Jewish history through Christian eyes

I  have long been perplexed by a question that Robert Chazan presents as a declaration: “All Christians must ex­press fundamental negativity to their Jewish contemporaries, since these Jews continue to reject the truth of Chris­tianity.” The words all and must challenge and trouble me; I hope they are mistaken and fear they are not.

Chazan presents considerable evidence to back up his declaration in a work that examines Christian constructions of Jew­ish history from the New Testament through Eusebius, Augustine, and lesser-known medieval authors, ending with Martin Luther. Given the common origins of Judaism and Christianity, Chazan observes that “a sure grasp of Christian history has meant concern with and comprehension of the history of the Jewish people.” He argues that attending to Christian constructions of Jewish history helps us trace the connections between ancient and medieval anti-Judaism and modern anti-Semitism.

Overall, the ancient sources Chazan studies offer an ambivalent account of Jewish history. The synoptic Gospels present Jewish opposition to Jesus as a central motif. But they also depict positive Jewish responses to Jesus (not least in the persons of his close followers), ac­know­ledge the Jews’ initial divine chosenness, and disagree among themselves on the degree of guilt to assign the Jewish people for the Crucifixion.