§ Debates · Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
Do Christian charges of Jewish mockery of Christian symbols have any basis?
2 positions · no single answer
Position A · held by The first instinct, comparable to the host-desecration charge
Fabricated charges
The reports would be inventions meant to justify violence against Jews.
Rests on: p. 198
Reads the same page as : the same source, different readings.
Where the debate comes up
Statements tied to the debate
- Christian sources accuse Jews of other blasphemous acts, such as relieving themselves on Christian symbols or hanging a Haman effigy at Purim as a parody of the Crucifixion. One is first inclined to dismiss these reports as fabrications, like the host-desecration charge, but recent scholars think they may hold some truth: Purim, a boisterous, carnivalesque festival, may have offered a moment to vent bottled-up resentment of Christianity in a mocking, if not openly confrontational, manner.