A Christian Day of Reflection - PowerPoint

A Christian Day of Reflection:

The Role of Christian Theology in

the History of Anti-Jewish Thought

Copyright © by John August Schumacher | All Rights Reserved

www.johnaugustschumacher.com

Initial Thoughts

“Christians” and “Jews”

• Christianity and Judaism as known today

grew out of 1st century Jewish religion

• The earliest strife was thus intra-Jewish

• The final distinction between “Jew” and

“Christian” came in the late 1st century

• The pivotal event for both groups was the

destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E.

The Temple Destroyed:

Jewish Perspective

• With the destruction of the Temple, the

centuries-old sacrificial system ended

• After 70 C.E., Jews were expelled from

Jerusalem by the Roman government

• The priestly class associated with the Temple

disappeared in the years after its destruction

• The Pharisaic movement that survived later

gave way to Rabbinical Judaism, known today

The Temple Destroyed:

Christian Perspective

• Christians viewed the Temple’s

destruction as divine punishment for

Jewish refusal to accept Jesus as Messiah

• Christians came to see themselves as the

“New Israel”: God’s new Chosen People

• Though themselves persecuted by the

Romans, Christians showed great

animosity to their Jewish neighbors

The Tide Turns:

A Christianized Empire • In 312 C.E. Constantine ascended to the Roman throne

• His victory was attributed to a vision of a Christian symbol, which he emblazoned upon his soldier’s shields

• In 313 C.E., Constantine—now Emperor—legalized the Christian religion

• Rome now became the Holy Roman Empire

• The formerly-persecuted Christian minority now ruled over much of the known world, including Palestine

• Jews now found themselves subject to a Christianized Roman Empire

Religion and Ethnicity:

The Blend of Anti-Jewish Rhetoric

• The original dispute between Jews and Christians was theological

• From a Christian perspective, Jews were a heretical burr in the saddle of a Holy Empire

• Over time, however, ethnicity also played a part in this dispute

• The “set-apart” People of God were seen as set apart for divine punishment

• Jews as religious outcasts were now seen as social deviants: aliens in a Gentile world

Religion and Ethnicity: The

Blend of Anti-Jewish Rhetoric

• In the Middle Ages, the portrait of “Jew as

alien” gave way to a new portrait: “Jew as

monster”

• A host of slanderous charges were leveled

against Jews, such as responsibility for the

Black Death

Alleged Jewish Atrocities:

• Witchcraft

• Black magic

• Devil worship

• Desecration of Christian symbols

• Poisoning wells

• Kidnapping

• Murder

“Christ-killers”

• The earliest murder charge leveled against Jews involved the death of Jesus

• In one New Testament depiction, a Jewish mob instructs Pilate to have Jesus crucified with the words: “Let his blood be on us and on our children.” (Matthew 27:25)

• As popularly understood, Jews were guilty of “deicide”—literally, “killing God”

• Throughout the Middle Ages, the Jews were progressively seen less as “alien,” and more as “monster”—less human, and more demonic


1. Ritual Murder: Jews kidnapped and killed an

unbaptized child of Christian parents

2. Blood Libel: Jews killed Christian children and

used their blood to bake Passover bread

3. Desecration: Jews stole a consecrated host

(wafer) and defiled it in their synagogues

• Stories circulated that the wafer “bled”

• (Some scholars believe this was a reddish fungus

growing on the bread)


These and similar attacks were made

possible by a Christian teaching:

The Jews were replaced by the Church!

Christian Supercessionism

• Supercessionism: Belief that the Christian Church has replaced the Jewish people to become the “New Israel”

The argument goes as follows:

• The Jews, because they rejected Jesus as the Messiah, were rejected by God

• In their place, the Christians have been chosen

• Jews are no longer to be called “Israel”

• In their place, the Church is the “New Israel”

The “Historical Argument”

• The Historical Argument: An interpretation of

Genesis 49:10, seen as “proof” that the Church

replaced the Jews as the Chosen People of God

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor

the ruler's staff from between his feet, until

tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the

peoples is his.” (Genesis 49:10)

The “Historical Argument”

• The exact history of the “Historical Argument” may never be known

• Its first explicit usage is in the 2nd century writings of Justin Martyr

• Until recent times, supercessionist teachings such as the Historical Argument remained unchallenged

• Only in the mid- to late-20th century have churches issued statements refuting the implications of this and similar interpretations

Definitions for Analysis

“Anti-Semitism”

“Anti-Judaism”

“Anti-Jewish”

Defining “Anti-Semitism”

• Hatred of Jews is often called “anti-Semitism.”

