Christianity and antisemitism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since February 2007. |
 |
This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. It may be using the words or ideas of other publications in its text, without citing the source(s) of the information. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. This article has been tagged since February 2007. (help) |
The relationship between Christianity and antisemitism has a long history. Anti-Jewish sentiments have been expressed by many Christians over the last 2,000 years, but many other Christians, increasingly in recent years, have condemned these sentiments.
[edit] Early origins
|
There have been philosophical differences between Christianity and Rabbinical Judaism since the outset. Debates between the Early Christians - who at first understood themselves as a movement within Judaism, not as a separate religion - and other Jews initially revolved around the question whether Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah or not, which also encompassed the issue of his divinity. Once gentiles were converted to Christianity, the question arose whether and how far these Gentile Christians were obliged to follow Jewish law in order to follow Jesus (see Paul's Letter to the Galatians). It was decided that gentiles did not have to follow Jewish law (see Antinomianism, Old Testament#Christian view of the Law), but Paul also questioned the validity of Jewish Christian's adherence to the Jewish law in relation to faith in Christ, see also Law and Gospel and Pauline Christianity.
The increase of the numbers of Gentile Christians in comparison to Jewish Christians eventually resulted in a rift between Christianity and Judaism, which was further increased by the Jewish-Roman wars (66–73 and 132–135) that drove Jews into the diaspora and further diminished Jewish Christians.
Also, the two religions differed in their legal status in the Roman Empire: Judaism, restricted to the Jewish people and Jewish Proselytes, was exempt from obligation to the Roman state religion and since the reign of Julius Caesar enjoyed the status of a "licit religion". Christianity however was not restricted to one people and as Jewish Christians were excluded from the synagogue, see Council of Jamnia, they also lost the protection of the status of Judaism. Since the reign of Nero Christianity was considered to be illegal and Christians were frequently subjected to persecution, differing regionally. In the third century systematic persecution of Christians began and lasted until Constantine's conversion to Christianity. In 390 Theodosius I made Christianity the new state religion. While pagan cults and Manichaeism were suppressed, Judaism retained its legal status as a licit religion, though anti-Jewish violence still occurred. In the fifth century, some legal measures worsened the status of the Jews in the Roman Empire.
[edit] Assimilation
The assimilation of Jews into majority non-Jewish culture is perhaps the single issue where Christians and Jews differ most sharply. The conversion of a Jewish born person to Christianity may be seen by Jews as a scourge ("silent Holocaust") and by some Christians as a "blessing from God" for the salvation of a non-Christian for their conversion to Christianity.
[edit] Anti-Judaism
Perhaps best described as "religious anti-Semitism", anti-Judaism is a manifestation of a religious hostility toward Judaism, based in Christian religious doctrine. Some scholars of Jewish-Christian relations distinguish anti-Judaism from anti-Semitism, regarding the latter as opposition based solely on racial and ethnic considerations.
Although some Christians have considered anti-Judaism contrary to Christian teaching, it has historically been expressed by Christian leaders and laypersons. In many cases, the practical tolerance towards the Jewish religion and Jews prevailed. Some Christian groups, particularly in recent years, have condemned verbal Anti-Judaism.
This article begins by describing passages in the New Testament that some feel are anti-Judaist, as well as anti-Judaist statements and acts by the Church Fathers. It goes on to discuss developments in the 20th century, both promoting and opposing anti-Semitism.
During the past 1800 years, many Christians have had anti-Jewish attitudes. Some historians and many Jews hold that for most of its history, most of Christianity was openly anti-Semitic and that the severity, type and extent of this anti-Semitism have varied much over time; the earliest form was theological anti-Judaism.
Some apparently anti-Jewish ideas present among Christians are not a result of specific anti-Jewish Biblical ideals, but instead a manifestation of Christian rejection of other religions as alternative ways to God. In this sense, Christianity owes a debt of gratitude for the past, yet asserts that the time of Judaism is past, therefore invalidating Judaism as a viable means of salvation.
William Nicholls wrote in his book Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate:
"...the very presence of the Jewish people in the world, continuing to believe in the faithfulness of God to the original covenant ... puts a great question against Christian belief in a new covenant made through Christ. The presence of this question, often buried deep in the Christian mind, could not fail to cause profound and gnawing anxiety. Anxiety usually leads to hostility."[1]
[edit] Anti-Semitism and the New Testament
 |
Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
|
This section does not cite its references or sources. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) This article has been tagged since February 2007. |
Some Jews consider certain passages of the New Testament, especially those blaming Jews for Jesus' execution and those suggesting that Christianity supersedes Judaism, as anti-Semitic.[citation needed] A number of elements of the New Testament may be considered anti-Semitic given a certain interpretive approach. Among them are:
- the explication of the Jewish role in the Passion of Jesus. This is exemplified by I Thessalonians 2:14-15:
- For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judea; for you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all men.
- the assertion that the Jewish covenant with God has been superseded by a New Covenant.
- criticisms of the Pharisees.
- criticisms of Jewish parochialism or particularism.
These elements of the New Testament have their origins in first-century history. Christianity began as a revision of Judaism. Many of Jesus's followers during his life were Jews, and it was even a matter of confusion, many years after his death, as to whether non-Jews could even be considered Christians at all, according to the way some interpret the Council of Jerusalem. There is some debate about whether Jesus was the son of God or a charlatan. (See for example the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 5, verses 17-19, and Chapter 16, verse 18., Expounding of the Law)
Although the Gospels offer accounts of confrontations and debates between Jesus and other Jews, such conflicts were common among Jews at the time. Scholars disagree on the historicity of the Gospels, and have offered different interpretations of the complex relationship between Jewish authorities and Christians before and following Jesus's death. These debates hinge on the meaning of the word "messiah," and the claims of Early Christians.
