Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate by William Nicholls
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loving Hatred?

The theological self-image of Christianity is love. The official ethic of Christianity, particularly regarding Judaism, is persistent and systematic hatred. Although this dissonance has at least been recognised in the decades since the Holocaust, the centuries of Christian Anti-Semitic doctrine remain in both ecclesiastical and secularised form in Western culture. This was Nicholls original thesis when Christian Anti-Semitism was first published in 1963 and stands equally relevant through subsequent editions.

The magnitude of Christian hatred of Judaism cannot be mitigated by a few papal conciliatory words or grass roots ecumenical discussions. Anti-Semitism is embedded in both the founding documents of Christianity and in its institutions. From these it has penetrated European culture and spread globally as that culture has gained influence. But as Nicholls point out, Anti-Semitism has morphed from a doctrinal to a political prejudice: "When they [European Christians] abandoned the religion of their upbringing, they retained its prejudices."

Christianity has always had a difficult time establishing itself as something other than a mere Jewish heresy. To do so it had to contend that the eternal promises to Israel by its God were abrogated by Jewish callousness, a patently preposterous and self-contradictory claim.

The French Revolution is the event which turned this doctrine of 'supercession' into a political tool. For countless generations Jews had been excluded and forced into a separate social existence. Yet the Enlightenment philosophers blamed the Jews themselves for this condition and therefore branded them as of suspect suitability for true citizenship. Equally preposterous and self-contradictory. But just as potent. A Christianity not just of the heart but of the parliamentary debating chamber.

The stakes today are as high as they have ever been regarding Anti-Semitism - for Christians as well as Jews. Historic revisionism, which denies the Holocaust for what it was, periodically raises its head especially in places like Poland and Ukraine, is a continuing threat. Jew-hatred posing as Anti-Israeli politics and terrorism is more common now than in the 1960's.

But the crisis for Christianity also persists. If 2000 years of official and unofficial Anti-Semitism is a fact, what does that fact imply for the truth as well as the legitimacy of Christianity and the culture it spawned? This is also a question provoked by Nicholl's analysis. And for me it is the more fundamental one. Unsurprisingly, few seem willing to entertain it seriously.

Postscript: for more on the reasons for Christian anti-semitism, see: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Postscript 13May19, on the latest manifestations: https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news...

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