Echoes of Contempt: A History of Judeophobia and the Christian Church

Echoes of Contempt is an engaging and vivid account of the tragic history of the church’s relationship with Jewish communities over two millennia. Beginning with the Jerusalem house church, the book traces that history through medieval pogroms and the Parisian salons of the Enlightenment, right up to the present-day focus on the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Drawing on a wide range of sources and his own extensive knowledge, Bruce Thompson shows that, far from being something new, Judeophobia is a recycling of misinformation, prejudice, and hatred. The old lies are echoed in the present at political rallies, church conferences, and in classrooms.

While the book is accessible to those who have very little previous knowledge of the subject, it is well-researched and retains a sophisticated approach. It is more than a reminder of the church’s complicity in the centuries of contempt that led to Auschwitz—it is a call to action. It will challenge many to think again.