The Gospels make several claims about Jesus: that he was a preacher, faith healer, messiah. The first two claims describe roles popular in first century Judea; were Jesus principally a preacher and healer, there is no reason to think he would have come into conflict with Jewish authorities. The claim that he was the messiah, however, is more controversial. The Hebrew word mashiyakh (משיח) typically signified "king" — a man, chosen by God or descended from a man chosen by God, to serve as a civil and military authority. If Jesus made this claim during his life, it is not surprising that many Jews, weary of Roman occupation, would have supported him as a liberator. It is also likely that Jewish authorities would have been cautious, out of fear of Roman reprisal.
Jesus was considered by Christians to be the Messiah, while for most Jews the death of Jesus would have been sufficient proof that he was not the Messiah. If early Christians preached that Jesus was about to return, it is virtually certain that Jewish authorities would have opposed them out of fear of Roman reprisal.
Such fears would have been well grounded: Jews revolted against the Romans in 66 CE, which culminated with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. They revolted again under the leadership of the professed messiah Simon Bar Kokhba in 132 CE, which culminated in the expulsion of the Jews from the Land of Israel, which Hadrian renamed into Palestine to wipe out memory of Jews there.
At the time, Christianity was still considered a sect of Judaism, but the messianic claims alienated many Christians (including Jewish converts) and sharply deepened the schism.
Another source of tension between early Christians and Jews was the question of observance of Jewish law. Early Christians were divided over this issue: Some Jewish Christians, among which were converts from the party of the Pharisees, believed that Christians had to be Jews and observe Jewish law, while Paul argued that Christians did not have to observe all of Jewish law, and did not have to be circumcised, which was a requirement for male Jews. The issue was settled in the Council of Jerusalem, in which Paul and Barnabas participated as representatives of the church at Antioch. The Council decided that they would not subject Gentile converts to the complete Law of Moses nor circumcision, but ordered them to stay away from eating meat with blood still on it, eating the meat of strangled animals, eating food offered to idols, and sexual immorality. See also Noahide Law and Proselyte.
Some scholars (influenced by Martin Luther) have interpreted Paul's writings as rejecting the validity of Jewish law, see Antinomianism. A small number of historians suggest that Paul accepted the authority of the law, but understood that it excluded non-Jews. This is not a generally accepted view. See Proselyte and New Perspective on Paul.
A common misunderstanding of Judaism and the Bible is the claim that although Gentiles could convert to Judaism and thus be included, they could enter this covenant with God only by being Jewish. This is simply incorrect, see Proselyte, Noahide Law, Council of Jerusalem, and Judaism and Christianity. Some say that by replacing the written law (the Torah) with Christ as the sign of the covenant, Paul sought to transform Judaism into a universal religion. It is evident that Paul saw himself as a Jew, but other Jews rejected this universalism; after Paul's death, Christianity emerged as a separate religion, and Pauline Christianity emerged as the dominant form of Christianity, especially after Paul, James and the other apostles agreed on a compromise set of requirements (Acts 15). Some Christians continued to adhere to Jewish law, but they were few in number and often considered heretics by the Church. One example is the Ebionites, which, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, were "infected with Judaistic errors" (language which Jews find offensive); for instance, they denied the virgin birth of Jesus, the physical Resurrection of Jesus, and most of the books that were later canonized as the New Testament, see also Judaizers. For example, the Ethiopian Orthodox are often accused of being Judaizers because they still observe Old Testament teachings such as the Sabbath, and conversely they accuse their opponents of residual Marcionism. See also Cafeteria Christianity.
Many New Testament passages criticise the Pharisees; it has been argued that these passages have shaped the way that Christians have viewed Jews. Like most Bible passages, however, they can and have been interpreted in a variety of ways.
During Jesus's life and at the time of his execution, the Pharisees were only one of several Jewish groups such as the Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes; indeed, some have suggested that Jesus was himself a Pharisee. Arguments by Jesus and his disciples against the Pharisees and what he saw as their hypocrisy were most likely examples of disputes among Jews and internal to Judaism that were common at the time. (Lutheran Pastor John Stendahl has pointed out that "Christianity begins as a kind of Judaism, and we must recognize that words spoken in a family conflict are inappropriately appropriated by those outside the family.")
After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, however, the Pharisees emerged as the principal form of Judaism (also called "Rabbinic Judaism"). All major modern Jewish movements consider themselves descendants of Pharasaic Judaism; as such, Jews are especially sensitive to criticisms of "Pharisees" as a group.
At the same time that the Pharisees came to represent Judaism as a whole, Christianity came to seek, and attract, more non-Jewish converts than Jewish converts. Within a hundred years or so the majority of Christians were non-Jews without any significant knowledge of Judaism (although until about 1000, there was an active Jewish component of Christianity). Many of these Christians often read these passages not as internal debates among Jews but as the basis for a Christian rejection of Judaism.
