Anti-Semitism springs not from political, social, or economic pressures or trends, but from the basic canons of Christian theology, according to Howard University Professor of Theology Rosemary. Ruether. Dr. Ruether opened the second day of the “Auschwitz: Beginning of a New Era” symposium by presenting her thoughts on “The History of the Christian Theology and the Demonization of the Jews” to some 200 people at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine today.
“Christian theology in effect set out to prove that Jews were wrong,” said Dr. Ruether as she traced the development of anti-Semitism from the beginning of the Common Era. “The climax came with the killing of the Christian messiah. To give this crime a legacy, the Christians read into it and saw the event as the killing of God rather than the killing of a prophet.”
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