The Crucified Jew: Twenty Centuries of Christian Anti-Semitism

The upcoming millennium has inspired histories of all sorts that sum up the past 2000 years; this one surveys the Christian roots of anti-Semitism. Christian anti-Semitism, according to the author, is the result of messianic competition gone sour; what might have been healthy disagreement among Jewish sects developed into a winner-take-all wrestling match, with Christians co-opting Jewish and Hellenistic beliefs as their own. In digging out the roots of Christian anti-Semitism, Cohn-Sherbok, a professor of theology at the University of Kent, points to dichotomies (e.g., law vs. spirit, light vs. darkness) that Christians often used to define themselves over and against the Jews. He also points out the ways in which early accounts of Jesus' crucifixion blame the Jews. Such Christian self-definition at the expense of Judaism led to the Christian vilification, persecution and murder of the Jews over the next 20 centuries, according to Cohn-Sherbok. The author also provides numerous examples of historic personages like Martin Luther who, though religious giants, revealed their anti-Semitism. The most interesting sections of the book are on the Marranos of Spain and Portugal, Jews forced to convert to Christianity who belonged to neither community and lived on the margins of belief and identity, acceptance and persecution. Because of the survey character of the book, there is little room for an indepth treatment of Christian anti-Semitism. (Jan.)