Moreover, it was only during the Rabbinic era that Christianity would compete exclusively with Pharisees for converts and over how to interpret the Hebrew Bible (during Jesus's lifetime, the Sadducees were the dominant Jewish faction). Some scholars have argued that some passages of the Gospels were written (or re-written) at this time to emphasize conflict with the Pharisees. These scholars observe that the portrait of the Pharisees in the Gospels is strikingly different from that provided in Rabbinic sources, and suggest that New Testament Pharisees are a caricature and literary foil for Christianity. At a time when Christians were only seeking converts, and had no political power in the Roman Empire and were in fact persecuted extensively, such a caricature may not have been in any meaningful sense "anti-Judaist." But once Christianity was established as the religion of the Empire, and Christians enjoyed political domination over Europe, this caricature could be used to incite or justify oppression of Jews.
Some have also suggested that the Greek word Ioudaioi could also be translated "Judaeans", meaning in some cases specifically the Jews from Judaea, as opposed to people from Galilee or Samaria for instance.[citation needed]
In recent years teachers in a few Christian denominations have begun to teach that readers should understand the New Testament's seeming attacks on Jews as specific charges aimed at certain Jewish leaders of that time, and upon attitudes displayed by many, inside and outside Judaism.[citation needed]
However, Professor Lillian C. Freudmann, author of Antisemitism in the New Testament (University Press of America, 1994) has published a detailed study of the treatment of Jews in the New Testament, and the historical effects that such passages have had in the Christian community throughout history. Similar studies of such verses have been made by both Christian and Jewish scholars, including, Professors Clark Williamsom (Christian Theological Seminary), Hyam Maccoby (The Leo Baeck Institute), Norman A. Beck (Texas Lutheran College), and Michael Berenbaum (Georgetown University). Most rabbis feel that these verses are anti-Semitic, and many liberal Christian scholars (including clergy), in America and Europe, have reached the same conclusion.
[edit] The Church Fathers
The following statements have been used to justify persecution of Jews. Many of the following people were recognized as saints by the Church; none of them advocated physical violence or murder, sometimes arguing, like Augustine, that the Jews should be left alive and suffering as a perpetual reminder of their murder of Christ.
- Eusebius of Caesarea, in 325, blames the calamities which befell the Jewish nation on the Jews' role in the death of Jesus: "that from that time seditions and wars and mischievous plots followed each other in quick succession, and never ceased in the city and in all Judea until finally the siege of Vespasian overwhelmed them. Thus the divine vengeance overtook the Jews for the crimes which they dared to commit against Christ."[2]
- Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (340-397) - A bishop was accused of instigating the burning of a synagogue by an anti-Semitic mob, and Emperor Theodosius was preparing to order the bishop to rebuild it. Ambrose discouraged the Emperor from taking this step because it would appear to show special favoritism to the Jews: (1) no action was taken against those responsible for burning the houses of various wealthy individuals in Rome; (2) no action was taken against those responsible for the recent burning of the house of the Bishop of Constantinople; (3) Jews had caused several Christian basilicas to be burnt during the reign of Julian, yet had never been asked to make reparation, and some of those basilicas were still not rebuilt. Ambrose asked that Christian monies not be used to build a place of worship for unbelievers, heretics or Jews, and reminded Ambrose that some Christian laity had said of Emperor Maximus, "he has become a Jew" because of the edict Maximus issued regarding the burning of a Roman synagogue. Ambrose did not oppose punishing those directly responsible for burning the synagogue. He halted the celebration of the Eucharist until Theodosius agreed to end the investigation without requiring reparations to be made by the bishop.[3]
- Augustine of Hippo in Book 18, Chapter 46, of The City of God wrote "The Jews who slew Him [Jesus], and would not believe in Him, because it behoved Him to die and rise again, were yet more miserably wasted by the Romans, and utterly rooted out from their kingdom, where aliens had already ruled over them, and were dispersed through the lands (so that indeed there is no place where they are not), and are thus by their own Scriptures a testimony to us that we have not forged the prophecies about Christ."[4]
- Augustine deems the survival and the scattering of the Jews as willed by God for them to give testimony everywhere that the prophecies that Christians interpret as proving that Jesus is the Messiah are no Christian invention, being preserved also by what he calls the Church's enemies, the Jews. Thus, he says, the survival and scattering of the Jews fulfils the prophecy: "My God hath shown me concerning mine enemies, that Thou shalt not slay them, lest they should at last forget Thy law: disperse them in Thy might."
- Ephraim the Syrian wrote polemics against Jews in the fourth century, including the repeated accusation that Satan dwells among them as a partner. These writings were directed at Christians who were being proselytized by Jews and who Ephraim feared were slipping back into the religion of Judaism; thus he portrayed the Jews as enemies of Christianity, like Satan, to emphasize the contrast between the two religions, namely, that Christianity was Godly and true and Judaism was Satanic and false. Like John Chrysostom, his objective was to dissuade Christians from reverting to Judaism by emphasizing what he saw as the wickedness of the Jews and their religion.[5][6]
- In his Dialog of Justin, Philosopher and Martyr, with Trypho, a Jew, the Christian scholar Justin Martyr advanced arguments for the truth of Christianity and wrote to his imaginary Jewish opponent: "You think that these words refer to the stranger and the proselytes, but in fact they refer to us who have been illumined by Jesus. For Christ would have borne witness even to them; but now you are become twofold more the children of Hell, as He said Himself."[7]
- Saint Jerome (374-419) - He denounced Jews as "Judaic serpents of whom Judas was the model". In his The Jews in the Roman Empire (Les Juifs dan L'Empire Romain) [Is this really a work by Jerome, or a modern history?] he wrote: "The Jews seek nothing but to have children, possess riches and be healthy. They seek all earthly things, but think nothing of heavenly things; for this reason they are mercenaries."
