What's the Difference Between Polytheism and

Monotheism?
This lecture discusses the origins of monotheism. It then compares monotheism to polytheism, with
especial emphasis on the problematic nature of holy law. Finally it uses the Greek story of Hippolytus
to compare the ancient polytheistic perspective to a modern christian perspective.

What is Polytheism?
This is a lecture about the emergence of monotheism. Monotheism refers to the worship of a single,
supreme deity.
Today, about half the world's population practices one form of monotheism or another. Yet for much of
human history, monotheism was far from popular. Most of the world's religions have been polytheistic,
meaning that they worship a collection of gods, known as a pantheon. These gods came in all shapes
and sizes, from animistic spirits of natural forces, like animals, trees, rivers, etc., to anthropomorphic
gods, which take the shape and characteristics of humans, to anything in between.
In whatever form, polytheism was the norm for religion for thousands of years, while monotheism was
very rare indeed.

Amarna Period
The first historical reference we have for monotheism comes from Egypt. Around 1375 B.C.E., the
Pharoh, Amenhotep IV, decided he would worship only Aten, the god of the Sun. Amenhotep
suppressed the worship of the rest of the Egyptian pantheon. He shut down a lot of temples and upset a
lot of priests. He moved his capital from Thebes to Akhetaton. He even changed his own name to
Akhenaton, (devoted of Aten). This created an explosion of novel art and architecture called the
Amarna period.
Egypt's experiment with monotheism did not survive Akhenaton long. Jealous of their
positions of power, the priests of Egypt's many gods abolished monotheism and brought
the Amarna period to an abrupt halt.

The Israelites' Monotheism

Yet there was another people in Egypt at the time, the Israelites, whose monotheistic
beliefs may be linked with this Amarna period, though it is impossible to determine
whether the Israelites influenced the Egyptians or the Egyptians influenced the Israelites.
Amenhotep Whichever it was, around the time of the Bronze Age collapse (about 1200 B.C.E.), the
IV
children of Israel left Egypt and formed a covenant with their single deity, whom they
worshiped called Yahweh. To ensure that they stayed on the straight and narrow, Yahweh gave the
only Aten Israelites a code of ten commandments, the first of which explicitly forbids the worship of
and
any god but Yahweh.
suppressed
worship of
the rest of
the Egyptian
pantheon

Yet, according to their own holy texts, the Israelites had difficulty obeying that first commandment, let
alone the other nine. Oh, they did all right when they were wandering through the desert. Yet no sooner
had the children of Israel begun fighting other people for control of their promised land, than they
began worshiping the gods of their rivals.
This begs the question: What did established monotheists like the Israelites find so appealing about
polytheism? To answer that question, we must compare polytheism to monotheism.

Comparing Polytheism to Monotheism

Polytheists divide their world up into a variety of domains and assign gods to each: a god of the sea, a
god of the sun and so forth. In their efforts to cover their bases, polytheists end up with conflicting
gods. A god of war and a god of peace, a god of virginity and a god of fertility, a god of creation and a
god of destruction. Things that might please the god of war, would upset the god of peace. Rites of
fertility would be directly opposed to rites of virginity. In short, pretty much anything a person can do
might please one god and anger another. This may seem a recipe for chaos, but we must remember that
life, and indeed the world itself, is chaotic.
In a world without science, when nature itself seems unpredictable, a variety of gods
allows for flexibility. Since no one action is inherently good or bad, one is free to do what
one must to get through the day. If everything you do or don't do will anger a deity, it
doesn't so much matter what you do, as much as how much you do it. In this way,
polytheism encourages moderation. Rather than seeking unwavering devotion to a single
value system, ancient people instead looked for balance.
By contrast, monotheism establishes a single authority. To make this authority cover the
countless complexities of life, monotheistic religions create large bodies of holy law. The
law of Moses would add over 600 laws to the original ten.

In
The result is a very restrictive belief system, one that the Israelites clearly chafed under. polytheism,
Moreover, holy laws end up contradicting each other. For example, the sixth any action
commandment quite clearly states, thou shalt not kill, yet there are hundreds of sins in that would
Mosaic law that carry a sentence of death. Such contradictions would not be a problem if please one
the laws were not, as it were, set in stone.
god would
The problem is that divine commandment lacks flexibility. Breaking a divine law is a sin, displease
plain and simple. With such a massive assortment of inflexible, contradictory laws, it's another
impossible to even go through a single day without sinning at least a couple times.
So imagine you're an Israelite on a Saturday night, which would you rather do? Sit at home and pray
that you don't accidentally upset an incredibly demanding god, or expand your worship to Gestin,
whose divine will is for you to get drunk, and Ishtar, who commands you to engage in holy orgies?

