Editing Religious antisemitism (section)

===New Testament and antisemitism===
{{Main article|Antisemitism and the New Testament}}
Frederick Schweitzer and Marvin Perry write that the authors of the gospel account sought to place responsibility for the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]] and his death on Jews rather than the Roman emperor or [[Pontius Pilate]].<ref>Perry & Schweitzer (2002), pp. 27, 35.</ref> As a result, Christians for centuries viewed Jews as "the [[Jewish deicide|Christ Killers]]".<ref name=Perry2002p18>Perry & Schweitzer (2002), p. 18.</ref> The destruction of the [[Second Temple]] was seen as a judgment from God to the Jews for that death,<ref>Richardson (1986), p. 23</ref> and Jews were seen as "a people condemned forever to suffer exile and degradation".<ref name=Perry2002p18/> According to historian [[Edward H. Flannery]], the [[Gospel of John]] in particular contains many verses that refer to Jews in a pejorative manner.<ref>Flannery (2004) p. 33.</ref>

In {{bibleverse|1|Thessalonians|2:14–16|31}}, [[Paul (apostle)|Paul]] states that the Churches in Judea had been persecuted by the Jews who killed Jesus and that such people displease God, oppose all men, and had prevented Paul from speaking to the gentile nations concerning the New Testament message. Described by [[Hyam Maccoby]] as "the most explicit outburst against Jews in Paul's Epistles",<ref name=Maccoby203>[[Hyam Maccoby]], ''The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity'', [[Harper & Row]], 1986, {{ISBN|0-06-015582-5}}, p. 203.</ref> these verses have repeatedly been employed for antisemitic purposes. Maccoby views it as one of Paul's innovations responsible for creating Christian antisemitism, though he notes that some have argued these particular verses are later interpolations not written by Paul.<ref name=Maccoby203/> [[Craig Blomberg]] claims that viewing them as antisemitic is a mistake, but "understandable in light of [Paul's] harsh words". In his view, Paul is not condemning all Jews forever, but merely those he believed had specifically persecuted the prophets, Jesus, or the 1st-century church. Blomberg sees Paul's words here as no different in kind than the harsh words the prophets of the Old Testament have for the Jews.<ref>[[Craig Blomberg]], ''From Pentecost to Patmos: An Introduction to Acts Through Revelation'', [[B&H Publishing Group]], 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-8054-3248-0}}, p. 144.</ref>

The [[Codex Sinaiticus]] contains two extra books in the New Testament—the [[Shepherd of Hermas]] and the [[Epistle of Barnabas]].<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|title=The rival to the Bible|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7651105.stm|work=BBC News|author=Roger Bolton|date=October 6, 2008|access-date=January 1, 2010}}</ref> The latter emphasizes the claim that it was the Jews, not the Romans, who killed Jesus and is full of antisemitism.<ref name="bbc"/> The Epistle of Barnabas was not accepted as part of the canon; Professor [[Bart Ehrman]] has stated, "the suffering of Jews in the subsequent centuries would, if possible, have been even worse had the Epistle of Barnabas remained".<ref name="bbc"/>