ABSTRACT
If one intends to understand the antagonism between Jews and Gentiles at its roots, one must understand its point of departure in theology. It is our initial thesis that theology comes first in the chain of causations that shape Jewish-Gentile relations as we know them today, and that the socio-economic reality that ensues bears the indelible stamp of its origin in theology. However, in this chapter we are only laying the groundwork for the main thesis. In antiquity and in the early Christian centuries until the advent of the high Middle Ages, a great many circumstances and developments had to come together to complete the plot of history. Once the major theme was established, which was not the case until the twelfth century, the newer centuries worked out the modifications. But whatever was reinforced or modified later the tale of the beginning is still evident.
