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From: brunson@usfbobo.UUCP (%David Brunson)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Christian Persecution of Jews
Message-ID: <145@usfbobo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 9-Jul-84 21:01:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: usfbobo.145
Posted: Mon Jul  9 21:01:33 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Jul-84 08:07:13 EDT
Organization: Univ. of South Florida, Tampa
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[]

I've recently read the book, "The Anguish of the Jews" by Edward
Flannery (Macmillan 1965).  In it, Mr. Flannery traces the history
of anti-semitism from Pagan through modern times: 2300 years.

For me, the most instructive part of the book is that which deals
with the Christian era; that is, the period of time when the Christian
Church held political control over Europe.  Like most Christians,
I had thought Christian persecution of Jews was over-exaggerated,
consisting mainly of a few flakoid popes and the famed "Spanish
Inquisition".  Instead, Mr. Flannery convincingly demonstrates
that Christian anti-semitism was more the rule than the exception
and was advanced both ideologically and explicitly by not just
a few derranged papists, but by nearly all church leaders and
many key Defenders of the Faith.

Some example quotations:

"[Jews are] inveterate murderers, destroyers, men possessed by
the devil" whom "debauchery and drunkenness have given them the
manners of the pig ... They know only one thing, to satisfy their
gullets, get drunk, to kill and maim one another ... they have
surpassed the ferocity of wild beasts, for they murder their
offspring and immolate them to the devil ... ***He who can never
love Christ enough will never have done fighting against those
[Jews] who hate him***"
                                         John Chrysostom


One common Christian idea was that Jews are "Christ-killers":
"It would be licit, according to custom, to hold Jews, because
of their crime [killing Christ], in perpetual servitude, and
therefore the princes may regard the possessions of Jews as
belonging to the state ..."
                                         Thomas Aquinas

"Jews are poisoners, ritual murderers, usurers; they are
parasites on Christian society; they are worse than devils;
it is harder to convert them than Satan himself; they are
doomed to hell.  They are, in truth, the anti-Christ.
***Their synagogues should be destroyed and their books seized;
they should be forced to work with their hands; better still
they should be expelled by the princes from their territories***"
                                         Martin Luther

Blaise Pascal, Augustine, and nearly every Catholic pope seem
to have held similar ridiculous opinions.  One gets the impression
that this list is by no means exhaustive: Flannery is only giving
a survey history of a very long era in less than 200 pages.  I am
aware of a similar quote from John Calvin and I intend to do some
more thorough research on the biggies of Christendom.

To my mind, the height of the madness and non-scriptural foolishness
that seems to have seized the Church can be seen in the following
passage from the book.  The context is the Inquisition in Spain.
Torquemada was the Grand Inquisitor appointed by the Pope:

"On January 2, 1492, while still in Granada, Ferdinand and Isabella
issued the fatal decree.  All Jews must leave the realm by July 30
under the penalty of death, since, in the words of the decree,
'Jews seduce the new Christians,' and expulsion is 'the only
efficacious means of putting an end to these evils.'  Stunned by
the edict, powerful Jews, led by Abraham Senior, chief rabbi and
tax collector, offered an enormous sum of money to the king, who
was known for his avariciousness.  The story is told that at the
critical moment, as Ferdinand reconsidered his decision, Torquemada 
rushed onto the scene, holding a crucifix aloft, and cried: 'Judas
Iscariot sold Christ for thirty pieces of silver; will Your Highness
sell him for 300,000 ducats?  Here He is, take Him and sell Him';
upon which the king held fast to his decree."


The book also goes into detail about some of the key pogroms
perpetrated against Jews.  Included are tales of attrocities
that will curl your teeth; committed by *CHRISTIANS*!!!

A few times in the book Flannery, a Roman Catholic priest, incredibly
seems to excuse some of the actions of the Church by saying the
Jews were becoming overly abusive of their privileges.  These statements
are so thin, however, that they in no way damage the force of
the historical record presented.  On the whole, the book appears
to be unbiased, unsparing, and unrelenting in its treatment of
Anti-Semitism.  It should be required reading for anyone calling
himself a Christian.

                                   David Brunson
                                   Disciple of Yeshua Ish Nazaret
                                   duke!ucf-cs!usfbobo!brunson