Against the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews (Fathers of the Church: Medieval Continuations)
Overview
Against the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews represents a turning point in medieval anti-Jewish polemics. On the one hand, the polemic’s intention—to bring about the conversion of the Jews—is predicated on an assumption that Jews are rational agents who may be persuaded of Christian truths by philosophical argument, empirical evidence, and biblical exegesis. On the other hand, Peter the Venerable also introduced the notion that the Jews’ enduring “blindness” stems from a persistent strain of irrationality, for which they themselves are responsible. Peter traces this irrationality to the medieval Jews’ commitment to the Talmud. Peter is the first medieval Christian author to name the Talmud explicitly. The Jewish convert to Christianity, Petrus Alfonsi, had ridiculed Talmudic folklore in his Dialogue against the Jews. Peter the Venerable borrowed from but also surpassed Alfonsi’s critique, as even his use of the name Talmud indicates. Unfortunately, by emphasizing the irrationality of the Jews, Peter cast doubt upon their essential humanity and paved the way toward an increasingly violent treatment of the Jewish minority in medieval Christendom.
- Title: Against the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews
- Author: Peter the Venerable
- Series: The Fathers of the Church: Mediaeval Continuation
- Volume: 14
- Publisher: Catholic University of America
- Print Publication Date: 2013
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Judaism › Controversial literature--Early works to 1800
- ISBNs: 9780813221298, 0813221293
- Resource ID: LLS:GNSTNVTRTBDRJWS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:53:16Z