The Story of Hippolytus

To bring this point home, let us look at the Greek story of Hippolytus. By Christian standards,
Hippolytus is the perfect man. He worships but one god, Artemis, and no others. Artemis is, among
other things, a goddess of virginity. Hippolytus wants to maintain his virginity for life, an ideal still
followed by some proponents of Christianity.
Yet Hippolytus' single-minded devotion to Artemis angers Aphrodite, the goddess of sex. In her rage,

Aphrodite makes Hippolytus' step mother, Phaedra fall in love with him. Despite mounting pressure to
give in, Hippolytus holds his beliefs and maintains his virginity. In an act of desperate vengeance,
Phaedra kills herself and leaves a note claiming that Hippolytus had raped her. Hippolytus' father is
enraged, and sentences his son to death.
From a Christian perspective, Hippolytus is an innocent victim of a horrendous crime. Yet by ancient
standards, Hippolytus only got what was coming to him. Life requires people to act in many different
ways, some of which contradict each other. By refusing to acknowledge reproduction as an important
part of life, Hippolytus doomed himself to disaster.
This was, essentially, the perspective of the ancient world on monotheism. By focusing on a single
value system, no matter how noble, monotheists came across as lopsided, one-dimensional zealots,
much as we view religious extremists today. The vast majority of people would continue to view
monotheism with skepticism, confusion and distrust until a man named Jesus did away with all the
oppressive and contradictory code of Mosaic law, and replaced it with a single commandment: Love
one another.

The Hebrews and Their Beliefs

This lesson covers the Hebrews and their beliefs. We look at the core tenets of Judaism and explore
some of the stories from the Torah. Finally, we see how the Hebrew's history of oppression impacted
their religion and the world today.

Essentials of the Hebrew Faith

The Hebrew religion, known today as Judaism, is one of the oldest religions on Earth, with a written
history stretching back over 3,000 years. Though some ancient religions predate Judaism, few of them
survived to the modern age, and only Hinduism can cite a longer, continuous written history.
Judaism's persistence through the ages can be attributed to several of the distinguishing
features of this ancient religion.
Judaism is monotheistic; it worships a single God.
Judaism requires its followers to hold themselves aloof from other peoples. Jews are
forbidden to worship other gods and Jews are forbidden to marry non-Jews.
This is because Judaism is both a religious identity and an ethnic identity. Jews believe
themselves to be God's chosen people and trace their lineage to a common ancestor,
Abraham. These factors all contributed to Judaism's endurance through the ages. By
Dating back worshiping a single God and accepting no others, by holding themselves aloof as an ethnic
over 3,000 identity, and by refusing to adopt the customs of their neighbors, Judaism avoided the
years, blending of religions, or syncretism, that changed so many other religions of its age.
Judaism is
one of the Yet perhaps the most important factor in Judaism's persistence, and indisputably the
oldest defining feature of Judaism, is that Judaism has a holy text to preserve its beliefs, laws
religions and history.

The Torah
The Jewish holy text, or Tanakh, is not a single book but rather a collection of books written over a
thousand years. These books have all found their way into the Old Testament of the Christian Bible,
though in a slightly different order. Jews divide the books of the Tanakh into three groups: The Torah,
The Nevi'im and the Ketuvim. The foremost of these is the Torah.
These five books contain the core of Jewish belief. They explain the origins of the Jewish people, their
faith, their prophets and their laws. Let us take a quick trek through the tales of the Torah and see what
we can learn about this ancient religion.
Let us begin in the beginning. Unlike the Sumerians, who believed the universe was created when
Marduk cut his mother apart, or the Greeks, who thought the universe arose through sex, the Hebrews
thought the universe was created through words. God created the world by speaking it into existence.
He said 'Let there be light' and there was light. This establishes the importance of words in the Jewish
faith, a theme that recurs time and time again.
God also created the first man and the first woman, Adam and Eve. God put Adam and Eve in a
beautiful paradise where their every need was taken care of. His only rule was that they should not eat a
certain fruit. Satan tempted Eve to eat this fruit, and Eve tempted Adam to eat the fruit, and God got
mad, and the two were cast out of paradise.
This establishes a pattern that will repeat time and time again in the Torah: God gives a commandment
to man. Man disobeys, usually through temptation of the flesh. God punishes man.
Another trend that we see in the Jewish faith is God's selection of a chosen person. The God of the
Torah seems generally disgusted with the world, but he occasionally finds someone who is faithful. Yet
being God's chosen one involves a lot of work and a lifetime of obedience. God's gifts are not free. He
requires sacrifice on the part of his believers.
Nowhere is this message clearer than in the story of Abraham. God promised to make Abraham the
father of a great and numerous people. All Abraham had to do was obey God in all things. This seemed
like a great deal to Abraham, who agreed, but then God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.
Not only was God asking Abraham to murder his own child in cold blood, but God's commandment
flew directly in the face of his promise to Abraham. How was Abraham supposed to be the father of a
great people if he killed his only offspring? Yet Abraham obeyed God's commandment, even if he did
not understand it.
And as Abraham raised the knife to kill his own son, God knew He had found His man, someone who
would obey without question. At the last moment, God sent an angel to stop Abraham, providing a goat
to sacrifice instead. This is the birth of the covenant between God and the Hebrew people.
Abraham's son, Isaac, had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob, also known as Israel, had 12 sons: Reuben,
Simeon, Levi, Naphtali, Issachar, Asher, Dan, Zebulon, Gad, Judah, Joseph and Benjamin. These sons
became the fathers of the Tribes of Israel. Driven by famine from their native land, Jacob and his sons
found their way to Egypt.
And after a few generations, the children of Israel found themselves the slaves of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
Generations later, God sent His prophet, Moses, to free His people from slavery. After a series of
plagues and miracles, Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. Safe and free at last, Moses
brought the children of Israel to Mount Sinai.
Moses ascended the mountain to commune with God, and God gave Moses Ten Commandments,
carving them into stone with His own finger. These Ten Commandments would form the heart of

