...First Crusade against the Muslim Moors. It was the religious zeal of not only the Church and the Queen but also of the masses that really caused the expulsion of the Jewish people from Spain. Of course, the official justification for exiling the Jews was because they were counterproductive to the Church’s ultimate goal – they attempted to prevent the Marranos from severing their ties with Judaism. Anti-Semitism began soon after the beginning of Christianity with the inherent hatred toward Jews simply because they have differing theological and religious practices are not Christian, not because they are specifically Jewish. Anti-Judaism began with the crucifixion of Christ – it became commonly believed that the Jewish people were responsible for the crucifixion which caused initial discriminatory writings against the Jews as a people, as well as societal misunderstanding and distrust. The Jewish people were exposed to severe persecution under Visigoth control in the Mediterranean and more Christian control in Spain. It is therefore not surprising that the Jewish people helped the Muslims invade and conquer the Iberian Peninsula in 711 C.E. from the Christians, ushering in the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry. Not long after the conquest, the Jews integrated themselves into Muslim society. Massive migration waves – of both Jewish and Muslim – toward Spain created a political, cultural, and powerful region, running from Barcelona in the...
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...“My essay, I hope, will furnish a Christian (who in any case has no desire to become a Jew) with enough material not only to defend himself against the blind, venomous Jews, but also to become the foe of the Jews' malice, lying, and cursing, and to understand not only that their belief is false but that they are surely possessed by all devils.” Martin Luther wrote these words in his book “On The Jews and Their Lies” As a prominent Christian figure one might believe that Martin Luther lived by Jesus’s words of compassion in the New Testament. However, Martin Luther’s hatred of the Jews, which I will expand upon more later in my paper, shows otherwise. Luther’s attitude more closely resembles anti-semitism. The Cambridge Dictionary defines anti-semitism as “the...
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...wars was divided amongst the Christians, Muslims, and Jews in revolt against the Catholic church. The original intention of the Crusades started as a political issue under the rule of Pope Urban II in 1095 AD. His goal was to increase Papal power, obtain wealth, and gain greater political power in Jerusalem, the Holy land. However, this quickly changed when religion played its role. The Pope performed a speech in Claremont simply implying that Muslims were persecuting the Christian faith due to the regions they resided in near the Middle East. As a result, the first Crusade came to terms. Something as profound as the Crusades will never be forgotten and although many centuries have passed, the previous problems still linger- especially in the Middle East. Most history books will focus on the outcome of the Crusades according to Western European culture, but it is the Eastern culture and religions who have truly suffered. All one has to do in order to realize this is to look at the current situation in our world today. The effects of the Crusades have taken a negative toll on the relations between Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions and communities. In order to explain the result of the Crusades within the Jewish religion, one must understand what Jerusalem is to the Jewish people. It was the site of the temple built for God by Solomon, it is the religious center of God's laws, and overall, a powerful, Holy city. The involvement of the Jews began during the first Crusade...
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...summary of some of the major differences between Judaism and Christianity. | Principle | | Christianity | | Judaism | Nature of God | | Trinity | | Unity | Nature of Messiah | | Divine, Sin Sacrifice | | Only human, Righteous King | Atonement | | Blood Required | | Prayer and Repentance | Sin | | Everyone stained by Adam and Eve ("original sin") | | All begin with clean slate | Righteousness | | No one | | Within our power to choose | Satan | | Fallen angel | | Agent of God | Torah | | Written only | | Written and Oral | Commandments | | Not eternal or valuable | | Eternal and of ultimate value | Exclusivity | | Only Christians go to heaven | | All righteous have a place in the world to come. | Land of Israel | | Irrelevant | | Crucial | Jews | | Replaced by the church; or irrelevant | | God’s chosen people | Judaism is one of the world’s oldest religions, dating back up to 2000 years BC from the time when God first called Abraham to leave his home and follow Him. At that time, God made a covenant (or agreement) with Abraham in which He promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation and that one day his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan if Abraham followed him. God’s plan was gradually revealed through the Old Testament and built on with further promises to Moses, David and the prophets. This plan in essence is to undo many of the effects of the fall (the sin of Adam and Eve in Eden which...
