Christian Jew-Haters

jijaji · October 28, 2001

The following quotes (or scripts) reveal shocking hatred towards the Jewish people and false accusations against the Jews by popes, 'saints', and other Christian religious functionaries. This article exposes and refutes the monumental falsity that deceptive Christian missionaries love to mislead Jews with: that the Jew-haters weren't "real" Christians.

The following quotes are arranged in order of birthdate. The dates range from prior to the year 100 (Common Era) until present day. None of the quotes are taken out of context, nor are they embellished.

(Pope) Clement I: (d.101) Highly esteemed Christian martyr and Apolistic Father of the Church who blamed the Jews for Nero's persecution of the Christians.

(Saint) Justin Martyr: (100-165) Recognized as one of the most important early Christian writers, and also one of the original anti-Jewish church fathers revealed his anti-Semitism when he stated in the year 116 that: "The Jews were behind all the persecutions of the Christians. They wandered through the country everywhere hating and undermining the Christian faith."

Tertullian of Carthage: (150-225) advised that: "Only those who were baptized [Christians] and followed the prescribed course of penitence could hope for release from punishment" and "Divine revelation, not reason, is the source of all truth."

Quintas Spetimus Florens Tertullian: (160-230) Latin Church Father who bruited that: "The Jews formed the breeding ground of all anti-Christian actions."

(Saint) Hippolytus: Roman Priest (170-236) who was obsessed with the belief that the Jews were receiving and would continue to receive God's punishment for having murdered Jesus. The "Saint" avouched: "Now then, incline thine ear to me and hear my words, and give heed, thou Jew. Many a time does thou boast thyself, in that thou didst condemn Jesus of Nazareth to death, and didst give him vinegar and gall to drink; and thou dost vaunt thyself because of this. Come, therefore, and let us consider together whether perchance thou dost boast unrighteously, O, Israel, and whether thou small portion of vinegar and all has not brought down this fearful threatening upon thee and whether this is not the cause of thy present condition involved in these myriad of troubles."

Origen: Well-known teacher and preacher credited as the greatest theological scholar of the early church. Born in Egypt (185) his works range from Contra Celsum (which attempts to abolish idolatry) to Hexapla (Old Testament scholarly work). But when it came to Jews, his comments were far less scholarly: "On account of their unbelief and other insults which they heaped upon Jesus, the Jews will not only suffer more than others in the judgment which is believed to impend over the world, but have even already endured such sufferings. For what nation is in exile from their own metropolis, and from the place sacred to the worship of their fathers, save the Jews alone? And the calamities they have suffered because they were a most wicked nation, which although guilty of many other sins, yet has been punished severely for none as for those that were committed against our Jesus."

(Bishop) Cyprian: (200-258) He is credited with the much quoted anti-Jewish (among other faiths) phrase: "Outside the Church, there is no salvation."

Eusebius of Caesarea: The first historian of the Christian Church (265-339), and credited author speaks in Demonstration of the Gospel (I.I.) of how the royal metropolis of the Jews would be destroyed by fire and the city would be inhabited no longer by Jews, "but by races of other stock, while they [the Jews] would be dispersed among the Gentiles throughout the whole world with never a hope of any cessation of evil or breathing space from trouble. Furthermore, he claimed that Jews in every community crucified a Christian at their Purim festival as a rejection of Jesus. He also made a distinction between Hebrews [who he saw as "good men of the Old Testament"] and Jews [who he characterized as "evil."]

(Saint) Hilary: Noted author from Potieres (315-367) who spoke of the Jews as "a people who had always persisted in iniquity [sin] and out of its abundance of evil glorified in wickedness."

