A review of "Christ Was Not a Jew: An Epistle to the Gentiles".
Jacob
Elon Conner is an otherwise unknown author who penned this anti-Semitic book in
1936.
Conner has a problem. He claims to be a Christian, but he hates the Jews. Indeed, he repeats the standard anti-Semitic arguments about Jews being parasites, responsible for the terror in Stalinist Russia, sexually depraved, and so on. It's all "proved" by the usual favourite quotes from the Talmud. Conner even says, quite explicitly, that Jews must be dealt with collectively, as a race, regardless of whether they might be kind on a purely individual level, and proposes their disenfranchisement.
Unfortunately for the author, Jesus was ethnically Jewish, and the New Testament contains many references to the "Old Testament".
Anti-Semitic Christians have responded to this problem in a variety of ways, but usually without overtly repudiating the Old Testament. Conner doesn't think these groups go far enough. He does repudiate the OT, expressing support and sympathy for the Canaanites, the traditional enemies of the Israelites. He even claims that the Canaanites were light-skinned Aryans! Further, Conner calls Jahve "the Jewish tribal deity", arguing that this was a very different god from the Father to whom Jesus prayed. The author further says that Adam and Abraham are myths, and that the House of David no longer exists. The few good things Conner manages to find in the Jewish Bible, he believes comes from the Egyptians.
But what about the New Testament? There is clearly *some* connection between the NT and the OT! This is where Conner really gets into trouble. His solution is a radical one: he rejects the New Testament as well! It was supposedly written by Jewish Christian Ebionites, and hence cannot be trusted. But the NT is our main source of knowledge about Jesus. In effect, Conner cherry picks those parts of the Gospels he likes, and rejects the rest. This is hardly news: non-Christians who want to claim Jesus perform the same manoeuvre. First, they declare the Gospels unreliable. Then, they "prove" their own position by handpicked quotes from the very same Gospels. The criterion used isn't historical-critical, but ideological. The anti-Semite Conner, who claims to be a Christian, has the additional problem of explaining why Jesus chose to be born among Jews rather than Aryans, and why all of his disciples sounded so "Ebionite". He never really comes up with a convincing explanation. Indeed, his Biblical musings are often interrupted by anti-Semitic tirades directed at modern Jews - the real purpose of the pamphlet.
A large part of "Christ Was Not a Jew" is devoted to demonstrate that Jesus wasn't ethnically Jewish. The argument is based on the enmity between Judeans and Galileans, and the strong Gentile presence in Galilee. Conner never explicitly calls Jesus an Aryan, but this is strongly implied. Every example of Indo-European penetration of Palestine and even Asia Minor is mentioned, and since all Indo-Europeans are Aryans to this author, this paints the picture of Galilee as Aryan. As already mentioned, Conner wrongly regards the Canaanites as Aryan, and for some reason, the Sumerians as well. A later editor has added some extracts from the Archko Volume (!) to show that Jesus didn't look Jewish, that he supposedly was light-skinned and had a golden-coloured beard, while the Jews had black beards and dark complexions. The Archko Volume, of course, is a 19th century forgery. (See my review of it elsewhere.) This is the only part of "Christ Was Not a Jew" that could actually be considered entertaining! A golden-coloured beard? An Aryan Christ indeed.
To a modern and more enlightened reader, this book gives an anachronistic and ridiculous impression. Still, I did found it interesting, for two reasons. First, I have encountered the Aryan Christ arguments elsewhere. For instance, the AMORC leader H. Spencer Lewis claims that Christ was Aryan in his work "The Mystical Life of Jesus", published in 1929. Thus, the argument must have been popular in some circles during this period. It also paints AMORC, a seemingly harmless group, in a pretty bad light. (Lewis also claims that the Essenes, whom he associates with Jesus, were Aryans!) Second, some opponents of anti-Semitism have tried to make the New Testament sound more pro-Jewish by claiming that Jesus opposed the Judeans rather than the Jews. Conner's book shows the danger in such an approach, since the argument can easily be turned on its head and become anti-Semitic. If Jesus wasn't a Judean, then perhaps Galileans were a separate people? A Gentile people, even?