Jewish law.
I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt make unto thee no graven images to worship.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and mother.
6. Thou shalt not murder.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10.Thou shalt not covet.
Yet even as Moses was up on the mountain receiving God's laws, the children of Israel were down in
the valley breaking every one of them. They constructed a golden calf to worship and were carrying on
in a manner unbecoming of God's chosen people. Let's just say coveting was the least of it. God
punished the Hebrews by refusing to let them enter the Promised Land until the entire generation of
sinners died out.
And so He sent Moses and his people wandering the desert for 40 years. While they were wandering,
God used Moses to begin establishing the laws and religion of the Hebrew people. Moses wrote
hundreds of laws ranging from political advice ('If you take fabric from an enemy, you should boil it
before you use it') to moral codes ('If a boy disobeys his father, he shall be stoned') to dietary
restrictions ('Don't eat shellfish or pork').
Moses also divided the Israelites up into their 12 tribes and established a hierarchy to manage their
concerns. He chose his brother Levi to be the high priest of God and established his descendants as the
priestly tribe of Israel. Finally, Moses set down the forms of Hebrew worship. He instructed them to
build a tent to serve as the house of God.
Concealed within the tent was the Hebrew's greatest treasure, the Ark of the Covenant, which
contained the original Ten Commandments written by God himself. The Hebrews considered the fate of
their people closely tied to the Ark and its contents. It is important to note that rather than worshiping
an idol of God, the Hebrews instead worshiped the words of God.

Historical Interpretation of Jewish Texts

Modern historians are at odds as to what to make of the Torah. On the one hand, there is no evidence
that the Hebrew people were ever in Egypt; and though the Hebrews attributed these books to Moses,
modern scholars have identified as many as four different authors of the Torah.
On the other hand, the authors of the Torah were still quite ancient, some of them dating back as far as
900 BCE; and while the Torah's account might not be accurate from a strictly historical perspective, it
certainly tells us a great deal about the ancient Hebrews and their beliefs.
There is less ambiguity about some of the later books in the Tanakh. The Nevi'im, or books of
prophets, recount the history of the Jewish people after entering the Promised Land. Unlike the Torah,
many of these stories can be backed up with archaeological evidence.
For instance, the book of Joshua records the conquest of Israel under the leadership of Moses'
successor, Joshua. The account mentions several cities that archaeologists have since uncovered,
including the famous walled city of Jericho, which remains one of the oldest walled cities we've ever

found, though we've yet to find any trumpets.

The books of Samuel and Kings record the ascent of the first kings of Israel (Saul, David and
Solomon), and there is evidence that King David at least might have actually existed. Several books of
the Nevi'im record the oppression of the Hebrews by various peoples, pretty much all of whom have
been matched to real civilizations, whose own records often validate the Hebrew account.

The Jewish People: A History of Oppression

Between the books of the Nevi'im and the efforts of modern archaeologists, we know that the Hebrews
fell under the control of many empires over the years, including the Babylonians, Assyrians, Philistines,
Moabites, Syrians and Romans. Some of these conquerors were quite intent on wiping out the Hebrew
people and their faith. Both the Assyrians and Babylonians made a practice of relocating conquered
peoples from their homelands into somewhere deep within the empire.
By doing so, they hoped to break down those people's cultural identity and assimilate them as
Assyrians or Babylonians. Yet the faith and identity of the Hebrews withstood these attempts. The
Hebrews considered these periods of oppression and captivity as God's punishment for their
disobedience. They maintained their faith despite the best efforts of their oppressors. In a time when so
many other faiths and peoples were absorbed into great empires, the survival of Hebrews and their faith
as a distinct people is actually quite remarkable. The persistence of the Jewish faith can be directly
attributed to the factors we noted at the beginning of this lesson.
The Hebrews had one God and refused to worship the gods of their conquerors. The Hebrews refused
to conform to the society of their conquerors. Their steadfast faith in a single God kept their religion
untainted, and their refusal to marry non-Jews helped them maintain their ethnic identity.
Yet most importantly, the Jews had a holy book containing all the wisdom, laws and beliefs of their
culture. While other, less literate religions might change with the times, the Jewish religion was
preserved in writing.

