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Disclaimer: the word "Christian" below refers to ONLY those that have antisemitic views. By no means should it be taken to represent most Christians.
(Repost from Judaism forum.)
I'd like to understand more about why anti-semitism has persisted so long among Christians.
It seems beyond any proportion and quite a thin excuse that a group of Jews may or may not have played a part in condemning Jesus. The New testament description notwithstanding, Pontius Pilate was no wilting flower. If you believe Reza Aslan's "Jesus", he had already condemned several Jews to be crucified, plus as a Roman governor, he would not want to appear weak to his subjects.
But let's assume all that is true, and Jews in the first century caused Jesus to die. Don't the Christians still profess to believe in the Old testament? Where God says that the sins of the father shall not cause punishment for the children? So what explains the neo-Nazis today, the Nazis before them, the horrific pogroms in the Eastern Europe in the last few centuries, and going back even more, the crusaders murdering Jews on their way to wage the Holy War?
It is one thing to be weary of a "strange" religion (never mind that Christianity originated in Judaism and worships the same God - I think?), or suspect minorities because they don't "fit". Happens all over the world. But does not usually translate into a pattern of systematic murders.
Is it the success of Jews? A diversionary tactic by Christian (and Muslim) kings and dictators to direct the frustrations of their populace to an external whipping boy?
I get that irrational hatred cannot be fully explained by reason, but even a partial explanation would be appreciated. I have just about given up. But I think racists, Nazis, crusaders etc may be evil but not any dumber (except for the blind hate) than the rest of us. So what sustains their wrong beliefs?
You probably won't accept this, but as a Christian who actually believes the Bible (many don't), both Old and New Testament, and believes that Satan exists and is an enemy of God, I think that at the root of it all is that Satan promotes antisemitism in an attempt to completely destroy the Jewish people, perhaps reasoning that if he can destroy them then he can thwart God's plan for them. If he could do this, then he would prove God to be imperfect and unable to carry out His plan and purposes, somehow hoping that this would allow for a chance of being released from his sentence to the lake of fire.
And yes, some of the antisemitism goes back to the Jews (not all of them of course, but some of the Jewish leadership) handing Jesus over to Pilate for execution. I've also heard of the Jews being hated and resented for their success. And it is true also that some people simply have an irrational hatred and prejudice for people who are perceived as different. Christians are people and some simply are not very good Christians or people.
Last edited by Michael Way; 05-15-2019 at 07:57 PM..
I am a Roman Catholic who believes that Jesus Christ was the Ralph Nader of his day. Religion aside, Ralph Nader was one big thorn in the side of the car companies. I believe that the auto executives would have had him killed if they wouldn't be risking the sweet life. Jesus Christ was preaching rebellion, not against the Roman Empire, but against the Hebrew leadership.
Older versions of antisemitism includes practices which were forbidden to Catholics by the Church. Money lending with interest paid was forbidden to Catholics. Perhaps this ability to make a living in this way was resented and envied by Catholics. Envy may easily be a source of antisemitism.
In recent years I've seen films come out of Hollywood which take subtle shots at Christmas. Christmas is one of the oldest Christian traditions. In fact early Christians celebrated Christmas at the same time that the Roman observance of Saturnalia was celebrated, to conceal the nature of the celebration. So attacking this old tradition is no different than acts of antisemitism. Last night I watched Death Wish 5 for the first time. There were very definite connections made between some fictitious Irish/Italian Mafia and the Catholic church. This negative connection between the mob and the Church is undeniable. I made note of the producers names and the financial backers of the film. I don't think that you really want me to list the names.
I am a Roman Catholic who believes that Jesus Christ was the Ralph Nader of his day. Religion aside, Ralph Nader was one big thorn in the side of the car companies. I believe that the auto executives would have had him killed if they wouldn't be risking the sweet life. Jesus Christ was preaching rebellion, not against the Roman Empire, but against the Hebrew leadership.
Older versions of antisemitism includes practices which were forbidden to Catholics by the Church. Money lending with interest paid was forbidden to Catholics. Perhaps this ability to make a living in this way was resented and envied by Catholics. Envy may easily be a source of antisemitism.
In recent years I've seen films come out of Hollywood which take subtle shots at Christmas. Christmas is one of the oldest Christian traditions. In fact early Christians celebrated Christmas at the same time that the Roman observance of Saturnalia was celebrated, to conceal the nature of the celebration. So attacking this old tradition is no different than acts of antisemitism. Last night I watched Death Wish 5 for the first time. There were very definite connections made between some fictitious Irish/Italian Mafia and the Catholic church. This negative connection between the mob and the Church is undeniable. I made note of the producers names and the financial backers of the film. I don't think that you really want me to list the names.
Well, there is this Wikipedia entry for the movie. Are you using Hollywood as code for Jews? That is, asserting that Jews are taking subtle potshots at Christmas? OK then.
Romans were not a bunch of limp-wristed sissies who would give in to mob rule. Pontius Pilate in particular had already crucified a whole lot of Jews for rebellion against the Roman Empire. So the whole New testament story of Jewish leaders insisting that Jesus be crucified, and Pilate pleading against it, sounds fishy.
It is also notable how quickly Rome wrested the leadership of Christianity from the Church of Jerusalem which was dominated by Jewish Christians. Under one guise or another, Romans just wanted to rule the empire. If that meant embracing this new fad that came out of Galilee, so be it. If it meant assigning divinity to this dead Jewish rabbi, so be it.
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