Anti-Semitic protests reveal national rebellion against God.

The newly-retired chief executive of Christian Witness to Israel, one of several movements dedicated to sharing the gospel with the Jewish community, has warned of a "battle royal" over the Balfour Declaration this coming year.

Mike Moore was referring to the forthcoming centenary celebrations of the British Government's 1917 pledge to do all in its power to help Jews return to their ancient Middle East homeland. We have already witnessed the chaotic launch of a campaign to persuade the government to apologise for Balfour – a House of Lords meeting where Jews were even accused of bringing the Holocaust on themselves.¹

That led to the resignation from the Liberal Democrat Party of the meeting's host, Baroness Tonge. And the British Government has now supported an anti-Israel resolution at the United Nations that completely undermines legitimate Jewish rights to the city of Jerusalem and, in particular, Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount.₂

We have also seen a significant rise in anti-Israel protests on university campuses and elsewhere, causing London's Metropolitan Police to request organisers of pro-Israel gatherings not to disclose the venue of their meetings in the interests of their own safety.

Indeed, the UK Government has responded to these worrying developments by allocating over £13 million towards the security of its Jewish institutions following 924 reports of anti-Semitic incidents last year including 86 violent assaults.³

The former chief executive of Christian Witness to Israel has warned of a "battle royal" over the Balfour Declaration this coming year.

Balfour: from 1917 to 2017

Why is the Balfour issue in particular causing such a stir? The short answer can be summed up as rebellion against God and his plans, both for the salvation of all through his Son and for restoration of his chosen people – to the land promised them for millennia and to Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah known to Westerners as Jesus.

The timing of the declaration by Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur James Balfour in November 1917 could not have been more precise, coming just weeks before the capture of Jerusalem by British and Allied forces led by General Edmund Allenby, ending 400 years of rule under the Turkish Ottoman Empire and handing to Britain on a plate the means by which they could honour their pledge.

It could not have happened in today's politically-correct climate which has seen the Bible almost entirely marginalised from our culture – and certainly from the corridors of power. But in 1917 things were very different. Britain was at the zenith of its power and influence - largely, I believe, through honoring God and sending out missionaries to many parts of the world.

Biblical Revival and its Fruit

The preaching of the Gospel and the application of biblical teaching to everyday life had been going on for well over a century, courtesy of what has become known as the Great Evangelical Revival, which had a direct effect on the social welfare of the nation, considerably reducing the crime rate for one thing.

Crime rates fell dramatically throughout the 19th Century, so that by 1870 there were only 10,000 in the jails of England and Wales. But even more remarkable was the continuing fall over the next few decades, so that by 1910 there were only 3,000 prisoners in the nation's jails, despite the population rising from 25 to 35 million.⁴

Why is the Balfour issue in particular causing such a stir? The short answer can be summed up as rebellion against God and his plans.

With today's population at 60 million, our jails are full to capacity with 80,000 prisoners, and bear in mind that many Victorian inmates would only have been regarded as petty criminals today.

The contrast is staggering. There is no more room in our overcrowded prisons, and yet we live in a more lenient society (with some exceptions of course, such as the repeated injustice meted out to Christians).

Widespread Biblical Literacy

During the famous Welsh Revival in 1904, crime was almost non-existent in some places, leaving police with little to do, while the pit ponies (used down the coal mines) are said to have no longer understood the commands of their masters whose foul language had been cleaned up.

It was this revival of biblical Christianity that changed everything for the Jewish people. It meant that the generations preceding the Balfour Declaration were made aware that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still has a special love for his chosen people, whatever they may have done to disown him, and that national prosperity was dependent on our blessing the seed of Abraham (Gen 12:3).

Men of influence understood this well – among them General Allenby himself, who had prayed for Israel's restoration as a young boy, and in the end was used by God to help bring it about.⁵ With the bridge to neighbouring Jordan named after him, Allenby is still honoured in Israel.

Britain's pledge to help the Jews recover their homeland could not have happened in today's politically-correct climate.

Not Today

Tragically, today's generation is biblically illiterate, knowing almost nothing of our precious Judeo-Christian heritage. On a recent train journey to London, I heard a young boy pointing at a tall church steeple in Grantham, Lincolnshire (typical of many in the land), asking his dad: "What is that? Is it Big Ben?" (We were still 110 miles from London). The irony is that Virgin Trains, who sold me the ticket, advertise their service with the slogan 'Be bound for glory', taken from the traditional gospel song This train is bound for glory.

Recent generations in this great country have rebelled against God, and a glorious future for ourselves and our nation is only possible if we get back on track with the biblical truth that tells of a Heaven to be gained and a Hell to be shunned.

Jesus is the only way to glory. If your intended destination is Heaven and eternal life, then you need to take the gospel train that leads to Jesus, who said: "I am the way, the truth and the life; no-one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

References

1 Battle ensues over Balfour, Israel Today, 3 November 2016.

2 Christians United for Israel UK, 5 December 2016.

3 World Israel News, 5 December 2016.

4 Hill, C. The Great Evangelical Revival. Prophecy Today UK, 30 September 2016.

5 Jonathan Cahn, TBN UK, 20 November 2016.

In the next part of our series 'The Relevance of the Message of the Prophets for Today', Fred Wright examines Obadiah's challenge to the church.

In the shortest book within the Old Testament, just 21 verses, the voice of Obadiah resounds clearly concerning the present times. The book centres on the condemnation of Edom, referred to as Esau, because of the hostility towards Israel and the Jewish people. We may consider that Obadiah, who prophesied during the reign of Ahab (874-852 BC), is challenging the Church of today to repent and depart from the 'Esau syndrome'.

Estranged Brothers

In the scriptures the term Edom is used either to denote Esau, who exchanged his birthright for a single meal (Gen 25:30; 36:1, 8, 19), or as a collective term for the Edomites. Esau, the elder of Isaac's twin sons (Gen 25:21-26), was his father's favourite who should have received the patriarch's blessing, but due to his despising of it in favour of a bowl of pottage and a piece of bread, it became forfeit to Jacob (Gen 25:29f).

The event led to the deep-seated animosity between Israel and Edom (i.e. Gen 27:41-45; Ex 15:15; Num 20:18-21; 1 Kings 11:14f; 2 Chron 22:8; Ps 53; 82:7; Ezek 35:1f; Joel 3:18-19; Amos 1:11) of whom Esau was considered to be the ancestor.

The scriptures imply that selling off one's inheritance in the Lord as something common, or unworthy, causes deep offence or hatred from God; the converse is that the desire to gain the blessings of God, in this case the right to the land and the other promises given to the descendants of Abraham, cause God's love to be set upon one (Mal 1:2f; Rom 9:13, cf. Gen 12:2-3).

Obadiah is challenging the Church of today to repent and depart from the 'Esau syndrome' – or hostility towards Israel.

Esau compounded his estrangement by marrying foreign wives which brought grief to his parents (Gen 26:35). Esau therefore may be understood as representing those who have chosen to abandon the revealed ways of God and the hope of glory, in favour of things that are of immediate rather than eternal value (Heb 12:16f).

The deep-seated animosity between the two peoples may be illustrated by the fact that when, during the Exodus, Israel sought permission to travel on the Edomite king's highway, it was refused. The blood relationship between the people was emphasised in that, despite the offence, Israel was commanded not to abhor them (Deut 23:7-8).

David subdued Edom (2 Sam 8:13) but when Judah fell, Edom rejoiced (Ps 132:7). The prophets spoke out a coming judgment upon Edom for their bitter hatred (Jer 49:7-22; Lam 4:21-22; Ezek 25, 35:15; Joel 3:19; Amos 9:12).

The Esau Syndrome: Violence Against Jacob

The major charge against Edom is violence against Jacob, your brother, which is the first aspect of the Esau syndrome. The Jewish people should rightly be viewed as the Christians' elder brother (Rom 9:2; 15:27, etc). Violence - physical, economic and verbal - has assailed the state of Israel since its re-birth in 1948.

Replacement theology is also a form of violence. In its active form it condemns the Jewish people and promulgates anti-Semitism; in its passive form it attempts to remove the Jewish roots and distinctives of the Christian faith. Many tenets of Replacement theology arise from lack of knowledge, poor biblical teaching or traditional anti-Semitic motifs, recycled to fit the modern era.

The Esau Syndrome: Gloating Over Israel's Misfortune

The second aspect of the Esau syndrome is seen when those who hold a 'replacement' stance gloat when Israel seems to be in a state of catastrophe. Events are seen as an illustration that God has finished with the Jewish people and that the state of Israel is a theological aberration. Obadiah cries out (v12) that you should not look down upon your brother in the day of his misfortune.

Instead of gloating over the misfortunes of the Jewish state, or aiding and abetting those who wish to see its downfall, Christians should be very aware that the way one treats Jacob is a key to how the Lord will treat them (Gen 12:2-3).

The scriptures imply that selling off one's inheritance in the Lord as something common causes deep offence or hatred from God.

The prophecies of Obadiah speak to the Church about the source and place of deliverance, which is Zion. Those who produce a form of wisdom coming from Edom are roundly condemned by the prophet (v8).

The Esau Syndrome: An Exchanged Birthright

The third facet of the Esau syndrome is that much of the wisdom received within Christian theology has not been the wisdom that has come from Zion (the Jewish roots of the faith). It is as if, in a similar manner to Esau, the second century Church exchanged its Jewish birthright for a bowl of Greek philosophical pottage, and in so doing left behind the true Messianic understanding. In the words of Joseph Klausner, "...the Christian Messiah is in essence only a further development of the Jewish Messiah. From Judaism Christianity received the ideas of redemption, the redeemer Messiah, the Day of Judgment, and the kingdom of heaven."

The departure from the Jewish roots of the Christian faith has a detrimental effect - not only for the theology of the Church, but also within the field of Christian-Jewish dialogue. It is hardly surprising that a number of Jewish leaders have questioned the value of dialogue when the Christian side have presented them with a non-Jewish based theology whilst claiming to worship the Jewish Messiah. Counted as possibly the first Christian apologist, Justin, one of the first to articulate the replacement position in the early second century, persisted in wearing the philosopher's garb until the end of his days.