- Saint John Chrysostom (c. 344 - 407) - wrote of the Jews and of Judaizers in eight homilies Adversus Judaeos, Against The Jews (or Against the Judaizers).[8]
- "Shall I tell you of their plundering, their covetousness, their abandonment of the poor, their thefts, their cheating in trade? the whole day long will not be enough to give you an account of these things. But do their festivals have something solemn and great about them? They have shown that these, too, are impure." (Homily I, VII, 1)
- "But before I draw up my battle line against the Jews, I will be glad to talk to those who are members of our own body, those who seem to belong to our ranks although they observe the Jewish rites and make every effort to defend them. Because they do this, as I see it, they deserve a stronger condemnation than any Jew." (HOMILY IV, II, 4)
- "Are you Jews still disputing the question? Do you not see that you are condemned by the testimony of what Christ and the prophets predicted and which the facts have proved? But why should this surprise me? That is the kind of people you are. From the beginning you have been shameless and obstinate, ready to fight at all times against obvious facts." (HOMILY V, XII, 1)
- Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-533) - In his "Writings", written about 510 CE, he states "Hold most firmly and doubt not that not all the pagans, but also all the Jews, heretic and schismatics who depart from the present life outside the Catholic Church, are about to go into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (See also: Extra ecclesiam nulla salus.)
[edit] The Emperor Constantine the Great
- Constantine the Great, who is considered a Saint by the Greek Orthodox Church, instituted several legislative measures concerning the Jews and all other religions excepting Christianity: Non-Christians were forbidden to own Christian slaves or to circumcise their slaves. Conversion of Christians to Judaism or other religions was outlawed. Congregations for Jewish religious services were restricted but had elevated status over pagan religions. Constantine also supported the separation of the date of Easter from the Jewish Passover (see also Quartodecimanism), stating in his letter after the First Council of Nicaea:
"... it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul. ... Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Saviour a different way."[9]
Theodoret's Ecclesiastical History records The Epistle of the Emperor Constantine, concerning the matters transacted at the Council, addressed to those Bishops who were not present:
"It was, in the first place, declared improper to follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this holy festival, because, their hands having been stained with crime, the minds of these wretched men are necessarily blinded. ... Let us, then, have nothing in common with the Jews, who are our adversaries. ... Let us ... studiously avoiding all contact with that evil way. ... For how can they entertain right views on any point who, after having compassed the death of the Lord, being out of their minds, are guided not by sound reason, but by an unrestrained passion, wherever their innate madness carries them. ... lest your pure minds should appear to share in the customs of a people so utterly depraved. ... Therefore, this irregularity must be corrected, in order that we may no more have any thing in common with those parricides and the murderers of our Lord. ... no single point in common with the perjury of the Jews."[10]
[edit] The Emperor Leo I
The Byzantine Emperor Leo I compiled a code of law, called the New Constitutions of Leo, Constitution LV: "Jews shall live in accordance with the rites of Christianity. Those who formerly were invested with Imperial authority promulgated various laws with reference to the Hebrew people, who, once nourished by Divine protection, became renowned, but are now remarkable for the calamities inflicted upon them because of their contumacy towards Christ and God; and these laws, while regulating their mode of life, compelled them to read the Holy Scriptures, and ordered them not to depart from the ceremonies of their worship. They also provided that their children should adhere to their religion, being obliged to do so as well by the ties of blood, as on account of the institution of circumcision. These are the laws which I have already stated were formerly enforced throughout the Empire. But the Most Holy Sovereign from whom We are descended, more concerned than his predecessors for the salvation of the Jews, instead of allowing them (as they did) to obey only their ancient laws, attempted, by the interpretation of prophesies and the conclusions which he drew from them, to convert them to the Christian religion, by means of the vivifying water of baptism. He fully succeeded in his attempts to transform them into new men, according to the doctrine of Christ, and induced them to denounce their ancient doctrines and abandon their religious ceremonies, such as circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath, and all their other rites. But although he, to a certain extent, overcame the obstinacy of the Jews, he was unable to force them to abolish the laws which permitted them to live in accordance with their ancient customs. Therefore We, desiring to accomplish what Our Father failed to effect, do hereby annul all the old laws enacted with reference to the Hebrews, and We order that they shall not dare to live in any other manner than in accordance with the rules established by the pure and salutary Christian Faith. And if anyone of them should be proved to have neglected to observe the ceremonies of the Christian religion, and to have returned to his former practices, he shall pay the penalty prescribed by the law for apostates."[11]
[edit] Later Christian writers
- Thomas of Monmouth, a monk in the Norwich Benedictine monastery, wrote in 1173 a detailed anti-Semitic tractate, called The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich, holding that Jews tortured to death a Christian child during Passover.[12]
- Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), not imposing, he said, his own judgment but rather urging the judgment of the experts, declared that, "as the laws say, the Jews by reason of their fault are sentenced to perpetual servitude and thus the lords of the lands in which they dwell may take things from them as though they were their own — with, nonetheless, this restraint observed that the necessary subsidies of life in no way be taken from them."[13]
- Geoffrey Chaucer (1343?-1400) wrote in "The Prioress's Tale" of his Canterbury Tales of a devout little Christian child who was murdered by Jews affronted at his singing a hymn as he passed through the Jewry, or Jewish quarter, of a city in Asia:
|
|
- However, it should be noted that a considerable body of critical and scholarly opinion holds that this speech, in the mouth of the Prioress, represents an ironic inversion of Chaucer's own sentiments: that is, the Prioress is seen as a hypocrite whose cruelty and bigotry belies her conventionally pious pose — a situation typical of the indeterminacy of Chaucer's intentions.
