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After the Holocaust, the Christian Western world faced a resonating question: why did the calamity of the Jewish people occur precisely in Europe, with its centuries’ old Christian heritage? What was the place of Christian teachings on Jews and Judaism in the evolvement of modern antisemitism, and in the facilitation of the final solution? Guided by these questions, the course will examine the history of Christian anti-Judaism from its biblical roots to its secularized Modern expressions. Themes to be examined include: the Gospels’ depiction of Jews and Judaism, the Adversus Judaeos literature, the Augustinian doctrine of the witness, supersessionism, blood libels, deicide charge, Christian-Jewish polemics, and Luther’s anti-Jewish writings. In addition to the historical analysis, the course will critically evaluate the different approaches to the question of continuity and discontinuity between Christian anti-Judaism and Modern antisemitism, and reflect on this question’s implications for contemporary Jewish-Christian dialogue. |