The early Church father, Origen (c 185-254), one of the most profound influences on Eusebius of Caesarea and through him the Emperor Constantine, studied philosophy at the feet of Ammonius Saccus in the company of Plotinus, the founder of neo-Platonism. Constantine 'nationalised' Christianity which developed ever more Greek concepts in its developing theology. The trend continued through the medieval period and by the time of the Enlightenment the scene was set for modern liberal theology to develop from centuries of a thought-system contrary to that inspired by the prophets of Israel.

Esau represents those who have chosen to abandon the revealed ways of God in favour of things that are of more immediate, less eternal value.

The Esau Syndrome: No Stabilising, Nourishing Roots

The fourth aspect of the Esau syndrome is the enfeeblement of the believing community. If as believers we lose contact with the roots of our faith, we will not receive nourishment but rather become weakened and blown around by winds of deviant doctrine. The despising of the Jewish roots of the faith has caused dire effects throughout the history of the Church. Antisemitism and the teaching of contempt developed and grew in the Christian Church and may be held to be contributing factors to the atrocities committed against the Jewish people, not least the Nazi Holocaust.

Obadiah's words chide the believing community today to return to the biblical teachings and depart from the syncretic, accommodationist positions held by many. The judgment upon Esau is terrible in the extreme concerning the pride exhibited. There is a spirit of pride within the believing community today that will not accept the revealed word of the Lord in the scriptures and prefer to follow the wisdom of men. Adhering to such a tendency will bring disaster and ultimately a post-Christian worldview. Even when a thief comes in the night he does not steal everything, but leaves something - those who are under the judgment of the Lord will be left with absolutely nothing.

Christians should be very aware that the way they treat Israel is a key to how the Lord will treat them.

Called to Endurance, Not Error

The following consideration brings us to a crisis point. Will the believing community heed the words of Obadiah and look to Zion for deliverance or will some persist in the Esau syndrome, continuing to despise God's election and call of the Jewish people as the vehicle of salvation? Will they return to the roots of the faith and be nourished and enriched by them, or will they continue in their error?

The consequences of ignoring the call are dire. The believers are called to endure in the days of trouble (Rev 1-3). Endurance only comes from certitude, or knowing God through the Messiah in a personal way. It is not enough simply to know about the power of God or have an idea about God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the father of Jesus the Messiah, may only be known by understanding the accounts of the self-disclosure of God through the Jewish scriptures, which include all of the New Testament, and seeking his face in the place of prayer.

Originally published in Prophecy Today, Vol 13 No 1, 1997. Revised November 2016.

Shocking anti-Semitism as Britain prepares to celebrate.

As British Christians prepare to celebrate a famous milestone in Jewish history, battle lines are being drawn up and some shots have already been fired in anger.

Passions of indignation from left-wing politicians and others are being stirred in response to plans for marking the centenary next year of the Balfour Declaration, through which the British Government promised to do all in its power to facilitate the return to their ancient homeland of the Jewish people.

From Balfour to the Birth of Israel

Lord Arthur Balfour was British Foreign Secretary at the time, the Government having over the previous century been influenced by a succession of anointed Christian leaders – such as William Wilberforce, Charles Spurgeon, Lord Shaftesbury and Bishop J C Ryle – along with the fledgling Zionist movement among the Jews themselves.

As it happened, Britain was perfectly positioned to fulfil the pledge she had made within weeks of this announcement, when General Edmund Allenby and his forces marched into Jerusalem to end 400 years of Turkish rule over the region.

It should not, of course, have taken another 31 years for the Jewish state to be re-born, but this extraordinary political act clearly paved the way for this eventual outcome. And it is something for which British people can be justly proud, in spite of the unnecessary delays caused by appeasement in the face of Arab opposition.

The extraordinary Balfour Declaration paved the way for the Jewish state to be re-born.

New and Old Denials

But the tide of world opinion has once more turned against God's chosen people. In 2017 we will also be marking the 70^th anniversary of the United Nations vote recognising Israel - in which Britain shamefully abstained. But it was carried by the required two-thirds majority, to the great jubilation of world Jewry along with Bible-believing Christians across the globe who were excited by the imminent fulfilment of many ancient prophecies about the return of exiled Jews from the four corners of the earth.

But now this same body has denied historic Jewish ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, recognising them only as Muslim holy sites. Since Islam only emerged in the 7^th Century AD, and mountains of archaeological and biblical evidence point to Jewish existence in Jerusalem for thousands of years, how absurd is that?

As Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu put it, "To declare that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or that Egypt has no connection to the Pyramids."¹

Anti-Semitism in the House of Lords

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority leaders have – not for the first time – threatened to sue the British Government over Balfour! Perhaps this is what encouraged the outrageous meeting held last week in the House of Lords – called to launch a campaign to apologise for the Balfour Declaration – in which Jews were blamed for the Holocaust.

Hosted by Baroness Tonge, a former Liberal Democrat MP who sits as an independent, the meeting provoked concern about the level of anti-Semitic discourse in mainstream politics and sparked off the subsequent resignation from the party of the Baroness. An Israeli Embassy spokesman described the gathering as "a shameful event".²

Participants at the event said that some in attendance made anti-Semitic statements, including blaming Jews or Zionists for the Holocaust. Participants also reportedly drew comparisons between Israel and Islamic terrorists.³

Last week a campaign was launched calling for Britain to apologise for the Balfour Declaration.

This is just the latest in a series of such occurrences involving Tonge, who recently blamed Israel's treatment of Palestinian Arabs for the rise of anti-Semitism in Britain. In July this year she said that "the treatment of the Palestinians by Israel is a major cause of the rise of extreme Islamism and ISIS."⁴ Back in 2004, she said she would consider becoming a suicide bomber if she were an Arab living in the Palestinian Authority.

Violence on Campus

Also in London last week, police were called to the University College after anti-Israel protesters stormed an event organised by pro-Israel advocacy groups. Things were said to have "got out of hand" and officers apparently warned attendees to stay inside for their own protection.⁵

A similar event took place at King's College, London, earlier this year when protesters violently disrupted a talk by Ami Ayalon, ex-Commander of the Israeli Navy and former head of the Shin Bet internal security operation.⁶

The Ultimate Battle Lines

Attempts by the UN and others to rewrite history will ultimately fail because God will have the last word. In Zechariah 12:3, the Bible warns that a day will come when the nations will attempt to wrestle Jerusalem from the Jewish people. But they will only 'injure' themselves.

Better to give up opposing Israel now than face the fury of the Lord when he comes in his glory round about the time this prophesied event occurs (read Zechariah 12-14).

Jesus, the Jew, is coming back to reign on earth. Make sure you are on his side!

Notes

1 Ravid, B and Khouri, J. UNESCO backs motion nullifying Jewish ties to Temple Mount. Haaretz, 13 October 2016. See also Prophecy Today commentary, 14 October 2016.

2 Dominic Kennedy, The Times of London, 27 October 2016.

3 Arutz-7/Jerusalem News Network, 31 October 2016.

4 Ibid.

5 Algemeiner/Jerusalem News Network News Network, 31 October 2016.

6 Ibid.

A UNESCO resolution was passed yesterday denying the Jewish claim to Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

The resolution, which passed with 24 votes in favour versus 6 against (with 26 abstentions), re-classifies Temple Mount in exclusively Muslim terms and fails to acknowledge its significance to Jews.

Whilst it acknowledges Jerusalem as significant to three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), the section on Temple Mount omits any reference to Judaism or Christianity and uses only Arabic place-names,¹ effectively re-writing several thousand years of history.

The resolution on 'Occupied Palestine' is in its second draft form (the first draft was voted on in April, with a similar result). Having now passed through the UNESCO committee stage, it will go to the Executive Board for approval next week. Unsurprisingly, it was tabled by several Arab states, including Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and Sudan, no doubt acting on behalf of Hamas. Interestingly, several heavyweight nations with supposedly positive relations with Israel also voted for the resolution, including Russia and China.

International Condemnation

The resolution's blatant defiance of the historical and archaeological record and its clear anti-Israel (many have already said anti-Semitic) bias has caused quite a stir, both in Israel and internationally. This morning Israel froze all co-operation with UNESCO until further notice, with Education Minister Naftali Bennett arguing that the vote will only encourage further terror attacks on Jews.²

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also criticised the resolution, describing UNESCO as an "absurd theater" and saying "To say that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China and that Egypt has no connection to the Pyramids".³ Israeli President Reuven Rivlin responded to the result: "No forum or body in the world can say that there is no connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel and to Jerusalem. A body that does so is simply humiliating itself."⁴

The Western Wall of Jerusalem remains one of the most hotly contested spaces in the world.Further afield, Bulgarian Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova has signalled her clear disapproval of the motion, saying that it threatens to undermine the organisation's activities,⁵ which are supposedly to work for global peace and security. Criticism has also come at UNESCO from lawmakers at all points on the political spectrum, as well as pro-Israel lobbying groups worldwide.

Anti-Semitic Agendas

In broader context, the resolution represents the next stage in the Arab bid to delegitimise Israel and erase her claim on the Land, from the top down, through a concerted effort within the UN. The text of the resolution repeatedly refers to Israel as 'the occupying Power' and nearly exhausts the thesaurus with its cries for Israel to relinquish her presence and authority in the West Bank: it 'deplores', 'condemns', 'decries', 'disapproves of' and 'deeply regrets' Israel's authority over the contested areas, condemning "continuous Israeli aggressions" and "provocative abuses", with no mention whatsoever of Palestinian terror activity.⁶

Linguistically, it builds on the vote in 2010 to refer to various holy Jewish sites in both Muslim and Hebrew terms (with the Muslim term coming first, of course), e.g. 'al-Haram al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs' and 'Bilal bin Rabah Mosque/Rachel's Tomb' ,⁷ this time removing Hebrew terminology altogether.