The Impact of Jewish Oppression

on the Modern World
Yet this constant oppression did not leave Judaism
totally unchanged. We can see its mark in the continued
Jewish desire to reclaim their homeland, a movement
known today as Zionism. We can read the tale of
oppression in Jewish rituals, like the Passover Seder,
commemorating their slavery in Egypt, and the Some Jews branched off to form Christianity
Hanukkah menorah, which recalls the Jewish revolt and Islam, but the majority preserved Judaism
against the Seleucid Empire.
Yet perhaps the clearest impact of oppression upon the Jews is the Jewish prophesy of the Messiah, a
savior who would rescue the Jews from oppression and restore them to the glory God promised
Abraham so long ago. In the beginning of the Common Era, many Jews thought they'd found their
Messiah in Jesus and established the Christian religion.
Later, the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula would further adapt the Jewish faith to found Islam. Yet the
majority of Jews remained true to the original covenant between God and Abraham, preserving the

ancient faith of Judaism to this day.

The Jewish Belief System: Description, Elements

& History
This lesson will explore the ancient religion of Judaism, the faith of the Jewish people. In doing so, it
will highlight the concept of monotheism, Yahweh's covenant with Abraham and the Jewish texts of law.

Monotheism
Today's lesson will be a brief exploration of Judaism, one of the world's oldest religions. It is a faith
system that has survived throughout the centuries - a belief structure that has shaped, and continues to
shape, cultures around the globe.
For starters, Judaism is the ancient faith of the Jewish people and still has millions upon millions of
followers throughout the world over. As a faith system, it sets itself apart from most ancient religions in
that it is monotheistic, or believes in only one God. Since this monotheism is a primary belief of
Judaism, it's worth repeating just to make sure we've got this point down: Judaism believes there is
only one true God.

Abraham
With its origins in the ancient cultures of Israel and Palestine, Judaism has its roots in the belief that
God made a covenant with the man known to history as Abraham, the father of Judaism. This
covenant was a promise that God would give Abraham's descendants the lands of Canaan, today parts
of Israel and Palestine. It is this promise that has taken, and definitely still takes, center stage in the
politics of the Middle East.
Adding to this land grant of sorts, the Jewish God, often referred to by the very sacred name Yahweh,
is believed to be a loving God who chose the Jewish people as his very own. This idea is found
scattered throughout the pages of Judaism's ancient texts. For example, the Torah, or the Jewish law,
reads:
'Not because you are more numerous than any people did the Lord delight in you and choose you, for
you are the least of all the peoples. But because of the Lord's love for you, and because He keeps the
oath He swore to your forefathers, the Lord took you out with a strong hand and redeemed you.'

Ancient Texts
Adding to these passages from the Torah and its monotheistic beliefs, Judaism also holds to the
teachings of the Talmud, the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law. Written by ancient Jewish
teachers, or rabbis, the Talmud deals with topics ranging from history to customs to ethics.
As a religion, Judaism continues to be heavily ritualistic. It revolves around the laws of the Talmud,
and the very famous Ten Commandments, a set of biblical principles relating to behavior and
worship. Just like in ancient times, fundamental Jews of today still hold to these laws as sacred.

With this, ancient Jews (and today's fundamental Jews) believed that the punishment for sin can be
alleviated through things like prayer, cleansing rituals and sacrifice.

Lesson Summary
As one of the world's oldest religions, Judaism is the faith of the Jewish people. Being monotheistic, it
believes in one true God, often referred to by the sacred name of Yahweh. As a faith system, Judaism
asserts that God made a covenant with Abraham, the father of Judaism.
Adding to this, it also contends that God gave the land of Canaan, parts of modern day Palestine and
Israel, to Abraham's descendants. It also teaches that God chose the Jewish people as his very own.
With these beliefs, Judaism also holds to the ancient laws of the Torah, the Talmud and the Ten
Commandments of the Bible.

Christian Antisemitism in Medieval Europe

This lesson covers Christian oppression of the Jews in Medieval Europe. We'll examine the roots of
Christian anti-Semitism in the early church, explore the medieval causes of Christian anti-Semitism
and enumerate the abuses Jews faced.

A History of Persecution
Anti-Semitism, or prejudice against people of the Jewish faith, has been around for almost as long as
there has been a Jewish faith. The Jewish people have faced persecution at the hands of Babylonians,
Assyrians, Romans, Spaniards, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans and Russians. Indeed, no European
nation's history is completely free of anti-Semitism. Yet, of all Judaism's persecutors, none, not even
the Nazis, have been as pernicious, as tenacious or as pervasive as Christianity. Over the centuries
Christians have robbed, evicted, tortured and murdered countless Jews. The history of Christianity is
littered with such atrocities.
So where did this terrible pattern of behavior come from? What caused Christians to view their Jewish
neighbors with such distrust and hatred? What possible reason could Christians have to abandon the
preaching of their savior, Jesus, and commit violence and murder against their fellow man?

