Teaching Contempt: the Jew through Christian eyes

Abstract

The early Fathers, the mediaeval theologians and the architects of the Protestant Reformation are all guilty of denigrating Judaism by teaching contempt. This article explores the legacy of Christian anti‐Judaism by concentrating on the work of theologians, artists and sculptors, all of whom played their part in propagating the negative stereotype of the Jew. Three biblical texts have been chosen for detailed investigation in order to demonstrate how Christian teaching, based on a fanciful and erroneous interpretation of Scripture, has been reflected in modem anti‐Jewish attitudes. The evidence corroborates the view that much of Hitler's antisemitic propaganda was rooted in Christian thought.