Jew And Deicide

Using a psychological approach, this book examines the archetype of the Jew who killed Christ. The author traces the development of the archetype in the four gospels, the letters of Paul and the Book of Acts, showing how it grows from disagreements and discussions between Jesus and others about the law; to more heated encounters, to vicious accusations, to overt accusations of deicide. The core of the book is a description of the disciples' response to the crucifixion: their horror, shock, guilt, shame (at their desertion and betrayal), the development of projected blame on the Jews, and the deification of the resurrected Jesus. The author argues that this belief system is inherent in Christianity, is archetypal, that its roots are as deep and as early as the first experiences of the risen Jesus, and is part and parcel of nascent christologies, soteriologies, and ultimately theologies that evolved in the early church. And, tragically, underlies the banal and evil impulse that led to the Shoah.

This book traces the development of the archetype of the deicidic Jew in the Christian gospels, demonstrating the birth of Christianity and the birth of that archetype were coeval.

Frederick B. Davis is a Psychoanalyst, Child and Adult Psychiatry, Seattle, Washington.