A Hypothetical Peace: Natural Philosophy as the Solution to the Jewish-Christian Conflict in New Atlantis Anonymous College

It was 1627 when Sir Francis Bacon published his utopic treatise New Atlantis and Europe was polluted by religious tension, much of which revolving around the recent surge of science but some having existed since long before. Of course, one could enumerate these conflicts, citing the Protestant Reformation as many of their catalyst, but guided by New Atlantis one should focus on the ever-fraught Jewish-Christian dynamic insofar as it informs Bacon’s construction of his utopia Bensalem. Before beginning, it should be made clear that the Jewish-Christian conflict much predates Bacon’s writing and plants its roots most saliently in the Jewish decide, ascribing to which many a Christian has blamed Jesus’ crucifixion on the Jewish people and cited the bible as evidence. (King James Bible, Matt., 27:24-25). This, combined with myriad other complications, imbued anti-Semitism throughout the European continent, translating it into various crusades and pogroms that resulted in the massacre of countless Jews.

Now given this brief history of the Jewish-Christian tension, one can contrast it to New Atlantis, wherein Bacon provides his reader with a utopia in which Jews and Christians tolerate each other. But, it is not as though Bensalem...