Israelites; it was they who were adopted as children, the glory was
theirs and the covenants; to them were given the Law and the worship
of God and the promises. To them belong the fathers and out of them,
so far as physical descent is concerned, came the Messiah who is
above all. . ." (Romans 9:2-5)
And with Anne it is:
And Lies, is she still alive? What is she doing? Oh, God, protect
her and bring her back to us. Lies, I see in you all the time what my
lot might have been, I keep seeing myself in your place. Why then
should I often be unhappy over what happens here? Shouldn't I always
be glad, contented, and happy, except when I think about her and her
companions in distress? I am selfish and cowardly. Why do I always
dream and think of the most terrible things--my fear makes me want to
scream out loud sometimes. Because still, in spite of everything, I
have not enough faith in God. He has given me so much--which I
certainly do not deserve--and I still do so much that is wrong every
day. If you think of your fellow creatures then you only want to cry,
you could really cry the whole day long. The only thing to do is to
pray that God will perform a miracle and save some of them. And I
hope that I am doing that enough. (Frank, Wednesday, 29 December,
1943)
. . . Granny appeared as a guardian angel; then followed Lies, who
seems to be a symbol to me of the sufferings of all my girl friends
and all Jews. When I pray for her I pray for all Jews and all those
in need. . . . (Frank, Thursday, 6 January, 1944)
Is the eventual freedom of Lies proof positive of Anne Frank's
powerful intercession for the girl? How like Moses, who was not
permitted to enter the promised land, and how like Paul, who suffered
martyrdom before he could attempt to win over the Judeans to their
Messiah! Both of them interceded for Hebrews they loved by praying to
God for their welfare.
Is Anne Reading a Nun's Article?
We next find Anne learning about girlhood puberty from an authoress by
the name of Sis Heyster. Is this woman a Nun of the Catholic Church?
If so, what else did the Nun teach her? We read:
Yesterday I read an article. . . by Sis Heyster. (Frank, Wednesday, 5
January, 1944)
Anne Prays for a Man of Her Own
Anne's thoughts later turn to a boy with whom she fell in love before
she became cooped up in her secret apartment. Again, she turns to God
to grant her the sincere desires of her heart:
Who can help me now? I must live on and pray to God that He will let
Peter cross my path when I come out of here, and that when he reads
the love in my eyes he will say, "Oh, Anne, if I had only known, I
would have come to you long before!" (Frank, Friday, 7 January, 1944)
...but God decides to answer the prayer by giving her another Peter,
the Van Daan boy who had been living in the secret apartment:
Now God has sent me a helper--Peter... (Frank, Wednesday, 12 January,
1944)
Eventually, she thinks of the two boys named Peter as becoming one:
Peter Wessel and Peter Van Daan have grown into one Peter, who is
beloved and good, and for whom I long desperately. (Frank, Monday, 28
February, 1944)
Strangely, it was only the month before that she was writing,
Whatever you do, don't think I'm in love with Peter--not a bit of it!
(Frank, 6 January 1944)
Anne is Not Slow to Honor and Thank the Creator
When Anne isn't thinking about romance, she is involved in thoughts
about nature (even while staring at four walls all day) and about how
God's reality shines through in it. Anne is not afraid to honour God
for his creations, nor is she slow to give Him thanks:
The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go
outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens,
nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it
should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple
beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always
will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow,
whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature
brings solace in all troubles.
Oh, who knows, perhaps it won't be long before I can share this
overwhelming feeling of bliss with someone who feels the way I do
about it. (Frank, Wednesday, 23 February, 1944; see also next ref.)
That someone is to be Peter Van Daan.
Anne Bears Fruit of the Spirit
As Anne's spiritual life coupled with an abundant and fruitful prayer
life grows in strength and maturity, she continues to experience the
bliss she described above, but now she lists one of the fruits of the
Holy Spirit, which Christians first claimed for themselves when Paul
wrote, "But the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy. . .," in the book
of Galatians, chapter 5, verses 22 & 23:
And in the evening, when I lie in bed and end my prayers with the
words, "I thank you, God, for all that is good and clear and
beautiful," I am filled with joy. ...
My advice is: "Go outside, to the field, enjoy nature and the
sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in
God. Think of all the beauty that's left in and around you and be
happy!"
