Index	Commentary	Discussion	References
Commentary - "The Ancient Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Church" - Wayne
Demonizing Jewish Leadership and the Jewish People (Chapter 13) Elaine Pagels (The Origin of Satan, 1995) reminds us that to "demonize" is to render people less than human and to declare them beyond the bounds of our ethical responsibility. The "psychology" of demonization has been at work in the church, from the beginning. In Christian history, early heresy hunting, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Holocaust - tragic as they proved to be were not considered to be evil in the common wisdom of the day. In fact, the majority were convinced that eradication of the demonized "enemy" was viewed as "God's will." Wilson confronts us with the "curiously inconsistent" gospel of Matthew which supports a "pro-Jewish" Jesus while similtaneously painting the Jews as "Christ-killers." The upshot of the demonization phenomenon is that we Christians inherit a "legacy of contempt" for Jews stemming from earliest church history. Confiscating Judaism's Heritage (Chapter 14) "Cultural appropriation" is the term Wilson uses to describe how Christians "confiscated the Covenant, the Bible and the understanding of Judaism's place in history." Cultural appropriation - is a term found in literature when a dominant culture assumes certain characteristics that were originally the contribution of another culture - (for example, non-Native Canadians assume Native spirituality as their own; without recognizing or respecting the source of that spirituality.) When a non-Native author writes in the first person as a Native that author could be criticized for taking unfair license or for cultural appropriation. Wilson believes that Christianity raided and robbed Judaism of a number of its key religio-cultural possessions to the point where the former argued there was no further purpose in the continuation of Judaism. Mutual hostility was the natural result. Attacking the Jewish Concept of God (Chapter 15) Wilson introduces and explains some of the early Christian "heresies" like docetism and gnosticism; and critiques these from a Jewish perspective. Christianity reacted to ancient heresies by developing a canon (or rule) for what constituted the "authentic" Christian scriptures (our New Testament) and by formulating the ecumenical creeds (Apostles, Nicene, Athenasian.) Christians have always believed this to be a very good thing, but the upshot of these developments was a serious vilification of the Jews and their faith by Christian leaders such as Ignatius, Justin Martyr and Marcion. ___ Anti-Semitism (Chapter 16) Was there one covenant between God and God's people, or were there two? That is the underlying question that emerges from a review of the historical development Wilson terms the "cultural appropriation" of Judaism by Christians. A profound anti-Semitism was deeply embedded in resulting Christian culture as a result. Wilson outlines the stages of anti-semitic evolution: 1. Christification - a conformity to Pauline Christianity 2. Christian anti-semitism - a growing belief that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus. Because they were "Christ-killers" they were, ipso facto "God-killers" 3. Supercessionism - The original covenant is rendered invalid and Christians become the rightful heirs. Christians replace Jews. It was legitimate to demonize Jews and to render them in default as humans. Thus, we have such historical examples as Luther and Hitler who either fanned the flames of anti-semitism or brought it to tragic fruition which resulted in the German complicity in the Holocaust. Indeed, there was New Testament scriptural backing for it all!
Summary of Discussion Notes
Question for Group Discussion How objective do you find Wilson in these chapters on the evolution of Christian anti-semitism? Feedback from Group Discussion Converts to any religion have a hard time being "objective." What, in truth, do we mean by "covenant" as there are several dimensions to it. We could view the original covenant between God and Israel to be exclusive. We could say that God offered those who followed Jesus a "new covenant" which did or did not cancel the first one. We could say there was but one covenant expressed in two different ways. Wilson is very adept at drawing us into his rationale. He challenges us to think in new ways, but he is also anger-producing and prompts frustration because of his one-sided interpretation of the facts. A positive result is that Wilson triggers our curiosity to learn more about this subject. Both Jews and Christians have tended to focus on themselves and gave little credence to the "other." Perhaps, at long last, that is changing. Some felt Wilson "lifts" things from various sources but his lack of objectivity makes him clumsy with his proofs (for example his branding of Luther as a seeming forerunner of the Holocaust.) Remembering the Hegelian dialectic of thesis, synthesis and antithesis: Wilson does synthesize in places, but his normal style is to create an antithesis to commonly accepted understandings. He does this to prove a point and to sell books, of course, but is it possible that truth is compromized in the process? Some expressed the belief that Wilson's arguments in earlier chapters were better formed than some in his later chapters. Some felt that these four chapters serve as the author's "justification" to leave Christianity and convert to Judaism. Anti-semitism is not a new thing, but Wilson adds new insights to it and we view Christian history differently as a result. Reform and resurrection are interent to the Christian Way. Reformation and counter- reformation continue through history. It is important that Christians confront their history and find renewal from it. We don't know where all this will lead, and that's OK!
References Related to Chapter One
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