• The term was coined in the 19th century by German writer (and overt racist) Wilhelm Marr.

• In the context of so-called “scientific racism,” Marr needed a term to describe hatred of Jews based on ethnicity or “race”

• Anti-Semitism is thus linked to pseudo-scientific notions of “race”

• However, the term “anti-Semitism” fails to discern the blending of religious animosity with ethnic hatred

Defining “Anti-Judaism”

• “Anti-Judaism”: hatred of Jews (or

Judaism) based on religious disagreement

• However, this term also fails to describe

the blending of religion and ethnicity/”race”

• We must remember that anti-Semitism

(racism) was built on a foundation of anti-

Judaism (religious bigotry)!

Defining “Anti-Jewish”

• The term “anti-Jewish” combines elements

of “anti-Semitism” and “anti-Judaism”

• History knows no clear distinction between

ethnic and religious animosities

• Both racial and religious arguments have

been used, often together, as justification

for persecution and murder of Jews

Encountering the

Historical Argument

Justin Martyr and the

Dialogue with Trypho

Justin Martyr: Background

• Justin Martyr was born in the early 2nd

century, in Flavia Neapolis (modern Syria)

• Educated in several schools of philosophy,

Justin considered himself a Neo-Platonist

• Around 130, Justin converted to

Christianity, after which he wrote in

defense of Christianity

• Justin was martyred around 165 C.E.

Justin’s Method

• For Justin, “Scripture” meant the Hebrew Bible (“Old Testament”)

• Like other Christians of his day, Justin read Scripture with certain presuppositions

• Central to these was the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah

• In Justin’s eyes, Genesis 49:10 was “proof” that after Jesus’ coming, God had rejected the Jews in favor of the Christians

Dialogue or Diatribe?

• Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho, a work of anti-Jewish rhetoric, dates to c. 150 C.E.

• The Dialogue supposedly records Justin’s two-day discussion with several Jews

• For Justin, however, this was more monologue than a dialogue

• The Dialogue vacillates between diatribe and proselytizing effort

• Many of Justin’s arguments are fueled by the “Historical Argument” (Genesis 49:10)

“[For] neither a prophet nor a ruler … failed

among your race, until this Jesus Christ both was

born and suffered, nor do you dare to shamelessly

say [that], nor do you have proof! … For the Spirit

that was in the prophets both anointed and

appointed kings for you. But after the

manifestation and death of Jesus our Christ

among your race, there has by no means been a

prophet, nor is there [now]. But you also ceased

to be under your own king, and your land was laid

waste…” (Dialogue with Trypho 52)

[

Justin’s Use of the

Historical Argument

Justin’s Hermeneutical Principle

Hermeneutic: A method for interpreting Scripture

Justin’s argument:

• Understanding of Scripture requires knowledge

• Such knowledge is a gift from God to Christians

• Jews, who lack faith in Christ, do not have this knowledge

• Therefore, Jews fail to understand the true meaning of their own Scriptures!

Justin: Why Do Jews Lack Faith?

• Ignorance: Jews insist on the literal

reading, rather than the “spiritual”

• Blindness: Jews are misled by their

rabbis, who misinterpret Scripture

• Obstinacy: Jews do understand that

Jesus is Messiah, but steadfastly refuse to

accept this as the truth

Other Jewish Fallacies: Jealousy

• God has hidden the truth from the Jews

• The Jews know this

• As a result, the Jews hate Christians, for knowing the truth about Jewish obstinacy:

“And it is therefore no surprise … if you also hate those who know these things and convict you with knowledge of your endless hardness of heart.”

(Dial. 39)

Other Jewish Fallacies: Fraud

• Finally, Justin claimed that the rabbis had

removed passages from the Hebrew Bible

• Per Justin, such passages contained

prophecies about the coming Messiah

• These prophecies would clearly have

pointed to Jesus of Nazareth for fulfillment

The Mosaic Law as Proscription

for Jewish Sin

• Per Justin: the Law of Moses was

temporary, limited, and inadequate

• The Law’s purpose was to curb Jewish sin

• With the coming of Christ, Jews had piled

sin upon sin, by rejecting their Messiah

• All the while, Jews continued to place

hope of salvation in the Law of Moses

Justin on the Mosaic Law

“For the Law given on Horeb is already old, and yours alone; but this [Law of Christ] is simply for all. A law placed alongside another law overrides the one before it. And a covenant placed afterwards nullifies the first. And an eternal and final law … which is Christ—has been given to us, after which there is no law, nor order, nor commandment.”