... Look at these things, then you find yourself again, and God, and
then you regain your balance. (Frank, Tuesday, 7 March, 1944)
"For God gave us not a spirit of cowardice, but that of power and
of love and of soundness of mind." (1 Tim 1:7)
"Soundness of mind" is Anne's sort of balance. And what would be the
results of such a faith?
And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage
and faith will never perish in misery! (Frank, Tuesday, 7 March 1944)
This last statement reminds us of the sixteenth verse in the third
chapter of the book of John: "For God loved the world so much that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life."
Anne Possesses Trust Like Her Father David
Faith, belief, and trust were certainly in the possession of Anne
Frank, as shown by this next entry. This is the faith of King David,
who, although encompassed about by the enemy, trusted his God to
deliver him:
... My life has improved, greatly improved. God has not left me alone
and will not leave me alone. (Frank, Friday, 31 March, 1944)
This parallels David's confession, "For you will certainly not leave
those looking for you, Oh LORD." (Ps. 9:10)
Anne Talks the Talk
Next, we find Anne using an expression which she must have picked up
from a Christian source, since we also find the expression twenty-two
times in the New Testament and zero times in the Old.
... Our weekly menu for supper consists of kidney beans, pea soup,
potatoes with dumplings, potato-chalet and, by the grace of God,
occasionally turnip tops or rotten carrots. ... (Frank, Monday, 3
April, 1944)
You will not find the phrase, "grace of God," in the Tanakh, the
Pentateuch, or the Torah scroll.
Anne Nods at Good Friday and Subsequently Reveals Her Jewishness
As further proof of Anne's sensitivity to Christian tradition, we
find a specific mention of Good Friday. Hand in hand with this we are
given a close look at what it means to be one of the children of
Israel, God's chosen people, His suffering servant:
Dear Kitty,
On Friday(Good Friday). . .
None of us has ever been in such danger as that night. God truly
protected us; just think of it--the police at our secret cupboard,
the light on right in front of it, and still we remained
undiscovered... We have been pointedly reminded that we are in
hiding, that we are Jews in chains, chained to one spot, without any
rights, but with a thousand duties. We Jews mustn't show our feelings,
must be brave and strong, must accept all inconveniences and not
grumble, must do what is within our power and trust in God. Sometime
this terrible war will be over. Surely the time will come when we are
people again, and not just Jews.
Who has inflicted this upon us? Who has made us Jews different from
all other people? Who has allowed us to suffer so terribly up till
now? It is God that has made us as we are, but it will be God too,
who will raise us up again. (Frank, Tuesday, 11 April, 1944)
What Anne writes above betrays a knowledge of what Jesus said in
Luke 21:24:
"A number will be cut down by the edge of the sword, another number
will be taken into all the nations of the Gentiles, and Jerusalem
will be trodden under foot by the Gentiles until the era of the
Gentiles has come to its completion." (paraphrase of JNT)
She continues:
... If we bear all this suffering and if there are still Jews left,
when it is over, then Jews, instead of being doomed, will be held up
as an example. Who knows, it might even be our religion from which
the world and all peoples learn good, and for that reason and that
reason only do we have to suffer now. We can never become just
Netherlanders, or just English, or representatives of any country for
that matter, we will always remain Jews, but we want to, too.
Be brave! Let us remain aware of our task and not grumble, a solution
will come, God has never deserted our people. Right through the ages
there have been Jews, through all the ages they have had to suffer,
but it has made them strong, too; the weak fall, but the strong will
remain and never go under! (Frank, Tuesday, 11 April, 1944)
Above we read a dissertation about the nature of the Jewish life that
we could expect to only come from the lips of a Rabbi! Anne Frank,
must have been under inspiration as she reiterated that prophesied by
Isaiah, "I, the LORD, have called you in saving justice, I have
grasped you by the hand and shaped you; I have made you a covenant of
the people and light to the nations." (42:6, NJB)
"An" Interesting Comment
Next she makes some forceful assertions about herself, one of which is
of particular interest to us:
I know what I want, I have a goal, an opinion, I have a religion and
love. Let me be myself [i. e., different from the others], and then I
am satisfied. I know that I'm a woman, a woman with inward strength
and plenty of courage.
