Customer Reviews

Origins of the Holocaust

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It is rather accepted now and has been for many years that anti-Semitism is largely a Christian phenomenon. We have seen the fanatical anti-Semitism in Christians such as Martin Luther, Adolph Stoecker, Pope Pius IX, Pope Innocent III, Pope Gregory XVI, Father Ferdinand Jabalot, Pope Leo XII and Adolph Hitler. In this book Professor Hyam Maccoby puts forth his theories as to why Christians have spent centuries demonizing the Jews, leveling false accusations against them, expelling them from one European nation after another and murdering millions of them all over Christian Europe.

What is it in Christianity that lends itself to anti-Semitism?

Professor Maccoby posits that it has to do mainly with the Christian Bible and the story of Jesus' death on the cross. Christian dogma says that Jesus died for their sins. However rather than accept the huge burden of guilt that Jesus was tortured and slowly put to death so that Christians may enjoy the luxury of an eternity in Heaven it was far preferable for the Christians to lay all the blame for Jesus' death on the Jews and thus the Christians would be able to avoid feeling the least bit guilty about Jesus' death.

It is an intriguing theory and is discussed at some length by Eugene J Fisher, the Reverend Andrew Everett, the Rabbi A. James Rudin, the Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum and Doctor Alan T Davies.

I felt the most interesting response came from the Reverend Andrew Everett who said the following:

"It is not a myth that Jews have been victims, often at the hands of the Church, rather it is a fact with a concrete history. It is a myth however, that they should remain victims. Maccoby has done much to show where the roots of that myth lie in Christian thought. But a myth based on a lie is not a myth but a lie. A profoundly simple thought, but one often ignored. And when that is the case, the myth loses all its mythic value. The Jews did not crucify Jesus. Christians can only overcome that myth/lie when they are finally willing to accept historical facts which show that only the Romans could have carried out such a punishment. Once that is accepted by the Church it will no longer need a theology of victimization of the Jewish people. Maccoby is correct in pointing out the mythic roots of this theology, and I must backtrack a bit from my initial comments about his position creating more problems than it solves. It needs to be seen that Maccoby's position is a quite logical one given the traditional view of the Church concerning Jews. Again, I may simply be arguing a pragmatic position which in no way detracts from Maccoby's work. It is a fact that historical facts often pale before theological speculation. In this sense, Maccoby may be correct in attacking the problem on mythological grounds.

I do think that Dr. Maccoby's theory does challenge the Christian world to do some serious theological thinking about its understanding of Jesus and the meaning of his death. A Christology based on a lie would still be a lie. This we cannot have. Maccoby is helpful in pointing out some of the dangers inherent in some of Christianity's traditional thought. The validity of a theology must be judged by not only its content, but on it's social and political ramifications. I thank Dr. Maccoby for challenging the Christian community to once again deal with both the theory and the praxis of it's theology concerning Jesus. After the Holocaust, this must be a top priority of the church."