Informant38

1 And it came to pass in Ico'ni-um, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.
3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
4 But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
5 And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,
6 they were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lyca-o'nia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
7 and there they preached the gospel.

Acts 14
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8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
10 for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12 And when Gal'li-o was the deputy of Achai'a, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
13 saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

Acts 18
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2 And when he was called forth, Tertul'lus began to accuse him, saying,
Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence,
3 we accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.
4 Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.
5 For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
6 who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law.
7 But the chief captain Lys'i-as came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,
8 commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof we accuse him.
9 And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so.
10 Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered,
Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:
11 because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.
12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:
13 neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.

Acts 24
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14 And when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul's cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix:
15 about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him.
16 To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have license to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him.
17 Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth.
18 Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:
19 but had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.
20 And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.
21 But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Caesar.
22 Then Agrip'pa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself. Tomorrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.
23 And on the morrow, when Agrip'pa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus' commandment Paul was brought forth.
24 And Festus said, King Agrip'pa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.

Acts 25
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17 That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.
18 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.
21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak.
Howbeit, whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.
22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool,) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

2 Corinthians 11
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These posts are about anti-Semitism, it might help to keep that in mind. What I wrote yesterday - that the early Christians were persecuted by the Jews - will be immediately taken as anti-Semitic by a lot of people who read it, yet here is the record, involving one man, himself a Jew, and it's not complete, certainly not an accurate history of the totality of persecution of early Christians in that time.
The assumption is that it was the Romans, primarily. The contemporary public has that assumption centrally fixed when it thinks of the early Christian church and the origins of that fish medallion that was ubiquitous in America for the last decade of the 20th century.
Mel Gibson's Passion was derided as anti-Semitic for what I'm sure was a watered-down version of the existing record.
What I'm trying to get to is the creation of prejudice by the fearful suppression of truth. The roots of anti-Semitism are not invisible, and they aren't inexplicable.
Gibson's movie of the death of Christ and Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's speech to the Islamic Summit Conference in 2003 are the most notorious contemporary public examples of what's considered anti-Semitism that I can think of that aren't anonymous vandalism. There's a steady drumbeat of warning of the rise of anti-Semitism in France, in Russua, in Europe generally, and of course the entire Arab world is assumed to be virulently anti-Semitic.
The quotes from Paul should disprove the accusations about Gibson's movie. Tomorrow, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed's speech.