The dagger in the heart of Christianity is antisemitism. Christianity began as a Jewish sect, and the quarrels in the early days were intra-Jewish quarrels. By the end of the first century, especially with the growing influence of Greek sources on the development of the faith, Jews and Judaism began to be cast as satanic. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, Judaism became a prime target of Christian hatred, and antisemitism became a fundamental part of Christianity. It has brought untold suffering on the Jewish people and their religion, most horribly the Holocaust. This lecture will review the history of how antisemitism came to be a central part of the Christian religion.

Reverend Kenneth W. Phifer, PhD holds a BA degree in history from Harvard College and a doctorate from the University of Chicago. A Unitarian Universalist minister for over fifty years, he served the Ann Arbor congregation for 25 years (1980-2005). He is the author of three books and some two dozen articles and has been active in many peace groups and social justice movements. He is a father of 5, grandfather of 17, and has one great granddaughter.

This is the second of five lectures to be presented once each month from February through June of 2022. A new series will start in September 2022.The next lecture in the current series will take place April 12, 2022.The title is: Public Opinion on Climate Change: An In-Depth Look. Learn from well-known experts about an array of interesting subjects, with an interactive Q&A period following each lecture.

Preregistration is required via the OLLI website or phone. A link to access the lecture will be e-mailed to you approximately one week prior to the lecture.