- Martin Luther, founder of Lutheranism, a Christian denomination, at first made overtures towards the Jews, believing that the "evils" of Catholicism had prevented their conversion to Christianity. When his call to convert to his version of Christianity was unsuccessful, he became hostile to them wrote in his book On the Jews and their Lies, that they were "venomous beasts, vipers, disgusting scum, canders, devils incarnate. Their private houses must be destroyed and devastated, they could be lodged in stables. Let the magistrates burn their synagogues and let whatever escapes be covered with sand and mud. Let them force to work, and if this avails nothing, we will be compelled to expel them like dogs in order not to expose ourselves to incurring divine wrath and eternal damnation from the Jews and their lies."[citation needed] It is to be noted that the many Lutheran churches and councils across the world have disassociated themselves from these statements. (See Martin Luther and the Jews and On the Jews and Their Lies)
- Pope Clement VIII (1536-1605). "All the world suffers from the usury of the Jews, their monopolies and deceit. They have brought many unfortunate people into a state of poverty, especially the farmers, working class people and the very poor. Then, as now, Jews have to be reminded intermittently that they were enjoying rights in any country since they left Palestine and the Arabian desert, and subsequently their ethical and moral doctrines as well as their deeds rightly deserve to be exposed to criticism in whatever country they happen to live."
[edit] The Jews' expulsion from England
Edward I of England expelled all the Jews from England in 1290 (only after ransoming some 3,000 among the most wealthy of them), on the accusation of usury and undermining loyalty to the dynasty.
[edit] The Jews' expulsion from Spain
In 1481, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, the rulers of Spain who financed Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World just a few years later in 1492, declared that all Jews in their territories should either convert to Catholicism or leave the country. While some converted, many others left for Portugal, France, Italy (including the Papal States), Holland, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, and North Africa. Many of those who had fled to Portugal (where, by then they constituted an estimated 1/3 of the population), were forcibly converted in 1496 rather than face martyrdom (exile was not offered as a third option as it had been in Spain 6 years earlier). Some sources claim that between four and eight thousand Jews who had formally converted, were burnt alive by the Inquisition in Spain based on the accusation that they were still secretly practicing Judaism. It is arguable whether this constitutes anti-Semitism in the racist sense, since it was directed at recent (though forced) converts from Judaism.
[edit] Christian anti-Semitism in India
[edit] Goa Inquisition
The Goan Inquisition was established in India in the year 1552 as per the suggestion by Christian missionary St. Francis Xavier. The inquisition persecuted many Indian communities of Hindus and Muslims, as well as the large population of Jews in the Konkan region. They were accused of "crimes" of different kinds, such as blasphemies, impiety, sodomy, necromancy and witchcraft. Participation in “superstitious assemblies” (Jewish Shabbats) were enough to cause a victim to be burnt at the stake. If he confessed at the last moment, and was "truly sorry", he would be condemned to the garrote for capital punishment, and then burnt. Otherwise he would be burnt alive. The Goa Inquisition resulted in a massive depopulation of Indian Jewry in that region of the country by Christians.[15]
[edit] Persecution by the Portuguese
The Jewish presence in the South Indian state of Kerala has been small but representative. The Portuguese massacre of South Indian Jewry in the 16th century led to a significant decline in Jewish settlements in the region. Eventually, they sought refuge with the Hindu King of Cochin. In a letter written by the Portuguese to their king in 1513 permission is sought for their extermination. The Portuguese destroyed the remnants of the Jewish population in Kodungallore. They also destroyed the Jewish settlement in Cochin and damaged the Jewish synagogue there as well as their historical documents.
In AD 1662 the Dutch attacked Cochin but were driven out. The Jews were severely punished by the Portuguese for allegedly aiding the Dutch. In AD 1663 the Dutch returned and defeated the Portuguese. The Jews were treated more tolerantly by the Dutch rulers. The Cochin Jews reestablished their links with European Jews. In 1687 a Jewish delegation from Amsterdam arrived under the leadership of Mr. Thomas Perera. His report published in 1687 under the name "NOTSIAS DOS JUDEOS DE COCHIM " details the history of Cochin Jews.[16]
[edit] Christians in Nazi Germany
[edit] Collaborating Christians
See:
- Gleichschaltung;
- German Christians;
- Protestant Reich Church;
- Hanns Kerrl, Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs
- Hitler's Pope
- Positive Christianity (the approved Nazi version of Christianity)
[edit] Opposition to the Holocaust
The Confessing Church was, in 1934, the first Christian opposition group. The Catholic Church officially condemned the Nazi theory of racism in Germany in 1937 with the Encyclical "Mit Brennender Sorge", signed by Pope Pius XI, and Michael Cardinal von Faulhaber led the Catholic opposition, preaching against racism. However, there was not enough organized resistance by Christian groups to prevent the Nazis' anti-Semitic policies.
Many individual Christian clergy and laypeople of all denominations had to pay for their opposition with their life, including:
- Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- the Catholic parson of Berlin Cathedral, Bernhard Lichtenberg.
- the mostly Catholic members of the Munich resistance group White Rose around Hans and Sophie Scholl.
By the 1940s, fewer Christians were willing to oppose Nazi policy publicly, but many secretly helped save the lives of Jews. There are many sections of Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Museum, Yad VaShem, dedicated to honoring these "Righteous Among the Nations". See also: Christian opposition to anti-Semitism#Pius XII
[edit] Reasons that anti-Semitism continued
The isolation of Jews as a special case may be a partial cause of both beneficial and detrimental special treatment of the Jews. This special case treatment can be seen from very early times, into the present in both politics and religion.