The resolution on 'Occuped Palestine' is more than just a failure to acknowledge the Jewish claim on Temple Mount – it is a deliberate erasure of it, a bald-faced attempt to rewrite history in favour of contemporary Islamic agendas. It is the latest in a string of distorted, anti-Semitic judgments to emerge from the UN, adding to the international effort to demonise Israel's presence in the West Bank and her claim on Jerusalem.⁸

The resolution is the UN's latest bald-faced attempt to rewrite history against Israel and in favour of Islam.

Dangerous Games

But, thankfully, it is not all bad news. Aside from Russia, no European state voted for the resolution this time around, thanks to recent Israeli diplomatic efforts to improve relations with other Western countries. Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama-Hacohen, has commented that the vote shows a loss of key Palestinian support ground in Europe (particularly significant is France's shift from leading the anti-Israel vote to abstention), compared to the vote on the resolution's first draft, in April of this year.⁹ It's not much, but it's a start – we are not yet at the stage of global war on Israel, as prophesied in Ezekiel 38.

God clearly states in Scripture that "I will bless those who bless [Israel], and whoever curses [Israel] I will curse". This promise has never been rescinded – it is as true today for modern individuals and nations as it was for ancient empires.

As Hatikvah's excellent documentary 'Abraham's Vision'¹⁰ helpfully unpacks, the Hebrew words for 'curse' differ in this verse. God promises to 'ârar' [bitterly curse] those who 'qâlal' [make light of, despise, treat with contempt] Israel. This includes the least form of mockery or denial.

Those who voted for the resolution are treading on dangerous ground, for "it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb 10:31). Thankfully, Britain voted against it!¹¹ But we should not be rubbing our hands with glee at the prospect of the Arab nations eventually getting their just desserts – we should be praying that God brings them into a full knowledge of the truth, about him and his people – and we should be standing up for this truth ourselves.

Thanks to Israeli diplomatic efforts, no European state voted for the resolution.

The Way to True Peace

UNESCO's mission is to build peace "in the minds of men and women". As its behaviour stands in such stark contrast to this goal, we must learn that we cannot rely on international institutions of 'peace' and 'justice' to promote the truth worldwide. Only those whose minds are being renewed by The Truth himself - Jesus Messiah, who makes "one new man" out of Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:15), dissolving centuries of enmity - can show the world the pathway to true peace. And we don't have to be international diplomats or UN officials to do that – it starts where we are, with those immediately around us, today.

References

1 The Western Wall is mentioned only twice in the whole document, both times in quotation marks and after the Arabic name Al-Buraq, suggesting lesser legitimacy. The phrase 'Temple Mount' is missing from the entire document, replaced 15 times with the Islamic name Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif.

2 Hoffman, G. Bennett suspends Israeli cooperation with UNESCO after Temple Mount vote. Jerusalem Post, 14 October 2016.

3 Ravid, B and Khouri, J. UNESCO backs motion nullifying Jewish ties to Temple Mount. Haaretz, 13 October 2016.

4 Ibid.

5 Sharon, I and Arhen, R. UNESCO chief pans her member states on anti-Israel Jerusalem resolution. Times of Israel, 14 October 2016.

6 The full text of the resolution can be read here.

7 See Wikipedia's page on UNESCO.

8 Since 2013, Israel has been condemned in 45 resolutions from the UN Human Rights Council (nearly half of all the country-specific resolutions it has ever passed). See here.

9 Ahren, R. Outrageous as it may be, UNESCO's Jerusalem vote has a silver lining. Times of Israel, 14 October 2016.

10 Previously published as 'Blessing, Curse or Coincidence? Vol 1', see here.

11 Other countries voting against were Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the United States.

Charles Gardner comments on the controversy.

I was struck with a mysterious sense of déjà vu when, having spent much of the afternoon researching the life and times of Theodor Herzl, inspiration for the Jewish nation, I heard on the news that a red-hot political row had broken out over anti-Semitism.

I had just been witnessing movie scenes¹ of the shocking racist incidents that probably drove Herzl into an early grave as he vowed to do something about it. Yet now, some 120 years after his campaign to establish a Jewish national home got off the ground, anti-Semitism is still rife in Europe's corridors of power.

The Labour Party, Britain's official opposition which has traditionally had the support of most Jews, is reeling from the shockwaves of anti-Jewish feeling expressed by some of its leading figures.

First we heard of the suspension of a Labour MP for having posted anti-Israel comments on social media,² then it was the resignation of an Oxford University Labour group leader sickened by anti-Semitism in its ranks.³ Then we learnt of a young Labour councillor forced to resign after it emerged she had tweeted that Hitler was "the greatest man in history".⁴

And now former London Mayor Ken Livingstone takes to the airwaves to defend a Labour MP suspended on similar grounds.

After claiming Hitler was a Zionist who, in 1932, believed Jews should be moved to Israel, Mr Livingstone invoked a tirade of invective not only from opponents, but from many within his own party including a Nottinghamshire MP, John Mann, who confronted him in the street and called him a "disgusting, lying racist" and "Nazi apologist".⁵

Britain's official opposition is reeling from shockwaves of anti-Jewish feeling expressed by some of its leading figures.

Around 30 Labour MPs, including several Shadow Cabinet members, demanded Mr Livingstone be expelled from the party (he has been suspended) and there was outrage over the decision by Mr Corbyn to issue a public telling off to Mr Mann.

Labour peer Lord Dubs – who escaped the Nazis as a child through Britain's Kindertransport scheme – is "enormously troubled" by the row. "What we need is firm leadership; the leadership has been a bit slow in responding [to anti-Semitism]", he told a British TV news programme. Jewish Labour donor David Abrahams, who has given £650,000 to the party, called for Mr Corbyn to resign, saying a new leader was needed to cut out the 'cancer' of anti-Semitism.⁶

As for Mr Livingstone's claim, historian Andrew Roberts says it's a "grotesque mangling of the historical record", adding: "The idea that Hitler ever wanted a fully-functioning successful Jewish state in Palestine...is ludicrous."⁷

Mr Corbyn, for his part, who has referred to terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah as "friends", denies the party is in crisis.

Godlessness in the Public Square

The chilling aspect of all this is that it is not something taking place in a dark corner. It's in the public square, at the very centre of British politics. And I have a hunch what lies behind it.

The root cause, I believe, is the growing godlessness in the nation, and especially in the Labour Party. What a travesty for a political movement launched by devout Christians like Keir Hardie determined to let their faith make a difference to society by campaigning for a fairer share of wealth (for example). But what motivates them now?

People who are godless hit out at those who are special to God. That's what happened in Hitler's case; it led to mass murder and mayhem, but ended in disaster and defeat for the dictator and his people. As Genesis 12:3 says, those who bless Israel will themselves be blessed - but those who curse Israel will be cursed.

The chilling aspect of all this is that it is not taking place in a dark corner. It's in the public square - at the centre of British politics.

Steven Jaffe, a member of the UK's Jewish Board of Deputies, made this point earlier in the year when he said that the Holocaust had been spawned by godlessness and the rejection of faith. He said the exodus from Egypt was immediately followed by the battle with Amalek, who had no reason to attack Israel. There was no territorial dispute or history of conflict, for example. And they attacked the sick and the elderly – those who were most vulnerable. (Deut 25:17-18)

"The conflict with Amalek is not over", he said. Amalek denied God and his power in the same way the Nazis did, and the latter mirrored their lack of mercy.

Never Again?

The poisonous view that God does not exist naturally leads to godless behaviour and thought. Pledges of never letting another Holocaust occur are not enough, in my opinion; without a recovery of faith in the God of Israel, there can be no guarantee that it won't happen again.

The only safe place to be – in the long term – is in God's hands, doing his work. I challenge the Labour Party to return to its Judeo-Christian roots.

References

1 It is no dream. Moriah Films collection, Simon Wiesenthal Centre.

2 MP Naz Shah suspended from Labour. BBC News, 27 April 2016.

3 Tran, M. Labour opens inquiry into antisemitism allegations at Oxford student club. The Guardian, 17 February 2016.

4 Labour councillor suspended over claims she called Hitler 'the greatest man in history'. The Telegraph, 10 April 2016.

5 Daily Mail, 29 April 2016

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

Whilst there are usually other big world issues demanding our attention, anti-Semitism is never far from the front pages of our newspapers.

For the UK, the big issue for the coming months will be the EU referendum, but whilst responding to our personal and national priorities we must be careful not to lose a broader perspective. What else is going on that may bring balance to our understanding and prayers?

Terror Attacks in Paris

In January 2015, world attention was drawn to the terror attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Following this came the assault on a Jewish Kosher supermarket in the east of the city, where four Jews were killed and where the surrounding Jewish neighbourhood was shocked by this act of terror.

These may have seemed like two simultaneous but independent incidents, with Charlie Hebdo taking highest priority in the media. To gain a more balanced perspective, one had to look outside of this and make extra effort to search for other news that would shed biblical light on the overall picture.

Doing this, one would have discovered a growing unease in French Jewish communities. According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, due to growing anti-Semitism about 7,000 French Jews had left the country during 2014 (many emigrating to Israel); double the figure for 2013.¹ The attack on the Paris market was connected to developing anti-Semitism across the nation and not an isolated incident to be sidelined by other news of the day.

Anti-Semitism is never far from the front pages of our newspapers – but it is easily obscured by other big world issues that demand our attention.

Other Recent CasesIsraeli IDs for new immigrants from France.

Anti-Semitic feeling² is erupting in many corners of society and in countries across the world. On Holocaust Memorial Day Martin Schulz, the German head of the European parliament, warned that anti-Semitism was prominent in the whole of Europe, with many European Jews living in fear and afraid to wear their religious garments on the streets of the continent's major cities.³

Anti-Semitism has become so bad in Malmo, the Swedish city where the popular television drama The Bridge is set, that it contributed to actor Kim Bodnia's decision to leave the show.⁴

Another incident in France occurred on Tuesday 12 January, when a Jewish politician was found stabbed and beaten to death at his home in the suburbs of Paris, prompting fears of yet another anti-Semitic attack.⁵

Recently the German head of the European parliament warned that anti-Semitism is rife across Europe, with many European Jews living in fear.