(Saint) John Chrysostom: The strongest attacks on Jews and Judaism by the Church Fathers are to be found in the homilies of Chrysostom (344-407) in his Antioch sermons. He is considered to be among the most beloved and admired in Church history. Besides his proclamation of Jews as "god-less, idolaters, pedicides, stoners of prophets, and commiters of 10,000 horrors [which, incidentally, is found in the anti-Jewish Christian Bible in Matthew 23:37-38], Chrysostom declared the following in his work Orations Against The Jews: "The Jews are the most worthless of all men. They are lecherous, rapacious, greety. They are perfidious murderers of Christ. They worship the Devil. Their religion is a sickness. The Jews are the odious assassins of Christ and for killing God there is no expiation possible, no indulgence or pardon. Christians may never cease vengeance, and the Jew must live in servitude forever. God always hated the Jews. It is essential that all Christians hate them" (year 379). Furthermore: "The Jews sacrifice their children to Satan. They are worse than wild beasts. The Synagogue is a brothel, a den of scoundrels, the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults, a criminal assembly of Jews, a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, a gulf and abyss of perdition. The Jews have fallen into a condition lower than the vilest animal. Debauchery and drunkenness have brought them to a level of the lusty goat and the pig. They know only one thing: to satisfy their stomachs, to get drunk, to kill, and beat each other up like stage villains and coachmen. The Synagogue is a curse, obstinate in her error, she refuses to see or hear, she has deliberately perverted her judgment; she has extinguished with herself the light of the Holy Spirit." He elaborated further on God's punishment of the Jews: "But it was men, says the Jew, who brought these misfortunes upon us, not God. On the contrary, it was in fact God who brought them about. If you attribute them to men, reflect again that even supposing men had dared, they could not have had the power to accomplish them, unless it had been God's will. Men would certainly not have made war unless God had permitted them. Is it not obvious that it was because God hated you [Jews] and rejected you once for all?" On yet another occasion Chrysostom is quoted as saying "I hate the Jews because they violate the Law. I hate the Synagogue because it has the Law and the prophets. It is the duty of all Christians to hate the Jews." Chrysostom's homilies were to be used in seminaries and schools for centuries as model sermons, with the result that his message of hate would be passed down to succeeding generations of theologians. The nineteenth century Protestant cleric R.S. Storr called him "one of the most eloquent preachers who ever since apostolic times have brought to men the divine tidings of truth and love." A contemporary of Storr, the great theologian John Henry Cardinal Newman, described Chrysostom as a "bright, cheerful, gentle soul; a sensitive heart."

(Saint) Gregory: Turkish Saint (330-395) who gave the following indictment directed at the Jews: "Slayers of the Lord, murderers of the prophets, adversaries of God, men who show contempt for the Law, foes of grace, enemies of their fathers' faith, advocates of the Devil, brood of vipers, slanderers, scoffers, men whose minds are in darkness, leaven of the Pharisees, assembly of demons, sinners, wicked men, stoners, and haters of righteousness."

(Saint) Augustine of Hippo: (354-430) Church Bishop and Father who characterized the Jews as "willfully blind to Holy Scripture, lacking in understanding, and haters of truth." Further, he affirmed: "The true image of the Hebrew is Judas Iscariot, who sells the Lord for silver. The Jew can never understand the Scriptures and forever will bear the guilt for the death of Jesus." In a sermon on Catechumens, he said: "The Jews hold him, the Jews insult him, the Jews bind him, crown him with thorns, dishonor him with spitting, scourge him, overwhelm [him] with reviling, hang him upon the tree, pierce him with a spear. The Jews killed him."

(Pope) Sylvester I: Serving from 314-335, this Pope condemned "Jewish anti-Christian activity."

(Saint) Ambrose: Italian Saint, born around 340, who defended a fellow Bishop for burning a Synagogue at Callinicum and asked: "Who cares if a synagogue -- a home of unbelief, a house of impiety, a receptacle of folly, which God himself has condemned -- is burned?" Moreover, this 'saint' stated it was no sin at all to burn synagogues. Although we possess no substantial evidence to support this, Ambrose alleged that, since Jews killed Jesus and had escaped persecution, it is all right for Christians to do whatever they must to the synagogues. In a letter he wrote to his sister, a nun, he professed that any action against the Jews are acceptable to God.

