ONE DESTINY

To one who has read The Nazarene and The Apostle thoughtfully, Asch's conviction of the basic unity of true Christianity and Judaism will come as no surprise. Actually he here states that this is his own personal creed, and comes to the conclusion that a spiritual rebirth and a renewal of the Jewish-Christian ideals in a world in flames is essential to the future. He retraces in history the destiny of European Jews, noting the miracle of survival through centuries of persecution and hate; he shows how the early pamphleteers against Christianity gradually brought about a transfer on the part of the Christians of hostility to those Jewish traits in Christianity which were the outward links between the faiths. He shows how through the ages anti-Semitism has been a tool of the anti-Christ -- as virulent in the hands of Mohammedans as of Christians, but not there an offense against a common faith. The bloody thread is traced through the Middle Ages and the Inquisition to modern times and its manifestations in Christian Socialism and Nazism. The clinging to the Messianic idea alone can save the world from its dilemma, give us a source of moral strength, save us from neo-Catholic fascism. His circumstantial record of the Nazi persecutions is indeed an indictment of Christianity everywhere, of Christianity that knew -- and did not act in time... Here is a book that should be read and pondered. A fearless book. An unpalatable book for many readers.