In Britain

Recently there have been anti-Semitic acts in British football.⁶ In London, there was an incident sparked by the sale of t-shirts with slogans designed to provoke Jewish fans of Tottenham. There has also been frequent anti-Semitic chanting from visiting supporters of rival teams.

Only last week an incident was highlighted when Oxford University was ordered by the government to investigate allegations of widespread anti-Semitism. The university's Jewish society had reported eight separate racism allegations levelled against the Oxford University Labour Club. This followed the resignation of co-chairman Alex Chalmers, who said a large proportion of members of OULC "have some kind of problem with Jews".⁷

This was also linked to concerns about trends in the Labour Party, whose leader Jeremy Corbyn has expressed strong sympathy for Hamas and Hezbollah. He failed to apologise for past links to these organisations in his first meeting with representatives of the Jewish community since becoming Labour leader.⁸ Is there a danger of growing anti-Semitism subtly infiltrating the ranks of one of the UK's main political parties?

The Bigger Picture

These examples of continuing anti-Semitism in the world should cause us to consider our world from a biblical perspective. It is so easy to get diverted into the politics of the day and forget what is happening behind the scenes.

Closer to home, anti-Semitic feeling has been noted recently in such diverse arenas as British football, universities and political parties.

Learning from Another Era

I was privileged to be on the staff at the Bible College of Wales during its latter years, when Rev Samuel Howells was Director. I would talk with him in his study and he would tell me something of the war years, when he was part of the team led by his father Rees Howells. In their commitment to prayer through those years they saw clearly that underlying the intent of Hitler to bring in the Nazi regime to dominate both Europe and the world was a spiritual battle for the survival of the Jews.

The account of these years is set out in Rees Howells: Intercessor (2003, Lutterworth Press). Samuel told me of the time when his father came out of the prayer room, ashen faced, saying that the Lord had asked him to take responsibility for the Jews in the Nazi death camps – and he had accepted. The ministry of intercession deepened in the college from that time on, as the deeper issues of the war were understood.

After the war the UN was to vote on the partition plan for Palestine. Dr Kingsley Priddy was Rees Howells' deputy at the time and he told me that they had visions of angels around the UN building as the vote took place. Samuel also said to me once something I still try to understand. Speaking of the intercessory team, he said "We lost six million Jews in the war, but the nation of Israel was reborn." This is perhaps how someone who takes responsibility in intercession will describe the battle and its results.

Samuel also told me that his father, once a strong man, died at a relatively young age in 1950 - strained by those years of spiritual warfare. That indicates the depth of the issues that we will face in future struggles of a similar kind.

During WWII, Rees Howells and his intercessory team saw clearly that underlying Hitler's intent to dominate the world was a spiritual battle for the survival of the Jews.

Same Battle, Different Manifestation

Our spiritual adversary dragged the entire world into a physical conflict in Europe in 1939. There is, similarly, a spiritual dimension to the UK's relation to Europe in our day. The door is now open for us to untangle ourselves from the EU. After that we will have an opportunity to regroup as a nation under God, according to our constitutional position expressed most clearly in the Queen's Coronation Oath.

Now more than ever, we need to understand the spiritual nature of this battle, whilst remembering the central purposes of God's end-time covenant plan. We must take care not to become pre-occupied fighting on one front while neglecting central issues on other, seemingly peripheral fronts.

Growing anti-Semitism is a symptom of an important front of the spiritual battle today, just as it has been through the entire history of Israel. God has a plan for Israel that will be resisted by our spiritual adversary in many ways, erupting in diverse places in what we call anti-Semitism.

Now more than ever, we need to understand the spiritual dimension of the battles we face today, including the UK's relationship with Europe.

One day this battle will be clearer to discern, with an overt turning against Israel stirred up among the rising world coalitions. For now, it may seem a more peripheral issue, but those with understanding will perceive the danger signs and the priorities for our prayers.

Interested in learning more about anti-Semitic trends around the world, or catching up on the latest incidents? You might benefit from looking at the following secular websites:

• The Anti-Defamation League: The ADL has recently produced an index of world anti-Semitism, presented as a useful map. It also catalogues selected anti-Semitic events from 2015.
• The Co-ordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism: the CFCA publishes trend reports, articles and news items (see their website here).

Notes

1 Aliyah Hits Ten-Year High: Approximately 26,500 New Immigrants Arrived in Israel in 2014. Jewish Agency for Israel, 2 January 2015.

2 There are a number of attempts at a precise definition of the term anti-Semitism. This one is useful.

3 See, for example, Sanchez, R, Europe's Jews are 'living in fear', warns head of EU parliament. The Telegraph, 27 January 2016.

4 Danish TV star says anti-Semitism made him uncomfortable in Sweden. Jerusalem Post, 17 February 2016.

5 Samuel, H, Killing of Jewish politician near Paris prompts fears of anti-Semitic attacks. The Telegraph, 13 January 2016.

6 See, for example, Telegraph Sport, Chelsea crack down on sales of abusive Arsene Wenger and Harry Kane T-shirts. The Telegraph, 9 February 2016. 7 Ali, A, Oxford University Labour Club co-chair, Alex Chalmers, resigns amid anti-Semitism row. The Independent, 17 February 2016. 8 See, for example, Riley-Smith, B and McCann, K, Jeremy Corbyn fails to apologise for links to Hamas and Hezbollah in first meeting with Jewish leaders. The Telegraph, 9 February 2016.

Paul Luckraft reviews 'The Jews: Why Have Christians Hated Them?' by Gordon Pettie (2010, Everlasting Books and Music Ltd, 172 pages, £5. Available on request from the UK office of Revelation TV)

I would recommend this book for two reasons. First, if you have never read anything before on this topic, then it will open your eyes to a very important aspect of Christian history and the relationship between the Church and Israel today.

Second, if you are familiar with the failings of the Church regarding the Jewish people, then this book will fill in any gaps in your knowledge and provide a very good summary in concise form, though it is sufficiently complete to act as a thorough reference to the prolonged Christian mistreatment of the Jews.

The author is honest enough to admit that his work may not ultimately provide a satisfactory answer to the question in the title. 'Why?' is always a complex question. But he has recorded as much evidence as he can fit reasonably into one book to demonstrate that, whatever the reason or reasons, "layer upon layer of hatred by Christians to Jews has taken place" (ppvii-viii).

This book provides a concise but thorough reference that will open your eyes to the topic of Christian-Jewish relations through history.

Impetus for the Book

The initial impetus for the book arose from two visits Pettie made to Israel, the first in 2000 when he was asked to administrate a 10-day conference in Jerusalem. A few months later he travelled back to fulfil a similar role for a Repentance Conference, where Protestants repented for what had been done in their name against the Jewish people through the centuries. A new journey of discovery had begun through which the author not only gathered information, but also found his love increasing for Israel and God's people.

The desire to commit to print what he was learning became a devotion and a full commitment. Not having written a book before this was a challenging prospect, but after a year and a half of research in which he studied little else, the book was ready. Its content is clearly disturbing but, as the author states, "For Christians to receive a wake-up call and start loving the Jews, they need to see what happened in the past. The evidence has to be examined, and some of it is not very nice!" (p8).

Denouncing Replacement Theology

The overall aim of the book is the denouncement of Replacement Theology and chapter two provides a very good discussion of this and how the early Church separated itself from its Jewish roots, amply illustrated by quotes from the early Church fathers.

The overall aim of the book is to denounce Replacement Theology, which it does through a very good discussion and with ample illustration.

It seems there is an unfortunate printing error on page 29 where the statement that "God is calling His Church to renounce the teaching of Repentance Theology" should presumably read "Replacement Theology". His next comment clarifies this as we are exhorted to "repent for the false doctrine that has arisen from it and re-establish the Jewish people to the right place that God has for them" (p29).

Chapter three focusses on Jerusalem and is followed by more details on how we have lost our Jewish heritage, including a helpful summary of the feasts and festivals. However, the heart of the book (nearly half the total number of pages) is devoted to a comprehensive chronological survey of Christian antagonism towards the Jews from Constantine to our own day. There is a special focus on Luther as one of the key moments in this immense catalogue of horrors, and a separate chapter entitled 'Christian support for Hitler's Holocaust'.

Practical Advice

However, this is not just a fact-finding book. The final chapter, entitled 'So what can be done?', contains practical advice on how to use what you have learnt in a meaningful way. The list of 14 suggestions include praying, study, offering practical help and speaking out – something for everyone!

This is more than just a fact-finding book. The final chapter contains practical advice on how to use what you have learnt in a meaningful way.

Here is a book that provides useful information but also stirs the heart. It is an excellent potted history and if readers want to find more details elsewhere there is a helpful list of recommended further reading. But there is enough here to help counter any remaining hostile attitudes and persuade us to show the Jewish people that we do not hate them. It goes some way to encouraging us to fulfil Paul's aim of showing Christ in such a way as to arouse the Jews to jealousy, so that they find in Jesus the Messiah they are longing for.

As UK Christians remember the Holocaust this week (27 January marking the day in 1945 when Auschwitz was liberated), they have been reminded that it was spawned by godlessness and the rejection of faith.

Amalek Cruelty

Steven Jaffe,¹ a member of the UK's Jewish Board of Deputies, was addressing a largely Christian audience at a church in Sheffield, Yorkshire. He said the exodus from Egypt was immediately followed by the battle with Amalek, who had no reason to attack Israel. There was no territorial dispute or history of conflict, for example. And they attacked the sick and the elderly – those who were most vulnerable (Deut 25:17-18).

"The conflict with Amalek is not over", he said. Amalek denied God and his power in the same way the Nazis did, and the latter mirrored their lack of mercy. Jaffe recalled that Britain's former Chief Rabbi, Lord Sachs, was once asked where God was during the Holocaust, to which he is said to have replied: "Where was man?"