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...her vivid imagination. By creating complex relationships among both Christian and Jewish characters, we observed how Jewish people behave themselves in a Christian dominated world. Among all the Jewish characters, Hubert is the one with most complicated feeling toward his Jewish identity. Hubert was born as a Jew, but the crusaders killed all his sisters and mother when the latter attacked Rouen. Hubert’s neighbor adopted him and baptized him, and later let him become a Christian merchant. (Newman, page 49) Even though most people regard him as Christian, (only few people know his real identity and relationship with Eliazar) inside his heart, he always wanted to become a Jew. When Abbot Sugar offers wine to Hubert, Hubert felt guilty and accept the wine. (Newman, page 78) When he heard Prior Herve’s statement about Jewish people, he “forced his teeth to unclench.” (Newman, page 49). In addition, Hubert secretly attends the Sabbath in the synagogue. (Newman, page 63) Hubert’s role represents Jewish people who were forced to abandon their faith and become the Christian. For these people, the only choice they may have is to continue act as Christians, and hide their faith inside their hearts, without letting others know, even close family members. Once Hubert tell the truth about his identity to his daughter Agnes, Agnes was ashamed and even discriminated him. For instance, it is too dangerous for Christians like Hubert to display the faith in Judaism: friends and neighbors, even...
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...Christianity. Jews and Christians will view this piece at the Christian and Jewish Interfaith Cultural and Historical Center; this piece will appropriately represent both faiths. Team C will discuss beliefs on how the piece will reflect Jewish and Christian concepts of humanity's relationship to the world and deity also how the piece will enhance intellectual and physical environments. Representations of developments in world events and cultural patterns past and present in Judaism and Christianity The designed piece placed in the new the Christian and Jewish Interfaith Cultural and Historical Center will promote unity among the Jews and Christians. A number of sensitive issues separated these two faiths. However, this piece will force both Jewish and Christian leaders to look past their differences and conflicts and seek a common ground. Doing this will give their children and followers a solid foundation to pursue their own religious journeys based on learning both Judaism and Christianity, respect for other religions, and a personal sense of spirituality and ethical values. Appropriate location for proposed piece Placing this piece in the entrance of the Christian and Jewish Interfaith Cultural and Historical Center is very much appropriate. The Christian and Jewish Interfaith Cultural and Historical Center is a place where Jews and Christians can develop an appreciation for spiritual and moral values in one another and in society. Both Jewish and Christian leaders and...
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...The Theological Background of Christian Zionism: Part I - Reflection By Mikael Knighton on Sunday, May 8, 2011 at 11:39am The Theological Background of Christian Zionism Part I - Reflection By: Mikael Knighton Christians Standing with Israel, Founder The Theological Background of Christian Zionism is a three part series authored by Mikael Knighton, founder of Christians Standing with Israel. The series consists of three installments: Reflection, Reconciliation, and Reconsideration. The series has been published in both the US and in Israel, where it was translated to Hebrew and published in the NATIV, a Jewish magazine facilitated by the Ariel Center for Policy Research (ACPR). Synopsis Over the centuries, Christian support of the state of Israel has been looked upon with a suspicious and vigilant eye. In fact, history will clearly show that the essence of pure evil, operating under the guise of “Christianity”, has facilitated a complete and justifiable collapse in Judeo-Christian relations. Only recently has the relationship between the Jewish people and Christians become fruitful, and the "mending" process, albeit positive, continues to evolve. Even so, the question remains: “Why do Christians support the state of Israel?” Christian Zionism, a theological belief that identifies the restoration of the Jewish people to their biblical homeland as the literal fulfillment of biblical prophecies foretold thousands of years ago, may arguably exist as the most...
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...writers and events of the New Testament on one hand and the definitively non-Jewish character of the Early Church after the apostolic period on the other hand. An appreciation of the Jewish background of the Early Church and knowledge of the development of Jewish-Christian relations in the first three centuries of the Christian era is therefore crucial if one desires to understand the parting of ways between Judaism and Christianity. These two sister faiths would become bitter enemies within a few centuries after the emergence of the Christian faith. This paper, while heavily relying and interacting with primary sources of the time, will endeavor to highlight the Jewish origin of Christianity, trace its development within Judaism, and chronicle its inexorable divorce from its Jewish roots and sister faith. Setting the stage: the expansion of the Jewish Diaspora During the Persian occupation of Palestine (538-332 BC), many Jews decided to pass on the magnanimous offer of Cyrus allowing them to return to Palestine and chose to remain in Babylonia where subsequently, the Jewish population grew in influence over the centuries.1 Already during the Babylonian invasion and in the lifetime of the prophet Jeremiah, many Jews fled to Egypt, where they established substantial Jewish settlements. The Greek period (332-167 BC) saw the expansion of the Jewish Diaspora. The Newly founded city of Alexandria became a key center of Hellenistic Jewry, which produced the Greek version of the...