(Pope) Valentinian III: Besides murdering one man, this acclaimed 'saint' of the West expelled Jews from holding office, forbade Jews to disinherit their children or grandchildren if they converted to Christianity, and punished all who did not agree. He added: "I do not wish Christians to serve such persons, lest by their office they find occasion to corrupt the venerable Christian's faith."

(Emperor) Justinian: Author of The Justinian Code (527-564) which negated civil rights for Jews including loss of Synagogue, loss of reading the Hebrew Bible, loss of social gatherings, and loss of holiday celebration [Passover]. Furthermore, his law went on to state: "But what ye are wont to call Deuterosis (the Mishnah) is entirely forbidden, and the Heads (of the Synagogues) shall see to it that this law is carried out."

John Damascene: 8th Century Syrian writer who, according to the Historian Ruether in her book "Faith and Fractide (p.127) said: "God gave the Jews the Sabbath because of grossness and sensuality and and absolute propensity of material things."

(Pope) Gregory VII: He was the Pope from 1073-1085 who forbade Jews to have power over Christians and forbade them to hold office, in a letter dated 1081 to Alfonso VI of Toledo, Spain. Furthermore, the letter stated that Jews must pay special "Jew Taxes" throughout Spain.

(Saint) Bernard of Clairvaux: Eleventh Century medieval saint who was highly regarded and the most venerated of the saints of his time. His devotional writings were an inspiration for further Christian generations. Although he had a high status with Christians, he wasn't so cozy with the Jews. He was opposed to Jew-killing because he wanted them [the Jews] to live on and see the terrible 'sins' he accused them of commiting. Further, he was partially responsible for the Crusades.

(Saint) Thomas Aquinas: 13th century scholastic philosopher commonly known as the "Angelic Doctor" who, in his "On the Governance of the Jews," declared: "The Jews should not be allowed to keep what they have obtained from others by usury; it were best that they were compelled to worked so that they could earn their living instead of doing nothing but becoming avaricious."

(Pope) Innocent III: Although named innocent, this Pope was not so innocent of crimes against the Jews. In 1205 he announced: "God is not displeased, but, rather, finds it acceptable that the Jewish dispersion shall live under Catholic kings and Christian priests. For the Pope (1198-1216) maintained that Jews were directly subject to Christians and in a Vienna charter of 1237 he declared that: "Because of the Jews intolerable sin I will be your [Jews] Lord since imperialist authority opposed everlasting servitude on the Jews from ancient times as punishment for the Christ-killing." Further, he defined explicitly the Jewish position in the Christian world: "The Jews' guilt of the crucifixion of Jesus consigned them to perpetual servitude, and, like Cain, they are to be wanderers and fugitives. The Jews will not dare to raise their necks, bowed under the yoke of perpetual slavery, against the reverence of the Christian faith."

(Pope) Gregory IX: Italian Cardinal (1170-1241) who, in 1233, announced to the Dominican order that their main goal was to "convert Jews to Christianity." Moreover, he condemned the Talmud as containing "every kind of villainess and blasphemy against Christian doctrine."

(Saint) John Capistrano: San Juan Capistrano is a city in California named after this 'saint'. Little do most people know that St. John's nickname was "the scorge of the Jews." He lived from 1385 to 1456. From the Franciscan order, he led campaigns in opposition to the Jews. In 1453, he efforts to him to a trial in Breslau [Poland], in which several Jews were killed and the entire Jewish population of Breslau (now Wroclau) was expelled. He even sunk so low as to call the Jews "dreadful."

(Pope) Benedict XIII: Spanish cardinal, later appointed Pope, who promised work toward reunification of the two obediences, but later resisted the pressure on him to abdicate. His Bull on the "Jewish Issue" (1450) declared: "The heresies, vanities and errors of the Talmud prevent them [the Jews] from knowing the truth."