If God lets me live, I shall attain more than Mummy has ever done, I
shall not remain insignificant, I shall work in the world and for
mankind!
And now I know that first and foremost I shall require courage and
cheerfulness! (Frank, Tuesday, 11 April, 1944)
What was to be this opinion and religion which she so steadfastly
claims? Was it Judaism or Christianity, or Judaism with an admixture
of Christianity(or vice versa)?
Anne Listens to "Christian Radio"
P.S. ...A speech by Gerbrandy followed. A clergyman concluded with a
prayer to God to take care of the Jews, the people in concentration
camps, in prisons, and in Germany. (Frank, Wednesday, 10 May, 1944)
This was obviously one of the radio programs or broadcasts, some of
them evidently having a Christian influence, that they would quietly
listen to for encouragement and to occupy the surplus of time they
had on their hands as they were cached away from a curious outside.
Anne Reads the Old and New Testaments
I'm frightfully busy at the moment, and although it sounds mad, I
haven't time to get through my pile of work. Shall I tell you briefly
what I have got to do? Well, then. . . Oh, something else, the Bible,
how long is it still going to take before I meet the bathing Suzanna?
And what do they mean by the guilt of Sodom and Gomorrah? Oh, there is
still such a terrible lot to find out and to learn." (Frank, Thursday,
11 May, 1944)
Anne is still looking in her Bible for the apocryphal story of the
bathing Suzanna, a story only to be found in a Catholic Bible. Is this
the same Bible, complete with New Testament, that her father had
planned to get for her? Did she learn of the story of Suzanna from a
Catholic source? What else did she learn from that same source?
Additionally, it would be beneficial to know what "Testament" the
allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah's guilt originated from, as it could
have been either.
Anne is Acquainted With Those She Soon Will Join
An unfortunate turn of events puts Anne on the defensive regarding her
Jewish identity, yet we still find her admiring Christianity:
To our great horror and regret we hear that the attitude of a great
many people towards us Jews has changed. We hear that there is
anti-Semitism now in circles that never thought of it before. This
news has affected us all very, very deeply. The cause of this hatred
of the Jews is understandable, even human sometimes, but not good. The
Christians blame the Jews for giving secrets away to the Germans, for
betraying their helpers and for the fact that, through the Jews a
great many Christians have gone the way of so many others before them,
and suffered terrible punishments and a dreadful fate. (Frank, Monday,
22 May, 1994)
Evidently, Anne had become aware of the many Christian martyrs down
through the ages. Could a girl of such faith have read or heard such
moving accounts without coming to faith in their Messiah? Given the
circumstances in which she found herself, did she identify with these
men and women and their trust? Had she read the passage in Revelation
20:4-6?
She either continues, unaware herself, because of tradition, that a
person can be Jewish and Christian, or she uses the term "Christian"
to represent the "Gentile" believers in "Jesus." The latter could very
well be the case, since she goes on to talk about the Dutch, as being
distinct from the Jews. After all, the Dutch, as a whole, were not
being made the victims of "ethnic cleansing," as the Jews were. Anne
seems to be using the terms "Jew" and "Christian" in a nationalistic
or racial sense:
This is all true, but one must always look at these things from both
sides. Would Christians behave differently in our place? The Germans
have a means of making people talk. Can a person, entirely at their
mercy, whether Jew or Christian, always remain silent? Everyone knows
that is practically impossible. Why, then, should people demand the
impossible of the Jews?
When one hears this one naturally wonders why we are carrying on with
this long and difficult war. We always hear that we're all fighting
together for freedom, truth, and right! Is discord going to show
itself while we are still fighting, is the Jew once again worth less
than another? Oh, it is sad, very sad, that once more, for the
umpteenth time, the old truth is confirmed: "What one Christian does
is his own responsibility, what one Jew does is thrown back at all
Jews." (Frank, Monday, 22 May, 1994)
Unfortunately, in this case, what "one Jew" has done, and was, can
only be thrown back at this one Jewess.
Still Anne Lauds the Dutch Christians
Quite honestly, I can't understand that the Dutch, who are such a
good, honest, upright people, should judge us like this, we, the most
oppressed, the unhappiest, perhaps the most pitiful of all peoples of
the whole world.