(Dial. 11)

Justin’s View of Circumcision

• Per Justin, the Law punishes the Jews for

rejecting Jesus as the Messiah

• For Jews, circumcision is a sign of the

covenant between God and Abraham

• For Justin, circumcision was a mark of

Cane, identifying the Jews for divine wrath

“For the circumcision according to the flesh was given

by Abraham to be a sign, in order that you might be

separated from all nations and from us, so you alone

might suffer that which you now are justly suffering—

your lands laid waste and your cities destroyed with fire …

and no one of you goes up into Jerusalem. … And these

things happened well and justly for you, for you killed

the Just One and his prophets before him, and now you

reject those who hope in him, and the one having sent him,

God the Father and maker of all things, and heap insults as

much as you can upon him, cursing in your synagogues

those who believe in Christ. For you do not have authority

to put your hands on us, because of those who now rule

over you, but as often as you were able, you did this also. (Dial. 16)

Justin on the Mosaic Law

Justin’s Argument:

• Christians do not observe the Mosaic Law,

because they realize that it was given only to the

Jews—to curb Jewish sin

• Jewish rejection of Jesus, and their reliance on

the Law for salvation, only compound their sin

• The prophets foretold the coming of Messiah

• Jews do not accept these prophecies, because

of ignorance, blindness, and obstinacy

“After you had crucified the only sinless and just

Man . . . and after you realized that he had risen

from the dead and had ascended into heaven . . .

you not only failed to feel remorse for your evil

deed, but you even dispatched certain chosen

men from Jerusalem to every land, to report the

outbreak of the godless heresy of the Christians

… With good reason, therefore, does Isaiah cry

out: ‘Because of you my name is blasphemed

among the Gentiles.’” (Dial.17; quoting Isaiah 52:5, LXX)

Judaism and the “New Israel”

• Per Justin the Church was the “New Israel”

• In order to remain part of the Chosen People,

Jews would need to convert

• For Justin, God was withholding final judgment

of the Jews for the sake of the “remnant” who

would convert

• All others were lost

• Jewish allegiance to the Mosaic covenant was

irrelevant, for salvation is in Christ

The Scepter and the

Historical Argument • As stated above, Justin believed that Genesis 49:10

prophesied the replacement of the Jews as the Chosen People of God:

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his.”

The “scepter” is:

1. Jewish self-rule

2. Jewish identity as the Chosen People of God

Synopsis of the

“Historical Argument” • Jewish self-rule ended before Jesus’ time

• The messianic predictions made by the Hebrew prophets were fulfilled in Jesus

• Jews, however, rejected Jesus out of ignorance, blindness, and obstinacy

• The destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., foretold in Genesis 49:10, is a sign of God’s wrath for Jewish sin

• The “scepter” has passed from Judah to the Church

• Only by conversion to Christianity can Jews hope to be saved

Synopsis of the

“Historical Argument”

• Jewish resistance to Christian conversion is

further proof of their “hardness of heart”

• God foreknew that the Jews would reject Jesus

• The Roman sack of Jerusalem (70 C.E.) is

divine judgment against the Jewish people

• In ignorance, blindness, and obstinacy, Jews

cling to the Mosaic Law for salvation

• To be saved, Jews must become Christians

• The Jews, as Jews, are rejected by God forever

Ancient Rhetoric

and Modern Genocide

From Antioch to Auschwitz

• The Latin theologian, Tertullian, once asked: “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”

• His point was that Christian theology should have no outside influences, such as from Greek philosophy or myth

• Acts 11:26 reports that in Antioch, believers in Jesus were first called “Christians.”

• The question today is: “What has Antioch to do with Auschwitz?”

• In other words: Is there a connection between ancient religious animosity and modern bigotry?