A classical Christian principle is that all people must know God as revealed through Jesus, as that is the only way that anyone can avoid damnnation and gain eternal life in Heaven. To the service of this religious motive, Christian rulers applied the same tools of the Roman empire. Many Christian rulers argued that those who take away the possibility of eternal life should be prevented by force, especially apostates from the Christian faith or those who drew converts away from the Church, since this would be worse than murder or any purely temporal evil. Therefore, at times, no public displays of any non-Christian religion were allowed, and proselytizing to convert people away from Christianity was also forbidden: sometimes purely for reason of Empire, sometimes more directly arising from the power and authority of the Church.
A special case had always been reserved for the Jewish religion. Christians have believed that the Jewish practices were prefigures of the Christian ones, and that they may not be forcibly stopped (although Christians never ceased from attempting to convert Jews). This singling out of Jews had the negative side-effect of isolating Jews into a special class, as a group excluded from the general rule.
For example, Christian law forbade Christians to lend money and reclaim it with interest; Jewish law likewise had the same restrictions, but it only applied to other Jews. Therefore, Jews could become lenders and claim interest from European Christians. Jews naturally played an important role in the economies of the Middle Ages. On many occasions,[citation needed] when their high-powered debtors decided they did not want to pay back their debts, they relied on the "Christ's murderers" tradition to expel the Jews and default on their obligations. To many, this would appear to be a case of misuse of Scripture and tradition to justify actions that would otherwise be condemned.
An almost automatic respect is often accorded to a Jewish convert to Christianity, which goes hand in hand with a special contempt for Jewish apostasy from Christianity. Especially strong fascination with Jews and Judaism, both positive and negative, has typified Christianity from the beginning. No family lineage has the significance to Christianity that belongs to every Jew, simply by being born Jewish. Special interest in their history and religion has occasionally produced among Christians a special interest in winning their conversion; the dark side of which, is that an especially virulent disdain has been reserved for ethnically Jewish converts to Christianity who practice Judaism after conversion to Christianity, or revert to Judaism. The logical assumption that Jews should understand Jesus better than anyone makes Jewish rejection of Christian claims felt with unique disappointment, sometimes erupting into hatred and violence toward them, for reasons that would not even remotely apply to any other ethnic group. This has been the important cause of Christian anti-semitism for centuries, and especially during the Inquisition.
As any other religion, Christianity is transmitted through the voices of humans. The shape of anti-Semitism in the Christian world has changed so much according to place and time that, on nearly anyone's account, it is unfair to say Christians per se have taught anti-Semitism or even lived by it. It should also be noted that anti-Semitism never was part of Christian doctrine, even long before the Second Vatican Council denounced it. Already in the 16th century the Catechism of the Council of Trent, promulgated by Pope Pius V, rejected the notion, that present-day Jews bore personal guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It stressed, that the Christian elect bore even more guilt as to the crucifixion at Calvary, because of their sins, committed even though knowing Jesus Christ and His commandments, while the Jews who crucified Jesus by the hands of the Roman soldiers would not have done so, if they had known Him. Likewise many Popes, while criticizing doctrines of post-Temple Judaism (Talmud, Kabbalah) fiercely, commanded, that Jews should not be harmed, but were to be allowed to live peacefully among Christians, so they would eventually come to see the light of the Messiah, whom they still rejected.
[edit] 19th- and 20th-century Christian anti-Semitism
 |
Please help improve this article by expanding this section. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. Please remove this message once the section has been expanded. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
In the Papal States, which existed until 1870, Jews were required to live only in specified neighborhoods called ghettos. Until the 1840s, they were required to regularly attend sermons urging their conversion to Christianity. Only Jews were taxed to support state boarding schools for Jewish converts to Christianity. It was illegal to convert from Christianity to Judaism. Sometimes Jews were baptized involuntarily, and, even when such baptisms were illegal, forced to practice the Christian religion. In many such cases the state separated them from their families. See Edgardo Mortara for an account of one of the most widely publicized instances of acrimony between Catholics and Jews in the Papal States in the second half of the 19th century.
In the 19th and (before the end of the second World War) 20th centuries, the Roman Catholic Church adhered to a distinction between "good anti-Semitism" and "bad anti-Semitism". The "bad" kind promoted hatred of Jews because of their descent. This was considered un-Christian because the Christian message was intended for all of humanity regardless of ethnicity; anyone could become a Christian. The "good" kind criticized alleged Jewish conspiracies to control newspapers, banks, and other institutions, to care only about accumulation of wealth, etc. Many Catholic bishops wrote articles criticizing Jews on such grounds, and, when accused of promoting hatred of Jews, would remind people that they condemned the "bad" kind of anti-Semitism. A detailed account is found in historian David Kertzer's book The Popes Against the Jews.
