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5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent description of mystical antisemitism, December 30, 2004
This is an interesting look at "mystical anti-semitism." It starts with the Roman-Jewish war and the formation of the Christian Church. Carmichael shows us the viciousness of the early Christian leaders (such as John Chrysostom) towards the Jews. Chrysostom said that "God hates the Jews forever" because the Jews murdered Jesus. Christianity did condemn the Jews to semi-serfdom, but since Jews were rarely considered heretics (such as the Catharists, Albigensians, Luciferians, Neo-Manicheans, Waldensians, or Passagii), the Jews were not wiped out or all forced to convert.
The story continues into Protestant times, where Luther showed great ferocity against Jews but Calvinism was willing to tolerate Jews. And the author makes the point that we ought not be surprised that some Jews did indeed survive the Middle Ages, given that mass murders of Jews were far enough apart so that the Jewish community had a chance to regroup. Next, we get into secular times, where Voltaire is used as an example. For Voltaire, the Jews were to be condemned not because they killed Jesus but because they wrote the Bible, produced Jesus, produced the Christians, and sent away the Roman civilization, along with the Roman Goddesses and Gods. While I understand Voltaire's criticism, I can't agree with it. We non-monotheists ought to be busy inviting the Goddesses and Gods to return to us, not busy blaming the Jews (rather than ourselves) for sending them away.
After that, we get to some new ideas: pseudo-scientific claims about an Inferior Race (of Jews, of course). And that leads to a discussion of antisemitism in Germany in World War Two and in Soviet Russia. The book concludes with an analysis of the support for anti-semitism from left wing movements, including from left-wing Jews.
I happen to disagree with Carmichael on some topics. I know that three millenia ago, the Jews may have been characterized by their opposition to child sacrifice and to Sun-worship (and to Paganism in general). But nowadays, I think the overall perception of what Jews are is defined as much by Christians and Muslims as by the Jews themselves.
In addition, I think it is no accident that some non-Christians survived the Middle Ages. There were always some people who could not abide Christian rituals, or the divinity of Jesus, or simply refused the idea of taking orders from Roman priests. One could avoid all this by becoming (or remaining) Jewish. Dissent could not always be prevented, and this option was often open. Judaism was a coherent enough choice that it would have been very difficult to completely annihilate it. Perhaps if Christianity had been demonstrably True and Judaism False, that would have made a difference, but to most dissenters, Christianity seemed about as far from truth as possible.
So I see both Judaism and antisemitism as a little less special than Carmichael does.
Nevertheless, I think it is a great book, and I highly recommend it.
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