In the preceding four chapters, the medieval Jewish philosophical arguments against Trinity, incarnation, transubstantiation, and virgin birth have been discussed. In addition, an attempt was made to suggest possible sources of these arguments, to show how the Jewish criticisms fit into the overall philosophical outlook of the polemicists, and to review Christian acquaintance with, and reaction to, Jewish refutations of their doctrines. Further study of additional material will no doubt lead to an even greater understanding of the use of philosophy for polemical purposes. What has been presented, though, should be sufficient to demonstrate the wide range and variety of the medieval Jewish philosophical polemic against Christianity. On the basis of the sources examined, it is also possible to outline general conclusions about the nature of Jewish-Christian polemics and intellectual relations.

Jewish Knowledge of Christianity

It is clear from the discussion of philosophical arguments that those Jews who participated in anti-Christian polemics had a fairly good knowledge of the beliefs with which they disagreed. In their descriptions of Christian doctrines, Jewish polemicists often employed literal translations of the original Latin formulations. Not only did general statements about these tenets accurately reflect the views of the Christians, but also the Jewish exposition of the details of these doctrines evidenced a high degree of familiarity with the criticized beliefs. Though some Jewish polemicists had a much greater knowledge of Christianity than others, most of those engaged in religious debates had a fairly good understanding of Christianity.

How did the Jewish polemicists acquire their knowledge of Christianity? Did Jews read Christian theological treatises in order to understand the doctrines they were to refute? The answer is most likely in the negative. The Jewish polemicists apparently learned about Christian beliefs from frequent contact with Christian polemicists and missionaries. Being subjected to the conversionary attempts of the dominant religion's representatives, Jews no doubt became familiar with Christian doctrines. Jews did not study Christianity dispassionately in libraries; they became acquainted with it as a result of Christian missionizing attempts. Had a knowledge of Christianity not been necessary for self-preservation, it is doubtful that Jews would have ever investigated those beliefs very closely.