I hope one thing only, and that is that this hatred of the Jews will
be a passing thing, that the Dutch will show what they are after all,
and that they will never totter and lose their sense of right. For
anti-Semitism is unjust! (Frank, Monday, 22 May, 1994)
We read above of the fine example the Dutch Christians had offered. It
had taken its toll on Anne and her identity:
The "Crowning" Proof
Finally, we come to the crowning proof of Anne's belief in "Jesus the
Christ," the Messiah! She talks about her boyfriend, Peter Van Daan,
and bemoans his lack of faith, complaining about him and his spiritual
poverty:
... Poor boy, he's never known what it feels like to make other
people happy, and I can't teach him that either. He has no religion,
scoffs at Jesus Christ, and swears, using the name of God; although
I'm not orthodox either, it hurts me every time I see how deserted,
how scornful, and how poor he really is.
People who have a religion [as Anne does] should be glad, for not
everyone [Peter included] has the gift of believing in heavenly
things [thus implying that she does]. You don't necessarily even have
to be afraid of punishment after death; purgatory, hell, and heaven
are things that a lot of people can't accept, but still a religion,
[for an atheist] it doesn't matter which, keeps a person on the right
path. [For an atheist it] isn't the fear of God but the upholding of
one's honor and conscience. How noble and good everyone could be if,
every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their
minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been
good and bad. Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself
at the start of each new day; of course, you [can] achieve quite a lot
in the course of time. Anyone[, even an atheist,] can do this, it
costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. (Frank, Thursday, 6 July,
1944)
Of course, this is not Anne's way, for she prays to God, as we have
seen. Why doesn't Anne scoff at Jesus, as a Jew might? Because she
believes in Him! How did she come to find out that Peter scoffed at
Jesus? It was through her attempt to share Jesus with him! When a
person is newly converted to a faith in Jesus as the Son of God,
another person will be hard pressed to contain the first's testimony.
Furthermore, why would a Jew mention him at all? This is a question
to be mulled over, especially in light of the fact that the Jewish
anti-Christian polemicists consciously used a distorted form of his
name, one which was an acronym for the Hebrew insult, "Might his name
and remembrance be smudged out." (Stern, paraphrase of JNTC, pg. 5)
Anne's Spiritual Struggles
... It's twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground, and
maintain our opinions, in a time when all ideals are being shattered
and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and do not
know whether to believe in truth and right and God. (Frank, Saturday,
15 July, 1944)
Any wavering from her faith in Jesus as Messiah must be considered in
the light of the preceding confession.
Anne's Paul-like Duality
In closing, Anne reveals her own inner duality, the kind of duality
spoken about at length by the Apostle Paul. He writes: "I don't
comprehend my own conduct--I don't accomplish what I want to
accomplish; instead, I accomplish the thing I detest! If I am
accomplishing what I wish I could refrain from doing, I am assenting
that the Law is good. But now it is no longer 'the true me'
accomplishing it, but the sin that has made its home within me. For I
am well aware that there is not one thing good making its home within
me--i. e., within my former nature. I can desire that which is good;
however, I'm unable to accomplish it! For I do not accomplish the
good I want; instead, the badness that I don't desire is what I
accomplish! but if I am accomplishing what 'the true me' does not
desire, it is no longer 'the true me' accomplishing it but the sin
that has made its home within me. So it seems to be the established
reign, a kind of perverse 'law', that although I desire to accomplish
that which is good, badness is present alongside me! For within I
totally concur with God's Law; but in my many and diverse body parts,
I perceive a different 'law', one that wages war with the Law in my
thinking and constitutes me a prisoner of war of sin's 'law', which
is operating in my many and diverse body parts. What a pathetic
creature I am! Who is it that will liberate me from this moribund
body? Thanks be to God, he will!--through Jesus the Messiah our Lord!
"To summarize the preceding: with my thinking, I am an enslaved
prisoner of war of God's Law; but with my former nature, I am an
enslaved prisoner of war of sin's 'law'." (Romans 7:15-25,
paraphrase of JNT)
Now let's see how Anne's duality compares:
... Forgive me, they haven't given me the name "little bundle of
contradictions" all for nothing! (Frank, Friday, 21 July, 1944)
Dear Kitty,
"Little bundle of contradictions." That's how I ended my last letter
and that's how I'm going to begin this one. "A little bundle of
contradictions," can you tell me exactly what it is? What does
contradiction mean? Like so many words, it can mean two things,
contradiction from without and contradiction from within. . .
