FREE ESSAY ON LET'S DO THIS LIKE JUDAS

LET'S DO THIS LIKE JUDAS

"You are of your father, the devil," states Martin Luther. Anything from the crucifixion
of Jesus to the crusades, show the many times in history when the Jews were troubled.
There are many things in Christianity, throughout time, that account for the change in
Christianity from anti-Judaism to Anti-Semitism.
The Gospel of Matthew states: "And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master;
and kissed him." This is Judas, a Jew, saying this to the others. This is an indirect
blame for the crucifixion of Jesus. This section means that Jews wish harm upon Jesus.
This chapter lays out Jesus as being a powerful but humble son of God. 
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more
than twelve legions of angels? 
Another part of the Gospel of Matthew that needs to be addressed in Chapter 26, Verse
51.
And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his
sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. 
Jesus' decibel was most likely a Jews. A Jew cutting of the ear of a Catholic. This is a
direct statement of violence towards the church.
Then in 407, "Saint Jerome anticipated modern anti-Semitic propaganda by predicting the
emergence of an infernal Jewish conspiracy for global dominion." There were many Saints
that had problems with Jews. These Saints had denounced Jews in many meetings and many
laws. This happening from the beginning of Christian time(1 A.D.)
The Medieval period, a very bad time for Jews was a major source of anti-Semitism in
Christianity. Saint Thomas Aquinas was the creator of many ideas that later became laws.
He was one of the many that decided that Jews shouldn't marry or "exert authority over
Christians." This was during the late 11th century.
The call for the first crusades began in 1074. Evidence for this is found in the letter
from Gregory VII, "bishop, servant of the servants of God." In his letter he states "they
had slain many thousands of Christians as if they were but sheep." 6 It is not clear
which peoples were doing the slaying.
During their journey to return the Holy Land to Christian rule, they traveled through
many Jewish cities. During the sack of Emico, May, 1076 A.D., many Jews were misled and
killed. "'Look! They have opened up the gate for us. Now let us avenge the blood of 'the
hanged one' [Jesus]; the Rhineland soldiers had said. 
"Riots, massacres, and forced conversion began in 1189 and continued through the rest of
the century." During the Second Crusade the conversion of Jews was taken into account.
The conversion was never trusted. Jews continued to practice Jewish traditions; keeping
the house Kosher, and practicing the Sabbath. This was major account for the
anti-Semitism in Christian Europe after the Crusades. Spain played a major role in this
with the beginning of the Spanish inquisition in the late 14th century. In 1391, there
were many mobs of Jews massacred with in Spain. A Spanish Jew had two options, convert or
leave. There was, as before, many suspicions about converted Jews. 
"...changing into clean personal linen on Saturdays and wearing better clothes than on
other days; preparing on Fridays the food for Saturdays, in stewing pans on a small fire;
who do not work on Friday evenings and Saturdays as on other days; who kindle lights in
clean lamps with new wicks, on Friday evenings; place clean linen on the beds and clean
napkins on the table; celebrate the festival of the unleavened bread, eat unleavened
bread and celery and bitter herbs...who do not wish to eat salt pork, hares, rabbits,
snails, or fish that have not scales; who bathe the bodies of their dead...if any know
that in any house, people congregate for the purpose of carrying on religious services,
or read out of bibles in the vernacular or perform other Judaic ceremonies..." - Edict of
Faith issued in Valencia in 1519 by Inquisitor Andres de Palacio (Roth, p. 77/79)10
These suspicions were sometimes correct, resulting in the banishing or slaying of the
Jew. 
Throughout time there have been many occurrences that prove that Christianity has been a
form of popular anti-Semitism. I end with a quote:
"Should the Catholic Church ever become the only Christian Church, as she was during the
middle ages, then beware of the Auto-da-Fe (Act of Faith), a solemn religious ceremony
that the uninformed and the misleaders hold to have been a place of torture and burning
at the stake." 
Bibliography
Martin Luther: The Jews and Their Lies 
Gospel of Matthew (26:49)
Gospel of Matthew (26:53)
Gospel of Matthew(26:51)
Jaher, A Scapegoat In The New Wilderness; Pg. 30
Jaher, A Scapegoat In The New Wilderness; Pg. 61
Medieval Source Book, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/g7-cde1078.html
Medieval Source Book, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1096jews-mainz.html
Jaher, A Scapegoat In The New Wilderness; Pg. 50
The Incisition, http://www.mindspring.com/~robertcjones/inq/inqcont.htm
The Truth About The Spanish Inquisition, http://www.trosch.org/for/inquisition.html