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...author of most of the New Testament, and the members of the earliest Christian churches were all Jews. Jesus' family followed Jewish customs and Jesus frequently quoted the Hebrew Bible. Jesus' followers believed him to be the messiah. Despite its Jewish origins, it was not long before Christianity regarded itself as something other than a new Jewish sect. The first Christian council, convened by the apostles, concluded that pagan converts to Christianity did not have to follow Jewish ritual laws. Soon, converts to Christianity were almost exclusively pagans and Christianity moved further away from Judaism. Judaism insists on a notion of monotheism, the idea that there is One God. Jews don’t understand this idea; God cannot be made up of parts, even if those parts are mysteriously united. The Christian notion of the Trinity is that God is made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Such a view, even if called monotheistic because the three parts are, by divine mystery, only one God, is incompatible with the Jewish view that such a division is possible. The Jewish idea is that God is one. This idea allows for God's unity and uniqueness as a creative force. Thus, for Jews, God is the creator of all that we like and all that we don't. There is no evil force with an ability to create equal to God's. Judaism sees Christianity's Trinitarians as a weakening of the idea of God's oneness. Jews don't have a set group of beliefs about the nature of God; therefore...
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...Discourse Analysis English Department Faculty of Arts Hebron University 2010/2011 Abstract This paper aims at examining, analyzing and revealing Shylock's utterances in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, by relating his words to the power, ideology, value, and etc. in the play. What is found in this study is that Shylock, the Jew merchant, lacks power and ideology, but when he seeks to find these elements, he loses all of them. In addition, Shylock's language varies from both situations. When he is the weaker, he is the source where Christians used to evacuate their insults. Introduction William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and was the son of a glove maker. When he was 18, he married Anne Hathaway, and had three children. At the age of 20, he left Stratford and went to London where he became an actor and playwright. William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice around 1596. It is regarded by some scholars as the strongest and most successful of Shakespeare's early comedies (Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002). Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock has long been fodder for debate among scholars. By Shakespeare’s time, Jews had been officially banned from England for centuries. Because of this, they had come to represent to many citizens of the time a sinister unknown. Shylock’s inability to grant mercy to Antonio and his tendency to value the letter of the law over benevolence are generally abhorrent to modern audiences. However, Shakespeare was too...
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...fact, the play holds a strong stance on anti-Semitism. Over the Elizabethan era English society had been regarded as anti-Semitic until the rule of Oliver Cromwell. Jews, often depicted as avaricious usurers, were hideously caricaturized with bright red wigs and hooked noses, and so were mainly associated with evil, greed and deception. In the 1600s in Venice Jews were required to put on red hats as a symbol of their identity. Failure to adhere to this requirement resulted in the death penalty. The then Jews lived in a ghetto which was protected by Christians for their own safety. For such protection Jews should have paid their guards, and Shakespeare’s is regarded as a vivid example of such anti-Semitic tradition. More than that, critics argue that Shakespeare intended to contrast the vengefulness of a Jew lacking religious grace to comprehend mercy with the mercy of the main Christian characters. At that Shakespeare showed Shylock’s forced conversion to Christianity as it redeemed Shylock both from his unbelief and his willingness to kill Antonio. Therefore, the anti-Semitic trends domineering in Elizabethan England were shown by the playwright. Despite Shakespeare’s genuine intentions, anti-Semites used the play throughout the play’s history. The 1619 edition ‘With the Extreme Cruelty of Shylock the Jew…’ described how Shylock was perceived by the English public. Later on, the Nazis used the usurious Shylock for the purposes of their propaganda. Subsequently,...