However, many scholars dispute Kertzer's findings. Jose Sanchez, history professor at St. Louis University criticized Kertzer's work as polemical and exaggerating the papacy's role in anti-Semitism.[17] Scholar of Jewish-Christian relations Rabbi David G. Dalin criticized Kertzer[18] for selectively using evidence. Ronald J. Rychlak, lawyer and author of Hitler, the War, and the Pope , also decried Kertzer's work for omitting strong evidence that the Church was not anti-Semitic.[19]
According to American historian Lucy Dawidowicz, Anti-Semitism has a long history within Christianity. The line of "anti-Semitic descent" from Luther, the author of On the Jews and Their Lies, to Hitler is "easy to draw." In her The War Against the Jews, 1933-1945, she writes that Luther and Hitler were obsessed by the "demonologized universe" inhabited by Jews. Dawidowicz writes that the similarities between Luther's anti-Jewish writings and modern anti-Semitism are no coincidence, because they derived from a common history of Judenhass, which can be traced to Haman's advice to Ahasuerus. Although modern German anti-Semitism also has its roots in German nationalism , Christian anti-Semitism is a foundation she says was laid by the Roman Catholic Church and "upon which Luther built." [20]
[edit] The "White Power" movement
The Christian Identity movement, the Ku Klux Klan and other White supremacy groups have expressed anti-Semitic views. They claim that their anti-Semitism is based on purported Jewish control of the media,[21] international banks, radical left wing politics, and the promotion of multiculturalism, anti-Christian groups, liberalism and perverse organizations. They rebuke charges of racism and claim Jews who share their ideology maintain membership in their organizations. A racial belief common among these groups, but not universal, is an alternative history doctrine, sometimes called British Israelism. In some forms this doctrine absolutely denies that modern Jews have any racial connection to Israel of the Bible. Instead, according to extreme forms of this doctrine, the true racial Israel and true humans, are the Adamic (white) race.
[edit] Anti-Semitism in modern-day nations
Anti-Semitism in Europe remains a substantial problem. The entry on Religious freedom in Poland discusses the current state of religious tensions in predominantly Catholic Poland. Anti-Semitism exists to a lesser or greater degree in many other nations as well, including Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the occasional tensions between some Muslim immigrants and Jews across Europe. Some European nations have singled out Jewish dietary practices for regulation; at least five nations have banned the production of kosher meat. The US State Department reports that anti-Semitism has increased dramatically in Europe and Eurasia since 2000.[22]
While in a decline since the 1940s, there is still a measurable amount of anti-Semitism in the United States of America as well, although acts of violence are rare. The 2001 survey by the Anti-Defamation League reported 1432 acts of anti-Semitism in the United States that year. The figure included 877 acts of harassment, including verbal intimidation, threats and physical assaults.[23]
[edit] Current attempts to convert Jews to Christianity
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant Christian denomination in the U.S., has explicitly rejected suggestions that it should back away from seeking to convert Jews, a position that critics have called anti-Semitic but that Baptists see as consistent with their view that salvation is found solely through faith in Christ. In 1996, the SBC approved a resolution calling for efforts to seek the conversion of Jews "as well as for the salvation of 'every kindred and tongue and people and nation.'"
Most Evangelicals agree with the SBC position, and some have similarly been supporting efforts specifically seeking Jews' conversion. At the same time these groups are among the most pro-Israeli groups. (For more, see Christian Zionism.) Among the controversial groups that has found support from some Evangelical churches is Jews for Jesus, which claims that Jews can "complete" their Jewish faith by accepting Jesus as the Messiah.
By contrast, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Canada have ended their efforts to convert Jews.
The Roman Catholic Church formerly had religious congregations specifically aimed to conversion of Jews. Some of these were founded by Jewish converts themselves, like the Community of Our Lady of Zion, which was composed of nuns and ordained priests. Many Catholic saints were noted specifically because of their missionary zeal in converting Jews, such as Vincent Ferrer. After the Second Vatican Council many missionary orders aimed at converting Jews to Christianity no longer actively sought to missionize (or proselytize) among Jews. Traditionalist Roman Catholic groups, congregations and clergymen, however, continue to support missionizing Jews according to traditional patterns, sometimes with success (e.g., the Society of St. Pius X which has notable Jewish converts among its faithful, many of whom have become traditionalist priests).
Jews and Jewish organizations have described evangelism and missionary activity directed specifically at Jews as anti-Semitic.[24][25][26][27]
[edit] The Passion of the Christ
At the time of its release, Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ was publicly criticized by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, Katha Pollitt, Leon Wieseltier, and others as anti-Semitic in its portrayal of the events surrounding the death of Jesus of Nazareth. [For a fuller discussion, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_of_the_christ#Charges_of_anti-Semitism]
[edit] Reconciliation between Judaism and Christian groups
In recent years there has been much to note in the way of reconciliation between some Christian groups and the Jews. Most of this reconciliation has occurred between the Jewish community and the Catholic Church, and evangelical Christian organizations.
[edit] Kevin MacDonald's theory of Christian anti-Semitism
Professor Kevin B. MacDonald accounts for Christian anti-Semitism within a broader theory of historical antagonism between Jews and gentiles, which he regards as a paradigm of more general evolutionary conflicts between competing groups of human beings over time. His interpretation of the Spanish Inquisition, for example, is that it was an attempt by Spanish Christians to reverse the gains in economic and political power made by Jews who had converted, sometimes unwillingly, to Christianity in the medieval period. His wider conclusions are that Christian anti-Semitism has been at some times and in some ways a "mirror image" of what he claims is "Jewish ethnocentrism", "religious exclusivism", and "in-group" solidarity, by which he accounts for Jewish success in finance and politics.