Growing Godlessness

My worry is that the growing influence of rank atheism in Britain and Europe will have a bearing on the future of anti-Semitism. The poisonous view that God does not exist naturally leads to godless behaviour and thought, even among those previously tutored in godly ways. The result is that even some who claim to have faith, and who perhaps stand in pulpits, start believing the lie that is proclaimed so often through almost every strand of media.

My worry is that the growing influence of rank atheism in Britain and Europe will have a bearing on the future of anti-Semitism.

It is indeed frustrating that, as fast as we spread word about the horrors of the Holocaust, vowing that it should never be repeated, the vile infestation of anti-Semitism creeps into every crack and crevice of our broken society, as the walls of our Judeo-Christian civilisation come crashing down around us.

Loathing of Israel

In polite Britain, hatred of Jews is generally not expressed openly, but often takes the form of a loathing of Israel, so that the very mention of the Jewish state is enough to raise the hackles not only of the politically-aware man in the street, but of the semi-biblically aware man in the pew.

As Jaffe told the Bush Fire Church, such loathing cannot be explained in rational terms. But he was spot on, I believe, in linking the phenomenon with a society that has thrown God out of the window. Pledges of never letting it happen again are not enough, in my opinion; without a recovery of faith in the God of Israel, there can be no guarantee that another holocaust won't take place.

In recent months, Iran has been boasting of how its nuclear deal last year "has provided an historic opportunity to...face threats posed by the Zionist entity"². It is well to recall that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, collaborated with Hitler, setting the stage for today's jihad against Israel.³ And yet, bizarrely, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and current Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have both publicly denied that the Holocaust ever took place.⁴

In polite Britain, hatred of Jews is generally not expressed openly, but often takes the form of a loathing of Israel.

Holocaust memorial, Berlin. See Photo Credits.

Light in the Darkness

Against such a dark background, however, there is plenty of encouragement. The Sheffield gathering heard much about the heroic acts of so-called 'righteous Gentiles' like Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia in 1938. Generations of people – almost 7,000 of some of the world's greatest doctors, lawyers, teachers and inventors – owe their lives to the act of one man's efforts to help Jewish children escape the Nazis.

Last year in Leeds the Shalom Declaration was launched, with hundreds signing a commitment to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, fight anti-Semitism and promote solidarity with Israel. Steven Jaffe himself said that this is sending out a clear message of Christian support for Britain's Jewish community. "There isn't a corner of the British Isles that the Shalom Declaration has not been signed", he said.

On the faith front, we were told that "there are more Jews learning the Torah today in Israel that at any time in our history", preparing them well for the great event we are perhaps soon to witness when Jesus reveals himself on a grand scale to his brothers in the flesh.

Forgiveness Vital

Though many Jews quite understandably have a problem with this, especially with the Holocaust in mind, we are reminded that the key is forgiveness. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he had already long since forgiven them for acting treacherously against him.

Pledges of never letting it happen again are not enough: without a recovery of faith in the God of Israel, there can be no guarantee that another holocaust won't take place.

British television viewers were recently treated to a remarkable Channel 4 documentary, The Girl Who Forgave the Nazis,⁵ recounting the story of how Hungarian Jew Eva Kor, now 81, a former inmate of Auschwitz, has publicly forgiven 94-year-old Oskar Groenig, the death camp's former accountant, who was recently sentenced to four years in jail for his part in the Nazi's evil scheme.

Eva and her twin sister Miriam were experimented on by the infamous Dr Josef Mengele, but survived the camp. Eva said: "It's time to forgive, but not forget...I believe that forgiveness is such a powerful thing...and I want everybody to help me sow these seeds of peace throughout the world."

This takes amazing courage. But it is worth remembering that Jesus, our Messiah, made the first move when he prayed as he died in agony on a cross in Jerusalem: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases..." (Ps 103:2-3)

"Seek the Lord while he may be found...for he will freely pardon." (Isa 55:6-7)

Charles Gardner is author of Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com.

References

1 Jaffe works with the British Board of Deputies as a Communal Engagement with Israel Consultant. See Board of Deputies website. Jaffe has previously reported elsewhere on Christian support for Israel.

2 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Beirut, 12 August 2015. See Times of Israel coverage here, written by Newman/AFP.

3 Soakell, D. Christian Friends of Israel's Watching Over Zion newsletter, 21 January.

4 Ibid.

5 Originally broadcast on Channel 4, Saturday 23 January, 8pm. Still available on 4oD.

Clifford Denton moves from the Middle Ages to the Reformation, exploring how contemporary attitudes and beliefs regarding Israel came to be established in Christian culture.

Introduction

In this study series we have carefully traced the separation of the Christian Church from Israel and the Jewish people. We have shown that this began in earnest in the 2nd Century AD and encouraged and was amplified by anti-Semitism, which drove a deepening wedge between Church and Synagogue.

The later theological position of the Church was worked out among a number of developing Christian sects and denominations, largely centered on the Roman Catholic Church for many centuries. These theologies affirmed the separation of Christianity from Judaism and eventually wrote Israel out of the picture in any significant way.

The Reformation of the 16^th Century brought a fresh move to take the Church back to its roots but its work was incomplete and so division remained both in theology and practice. This week we will illustrate this point by considering some of the writings of the prominent theologians of the Reformation, whose arguments are still found in foremost theology books today.

The Reformation of the 16^th Century was a fresh move encouraging the Church back to its roots, but its work was left incomplete when it came to relationships with Israel and the Jews.

The Reformation

The Reformation of the 16th Century began when Martin Luther presented his 95 Theses dramatically to the Roman Catholic Church. "The Just Shall Live by His Faith" then rang out across Christendom to challenge the Church to reform, repent of corruption and return to its true roots.

The door where the 95 Theses were posted, Wittenburg. See Photo Credits.

Yet this had little impact upon the Jews scattered into their communities across the world. Through misunderstanding or aggressive instincts, Luther then turned on the Jews and an opportunity was lost to complete the Reformation and mend the rift between Judaism and Christianity. Theological misunderstandings remain to this day, despite the emergence of new life in the Christian Church. Marvin Wilson writes in Our Father Abraham (p99):

Martin Luther made a decisive break with the Catholic Church. The issues most central to this German Reformer included faith and works, Scripture and tradition, and the priesthood of believers. But these issues did not constitute Luther's total theological agenda. Toward the start of his influential career he expressed hope of reaching the Jewish community with the Christian gospel. In 1523 he issued a tract, That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, which affirmed the Jewish descent of Jesus. Luther pointed out that early missionary outreach to Jews failed not because of evil or obstinacy on the part of the Jews but because of the "wicked and shameless" life of popes, priests, and scholars.

However well-meant or kindly intentioned Luther's attitude was at the start, he changed. When he saw that Jews failed to respond to the Christian message, he became hostile toward them. He issued a series of vitriolic pamphlets, including On Jews and Their Lies (1543). In these bitter diatribes he labeled Jews as "venomous," "thieves," and "disgusting vermin." Furthermore, Luther called for Jews to be permanently driven out of the country. Appealing to this and other anti-Semitic doctrine, four centuries later the Nazis carried out Luther's desire with horrifying success.

Whilst Dr Wilson also notes, "Fortunately, in recent years, the efforts of both Jewish and Lutheran leaders have considerably improved interfaith relations", the Reformation perpetuated a theology of separation that is still ingrained in the theology books of the Christian Church and is an assumption within the teaching programmes of the majority of Bible Schools.

The Reformation perpetuated a theology of separation that is still ingrained in the Church today, and is an assumption in the teaching programmes of most Bible Schools.

The sale of indulgences was challenged. See Photo Credits.Prior to the Reformation, theological positions had been developed particularly through the Church Councils:

• The First Council of Nicaea, called by Constantine, 325 AD
• The First Council of Constantinople, called by Theodosius, 381 AD
• The Council of Ephasus, called by Theodosius II, 431 AD
• The Council of Chacedon, called by Emperor Marcian and Pope Leo, I 451 AD
• The Second Council of Constantinople, called by Justinian I, 553 AD
• The Third Council of Constantinople, called by Constantine Pogonatus, 680 AD
• The Second Council of Nicaea, called by Irene and her son Constantine V, 787 AD

By the 16th Century, discontent was growing with the control and corruption emanating from the Church (centred in Rome). Out of this came the dramatic emergence of the Reformation. We will now examine the seeds sown by key Reformation thinkers and look at the fruit these are still bearing in modern Church theologies. First, we quote from John Calvin, the well-known Reformation theologian.

John Calvin

We quote at length from Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (Eerdmans 1989) - without analysis, so as to let the quotations speak for themselves. However, it is first important to state that we are not suggesting that everything about these quotations is wrong – rather that they clearly display a bias in Calvin's understanding of the relationship between Israel and the Christian Church.

John Calvin. See Photo Credits.From the chapter 'The Difference Between the Testaments', we read:

What then? You will say, Is there no difference between the Old and New Testaments?...These differences (so far as I have been able to observe them and can remember) seem to be chiefly four, or if you choose to add a fifth, I have no objections...

The first difference then is, that though, in old time, the Lord was pleased to direct the thoughts of his people, and raise their minds to the heavenly inheritance, yet, that their hope of it might be the better maintained, he held forth, and, in a manner, gave a foretaste of it under earthly blessings, whereas the gift of future life, now more clearly and lucidly revealed by the gospel, leads our minds directly to meditate upon it, the inferior mode of exercise formerly employed in regard to the Jews being now laid aside...

Another distinction between the Old and New Testaments is in the types, the former exhibiting only the image of truth, while the reality was absent, the shadow instead of the substance, the latter exhibiting both the full truth and the entire body...