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...murders of six million Jews: the Holocaust. An eight-step plan meant to remove all of the Jews from European society would be easily associated with the Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler. It would not, however, be so readily connected to Martin Luther. However, in a 1543 essay "Concerning the Jews and their Lies," Luther outlined such a plan. This does not necessarily suggest that Luther was analogous to Hitler in action or deed, but rather that Luther, the spark of the Protestant Reformation and father of German nationalism, and his teachings had a profound impact on the anti-Semitic thinkers that came to follow (Prager 106). It is possible that Hitler and Luther shared a common ideological base. Luther's attitude toward the Jews is confusing. He made a drastic transition during the course of his life and writings from sympathy to hateful fear. Early in his Protestant writings, Luther composed an essay entitled "That Jesus Christ Was Born A Jew". In it Luther calls for tolerance, compassion, and peaceful conversion. "...they [Catholics] have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs and not human beings" (Luther "That" 33). Luther thought that if he made a new, purified Christianity, Jews would more readily convert (Patterson 16). Only through a demonstration of the scriptural basis, however, could Jews by truly converted to Christianity. To Luther, a Jew was a person worth converting and bringing into the fold of Christianity. Luther wondered how Jews could improve society...
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...investigators will occasionally find that they have encountered an area of the Holocaust wherein are found agonizing personal ramifications. That is to say, the scholar is studying an event or a complex of issues that share key components of one’s personal background, beliefs, and values. It is highly unlikely that the scholar will be able to maintain absolute objectivity, feeling completely uninvolved in what is being examined. Instead, the person will most likely be compelled to ask some rather pointed personal questions, or probe into realms in which the investigator has close personal ties. When this occurs, it can be very distressing and painful. 2. A short insight on the background of Jews in Poland, Germany and Russia Several Polish noblemen of the middle ages showed special favour to Jews who immigrated because of persecution in Germany, coupled with a Polish desire for Jewish expertise in commerce. Autonomous systems of Jewish community government (the kahal) flourished in Poland, while the lower or grade school (heder) and Talmudic academy (yeshiva) were found everywhere. A deterioration of Jewish life set in during the long reign of Sigismund III (at the turn of the seventeenth century), partly as a result of measures...
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...For Jews God is unique and is a wholesome entity, which is “solid”. The basic difference on the background of general similarities is that therefore Judaism rejects the existence Jesus as one of the three “parts” of God.While Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, Gods incarnation and the savior of the world, the Jews believe that he is not the Messiah and are still waiting for the Messiah who will come to save them. In this regard, the Jews deny that Jesus resurrected and that there is no second coming of Jesus because they are still waiting for the savior/messiah to come. On the other hand, Christians acknowledge that Jesus resurrected and that he will come a second time but not as savior of the world again.Both Christians and Jews believe in the existence of angels and demons as spiritual beings.While the Jews believe that salvation comes through belief in God and good deeds, the Christians believe that salvation comes by grace and through faith in Jesus. They also both believe in an afterlife where there is existence of heaven and hell.The Jews are to worship in a temple or synagogue whereas the Christians are known...
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...of the early Christian churches were Jews. Jesus followers obeyed Jewish ways and Jesus commonly cited the Hebrew Bible. Followers of Jesus believed for Jesus to be the messiah, a Jewish image presumed in the Jewish Bible. Judaism and Christianity both believe in a God, who is righteous, holy, and just. Also Judaism and Christianity both believe in a God, who is forgiving, merciful, and loving. The Hebrew scripture, also known as, “the Old Testament,” are shared by both religions. Both Judaism and Christianity believe in the reality of heaven and hell. Judaism and Christianity primarily have the same ethical law known as the Judeo-Christian (Geoffrey Wigoder, Christianity, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org). Despite Christianity Jewish ancestry, it was not long before Christianity became to break from Judaism. Apostles and the first Christian committee ruled that pagan changes to Christianity did not have to abide by Jewish ritual rules. Changes to Christianity were mostly pagans and Christianity broke apart from Judaism. Christians were outraged with Jews for denying Jesus their messiah. Jews were outraged with Christians for praising an improper messiah and destroying the theory of one God. Jews were the first to torment Christians, says New Testament, and when Christians grew stronger, they began to torment the Jews. Judaism that endured the destruction of the temple started a new religion (Geoffrey Wigoder, Christianity, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org). Christians decided not to...
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