MacDonald's analysis has been heavily attacked by members of the scientific community, Slate magazine and others, including Steven Pinker and John Tooby (past president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society), as lacking in scientific foundation, and based on the notion of group-selection theory[citation needed]; others have accused him of misrepresenting evidence.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ William Nicholls: Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate (Jason Aronson, 1993) ISBN 1-56821-519-3. p.90
- ^ Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History: Book II, Chapter 6: The Misfortunes which overwhelmed the Jews after their Presumption against Christ
- ^ From the 40th and 41st Epistles of St. Ambrose of Milan. Catholic Encyclopaedia entry on Ambrose
- ^ The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus by Philip Schaff
- ^ Ephraim the Syrian and his polemics against Jews
- ^ Analysis of Ephraim's writings
- ^ Early Church Fathers: Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers Series 1, 14 Vols. By Philip Schaff, ed. (Hendrickson Publishers)
- ^ Saint John Chrysostom: Eight Homilies Against the Jews (Medieval Sourcebook) These quotes are translations from the original Greek posted by Paul Halsall: other researchers give slightly different translations.
- ^ Eusebius, Life of Constantine Vol. III Ch. XVIII Life of Constantine (Book III) (Catholic Encyclopedia)
- ^ Ecclesiastical History by Theodoret. Book 1 Chapter 9
- ^ The Civil Law. The Constitutions of Leo Translated from the original Latin and edited by S. P. Scott, A. M.
- ^ Excerpt from the Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich by Thomas of Monmouth
- ^ Thomas aquinas's letter to margaret of flanders
- ^ The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Book review The Popes Against the Jews. The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism By David I. Kertzer
- ^ Dalin, David G.. "Popes and Jews - Truths and Falsehoods in the history of Catholic-Jewish relations", 'The Weekly Standard', October 29, 2001.
- ^ Daniel Kertzer's The Popes Against the Jews by Ronald J. Rychlak (The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights)
- ^ The War Against the Jews, 1933-1945. First published 1975; this Bantam edition 1986, p.23. ISBN 055334532X
- ^ Updated: Who Rules America? by Kevin Alfred Strom and National Vanguard staff (National Vanguard) November 20, 2004
- ^ State Department Report on Anti-Semitism: Europe and Eurasia: anti-Semitism in Europe increased in recent years (2005 report)
- ^ ADL Audit: Anti-Semitic Incidents in U.S. Declined in 2001 Americans Reject Conspiracy Theories Blaming Jews for 9/11 (2002 report)
- ^ Keeping Faith. Scottsdale Progress by Kim Sue Lia Perkes (Religion Editor, The Arizona Republic) December, 1982
- ^ 1998 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents: Missionaries and Messianic Churches (Bnai Brith Canada)
- ^ Portland Jews Brace for Assault by 'Jews for Jesus' by Paul Haist (Jewish Review) May 15, 2002
- ^ Questions on Christian Anti-Semitism: Jews for Jesus by Lewis Loflin (Sullivan County)
[edit] See also
- Antisemitism
- Islam and antisemitism
- Christian opposition to antisemitism
- Deicide
- Good Friday Prayer
- History of antisemitism
- Jews in the New Testament
- Judaism
- Judas Iscariot
- Martin Luther and Antisemitism
- Passion of the Christ
- Persecution of Christians
- Pogrom
- Pre-Adamite
- Religious pluralism
- Shoah
- Criticisms of Christianity
[edit] External links
- Dabru Emet
- Relations between Christians and Jews
- Christian anti-Semitism
- Jews and Christians in Search of a Common Religious Basis for Contributing Towards a Better World
- Southern Baptist views on Judaism and other faiths
- Attempts to convert Jews to Christianity, and responses
- Antisemitism and Eastern Orthodoxy
- Yad VaShem's "Righteous Among the Nations"
- Catholic Timeline on Antisemitism
- Mainline churches launch a policy to punish Israel by Eugene Kontorovich, in the Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2005.
- The beginnings of Christian Anti-Semitism Judeophobia (Jew Hate) in Early Christian thought. Judeophobia - History and analysis of Antisemitism, Jew-Hate and anti-"Zionism". By Gustavo Perednik (zionism-Israel.com)
[edit] Further reading
- "Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate" by William Nicholls, 1993. Published by Jason Aronson Inc., 1995.
- "Mature Christianity: The Recognition and Repudiation of the Anti-Jewish Polemic in the New Testament" Norman A. Beck, Susquehanna Univ. Press, 1985
- "The Satanizing of the Jews: Origin and development of mystical anti-Semitism" Joel Carmichael, Fromm, 1993
- "The Origins of Anti-Semitism: Attitudes Toward Judaism in Pagan and Christian Antiquity" John G. Gager, Oxford Univ. Press, 1983
- "What Did They Think of the Jews?" Edited by Allan Gould, Jason Aronson Inc., 1991
- "The New Testament's Anti-Jewish Slander and Conventions of Ancient Polemic", Luke Johnson, Journal of Biblical Literature, Volume 3, 1989
- "Three Popes and the Jews" Pinchas E. Lapide, Hawthorne Books, 1967
- "National Socialism and the Roman Catholic Church" Nathaniel Micklem, Oxford Univ. Press, 1939
- Theological Anti-Semitism in the New Testament", Rosemary Radford Ruether, Christian Century, Feb. 1968, Vol. 85
- "John Chrysostom and the Jews" Robert L. Wilken, Univ. of California Press, Berkeley, 1983
- "Anti-Semitism in the Church?" by Julio Dam
Categories: Cleanup from February 2007 | All pages needing cleanup | Articles lacking sources from February 2007 | All articles lacking sources | NPOV disputes | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since January 2007 | Articles to be expanded since January 2007 | All articles to be expanded | Antisemitism | Christian and Jewish interfaith topics | Christian viewpoints