The Roots of Christian Anti-Semitism

The roots of Christian anti-Semitism stretch back to the earliest days of Christianity. It is important to
remember that, in the beginning, Christianity was simply a heretical sect of Judaism. As such,
Christianity did not receive a warm welcome from Judaism. The Jews rejected Christian claims of
Jesus' divinity. They chased Christians out of town and even stoned a few of them. It is worth noting
that the church was just as harsh with its own heretics, if not more so.
As Christians began to realize that the Jews were not going to convert to Christianity, they began to try
to differentiate themselves from Judaism. They came up with their own holy days and their own rituals
and beliefs. Moreover, some early Christian writers responded to Judaism's initial hostility with a
hatred of their own. As they wrote the letters and stories that would eventually come together to form
the New Testament, Christians began to blame the Jews for killing Jesus. Now, this required a great

deal of mental gymnastics, as the Jews at the time of Jesus had almost no political power.
Their home country, Judea, was a province of Rome, and a particularly mistrusted one at that. Everyone
knew that Jesus was condemned to death by the Roman Empire and that he died by crucifixion, a
typically Roman form of capital punishment. These early Christian writers could not get around these
facts. The worst they could do in their accounts was to emphasize the Jewish role in the affair. In doing
so, they may have taken some artistic license. Yet, even if we take the Bible's account at face value, the
Jewish people's role in Jesus' death consisted of arresting a confessed heretic, handing him over to the
Romans and then not rescuing him from the Roman justice system's typical sentence for trouble makers
and rabble rousers: crucifixion. This hardly seems worthy of condemnation, especially considering how
the church dealt with its own heretics.
It is doubtful that any of these early Christian writers had any idea of the trouble they
would cause by telling a story in which the Jewish people seem to be at least partially to
blame for the death of Jesus. At the time the first books of the New Testament began being
written, about a hundred years after the death of Christ, Christians weren't in any position
to oppress anyone. Christians were the underdog of the time, and many of them viewed
the Jews as their oppressors as much as the Romans.
Yet, this early Christian resentment, and perhaps even hatred of the Jews, found its way
into the Bible. And the Bible, with its occasional anti-Semitic undertones, lived on long
after Christianity had anything to fear from Judaism or even Rome. Centuries later, people
The Jews had forgotten that the Bible was, in fact, written by people, who are prone to their own
did not failings and foibles. The Bible was viewed as the inspired word of God. So, if the Bible
actually kill said that a few Jews were indirectly responsible for Jesus' death hundreds of years ago,
Jesus; they that was enough for many later Christians to condemn the entire Jewish faith.
just arrested
him and
handed him Other Causes of Christian Anti-Semitism
over to the
Romans This inclination was exacerbated by the exclusive nature of Judaism. Judaism is not just a
religion, but a racial and political identity. Jews believe themselves to be God's chosen
people. Their holy texts require things that set them apart from non-Jews, whom they call Gentiles.
Jews are forbidden by their religion to marry Gentiles. Judaism also demands a very restrictive diet,
meaning that the Jews could not eat many of the things that their Gentile neighbors enjoyed.
These may seem like small points, but remember that
intermarriage and communal feasting are some of the
most fundamental ways that disparate groups come to
accept and understand each other. Without these basic
connections, Jews found themselves isolated from their
Christian neighbors. Of course, this was also partially
because Jews often found themselves restricted to
living in ghettos.
Another factor that drove a wedge between Jews and
Jews are not allowed to marry Gentiles
Christians was the perception that the Jews were rich,
while their Christian neighbors were poor. This perception, though often exaggerated, was based on a
kernel of truth. You see, the Bible forbids Christians from charging each other usury, or interest on a

loan. Interest is the basis of all banking. The ban on usury effectively removed all incentive for a
Christian to start a bank. Without the ability to charge interest, a Christian banker could never hope to
make money.
Yet, people still needed loans, and the Jews had no problem whatsoever with charging interest. As a
result, many of the banks in Medieval Europe were owned and operated by Jews, making many Jews
very wealthy indeed. A side effect of this arrangement was that a lot of Christians owed a lot of money
to Jews, including lords, kings and even the papacy in Rome. The resentment of debtors toward their
creditors, or simply a desire to rob someone wealthy without consequence, likely was a regular, if
unspoken, cause of Christian anti-Semitism.
After a lifetime of religious propaganda, reinforced by cultural differences and fueled by resentment or
avarice, it is not surprising that many Christians viewed their Jewish neighbors with distrust. This
distrust made Jews a convenient scapegoat for the problems of medieval society, and Jews found
themselves being blamed for everything from plague to poverty.

Forms of Christian Anti-Semitism

So, we've seen how Christian anti-Semitism got started,
and we've seen the factors that contributed to its
persistence. Now, let's look at the various forms this
Christian anti-Semitism took.
One of the biggest culprits of Christian anti-Semitism
was the church itself. Though the church often made
Due to religious propaganda, many Christians use of the Jews, especially in their role as money
did not trust the Jews
lenders, and even protected them from time to time
with decrees and such, the church was just as likely to condemn the Jews as to protect them. We've
already seen how Christian anti-Semitism made its way into the Bible, yet most people in the Middle
Ages could not read. And those that could read, could not read the Bible, which was written in Latin
and Greek. The common people found out what the Bible said through the sermons of their priests.
Many of these priests chose to focus on the evils of the Jewish people. This practice was especially
prevalent around Easter, when Christians remember the death and resurrection of their savior.
It was around Easter that local churches often put on Passion plays, or reenactments of Christ's trial,
torture and execution. These plays were often enough to incite even the most level-headed peasant to
bloody hatred as they witnessed the Jews, who played a much larger role in Passion plays than in the
Bible itself, insulting, beating and otherwise abusing Jesus during the last days of his life. These plays
were often financed by local lords or even businessmen, presumably moved by Christian charity, but
possibly motivated by the gain of seeing their creditors ripped limb from limb by an angry mob.
But, Jews did not just receive abuse from church leaders. Secular leaders also found many ways to
make life miserable for Jews. Some levied special taxes on the Jews, condemning their charging of
interest, even as they profited from their taxes. Others were encouraged by the church to enforce Jewish
dress codes, compelling Jews to wear patches, armbands or badges. Even the pointy hat, the identifying
feature of a wizard, was initially a required part of the Jewish dress code in Germany. Still others
relegated the Jews to Jewish ghettos and forbade them to conduct business in Christian districts.

