The Crucified Jew: Twenty Centuries of Christian Anti-Semitism (review)

Book Reviews ~ :. ,.,-,' - 141 .tradition of Christian anti-Judaism, but questions 'should be raised about his use of concepts of Jewish nationalism. Many of the essays are very technical, making use ofuntranslated Greek, Hebrew, and German. Some of them will be of interest primarily to scholars of the New Testament. The book gives readers an opportunity to see a major scholar, who is at home in the world of late antiquity, at work with his texts and artifacts. Joseph B. Tyson Department of Religious Studies Southern Methodist University The Crucified Jew: Twenty Centuries of Christian Anti-Semitism, by Dan CohnSherbok . Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans and Philadelphia: American Interfaith Institute and World Alliance of Interfaith Organizations, 1997. 258 pp. $18.00. This is a re-issue ofa volume originally published by Harper Collins (England) in 1992. Cohn-Sherbok, the author or editor ofover 25 volumes on Jewish and general religious topics, teaches at the University ofKent (England) and serves as a visiting professor at the University ofWales (Lampeter) and the University ofMiddlesex. The book does not aim to present an extensive scholarly discussion of antisemitism in the manner of a Gavin Langmuir. Rather Cohn-Sherbok offers a more popularly oriented volume which surveys antisemitic developments from pre-Christian times until the present day. As a popular presentation of Christian antisemitism it is well written with ample illustrations. A person not previously familiar with the details of this sordid tradition will certainly acquire a broad-based understanding of its key proponents and accusations. As far as the antisemitic legacy of Christianity goes, there is little fault to be found with this book. Obviously such a volume was bound to be selective and generic, rather than comprehensive and fully nuanced. And in certain highly sensitive areas ofthe topic (e.g., antisemitism in Poland), Cohn-Sherbok exhibits considerable balance in his account. In short, the book can be used profitably for personal reading and also as a' basic text for courses on the subject of Christian antisemitism, particularly at the undergraduate college or seminary level ofeducation. But I do have a number of concerns with the volume which in some cases would mandate the use of supplemental information from a professor and/or other texts. For one, the book lacks any references for its quotations. Even in a popularly oriented volume I fmd this rnex.cusable. Ultimately it deprives a student ofbeing able to pursue a striking quotation. Should there be a new edition this omission should be corrected. 142 SHOFAR Fall 1998 Vol. 17, No.1 More specific criticisms include the following. In chapter two on anti-Judaism in the New Testament, Cohn-Sherbok employs textual interpretation that is questionable in some areas. His aim seems to be to establish a New Testament basis for Christian antisemitism. In reality this still remains an open question from the scholarly point of view. Was Matthew, were the parables, castigating and arguing for the displacement of Jews from the covenant in the way Cohn-Sherbok maintains? Some Christian and Jewish scholars (e.g., Brad Young and Clemens Thoma) who have studied the parables in depth are not convinced they do. That the Church Fathers and later Christian preachers and theologians so interpreted these texts is without question. But the volume should have alerted the reader to the continuing scholarly discussion as to whether these later Christian interpretations were in harmony with the original intent of the biblical texts. That now remains a responsibility for the teacher. In general, the second chapter highlights the most negative New Testament texts. A balanced presentation on the subject requires reference as well to some ofthe affIrmative passages in the gospels and the Pauline letters, such as Jesus' statement in Matthew that he did not intend to eliminate any segment ofthe Torah and the affIrmation in Romans of continued Jewish covenantal membership cited as the central passage in Vatican II's Statement on the Church and the Jewish People. Chapter 16 on the Nazi death camps also remains rather problematical, even more so than the earlier chapter on New Testament antisemitism. For one, Cohn-Sherbok appears to be drawing a straight line from Christian antisemitism to Nazi ideology. Current scholarship...