I proceed to the third distinction...expressed by Jeremiah (Chapter 31)...Let us now explain the Apostle's contrast step by step. The Old Testament is literal, because promulgated without the efficacy of the Spirit: the New spiritual, because the Lord has engraven it on the heart. The second antithesis is a kind of the first. The Old is deadly, because it can do nothing but involve the whole human race in a curse; the New is the instrument of life because those are freed from the curse it restores to favour with God. The former is the ministry of condemnation, because it charges the whole sons of Adam with transgression; the latter the ministry of righteousness, because it unfolds the mercy of God, by which we are justified.

The last antithesis must be referred to the Ceremonial Law. Being a shadow of things to come, it behoved in time to perish and vanish away; whereas the Gospel, inasmuch as it exhibits the very body, is firmly established forever. Jeremiah, indeed, calls the Moral Law also a weak and fragile covenant; but for another reason – namely, because it was immediately broken by the sudden defection of an ungrateful people; but as the blame of such violation is in the people themselves, it is not properly alleged against the covenant.

The ceremonies, again, inasmuch as through their very weakness they were dissolved by the advent of Christ, had the cause of weakness from within. Moreover, the difference between the spirit and the letter must not be understood as if the Lord had delivered his Law to the Jews without any good result; ie as if none had been converted to him. It is used comparatively to commend the riches of the grace with which the same Lawgiver, assuming, as it were, a new character, honoured the preaching of the Gospel...

Out of the third distinction a fourth arises. In Scripture, the term bondage is applied to the Old Testament, because it begets fear, and the term freedom to the New because productive of confidence and security...

The fifth distinction which we have to add consists in this, that until the advent of Christ, the Lord set apart one nation, to which he confined the covenant of his grace...Israel was thus the Lord's favourite child, and the others were aliens...The calling of the Gentiles, therefore, is a distinguishing feature illustrative of the superiority of the New over the Old Testament...by this public call, the Gentiles were not only made equal to the Jews, but seemed to be substituted into their place, as if the Jews had been dead.

Though great scholarship emerged from the works of Calvin and others, thoughts had already polarised regarding law/grace, new/old, Jew/Gentile, bondage/freedom - and all Jews were thought of as one body together. Generally, the Gentile Church and its theologies were becoming organised around an assumed separation from Israel, though this was not always mentioned except in passing.

The Church was forming a theology which assumed separation between Jew and Christian.

If we jump for a moment to the present day, and refer to a popular modern theology book by Louis Berkhof, his Systematic Theology (Banner of Truth, 1984), we can illustrate this point as it has continued to this day. On the Second Coming (p698-690), Berkhof dismisses the pre-millennial view of the re-establishment of the nation of Israel prior to or during the Lord's millennial reign. He interprets the Church as the New Israel and considers natural Israel as being replaced:

He [Jesus] informs the wicked Jews that the Kingdom will be taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, Matt.21:43...He does not hint of any prospective restoration and conversion of the Jewish people. This silence of Jesus is very significant. Now it may be thought that Rom. 11:11-32 certainly teaches the future conversion of the nation of Israel...In the chapters 9-11 the apostle discusses the question, how the promises of God to Israel can be reconciled with the rejection of the greater part of Israel. He points out first of all in the chapters 9 and 10 that the promise applies, not to Israel according to the flesh, but to the spiritual Israel, that there is among them still a remnant according to the election of grace, 11:1-10.

And even the hardening of the greater part of Israel is not God's final end, but rather a means in His hand to bring salvation to the Gentiles, in order that these, in turn, by enjoying the blessings of salvation, may provoke Israel to jealousy. The hardening of Israel will always be only partial, for through all succeeding centuries there will always be some who accept the Lord..."All Israel" is to be understood as a designation, not of the whole nation, but the whole number of the elect out of the ancient covenant people...the apostle said...that the promises were for spiritual Israel...with the fullness of the Gentiles the fullness of Israel will also come in.

We see here a perpetuation of replacement theology written into a modern-day theology book. Elsewhere there is the hidden assumption that the Church is a distinct entity, separated from any strong Hebraic foundations. For example, Berkhof's Systematic Theology contains a full 50 pages on what the Church is, including its nature, its names from a linguistic background, the history of its development, its Catholic and Greek fathers and its post-Reformation and Protestant history. But the Church is so much assumed a new body replacing Israel that Israel itself is not mentioned even once in these 50 pages of definition.

This illustrates the basis of Christian theology as is taught in many seminaries, and as it has developed from the early days of separation. We turn now to two more early theologians.

Thomas Aquinas

First, we quote from several sections of Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica (quoting from Methuen, 1989). Aquinas appears to have linked Christian theology more to the Greek philosopher Aristotle than to its Hebrew foundations:

Thomas Aquinas. See Photo Credits.On Law he writes:

In the New Testament God spoke to us in his Son, in the Old Testament by angels. God instituted the law by his own authority and promulgated it through angels. And it was bestowed together with other special advantages on the people of the Jews, because of the promise made to their forefathers that Christ should be born from them...Christ was destined in the future to save every nation, but still had to be born from one. So, although certain injunctions of the Old Law proclaimed the law which is in us by nature and such had to be observed by all – not as Old Law but as law of our nature, certain injunctions of the Old Law were peculiar to it and obliged only people of the Jews...

Does the law oblige us to do virtuous deeds virtuously? According to Aristotle when we act knowingly, choosing what we do voluntarily for some intended goal, and doing it wholeheartedly with a firm and unwavering commitment...

On Faith, he writes:

Authority is instituted by human law. Since the law of grace does not abrogate human law based on reason, being believers does not as such exempt us from the already established authority of disbelievers. The church, however, does have God's authority to take authority away from disbelievers, since their disbelief makes them unworthy to exercise power over believers, who have become sons of God. And sometimes the church exercises this right, sometimes not.

As regards disbelievers subject to temporal authority of the church or its members, church law states that slaves of Jews must be freed immediately on becoming Christians, with no ransom paid if they were born slaves or sold into slavery. But if in the market they must be offered for ransom within three months. The church has the right to dispose of the Jew's goods since he is subject to the church...The church permits Christians to work Jewish lands, because that doesn't involve living together, but if such contact did hold dangers for the faith of Christians it would be altogether forbidden.

On Jesus' suffering he writes:

Wished-for ignorance aggravates faults rather than excuses them, for it shows a man so intent on sinning that he doesn't want to know anything that might deter him from sin. The Jews sinned in this way, crucifying Christ not only as man but as God. The Jewish leaders' sin was the gravest, both because of what they did and because it was done with malice. More excusable was the sin of the pagans at whose hands Christ was crucified, for they had no knowledge of the Law.

In the writings of Aquinas, as with other Christian theologians, we detect the move to see the Gentile world subdued under Christianity, as well as the issue of Church merged with State. From the days of Emperor Constantine, Christianity became the religion of the Empire. Later, through the theologians that we have quoted, Greek philosophy merged with biblical teaching, and the politics of Greece led to a desire for Christianity to be a political power in the world.

As Greek philosophy merged with biblical teaching, the politics of Greece created a desire for Christianity to be a political power in the world, subduing others.

This increased the contrast with the Nation of Israel, seen as the body of people now rejected and replaced by other nations. The eloquence of this logic (Greek though it is) has been beguiling to this day.

Martin Luther

Second, for the purposes of illustration, we turn to Martin Luther. In Luther's Theological Writings (ed. TF Lull, Fortress Press, 1989), we read from the section 'How Christians should Regard Moses':

I have stated that all Christians, and especially those who handle the word of God and attempt to teach others, should take heed and learn Moses aright. Thus where he gives a commandment, we are not to follow him except so far as he agrees with the natural law. Moses is a teacher and doctor of the Jews. We have our own master, Christ, and he has set before us what we are to know, observe, do, and leave undone.

However, it is true that Moses sets down, in addition to the laws, fine examples of faith and unfaith – punishment of the godless, elevation of the righteous and believing – and also the dear and comforting promises concerning Christ which we should accept. The same is true of the gospel. For example in the account of the ten lepers, that Christ bids them go to the priest and make sacrifice (Luke 17:14) does not pertain to me. The example of their faith, however, does pertain to me; I should believe Christ as they did.

Luther's over-strong departure from the continuity of biblical and covenant history is clear.

Summary

When surveying the emergence of Christian theologies, we perceive an assumed separation from Hebraic foundations and, as a result, a reaction against the Jews. The Church became re-defined in Gentile terms and the separation from its roots continues in many theology books today.

When we survey the emergence of Christian theologies, we see an assumed separation from Hebrew roots, re-defining the Church in Gentile terms.

We quote finally from David H Stern's Messianic Jewish Manifesto (Jewish New Testament Publications, 1991):

...both individuals and the church as an institution have taught anti-Semitic doctrines and committed anti-Semitic acts in the name of Christ. Moreover, although some of these individuals were Christians in name only, displaying no evidence of genuine faith, others were people who according to any criterion except that of anti-Semitism itself really were Christians – such as Augustine and Martin Luther. In fact, even though he inaugurated the Protestant Reformation one can seriously wonder, in the light of the standard set by Genesis 12:3, if the man who filled his tract, "On the Jews and their Lies," with imprecations against Abraham's descendants was saved. (p69-70)

From Luther's On the Jews and their Lies (trans. MH Bertram, in Luther's Works, Fortress Press 1962-64) we read:

What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews?...I shall give you my sincere advice: First, to set fire to their synagogues...in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians...I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed...I advise that their prayerbooks and Talmudic writings...be taken from them...I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb.

We will believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is truthful when he declares of the Jews who did not accept but crucified him, "You are a brood of vipers and children of the devil..." I have read and heard many stories about the Jews which agree with this judgment of Christ, namely, how they have poisoned wells, made assassinations, kidnapped children...I have heard that one Jew sent another Jew, and this by means of a Christian, a pot of blood, together with a barrel of wine, in which when drunk empty, a dead Jew was found.

This last quotation illustrates how far the reaction against the Jews can go when we become detached from our roots. It was an unfortunate error on Luther's part, especially considering all the good that he had done in his life. This quotation was even used, it is said, by Adolf Hitler, to justify his 'Final Solution' and the resulting Holocaust of the Second World War.

