Antisemitism in Christianity

Historically, a number of Christians have practiced anti-semitism, although how severe and widespread the attitude has been has varied over time. At some times, anti-Semitism has been widely accepted and even promulgated by Christian leaders and laypersons.

The historical sources of anti-Semitism

This section needs to be better organized!

Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274) was one of the first to teach that the Jewish people were damned because they had slain Jesus, and the only way they could be saved was to renounce their faith and be baptized as Christians.

In 1481, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille, the rulers of Spain who financed Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World just a few years later in 1492, declared the Spanish Inquisition. All Jews in their territory were compelled to convert to Christianity or flee the country. While some converted, many others left for Morocco and North Africa. Estimates are that between four and eight thousand secret Jews (morraños) were burnt alive, as well as many Moriscos. It is arguable whether this constitutes anti-Semitism in the racist sense, since it was directed at the religion of Judaism.

Some anti-Semites have justified anti-Semitic behavior by appealing to Christian tradition and scripture. One cause of this is the many New Testament passages that criticise or attack the sect of the "Pharisees", which Christians have historically read as "Jews". Indeed, it seems there are a number of verses criticising Jews in the New Testament. These passages have shaped the way that some Christians viewed Jews; like most Bible passages, they have been interpreted in a variety of ways.

Some have argued that anti-Jewish passages in the New Testament are not really targeting Jews as a whole, as the Pharisees were just one of several Jewish groups (with the Saducees, Samaritans, and Essenes, for example). They argue that the fact that in the time of Jesus the Pharisees were the largest and most dominant group of theologians and religious leaders does not prove that Jesus' words were aimed at every individual Jew, nor at Jews as a people. During the years that the New Testament became canonized, the other Jewish sects disappeared, leaving only Pharisaic Judaism (later known as rabbinic Judaism). Thus, for all intents and purposes, all Jews today are descendants of the Pharisees. (Members of the Samaritan community still extant do not refer to themselves as Jews.) In that perspective, the New Testament passages about Pharisees could be read as passages about the Jewish people in general. Hence, one might think, the matter hinges on one's focus: the initial intention of the New Testament writers, or interpretation of the texts through later developments.

Even before the existence of Christianity, anti-Semitic thought already existed. The Roman rulers considered the Jewish sect to be antisocial and the Jews to be religious fanatics. The Jews were nearly unique in the Roman world in insisting that their God was the only one. Romans in general were very tolerant of each region's religious practice.

Many Christians suggest that readers should understand Jesus's and Paul's attacks on Pharisees as specific charges aimed at the existing hypocrisy among certain Jewish leaders of that time. In this view, the New Testament does not condemn the Jewish people as a whole. Others disagree, pointing out that the passages as written do not condemn individuals, but target the Jewish people as a whole. In either case, historically, a number of Christians have understood the statements to be aimed at the entire Jewish people.

As time passed, the split between Christians (specifically, the followers of Paul and the other Apostles, all of whom were Jews) and Jews became more significant. By the time the Gospels came into their final form, they included points of view that, if said by gentiles to Jews, would certainly be considered anti-Semitic by the Jews. This may be where the real problem began - Christianity reached out to gentiles, and accepted them as eligible to become Christian without their first becoming Jewish. This was a direct result of a decision by the Christian leadership (who were predominantly Jewish) in Jerusalem. Thus a large number of non-Jews came into Christianity, which is based on the New Testament, and they read many verses as attacking Jews in general. It is clear that this interpretation of the New Testament was more commonly used after 1000 A.D. when used as proof that God hated the Jews. Until about 1000 A.D., there was an active Jewish component of Christianity. Lutheran Pastor John Stendalh 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."

One should consider other factors as well (in making what assessment? This is unclear). For example, Christian law forbade Christians to lend money and reclaim it with interest; Jewish law likewise had the same restrictions. But during the middle-ages, European Christian nobility often forced Jews to take on this role; over time, some Jews naturally played an important role in the economies of the Middle Ages. On many occasions, 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. (This paragraph would greatly benefit from evidence and examples.)

As with any other religion, Christianity is transmitted through the voices of men. 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. But again, on nearly anyone's account, it can certainly be said that Christian anti-Semites have often turned to Christian scripture to justify their actions.

Anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe

Anti-Semitism in some Eastern European still remains a substantial problem. The entry on Anti-Semitism in Poland discusses the current state of how the predominantly Catholic Polish population views Jewish people. Anti-Semitism exists to a lesser or greater degree in many other nations as well, including: Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and Syria. While in a decline since the 1940s, there is still a measureable amount of anti-Semitism in the United States of America as well, although acts of violence are quite rare.

Attempts to convert all Jews to Christianity

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant Christian denomination in the U.S., has been attempting to convert all Jews to Christianity, and many other Protestant groups have similarly been raising funds for an effort to convert Jews. Some (many? most?) Jews view these efforts with great distress, and some see them as a form of anti-Semitism. The Baptists, to the contrary, so far from regarding their efforts as an attack on an ethnicity, regard their efforts as a laudable attempt to spiritually save a people: this is part of the culture of evangelism. By contrast, the Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church, and the Roman Catholic Church have ended their efforts to convert Jews in particular, but continue their evangelism more generally.

The "White Power" Movement

The Christian Identity movement, the Ku Klux Klan and other White supremacy groups claim to be very strongly Christian in nature; they are vehemently anti-Semitic, as well as racist. The Klan is also demonstrably anti-Catholic.

Reconciliation between Christians and Jews

Over the last century there has been much reconciliation between Jews and Christians. In many nations there has been a remarkable decline in anti-Semitism after the horrors of the Holocaust were made public to the larger world population. Anti-Semitism among Christians has not died out entirely, and acts considered by some to be anti-Semitic have been perpetrated by purportedly Christian leaders. Nonetheless, the leaders of many Christian denominations have developed new positions towards the Jewish people over the last thirty years, and much progress in inter-faith relations has occurred.

Many elements of the Jewish community have responded favorably.

In the United States, Rabbis from the non-Orthodox movements are involved in inter-faith dialogue with many Christian churches, and even the Modern Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America was indirectly involved in talks with the Roman Catholic Church during the 1960s. Recently, over fifty rabbis from the non-Orthodox branches of Judaism signed a document called Dabru Emet ("Speak the Truth") that has since been used in Jewish education programs across the U.S. Some Modern Orthodox rabbis have made statements in agreement with this document as well, but have not signed. This is because Orthodox Judaism is more strict than the other denominations in regards to the Jewish religious prohibition against inter-religion theological dialogue. (In the past, (many? all?) such dialogues were forced, and (always?) had as their sole motive the conversion of Jews to other faiths.)

While affirming that there are differences between these two religions, the purpose of Dabru Emet is to point out the common ground between these two religions. It is not an official document of any of the Jewish denominations per se, but it is representative of what many religious Jews feel.

External links:

• Dabru Emet

• Relations between Christians and Jews

• Christian anti-Semitism

• Jewish-Christian dialogue

• Southern Baptist views on Judaism and other faiths

• Attempts to covert Jews to Christianity, and responses

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