As leaders grew more powerful, so too did their

persecution of the Jews. Inquisitions were held across
Europe, subjecting the Jews and other non-believers to
torture, ostensibly to bring them to Jesus Christ, but
more likely to seize Jewish property and nullify debts
to Jewish bankers. Lords, barons, dukes and kings all
threatened the Jews with mass expulsions and
massacres, and of course, confiscation of property.
With the church condemning the Jews as the murderers
of Jesus and the aristocracy taking every opportunity to The Jewish dress code in Germany included the
requirement to wear wizard hats
steal Jewish wealth, it is not surprising that these
attitudes trickled down to the common people. There were several ridiculous anti-Semitic accusations
in circulation among commoners in the Middle Ages. These included poisoning wells to cause the
Black Death and other accusations of magic and witchcraft. Yet, perhaps the most enduring claims were
that of desecrating the host and blood libel.
Desecrating the host refers to a Christian accusation that Jews would steal the Eucharist crackers,
which were supposedly the body of Christ, and stab them to see if they would bleed. The blood libel
was a claim that Jews would kidnap Christian babies and kill them to drink their blood. Despite the
sheer lunacy of these claims, they proved remarkably resilient and even persist among some isolated
Christian sects to this day. All of these factors combined to make being a Jew in Medieval Europe
incredibly dangerous.

Lesson Summary
Jews faced persecution from Christian society on all levels. The church accused them of killing Jesus,
and though it sometimes protected the Jews, it just as often condemned them. Members of the
aristocracy took advantage of these religious condemnations to tax, restrict, evict, rob and even murder
Jews to whom they owed large sums of money. And, common people accused the Jews of terrible
things, from poisoning wells to eating babies. This sort of persecution was not uncommon in Medieval
Europe; it took place again and again and again throughout European history. It was only quite recently,
at the Second Vatican Council of 1965, that Pope John Paul II officially rejected all claims that the
Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus and publicly repudiated the use of Passion plays or
scripture to sow anti-Semitism.

Reconquista and Spanish Inquisition

This lesson will explain the Spanish Reconquista and the Spanish Inquisition. It will focus on the
reasons for each, specifically highlighting the role of Ferdinand and Isabella and the tortures they
allowed.

Muslim Control of Spain

The official title of today's lesson is 'The Spanish Reconquista and Inquisition.' However, a more fitting
title just might be 'When Spain Went Crazy.' As we'll learn, the Reconquista and especially the
Inquisition encompass the darkest time in Spanish history. It was a time when faith, greed and politics
combined to bring about the deaths of many.
Let's start with the Spanish Reconquista. In simpler terms, the Reconquista was the
attempt by Christian Spain to expel all Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula. In the 8th
century, Spain was not one united nation but instead a group of kingdoms. In the early 8th
century, these kingdoms of Spain were invaded by Muslim forces from North Africa.
Within a few years of this invasion, most of Spain was under Muslim control. In fact, the
Muslims renamed the Spanish kingdoms Andalusia, but for our purposes, we're going to
stick with Spain. Since the Muslims were an advanced society, Spain prospered.
The Muslims were also very tolerant of other religions, allowing Muslims, Christians and
Jews to basically take up the same space. However, Muslim political leaders were very
Map of the suspicious of one another, which led to disunity among the many kingdoms. This disunity
medieval opened up the doors for Christian rule to seep in, and while the Muslims kept firm control
kingdoms in of the southern kingdoms of Granada, Christian power began taking hold in the northern
Spain kingdoms of Aragon, Castile and Navarre. By the end of the 13th century, only Granada
remained under Muslim control.

