Editing Constantine's Sword

{{Short description|2001 history book by James Carroll}}
{{About||the film adaptation|Constantine's Sword (film)}}
{{No footnotes|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox book
| italic title   = <!--(see above)-->
| name           = Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History
| image          = Constantine's Sword.jpg
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| caption        = 
| author         = [[James P. Carroll|James Carroll]]
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| country        = United States
| language       = English
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| subject        = 
| genre          = Non-fiction
| set_in         = 
| published      = 2001
| publisher      = [[Mariner Books]] ([[Houghton Mifflin]])
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| pages          = xii + 756
| awards         = 
| isbn           = 0395779278
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| oclc           = 44727744
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| congress       = BM535 .C37 2001
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'''''Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History''''' (2001) is a book by [[James P. Carroll|James Carroll]], a former [[priest]], which documents the role of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in the long European history of [[religious antisemitism]] as a precursor to racial [[antisemitism]]. The primary source of anti-Jewish violence is the perennial obsession with [[Conversion of the Jews (future event)|converting the Jews to Christianity]]; an event which some [[theologian]]s believed would usher in the Second Coming.

==Description==
Carroll disclaims the notion that Christian [[anti-Judaism]] leads inevitably to the [[Holocaust]] committed by [[Nazi Germany]], but he argues that Church's long history of "Jew-hatred" laid the foundation for [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler's]] crimes.  Carroll also points out the many "turning points," as he labels them, where the Church's attitudes and actions toward Jews could have been shifted.  Just one example cited in the book is that of [[Pierre Abelard]] (1079–1142), the French theologian and philosopher, whose teachings, had they been accepted, would have radically changed the direction and cast of [[Christian dogma]].

The book also analyzes, in detail, the actions of numerous popes and other prominent figures of [[History of the Catholic Church|Catholic Church history]], especially those who advocated anti-Jewish policies and those who tried to rein in official antisemitism, including [[St. Augustine]], [[Bernard of Clairvaux]], [[Nicholas of Cusa]], [[Pope Innocent III|Innocent III]], [[Paul IV]], [[Pius IX]], [[Pius XII]], [[John XXIII]], and [[John Paul II]].

The book's title refers to [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]]'s transformation of the [[Christian cross|cross]], which Carroll claims, was not a symbol used by Christians in the first three centuries of the Church's existence, into a symbolic sword infusing a spirit of violent intolerance into the development of Christianity.

A documentary film based on the book was shown at film festivals in August 2007. Although exploring the same themes as the book, the documentary also focuses on events which occurred subsequent to the book's publication, especially the controversy surrounding evangelical proselytizing at the [[United States Air Force Academy]].  The movie was directed by [[Oren Jacoby]], who is also listed as a producer, and written by James Carroll and Oren Jacoby. It was released by the production company, Storyville Films.

== Awards ==

* 2002: [[National Jewish Book Award]] in Jewish History<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30765|title=Past Winners|last=|first=|date=|website=Jewish Book Council|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605115908/https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30765 |archive-date=2020-06-05 |access-date=2020-01-23}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Political theology]]
* [[Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews]]
* [[Pope John Paul II and Judaism]]
* {{slink|David_Nirenberg#Anti-Judaism:_The_Western_Tradition}}
{{portal bar|Catholicism|Judaism|History}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Google book|FewzTELynqUC}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.curledup.com/constant.htm |title= Constantine's Sword |series= Review |first= Sharon |last= Schulz-Elsing |date= 2001 |website= Curled Up With a Good Book}}
* {{cite magazine |magazine= January |url= http://www.januarymagazine.com/features/swordexcerpt.html |title= Constantine's Sword |series= Excerpt |date= 2001 }}

[[Category:2001 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Constantine the Great and Christianity]]
[[Category:Catholicism and antisemitism]]
[[Category:Books about antisemitism]]
[[Category:Mariner Books books]]
[[Category:National Jewish Book Award winners]]