For Reflection and Comment

In what way can the Church find theological renewal? Could this be done by prayerfully, studying the scriptures together in new ways relating more to our Hebraic heritage? Could this result in true spiritual unity across the denominations?

Next time: Early Jewish Sources

Clifford Denton surveys the tragic abuse of Jews in Europe through the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages, by Church and State. What responsibility did Christians bear then - and what should our response be now?

In previous instalments our focus has been on the separation that occurred between Church and Synagogue, from the early centuries of the Common Era through to the 'Early Church Fathers'. Alongside this we have mentioned the parallel growth of anti-Semitism.

This, in turn, added further impetus to the separation, both as a fruit of, and as a contribution to, the gulf between the two communities.

This week we will look at the Middle Ages, where the fruit of anti-Semitism was coming to maturity.

Treatment of Jews by Christians

Marvin Wilson introduces this topic (Our Father Abraham, p98) as follows:

In the Middle Ages, Christian culture largely excluded Jews. Jews sought to avoid social, economic, and ecclesiastical pressures by living in secluded quarters of cities. They were considered useful primarily for one purpose, money-lending. This isolation from the larger society led Christians to accuse Jews of being a pariah people. Stripped of many personal liberties and victimized by an elitist "Christian" culture, Jews were required to wear a distinctive hat or patch sewn on their clothing. The very idea of "Hebraic" was commonly equated with "satanic".

Jews experienced a barrage of accusations. They were said to have had a peculiar smell, in contrast to the "odor of sanctity." Jews were also said to be sucklers of sows. They were held responsible for many evils, the "Christ-killer" charge still prominent. Jews were also called desecraters of the Host, allegedly entering churches secretly and piercing the holy wafer out of which "real blood" of Jesus flowed. They were accused of murdering Christian infants in order to use their blood (instead of wine) at the Passover Seder. During the Black Plague, which killed one-third of Europe's population, Jews were blamed for causing the plague by poisoning wells. [emphases added]

Such was the fruit of the early separation of Christianity from its Hebraic roots. We might have expected the world to persecute the scattered tribes of Israel. The Church should have mourned for them and comforted them, recognising their place in the Olive Tree of Romans 11.

The Middle Ages

And so we come to the Middle Ages, the years around 1000 AD. Theological differences between Christians and Jews had emerged even in the second century, strengthened by the philosophical ideas of the 'Church Fathers' that re-interpreted Scripture through the mindset of Plato and Aristotle. These things separated Christians from Jews so much that they would appear to have grown from the roots of two different trees. The next step was the persecution of Jews by 'Christians'.

By the Middle Ages, Christians and Jews had become so separated that they would appear to have grown from the roots of two different trees.

A prominent survey of anti-Semitism over 23 centuries is The Anguish of the Jews by Edward H Flannery (Paulist Press, 2004). We will consider some more of the details of anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages by reviewing chapters 4 to 6 of this book.

The Dark Ages

Flannery begins his survey by assessing the treatment of Jews in the Dark Ages, the centuries which preceded the Middle Ages (p66):

The Middle Ages meant one thing to the Christian, another to the Jew. For the latter, they not only began earlier and ended later but assumed a direction opposite to the general current of history. The earlier period, often called the Dark Ages, was for Jews a time of shifting fortunes but, as a whole, was relatively bearable. As the medieval period reached its culmination – the golden age of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries – the dark night of Judaism began.

The Dark Ages – from the fifth to the eleventh century – witnessed a world in travail...A great Empire in decline, ceaseless barbarian invasions, Persian wars and Moslem encirclement – such were the elements of disarray from which the Church, sole unifying force extant, was to forge the unity that would be Christian Europe...It was a period in which the mantle of temporal as well as spiritual governance was often thrust upon the Church, but one, conversely, in which its spiritual authority often suffered encroachment.

Judaism's situation presented a picture as chaotic as that of the times. Little can be said that applies to all Jewry or to the whole period. Hence the necessity of following the vagaries of Jewish fortunes from East to West, from Gaul to Spain, Persia to Arabia where their prosperity or degradation depended as much on the will of pope, king, bishop, council, caliph, noble, or mob as it did on law. Recalcitrant to the emerging unification, Jews received special attention almost everywhere. Jewish-Gentile altercations were not the infrequent result, but by and large, on the popular and often ecclesiastical and political level, Jews fared well. [emphases added]

Conflicts and Restricted Rights

Roman law imposed itself on the Jewish world as on other people groups. In the Eastern Empire Jews were often resentful of restrictive measures. In addition to this, at times Christians ignored statutes that protected Jewish rights. This led to conflicts, including those at Antioch. There were massacres and burnings of synagogues in the reign of Zeno (474-91). This continued into the following century, one recorded incident being when, "a monk of Amida, named Sergius, incited a mob and burned down a synagogue, in the wake of which a veritable contest of church and synagogue burning and rebuilding ensued" (quoted by Flannery, p68).

The Emperor Justinian (483-565) enforced new legislation which was far more restrictive on Jews than before. Among the restrictions was a narrowing of property rights, a barring from public functions and the inability to testify against a Christian. Jews could not celebrate Passover before Christian Easter. The Bible could not be read in Hebrew, and the Mishnah was banned. Those who did not believe in the resurrection, the last judgment or the existence of angels were to be excommunicated and put to death.

These were among the measures intended to bring Judaism under some sort of control, but it instead brought exasperation and later in the century resulted in violence, including the killing of many Christians in Antioch at the turn of the century. Many Jews joined the Persians in 614 in the conquering of Jerusalem where 30,000 Christians were killed.

In the fifth and sixth centuries, measures introduced to bring Judaism under control instead brought exasperation and outbreaks of violence.

There was retaliatory action from Christians later and many Jews were killed when Jerusalem was retaken under Heraclius in 628. Once more Jews were barred from the city. Heraclius, like some others, attempted to bring unity by forced baptisms of Jews.

Judaism a Crime

Judaism became a sort of crime against the state for several centuries. The Second Council of Nicaea (787) prohibited Jews who practised Judaism in secret to be admitted to the Church or sacraments. It also insisted on their practising aspects of Judaism openly once they were baptised but, as Flannery points out:

The Church's prohibition, reiterated many times during the next millennium, seemed powerless against the medieval urge to enforce religious and cultural unity. The history of forced conversion would be long, heartrending, and bloodstained before it reached its high point centuries later in the Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella. (p71)

Though there was more acceptance of Judaism in the Western Empire at this time, the same tensions caused by the exaltation of Christianity over Judaism still existed. In the reign of Pope Gregory I (590-604), there was a zeal to convert Jews and to suppress Judaizing. However, Jews were given legal right to attend their synagogues.

Forced Conversions

Persecution did break out in Spain in the reign of King Sisebut (612-21). The Jews were given the ultimatum to be baptised or go into exile. Approximately 90,000 were converted while many thousands fled the country.

Later it was observed that forced conversions were not really effective and tensions remained. Baptised children of un-baptised Jewish parents were taken from them for a Christian education, a practice that occurred in later centuries too. We read that later:

The summit of oppression was reached under King Erwig (680-87), who enacted twenty-eight laws designed to make the existence of Jews and Judaizers intolerable: Jews were ordered to accept baptism; Jewish converts must obtain a permit from a priest to undertake a journey; they were forced to listen to Christian sermons and forbidden to make distinctions among meats; evasions and bribes by Jews and lax enforcement by authorities were prohibited; and, finally, blasphemies against the Christian faith were made punishable. The twelfth council of Toledo (681) confirmed these measures.

Toward the end of the century, with Islam menacing his kingdom from North Africa where many Jews had fled, King Egica (d. 702), after first attempting to soften their lot, decreed conjointly with the sixteenth council (693) that the Jews must abandon commerce and surrender all property acquired from Christians. The seventeenth council (694), again in conjunction with the king, accused the Jews of conspiracy with their king in North Africa, reduced them to perpetual slavery, banned all Jewish rites, and ordered all Jewish children above the age of seven to be taken and reared as Christians. (Flannery, p77)

During the seventh century persecution broke out in Spain, with forced conversions, exile, enslavement and the confiscation of Jewish children.

The Visigoth Kingdom

The Muslims conquered Spain by 711 and the lot of Jews improved – indeed, a new 'golden era' began where Jewish scholarship was allowed to take on new life. The Visigoth kingdom, which had covered much of south-western Europe for the 5th–8th centuries, was removed. It is considered that the maltreatment of Jews in the Visigoth kingdom of Spain had been a direct result of the union of Church and State, however, the effect of this union was not uniform. For example, Jews fared much better in France in the same period that they were persecuted heavily in Spain.

Nevertheless, wherever there were Jews in the Christianised world there was constant debate in the church councils and resulting tensions to one degree or another, as well as some restrictions associated, for example, with the Feasts and dietary laws.

Wherever there were Jews in the Christianised world there was constant debate in the church councils and, as a result, tensions to one degree or another.

What Kind of Anti-Semitism?

As a general comment on the phase of anti-Semitism up to the turn of the first Millennium, we see it as having greater intensity in the East than in the West and, in the West, greater in pre-Muslim Spain than in France. Flannery writes about the character of this anti-Semitism:

...there was in this era no popular or economic anti-Semitism. Yet there was a juridical or legislative anti-Judaism. Jews were not opposed as persons or as a people, and indeed heretics still fared worse than they. The Church still had reason to worry about Jewish influence in social and religious life. The Talmudic withdrawal of Judaism was never complete. Many Jews, especially those who reached posts of influence in civic or economic spheres kept the doors to and from the Christian world open.

The legislation of church and state must, in effect, be seen, above all, as a defense against Jewish proselytism. The perennial laws against employment of Christian slaves, holding government office, and Jewish-Christian intimacies were motivated by religious scruples rather than political or social considerations. (pp88-89)

Flannery writes that this period was characterised less by anti-Semitism and bad feeling against the Jews themselves, than by a legal anti-Judaism enforced by both church and state.

