The Jew in Christian Theology

Martin Luther’s viciously anti–Jewish pamphlet, Vom Schem Hampboras, presented here in its original German and its first-ever English translation, is but one of the many sources translated here for the first time from Latin, Hebrew and German.
This study reviews the earliest Christian writings concerning the Jews and shows how Christian synods and influential theologians legitimized and reinforced hatred of the Jewish people. It also examines the modern attempts in Protestant and Catholic theology to promote friendship toward the Jewish people.

Gerhard Falk is a professor of sociology at Buffalo State College, in Buffalo, New York. He is the author of 22 books and more than 45 journal articles.

Gerhard Falk
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 304
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014 [1992]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7744-9
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Introduction xi

One: The Contribution of Christian Theology to the Fate of the European Jews

The Catholic Contribution

1. The Early Church Fathers 3

2. Christian Synods and Christian Law 27

The Contributions of Protestants and Others

3. Erasmus and Luther 49

4. From Calvin to Soloviev: The Devil Through Four Centuries 81

Two: Toward a New Christian Theology of Judaism

5. The Jews in Early 20th Century Christian Theology 103

6. After the Holocaust: A New Christian Theology 129

7. Great Expectations: From Conflict to Unity 153

Appendices

A. Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi, by Martin Luther (1543), in English translation 163

B. Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi (original German Version) 225

C. Pastoral Letter on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Conciliar Declaration “Nostra Aetate” (January 1991) 277

D. Resolution 3–09, “To Clarify Position on Anti-Semitism,” of the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church (July 1983) 281

Bibliography 283

Index 291

“the centerpiece of this book is the translation of Martin Luther’s [work]”—AB Bookman’s Weekly; “thorough analysis of the contribution of Christian theology to the fate of the European Jews”—The Lutheran Journal ; “illuminating study…a wealth of source material”—CCAR Journal: A Reform Jewish Quarterly.