• Modern Christians are inheritors of the anti-Jewish traditions in Christian history

• Jesus and his original followers were Jews

• Over time, however, Gentile Christians outnumbered Jewish converts

• On the basis of Paul’s teachings, these Gentiles did not practice Jewish customs

• As a result, differences of religion soon gave way to other differences, based on culture and/or ethnicity


• By the late first century, Christians and

Jews were separate religious traditions

• The destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E.

cast a shadow over this schism, as each

group interpreted its meaning differently

• For Christians, the events of 70 C.E. were

final vindication of the belief that the

Church had become the “New Israel”


• After (Gentile) Christianity ascended to power in

the Roman Empire, the relationship between

Jews and Christian changed forever

• Christians now ruled over their Jewish neighbors

• Over time, the issue arose of what place there

was for the “heretic” Jew in a Christian society

So began the “Jewish Question”…

Answers to the “Jewish Question”

I. Persecution/Pogrom:

• Jews were victims of mob violence at the

hands of their neighbors

• In the Crusades, Christians fought to free

the Holy Lands from Muslim control

• Throughout Europe, Christians turned

against the “infidel” next door: the Jews


II. Conversion:

• Jews were forcibly baptized, or given the

choice between conversion and death

• The Inquisition aimed to root out heresy

among Christians, some of whom were

forcibly-converted Jews

• Those who refused to yield were tortured

and killed—Jew and Christian alike


III. Expulsion:

• Time and again, Jews were forced from

Christian-held countries

• Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492

• In that same year, the Jews were expelled

from Spain by order of the monarchy

• Expulsions and forced emigration only fed

the myth of the “Wandering Jew”


IV. Separation:

• Jews who remained in Christian Europe

were sometimes forced into ghettos

• Here, they lived separately from their

Christian neighbors

• (Hitler repeated this, in the chain of events

leading to the Holocaust)


V. Extermination:

• Hitler’s “Final Solution” to the so-called Jewish Question called for the total eradication of the Jewish people

• The Holocaust stands as an omen of just how close Nazism came to that goal

• Yet, even with Hitler gone, the “Jewish Question” lives on in a world that has never fully integrated the Jewish people

Christianity and the

“Jewish Question” • Christianity is not wholly to blame for the history of

anti-Jewish thought and action

• However, certain Christian teachings have certainly bolstered or justified anti-Jewish animosity

• During the Middle Ages, the image of Jews changed from alien to monster

• The religious misfit had become the Devil incarnate

• In the process, theology gave way to racism

• Anti-Judaism and Anti-Semitism merged into Anti-Jewish sentiments, fusing religion, politics, culture

Walking the Road


• For centuries, the Historical Argument has

stood as theological justification for anti-

Jewish attitudes among Christians

• Theology fed racism, just as bigotry

bolstered superstition

• The Historical Argument laid a foundation

upon which madness and murder were

built, layer upon layer

Walking the Road

From Antioch to Auschwitz • Hitler believed that history had proven the inadequacy

of pogroms and expulsions as answers to the “Jewish Question”

• The long road from Antioch to Auschwitz is paved with Christian supercessionism and ethnic bigotry, with ancient rhetoric and modern racism

• In short: Hitler merely took centuries of hatred to its logical, homicidal end!

• Of all the things lost along this path, perhaps the most important is the Jewish identity of Jesus himself!

• This is a path that all Christians must walk, if we are to comprehend and overcome the hatred fomented by our own traditions

Final Thoughts

Where From Here?

• The Jews are the Chosen People

• Christians, however, believe that salvation

is by faith in Jesus, the Messiah

• How, then, do we reconcile these ideas?

How shall we answer the Jewish Question?

A Proposition Based on Scripture

Romans 9-11

• Paul addressed this issue on the basis of grace, remnant, and divine election

• Paul allegorized from Israel’s past, insisting that we should focus not on God’s wrath, but rather on God’s mercy

• Paul saw Jewish rejection of Jesus as part of a God’s design to include Gentiles in the plan of salvation


Paul’s allegory: The vine and the branches:

• Branches (Israel) are broken from the vine

• In the meantime, wild branches (Gentiles)

are being grafted onto the root

• In the end, God will also graft the original

branches onto the “rootstock of Israel”

• All of this happens because of grace,

available through faith


• The idea of “remnant” is found throughout Scripture

• No matter what hardships may befall them, God’s people are never without a “remnant”—those who will survive

• Paul, too, speaks of a “remnant” in Romans 9-11

• In the shadow of Auschwitz, let us hear:

God, not human beings,

will answer the “Jewish Question”!

…I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved… As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

(Romans 11:25-32)

Questions and Discussion

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