extremely interesting, intellectual read. great for classes and personal study.
A panoramic and detailed survey of the reasons why the early Christians adopted anti-Judaism, how anti-Judaism evolved in the writings of the Church Fathers, and how theological anti-Judaism morphed into social anti-Semitism as the Roman Empire adopted Christianity and the worldly empire became identified with the messianic one. Even for a Jew like myself who has long been interested in Christian attitudes toward Jews and Judaism, this book was an eye-opener. After reading Ruether's account of the Church Fathers' fulminations against Jews and Judaism, I understand better why so many Christian clergy did not protest Hitler's actions against the Jews. Gregory Baum's Introduction/"mea culpa" helps sharpen the thrust of the argument that anti-Judaism was an intrinsic feature of Christianity from the beginning. The book was originally published in 1974 and I am not sure to what extent Ruether's thesis has been accepted or her suggestions for possibly remedying the anti-Judaic strands in Christianity have been implemented, but I think her ideas are still valuable.
