Jew-Hate During School Hours: Antisemitism in LifeWise's Weekly Children's Bible Study
Unless otherwise noted, all bold emphasis is solely attributable to LifeWise Exposed.
LifeWise Academy publicly markets itself as “nondenominational” and “interdenominational.” In reality, its curriculum is licensed directly from Lifeway Christian Resources, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention — the largest Protestant denomination in the United States after the Roman Catholic Church, and one with deeply specific conservative evangelical theological commitments.
While much has been written about LifeWise promoting anti-LGBTQ views, its curriculum also contains extensive anti-Jewish framing that raises serious concerns about the messages being delivered to young, impressionable public school children during release time religious instruction (RTRI).
Detailed below, antisemitic content in LifeWise’s curriculum specifically talks about Jews:
Starting riots at least 2 times
Stoning others at least 11 times
Killing or wanting to kill others at least 32 times
Wanting or plotting to kill Paul at least 23 times
…and wanting or being responsible for killing Jesus at least 14 times
LifeWise curriculum is rife with systemic antisemitic narratives
Across elementary and middle school lessons, the LifeWise curriculum repeatedly portrays —
“The Jews”
“Jewish people”
“Jewish leaders”
“a group of Jews”
— as a collective that stones, riots, plots, desires to kill, tries to kill, murders, refuses to believe, spreads lies, and opposes God’s purposes.
These depictions are not isolated. They are systematic, constant, and often written multiple times within the same lesson without any nuance or historical context. In many lessons, “the Jews” function as the primary antagonists, while the Romans are framed as protectors or neutral arbiters.
This pattern directly intersects with — and reinforces — classic historical Christian anti-Judaism, the theological root of modern antisemitism.
Intersection with classic antisemitic tropes
LifeWise’s curriculum reinforces multiple long standing antisemitic tropes, including:
The “collective guilt” trope
Using “the Jews” as a single undifferentiated group holds all Jews — across time and place — responsible for the actions of a few, especially in ancient religious narratives. It erases individual identity and treats Jewish people as a single, perpetually guilty group, fueling prejudice and persecution for centuries and into the modern era.
The “deceitful Jew” trope
Depicting Jews as inherently dishonest, manipulative, or scheming. Rooted in medieval Christian polemics, it falsely casts Jewish people as conspirators who mislead or deceive others for personal or communal gain.
The “greedy Jew” trope
Centuries-old antisemitic stereotype portraying Jews as obsessed with money or financial control. It arose from medieval restrictions that forced Jews into moneylending, then was weaponized to depict Jews as manipulative or economically threatening.
The “jealous Jew” trope
Antisemitic stereotype portraying Jews as envious of others’ spiritual, social, or religious status. Historically rooted in Christian polemics, it cast Jews as resentful of Jesus, early Christians, or non-Jews — framing Jewish hostility as driven by irrational jealousy rather than legitimate disagreement or in historically rooted context.
The “Jews as enemies of God” trope
An antisemitic narrative portraying Jewish people as fundamentally opposed to God’s will or hostile to divine truth. Emerging from early Christian polemics, it framed Jews as spiritually blind, rebellious, or rejected by God — fueling centuries of persecution by casting Judaism itself as against the divine.
The “murderous Jew” trope
Stereotype portraying Jews as inherently violent or inclined to kill prophets, Christians, or outsiders. Rooted in medieval Christian accusations — especially the false claim that Jews were collectively responsible for killing Jesus — it has historically fueled accusations of blood libel, persecution, and violence against Jewish communities.
Because these are taught to very young children without historical framing, without clarification, and without theological nuance, LifeWise’s curriculum effectively revives and amplifies anti-Jewish stereotypes that have been used for centuries to justify exclusion, discrimination, violence, and genocide against Jewish people.
Children cannot distinguish between ancient biblical Jews vs. modern Jews
LifeWise’s primary curriculum targets children, specifically the 4-14 window. Younger elementary-aged children at this developmental stage:
do not possess the abstract-reasoning skills to differentiate between ancient ethnic-religious groups from modern Jewish people
do not understand historical context
are extremely impressionable
tend to generalize group labels
and interpret stories literally
When a program repeatedly teaches children and reinforces —
“the Jews planned to kill Paul”
“the Jews were jealous”
“the Jews stoned Stephen”
“the Jews started a riot”
“the Jews lied to authorities”
“the Jews killed Jesus”
— those children absorb the message as “Jews are violent, jealous, and dangerous.”