After 1000 AD

The intensity of anti-Semitism increased after the year 1000 and grew to terrifying proportions. Flannery writes (p90-91):

During the first half of the second Christian millennium, the history of anti-Semitism and the history of Judaism so converged as almost to coincide. It is a scandal of Christian history that, while the Church and the Christian State were at the zenith of their power and influence, the sons of Israel reached the nadir of their unending oppression. This was the age of Innocent III and Henry II, Gregory VII and Henry VI, of the Crusades, of Aquinas and Dante, of St. Francis, of Notre Dame and Rheims Cathedral; but it was no less the age of anti-Jewish hecatombs, expulsions, calumnious myths, autos-da-fe, of the badge, the ghetto, and many other hardships visited upon the Jews...

The year 1000 found Jews in conditions reasonably stable for the time. Two centuries later they were almost pariahs; in three, they were terrorized. What occurred in this span to effect such a change? Some observers speak of the Church's "teaching of contempt" finally taking hold and suddenly seeping down to the populace. True, but the matter appears more complex. The eleventh century – as a period of incubation – contained certain events that foreshadowed the future. When Hakim destroyed the Holy Sepulchre in 1009, the Jews of Orleans were accused of collusion – an improbable charge since Jews as well as Christians were persecuted by that mad caliph. Nonetheless, widespread persecution of Jews resulted.

Again in 1012, when Jews were expelled from Mainz by Henry II, the expulsion was a repercussion of the earlier charge of treason, and doubtless also a reaction to the conversion to Judaism of Wecelinus, chaplain of Duke Conrad in 1006. In the "Crusade of Spain" against the Saracens in 1063, the Jews were disqualified for armed service and were attacked by the soldiers on the march. In short, renewed suspicions of Jewish complicity with Islam heightened the sense of the Jews' alien and infidel character, thus readying the atmosphere for the storm about to break over Judaism at the close of the eleventh century. [emphases added]

From this brief overview of the first part of the second millennium we perceive that widespread and multi-faceted persecution of Jews grew across the nations that had been 'Christianised' through Roman influence at the time of Constantine. To explore this fully is a task beyond the scope of this series. However, it is essential for students of Scripture to be informed about this era, so we will illustrate the extent of this persecution through some of the key events.

The Crusades

It is considered that the First Crusade of 1096 was a tragedy for the Jewish world measurable against the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the Holocaust of the Second World War under Hitler. In Flannery's words:

Great, illorganised hordes of nobles, knights, monks, and peasants – "God wills it" on their lips as they set off to free the Holy Land from the Muslim infidel – suddenly turned on the Jews.

Along the route to the Holy Land taken by the crusaders, Jews were offered the choice of baptism or death. Massacres took place in Rouen, along the Rhine and Danube, at Worms and at Mainz, in Treves, Neuss, Ratisbon, in Bohemia and in Prague. Some Jews preferred suicide to baptism. From January to July of 1096 it is estimated that up to 10,000 died, probably one third of the Jewish population of Germany and Northern France at the time.

The Jewish world was stunned and the rift between Judaism and Christianity was magnified. Christians were viewed by some as capricious assassins, ever ready to strike. But out of the suffering, a new heroism was born. A cult and tradition of martyrdom was instituted whereby Jews who gave their lives "to sanctify the Name" (Kiddush ha Shem) were greatly revered; their remembrance became part of the synagogue service. (pp91-3)

The Second Crusade of 1146, while not so intense as the first, brought further outbreaks of violence against the Jews. This time there were moderating influences from some Christian leaders, including Emperor Conrad II, King Louis VII of France and Bernard of Clairvaux. Another issue entered in, however, to divide Christians from Jews and contribute in some places in Europe to the violence associated with this Crusade:

Since the First Crusade, Christians had become more active in commercial affairs and so now resented their Jewish competitors. Moreover, Jews were more deeply involved in money-lending, a practice which drew upon them the hostility of both the clergy and the people. Pope Eugenius III (1145-53), who called up the new Crusade, suggested to the princes, as an inducement to enlistment, crusaders be absolved of their debts to Jews. (p94, emphasis added)

Peter of Cluny exhorted Louis VII that Jews, "like Cain, the fratricide, they should be made to suffer fearful torments and prepared for greater ignominy, for an existence worse than death" (quoted in Flannery, p95).

The First Crusade of 1096 was a tragedy for the Jews that has been since likened to the Holocaust of WW2. 10,000 were massacred or committed suicide in the space of six months.

Bought and Sold

A result of a certain amount of protection that Jews sought and acquired from Emperors Henry IV and Conrad III during the period of the Crusades led them to being considered as 'Servants of the Royal Chamber'. Their freedom was curtailed through legislation at various times: "The attachment to the imperial chamber reduced Jews to the status of pieces of property that could be – and were – bought, loaned, and sold as any other merchandise. Kings paid off barons and barons paid off creditors with Jews" (quoted in Flannery, p95).

In addition, the message of Paul in his letters (Rom 9:13, Gal 4:22-31, wrongly applied) was used to imply that Jews were inferior to Christians. This perpetuated, from a theological standpoint, the servitude of the Jews and their barring from public office.

Forced out of many areas of social and commercial life, by the 12th and 13th centuries money-lending became the means by which many Jews survived: "At every turn, he was faced with special taxes, confiscations, cancellations of credit, expulsions, and threats of death. He had literally to buy not only his rights but his very existence. Money became to him as precious as the air he breathed, the bread he ate." (p97) The caricature that later became Shakespeare's Shylock began in these days of Jewish survival.

Forced out of many areas of social and commercial life, by the 12^th and 13^th centuries money-lending became the means by which many Jews survived – and so developed the caricature.

Myths and Rumours

Another significant attack on Jews came from the so-called 'ritual murder' or 'blood' libel. This occurred in a number of places. The first incident was in Norwich, England in 1141 where the body of a dead boy was discovered on Good Friday. Jews were believed to be the culprits following a story that they planned to carry out a murder once a year in derision of the death of Christ.

This same accusation occurred in other towns of England and on the Continent where additions were often made to the story, such the drawing of blood for magical purposes by Jews and the taking of Passover communion with the heart of a murdered child.

Hundreds of incidences of this kind occurred and many Jews were slaughtered following rigged trials. In 1171 in Blois, 40 Jews were burned, for example. Excused by this blood libel, King Philip Augustus, on a single day in 1182, had all Jews arrested, freed for a ransom and expelled from his realm, only to recall them sixteen years later, and appoint them as money lenders to be taxed heavily. All this was for the purpose of acquiring money from the Jews.

Cheating and Humiliation

At the time of the Third Crusade of 1189 his persecution continued with the canceling of all debts to Jews. These are examples of the trend that continued in relation to the financial persecution of the Jews, including those enacted by the Popes, such as the measures adopted by Innocent III in the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215.

Out of this Church Council also came the tradition of a Jew having to wear a distinctive badge of identification. The justification was to help curtail intermarriage between Christians and non-Christians. Later, in France, the badge was a yellow sphere, and in Poland a pointed hat, with different symbols elsewhere.

In the 13^th century, Jews were made to suffer financially and were also forced to wear humiliating badges of identification.

A further result of the hate of Jews began in 1240 following an accusation to Gregory IX by a Dominican by the name of Nicholas Donin. He produced 35 theses to propose that the Talmud was the chief cause of Jewish unbelief and an offence to Christians. The Talmud was put on trial and eventually the case against it, which was quite complex, assumed proven and 24 cartloads of the Talmud were burned in Paris.

The Black Death

These brief examples serve to illustrate the immensity and the multifaceted nature of unrelenting aggression that was leveled against the Jews in these centuries. We finish the survey with one more example. In Europe, between 1347 and 1350 an epidemic called the Black Death killed one third of the population. The Jews were blamed – and then attacked:

For Jews it was a tragedy to which, after the fall of Jerusalem, only the horrors of 1096 and 1939 were comparable. For three hellish years (1348-50) Jewish communities all over Europe were torn to pieces by a populace crazed by the plague which, before it ended, carried off one third the population. Bewildered by the plague's ravages people looked for a cause. Before long the inevitable scapegoat was found. Who else but the archconspirator and poisoner, the Jew?

This time, too, the weird formula for the well poisonings – elicited by torture – was disclosed: a concoction of lizards, spiders, frogs, human hearts, and, to be sure, sacred hosts. The story that Jews in Spain had circulated the death-killing drug to poison the wells of all Christendom spread like wildfire. It was first believed in Southern France, where the entire Jewish population of a town was burned.

From there the deathly trail led into Northern Spain, then to Switzerland, into Bavaria, up the Rhine, into East Germany, and to Belgium, Poland, and Austria...In all, over 200 Jewish communities, large or small, were destroyed...the massacres were greatest in Germany where every sizeable city was affected...Well over 10,000 were killed in Erfurt, Mainz, and Breslau alone. [emphasis added. Flannery, p109]

Summary

Here we have an indication of the depths reached as a result of the division between Church and Synagogue which began in relatively small ways in the second and third centuries. Theological division was perhaps the major root cause (along with theological misinterpretation) of the divergence of the two religions, led by the dominant Christian majority when Christianity became politicised.

The catalogue of disasters is immense and what we have described can be added to with many other examples, such as the conquering Crusaders herding the Jews of Jerusalem into their synagogue and singing hymns while they burned them to death "in the name of Jesus"; or the Spanish Inquisitor Torquemada holding the Spanish Jews in a state of terror in the late 1400s, resulting finally in their expulsion from Spain on 30 July 1492, through the edict by Ferdinand and Isabella.

Then on and on, from peak to trough through the Holocaust and Pogroms, to the present day. Here in the depth of anti-Semitism we see the consequences of the separation of the Christian Church from its Hebraic foundations.

For Reflection and Comment

• How can Christians respond to this terrible history of anti-Semitic violence and persecution?
• What can Christians do to ensure that anti-Semitism is no longer evident in the Church?

Next time: Emergence of anti-Jewish Christian Theologies.