{"product_id":"9780813228228-against-the-inveterate-obduracy-of-the-j","title":"Against the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePeter the Venerable (d. 1156), the powerful abbot of Cluny, left behind not only extensive letter collections, but also polemical treatises intended to refute contemporary challenges to Christianity. Perhaps the most important is \u003cem\u003eAgainst the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003ePeter the Venerable (d. 1156), the powerful abbot of Cluny, left behind not only extensive letter collections, but also polemical treatises intended to refute contemporary challenges to Christianity. Perhaps the most important is \u003cem\u003eAgainst the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews (Adversus Judeorum inveteratam duritiem)\u003c\/em\u003e, written between \u003cem\u003eAgainst the Saracens\u003c\/em\u003e (ca. 1150) and \u003cem\u003eAgainst the Petrobrusians\u003c\/em\u003e (ca. 1139-41).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eAgainst the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews\u003c\/em\u003e represents a turning point in medieval anti-Jewish polemics. On the one hand, the polemic's intention—to bring about the conversion of the Jews—is predicated on an assumption that Jews are rational agents who may be persuaded of Christian truths by philosophical argument, empirical evidence, and proper biblical exegesis. On the other hand, Peter also introduced the notion that the Jews' enduring \"\"blindness\"\" stems from a persistent strain of bestial irrationality, for which they themselves are responsible. Peter traces this irrationality to the medieval Jews' commitment to the Talmud.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePeter is the first medieval Christian author to name the Talmud explicitly. The Jewish convert to Christianity, Petrus Alfonsi, had ridiculed Talmudic folklore in his \u003cem\u003eDialogue Against the Jews\u003c\/em\u003e. Peter the Venerable borrowed from but also surpassed Alfonsi's critique, as even his use of the name Talmud indicates. By emphasizing the irrationality of the Jews, Peter cast doubt upon their essential humanity and paved the way toward an increasingly violent treatment of the Jewish minority in medieval Christendom. Perhaps for this reason, Peter's \u003cem\u003eAgainst the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews\u003c\/em\u003e has been popular among modern anti-Semites as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith this translation, Irven M. Resnick makes the complete work available for the first time in English.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57022559453558,"sku":"9780813228228","price":38.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_39486998.jpg?v=1769473610","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780813228228-against-the-inveterate-obduracy-of-the-j","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}