Is it true that the New Testament criticism of the Jews is quite mild? Let's find out.
Answer:
The New Testament contains more than just a mild criticism of the Jews. In fact, it is extremely anti-Jewish. It is true that some Christians maintain that the New Testament attack on the Jews is quite mild. Yet, how mild is the "bloody commission," a statement that places upon the Jews guilt for all the righteous blood ever shed upon the earth (Matthew 23:35), or a spurious self-condemnation whereby the Jewish people supposedly take upon themselves and their offspring an eternal blame for the death of Jesus (Matthew 27:25), or a declaration that the Jews are the children of the devil (John 8:44) and that the Jews are a "synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 2:9, 3:9). Paul summed up the denunciation of the Jews with the inflammatory declaration that the Jews are "hostile to all men" (1 Thessalonians 2:15).
The New Testament was written by-and-large for Gentiles and institutionalized an anti-Judaic theme for its audience. It distorted and fictionalized events in order to portray the Jews, all Jews who do not accept Jesus, as evil and responsible for his death. The attitude of the New Testament authors toward the Jews is very clear.
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