... I've already told you before that I have, as it were, a dual
personality. One half embodies my exuberant cheerfulness, making fun
of everything, my high-spiritedness, and above all, the way I take
everything lightly. This includes not taking offense at a flirtation,
a kiss, and embrace, a dirty joke. This side is usually lying in wait
and pushes away the other which is much better, deeper and purer. ...
... My lighter superficial side will always be too quick for the
deeper side of me and that's why it will always win. You can't imagine
how often I've already tried to push this Anne away, to cripple her,
to hide her because after all, she's only half of what's called Anne:
but it doesn't work and I know, too, why it doesn't work.
... I know exactly how I'd like to be, how I am too... inside. But,
alas, I'm only like that for myself. ... I am guided by the pure Anne
within, but outside I'm nothing but a frolicsome little goat who's
broken loose.
... I try terribly hard to change myself... I'm always fighting
against a more powerful enemy. A voice sobs within me: "There you
are, that's what's become of you: you're uncharitable, you look
supercilious and peevish, people dislike you and all because you
won't listen to the advice given you by your own better half." Oh I
would like to listen, but it doesn't work... the bad is on the
outside and the good is on the inside and [I] keep on trying to find
a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and what I could be, if
... there weren't any other people in the world." (Frank, Tuesday, 1
August, 1944)
Without a doubt, Anne could have become that, if certain other people
didn't live in her world, still we wonder if she did not become more
in her death than she could ever have been in her life. If her faith
in Jesus as the Messiah was true and genuine, as her own private
writings lead us to believe, then she will inevitably become more in
her life; meanwhile, she lives through her words, just as she had
hoped, though now more so.
As concerns Anne's two selves, one thing is possible, and it is that
Anne's duality was aggravated by an artificially induced Multiple
Identity Disorder. If Catholicism would have left the ancient Jewish
believers in Jesus alone, and permitted them to continue keeping the
Torah (in total harmony with the scriptures), never pushing this
doctrine that a Jew who becomes a Christian is no longer a Jew, then
Judaism would have never followed suit by pushing this teaching for
the protection of their own community's identity. The end result
would have been that Anne would not have been so confused about who
she was. She would not have been a "little bundle of contradictions."
Judaism Faces a Decision
And now, though Judaism may choose to "put away" this cherished but
"heretical" martyr of theirs by getting a "get," the community of
those who trust in the Heavenly Father and His Son, Y'shua the
Anointed One, can add another martyr to the Family of God. As all
martyrs do, she suffered and/or died having given a "good witness."
This "witness" is her diary. It is clear that Anne Frank was a real
believer in Jesus, "despite" the fact that she was (and still is) a
part of the Jewish Community. Anne, who was in the face of death
every day, grabbed hold of hope. Because of her faith in God's
Anointed One, the Mashiach, she was covered in His blood, thus making
her something quite rare!
The only remaining questions that need be asked now are: "Why does
the Jewish Community still treat this girl as a martyr who has
sanctified the Name of God (al Kiddush HaShem), when current Jewish
opinion would hold her to be an apostate, and no longer a Jew? Could
it be that a Jewish girl who begins to trust in a Jewish Messiah, as
the Son of God, is still a Jew? Is Anne Frank's Diary a divinely
given proof text that Jewish Christians and Messianic Jews are still
Jews?
Bibliography
exeGeses Ready Research Bible. Iowa Falls: World Bible. 1993.
Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. tr. B. M. Mooyart
New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972.
New Jerusalem Bible. Westminster: Bantam Doubleday Dell. 1990.
New Revised Standard Version Bible. New York: Div. Chr. Edu. of Nat.
Counc. Ch. Chr. 1989.
Revised English Bible. Oxford: Oxford University. 1989.
Stern, David. Jewish New Testament. Jerusalem: Jewish New Testament.
1991.
Stern, David. Jewish New Testament Commentary. Jerusalem: Jewish New
Testament. 1992.
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copyright 1996 The Ekklesia of Elohim in Cocoa
Express permission to reproduce the text of this article is granted
as long as the original meaning of the author's words is not altered
and authorship is attributed to Beaufort Clifton Addison III.
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