"Christ Was Not a Jew" is not an important work in and of itself. But it does involuntarily place a spotlight on yet another version of anti-Semitism. In that sense, it could have some interest.
Conner has a problem. He claims to be a Christian, but he hates the Jews. Indeed, he repeats the standard anti-Semitic arguments about Jews being parasites, responsible for the terror in Stalinist Russia, sexually depraved, and so on. It's all "proved" by the usual favourite quotes from the Talmud. Conner even says, quite explicitly, that Jews must be dealt with collectively, as a race, regardless of whether they might be kind on a purely individual level, and proposes their disenfranchisement.
Unfortunately for the author, Jesus was ethnically Jewish, and the New Testament contains many references to the "Old Testament".
Anti-Semitic Christians have responded to this problem in a variety of ways, but usually without overtly repudiating the Old Testament. Conner doesn't think these groups go far enough. He does repudiate the OT, expressing support and sympathy for the Canaanites, the traditional enemies of the Israelites. He even claims that the Canaanites were light-skinned Aryans! Further, Conner calls Jahve "the Jewish tribal deity", arguing that this was a very different god from the Father to whom Jesus prayed. The author further says that Adam and Abraham are myths, and that the House of David no longer exists. The few good things Conner manages to find in the Jewish Bible, he believes comes from the Egyptians.
But what about the New Testament? There is clearly *some* connection between the NT and the OT! This is where Conner really gets into trouble. His solution is a radical one: he rejects the New Testament as well! It was supposedly written by Jewish Christian Ebionites, and hence cannot be trusted. But the NT is our main source of knowledge about Jesus. In effect, Conner cherry picks those parts of the Gospels he likes, and rejects the rest. This is hardly news: non-Christians who want to claim Jesus perform the same manoeuvre. First, they declare the Gospels unreliable. Then, they "prove" their own position by handpicked quotes from the very same Gospels. The criterion used isn't historical-critical, but ideological. The anti-Semite Conner, who claims to be a Christian, has the additional problem of explaining why Jesus chose to be born among Jews rather than Aryans, and why all of his disciples sounded so "Ebionite". He never really comes up with a convincing explanation. Indeed, his Biblical musings are often interrupted by anti-Semitic tirades directed at modern Jews - the real purpose of the pamphlet.
A large part of "Christ Was Not a Jew" is devoted to demonstrate that Jesus wasn't ethnically Jewish. The argument is based on the enmity between Judeans and Galileans, and the strong Gentile presence in Galilee. Conner never explicitly calls Jesus an Aryan, but this is strongly implied. Every example of Indo-European penetration of Palestine and even Asia Minor is mentioned, and since all Indo-Europeans are Aryans to this author, this paints the picture of Galilee as Aryan. As already mentioned, Conner wrongly regards the Canaanites as Aryan, and for some reason, the Sumerians as well. A later editor has added some extracts from the Archko Volume (!) to show that Jesus didn't look Jewish, that he supposedly was light-skinned and had a golden-coloured beard, while the Jews had black beards and dark complexions. The Archko Volume, of course, is a 19th century forgery. (See my review of it elsewhere.) This is the only part of "Christ Was Not a Jew" that could actually be considered entertaining! A golden-coloured beard? An Aryan Christ indeed.
To a modern and more enlightened reader, this book gives an anachronistic and ridiculous impression. Still, I did found it interesting, for two reasons. First, I have encountered the Aryan Christ arguments elsewhere. For instance, the AMORC leader H. Spencer Lewis claims that Christ was Aryan in his work "The Mystical Life of Jesus", published in 1929. Thus, the argument must have been popular in some circles during this period. It also paints AMORC, a seemingly harmless group, in a pretty bad light. (Lewis also claims that the Essenes, whom he associates with Jesus, were Aryans!) Second, some opponents of anti-Semitism have tried to make the New Testament sound more pro-Jewish by claiming that Jesus opposed the Judeans rather than the Jews. Conner's book shows the danger in such an approach, since the argument can easily be turned on its head and become anti-Semitic. If Jesus wasn't a Judean, then perhaps Galileans were a separate people? A Gentile people, even?
"Christ Was Not a Jew" is not an important work in and of itself. But it does involuntarily place a spotlight on yet another version of anti-Semitism. In that sense, it could have some interest.
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