(Pope) Sixtus IV: Italian Pope (1414-1485) who encouraged and approved (1478) of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella's (Spain) expulsion of the Jewish Community within Spain.

Bernardino of Feltro: 15th century Italian priest. A mild man who extolled patience and charity in normal circumstances, he described himself as a "barking dog" when dealing with Jews: "Jewish usurers bleed the poor to death and grow fat on their substance, and I who live on alms, who feed on the bread of the poor, shall I then be mute before outraged charity? Dogs bark to protect those who feed them, and I, who am fed by the poor, shall I see them robbed of what belongs to them and keep silent" ("Le Bienbeureux Bernard in the Feltre by E. Flornoy")?

(Pope) Clement VIII: Italian Pope (1536-1605) who professed that: "All the world suffers from the usury of the Jews, their monopolies and deceit. They have brought many unfortunate people into a state of poverty, especially the farmers, working class people and the very poor. Then, as now, Jews have to be reminded intermittently that they were enjoying rights in any country since they left Palestine and the Arabian desert, and subsequently their ethical and moral doctrines as well as their deeds rightly deserve to be exposed to criticism in whatever country they happen to live."

(Pope) Julius III: His "Contra Hebreos Retinentes Libros (1554) ordered the Talmud burned "everywhere" and established a strict censorship over Jewish "genocidal writings" -- an order that has never been rescinded and which presumably is still binding upon Catholics.

(Pope) Paul IV: His "Cum Nimis Absurdim" (1555) was a powerful condemnation of "Jewish usury." It embodies a legal code to curb "Jewish power" that was recommended to all communities.

(Pope) Pius V: Counter-Reformation Cardinal (1504-1572) who disclosed his views on Jews in "Hebraeorum Gens" (1569) when all Jews were expelled from the Papal States.

(Pope) Gregory XIII: He was the Pope from 1572-1585 who declared that the Jews "continue to plot horrible crimes against Christians with daily increasing audacity." Moreover, he condemned Jewish "genocidal writings."

(Pope) Benedict XIV: In "Quo Primum" (1751) he denounced Jewish "control of commerce" and "systematical despoliation" of Christians through usury.

Maria Theresa Hapsburg: This Queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1771-1789) broadcasted her detrimental views of the Jewish people as follows: "Henceforth no Jew, no matter under what name, will be allowed to remain here without my written permission. I know of no other troublesome pest within the state than this race, which impoverished the people by their fraud, usury and money-lending and commits all deeds which an honorable man despises. Subsequently they have to be removed and excluded from here as much as possible."

(Cardinal) Joszef Mindszenty: Hungarian symbol of resistance to Communism throughout the 1950's who was quoted in The B'nai B'rith Messenger, January 28, 1949: "The troublemakers in Hungary are the Jews! They demoralize our country and they are the leaders of the revolutionary gang that is torturing Hungary."

(Preacher) Thomas Short: In November 1996, Christian evangelist Thomas Short was visiting Texas A&M, when he openly declared to a Jewish student that she was "destined for hell." He then told another Jewish student that "Hitler did not go far enough."

(Reverend) Jerry Falwell: On January 14, 1999, Jerry Falwell said "the Anti-Christ is probably alive today and is a male Jew." In his speech, he continued: "Is he alive and here today? Probably. Because when he appears during the Tribulation period he will be a full-grown counterfeit of Christ. Of course he'll be Jewish. Of course he'll pretend to be Christ. And if in fact the Lord is coming soon, and he'll be an adult at the presentation of himself, he must be alive somewhere today."

premananda · October 31, 2001

I think jews, like all other people, are capable of doing wrong. Some of those guys simply commented on what the jews in a particular time, place and circumstance were up to. Many similar things could be said about some christians, hindus or muslims, who also do wrong. It is the age of quarrel and hypocrisy...