Expulsion of Muslims and Jews

Through all this turmoil, Spain remained a prosperous land where trade flourished and towns grew.
However, in the 14th century, war between the Muslims and the Christians continued and reached its
boiling point under the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon to Isabella of Castile in 1469. With these two
tying the knot, the large Christian kingdoms of Aragon and Castile united and set their sights on the rest
of Spain. In 1482, they began their quest to purge Spain of Muslim rule by invading Muslim-held
Granada. In 1492, only a decade later, Muslim Granada surrendered, and the reconquering of Spain for
the Catholic faith, or the Reconquista, was complete.
Now, if the story stopped here, my above claim that this lesson should be entitled 'When Spain Went
Crazy' might seem a bit out of place. However, the story doesn't stop here, since the time of the Spanish
Reconquista was also the time of the Spanish Inquisition.
To explain, even before the fall of Muslim Granada, Ferdinand and Isabella saw themselves as
defenders of the Catholic faith and Spain as the 'Land of the Blessed Virgin.' For them, throwing out the
Muslims just wasn't enough. The Jews also needed to go! Of course, since many Jews and Muslims
didn't want to leave, but they also didn't want to be killed by zealous Catholics, they
outwardly converted to the Catholic faith. Converted Jews took on the name Conversos,
while converted Muslims took on the name Moriscos. No matter their names, Ferdinand,
Isabella and their cronies weren't completely convinced of these converts' sincerity, and
thus the Spanish Inquisition began.

Ferdinand of
Aragon and
Isabella of
Castile

The Inquisition Takes Hold

In 1478, Ferdinand and Isabella asked permission from the Pope to begin the Spanish Inquisition to
purify Spain from heretics and nonbelievers. In 1483, they appointed Tomas de Torquemada
Inquisitor-General for most of Spain. Torquemada, along with the King and Queen, became obsessed
with the idea that the new converts to Catholicism were feigning their new faith in order to escape
persecution. The monarchs also feared these 'pretend converts' might rise up against them, giving the
Muslims a chance to regain power.
Under the authority of the monarchs, Torquemada established local tribunals, or courts of judges for
the Inquisition. Heretics, another word for anyone believing or practicing anything that goes against
the Catholic Church, were brought before these tribunals. Heretics included Muslims, Jews,
Protestants, the sexually immoral, witches and pretty much anyone else the tribunals chose. Unlike
courts today, tribunals were not established to prove guilt or innocence, because by the time a person
stood before the tribunals, they were assumed guilty. Instead, these tribunals were established to gain a
confession of heresy from the accused.
This was all accomplished in a public ceremony known as the auto-da-fe', in which the accused were
brought out and their sentences were read. Although these ceremonies began more like solemn masses,
years into the Inquisition they had degraded into public parties with people coming to watch and
celebrate the suffering of others.
If a heretic did confess, they were often still beaten, stripped of their property, and at times imprisoned.
Making things even more nuts, the accused were strongly 'persuaded' to cough up the name of another
heretic. Like a bloody pyramid scheme, the list of heretics grew with every confession.
With every accusation, the coffers of Ferdinand and Isabella grew as thousands were stripped of their
wealth. Although the Inquisition was presented as a way to purify Spain, history tends to think money
had a whole lot to do with it. The fact that a huge number of the Inquisition's victims were from the
wealthier Jewish community lends great credence to this idea.

Torture Devices
If a heretic refused to confess or refused to name names, things got very, very nasty. In
order to 'persuade' the misguided heretic to confess, torture ensued. One of the
Inquisition's favorite tools for 'helping' people see the light was the strappado, where the
hands of the accused were tied behind his back while a rope was slung over a brace in the
ceiling. The heretic was then lifted up into the air and bounced up and down. This almost
always caused shoulders to pop out of sockets and very often caused heretics to somehow
Inquisitor- see the light.
General The rack was another favorite among the inquisitors. Using this little gem, the heretic's
Tomas de hands and feet were tied or chained to rollers at both ends of a wooden frame. The torturer
Torquemada then turned the rollers, causing the heretic to be stretched. This caused the joints of the
body to stretch until they dislocated, which usually ended in one of two ways: the person confessed or
their arms and legs were ripped from their bodies. Not surprisingly, seeing someone else on the rack
was often enough to make the next guy in line confess.
Oddly enough, the tribunals of the Inquisition didn't usually pronounce death sentences on their
accused. Yes, many did 'happen' to die while being persuaded to confess, and the whole thing was

really just a matter of semantics. However, the inquisitor's job was to bring a person back to faith, and
since a dead guy can't really confess, inquisitors weren't officially in the execution business. Instead,
they'd torture a person right up to the brink of death, take all their property and then hand them over to
the secular authorities for execution. This was usually something boring like being hanged, beheaded or
burned at the stake.

The End of the Inquisition

As the Spanish Inquisition escalated into a paranoid pointing of fingers and death, even the Pope lost
his stomach for its cruelty. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII tried to introduce the process of appeals into
the Inquisition, but Ferdinand basically told him to mind his own business while threatening death to
anyone who dared appeal to Rome. Not only did this cause more violence; it also proved the monarchs,
not the Pope, were in control of Spain.
Although the Inquisition began to lose steam in the
16th century, the rumblings of it lasted for generations,
not coming to an official end until 1834. With the death
of thousands, the Inquisition and the Reconquista are
generally considered the darkest days of Spanish
history. However, the fear they levied also served to
unite Spain under the guise of the Catholic faith. In the
end, it was not the Pope who led this faith; it was the
very wealthy and very feared Ferdinand and Isabella.
Sort of makes one wonder if perhaps, just perhaps, the The strappado was commonly used to extract
lesson title shouldn't be 'When Spain Went Crazy', but
confessions from the accused
instead, 'When Two Cunning Rulers Hatched a
Ruthless, Ruthless Plan.'

Jewish Holidays and Rituals: Examples &

History
This lesson will focus on the well-known Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the
Passover. In doing this, it will highlight the blowing of the shofar, the Jewish liberation from Egypt,
and the Seder meal.

Monotheism
In today's lesson we're going to take a look at several of Judaism's main holidays and celebrations.
We'll also take a look at some of the important rituals that accompany these special days.
However, before we do this, let's do a quick review of Judaism itself. Judaism is the ancient faith of
the Jewish people. Unlike many other ancient faiths, it is monotheistic meaning it asserts there is only
one true God. With the man Abraham as the father of their faith, Judaism has spread across every
ocean and continent in our world.

With this down, let's get onto the well-known Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the
Passover. As we do this, please know we'll be offering just a brief explanation of these time-honored
celebrations within the Jewish faith.

Rosh Hashanah
To get the ball rolling, let's start with Rosh Hashanah. In very simple terms, Rosh Hashanah is the
Jewish New Year, which takes place in Tishrei, the first month of the Jewish calendar.
Unlike most secular new year celebrations, Rosh Hashanah is a time of contemplation and quiet. To a
Jew, this holiday is a time to reflect over the last year. It is also seen as a time to prepare yourself to live
a righteous life in the year to come. Add to this that Jews believe the world was created on this day, and
it's pretty easy to see why this day holds such a place of importance within Judaism.
With its prominent place in Jewish culture, Rosh Hashanah carries many rituals. Perhaps one of the
most important of these is the blowing of a ram's horn, known as a shofar. Blown loudly throughout
the synagogue, its blasts are meant to be a call toward repentance and reflection.
Due to the solemnity of the day, Jews are not permitted to work during Rosh Hashanah. Instead they
are to spend the day in introspection. On a sweet note, one of the snacks of this holiday are apples
dipped in honey. This yummy treat signifies the hope for a sweet new year.

Yom Kippur
With this, we come to our next Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur. Considered the holiest day of the Jewish
year, Yom Kippur is known as the Day of Atonement. In simpler terms, it's a day set aside to sort of
apologize for or make amends for the sins of the past year.
Like Rosh Hashanah, Jews will not work on Yom Kippur. In fact, in order to show their true
repentance, many Jews will fast, with the more Orthodox Jews abstaining from things like intimate
physical contact and even bathing. Due to the emphasis it places on repentance, much of Yom Kippur is
spent in the synagogue, the Jewish place of worship. Like Rosh Hashanah, the blowing of the shofar is
also incorporated into this holiday.
Among extremely Orthodox Jewish sects, a hen is sometimes used almost as a scapegoat for sins. In a
ritual that is purely symbolic, a hen will be butchered, symbolizing punishment and sacrifice for one's
sins. The hen will then be given to a poor or needy family for their Yom Kippur meal.

Passover
Last, we have the Passover. Steeped in Jewish history, the Passover is a commemoration of the ancient
Jews' deliverance from slavery.
To make a very detailed story simple and short, both the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity
include accounts of the Jewish enslavement within Egypt. In order to free them from this Egyptian
bondage, God sent Moses to free the Jews from captivity. In order to do this, Moses performed many
miracles, such as turning the water of the Nile to blood.
When Pharaoh refused to let the Jews go, God sent a death angel to kill the firstborn children among all
the people. In order to set the Jews apart from the Egyptians, God told the Jews to prepare a lamb for
their evening meal. The recipe for this meal was extremely intricate and detailed, with even the herbs to
be used being clearly explained.

The Jews were then to eat the meal quickly, so quickly that they were advised to not even let their
bread rise. On an interesting side note, this is why today's Passover celebrations include eating bread
without yeast.
Along with the quick nature of the meal, the Jews were also told to place the blood of the slaughtered
lamb on the outside of their homes, specifically the doorposts. When this blood was seen, the death
angel would pass over the home, and all would be saved. Hence, the name Passover.
Today, this emancipation from Egypt is still celebrated as Jews believe God has commanded them to
annually commemorate their flight from Egypt. Like that night so very long ago, a Passover meal,
known as the Seder, is prepared and partaken of by Jewish families. During this family meal, the story
of the Jews' liberation from Egypt is retold, while wine, special foods, and bread without yeast are
eaten.

Lesson Summary
Like many other religions, Judaism is rich with ceremony and ritual.
There is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Taking place in Tishrei, the first month of the Jewish
calendar, it is a time in which the Jewish people prepare themselves to live righteously in the coming
year. They also believe the world was created on this day. A shofar, or ram's horn, is also blown during
the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
There is also Yom Kippur. Like Rosh Hashanah, this is also a solemn celebration. On this holiday, also
known as the Day of Atonement, Jews spend time repenting, sort of working to make amends for the
sins of the past year.
Last, we have discussed the Passover. Celebrated to commemorate the Jewish liberation from Egypt,
the Passover consists of a meal known as the Seder. This meal consists of things like lamb, wine, and
bread without yeast.