This is how anti-Jewish stereotypes are formed — and why historians describe historical Christian anti-Judaism as the seedbed of modern antisemitism.
Antisemitic content in LifeWise curriculum
Below is a detailed — but not exhaustive — list of antisemitic content found within LifeWise’s Bible study curriculum taught to children on a weekly basis when removed from public school for RTRI.
Note that LifeWise’s antisemitic curriculum quotes are grouped by the lesson source.
Want to check out the LifeWise curriculum yourself? Visit lifewisetruth.com.
Middle School Special Lessons Combined
Lesson 2:
“The Jews clearly understood that Jesus was making Himself equal with God because they tried to kill Him in response (John 5:18).”
“In Jesus’ time, foreign empires still oppressed the people, and the Jews looked down on the people of Galilee because of their frequent interactions with Gentiles.”
Lesson 5:
“Paul then used his own experiences to show the power of the resurrection. Paul was not one of Jesus’ disciples before His crucifixion. He was a Pharisee, a group of Jewish religious leaders who were partly responsible for Jesus’ death.”
Special Lessons Combined
Lesson 6:
“The Pharisees and other Jews in Jerusalem did not like Jesus. He didn’t play by their rules (Mt. 12:1-14), He claimed to be God (Jn.8:58-59,10:22-33) and He extended salvation beyond the Jewish people (Lk. 4:29). So, they plotted several times how they might kill Him.”
“Second, Jesus was betrayed and arrested even though He did nothing wrong. The Jews tried to find a legitimate reason to kill Jesus, but they couldn’t find one…”
Lesson 7:
“What relative of Paul’s told the soldiers about the Jews’ plan to kill Paul?”
Year Two
Lesson 28:
“Plants, animals and people were all made to grow. They start out small and become mature. But in the book of Judges, God’s people did not grow. They made the same mistakes over and over. God doesn’t want us to be stuck in a sin cycle like the Israelites. So He sent Jesus. Jesus saves us from our sin and gives us His Holy Spirit so we can stop making the same mistakes and start to grow. The Bible says that, everyday we can think and act more like Him until, one day, we will be just like Jesus.”
“Did this game achieve anything? Even though God used the judges to rescue His people when they cried out to Him, the Israelites kept making the same mistakes. They were going around and around in circles never learning from their mistakes.”
Lesson 30:
“Judges 6 starts out in a familiar way: ‘The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord’ The period of Judges was not a good time for the Israelites. Their cycle of sin, bondage, deliverance and peace clearly showed they had not learned from their past mistakes.”
Lesson 31:
“We’ve been learning about the Israelites during the time of the judges. What cycle did they fall back into over and over? (The cycle of sin.)”
Year Three
Lesson 69:
“At the time Jesus was on Earth, the social food chain went like this: Jews don’t talk to Samaritans. The strife between the two groups stretched back hundreds of years, to the Assyrian destruction of Israel.”
“The Jews who returned home from exile to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem rejected this new way of life. They were dedicated to obeying and worshiping God, and they didn’t agree with the Samaritans’ practices. The Samaritans opposed the Jews’ efforts to reestablish their nation. In time, the Jews’ hate for the Samaritans grew—so much so, that a Jew traveling from Judea to Galilee would take a longer route to travel around Samaria rather than through it.”
“Jesus broke down barriers when He traveled to Galilee by way of Samaria. Even more surprising, Jesus stopped at a well around noon and asked a Samaritan woman for a drink. Jewish men did not speak to women in public.”
“In today’s story, Jesus had another unusual meeting, this time with someone most Jewish men wouldn’t talk to. It was against the social rules of the time for a Jewish man to speak to a woman in public, but it wasn’t against God’s rules, so Jesus did. Not only this, but the woman was a Samaritan—a half-Jew race hated by most Jews. But Jesus didn’t hate her. He showed her God’s love.”
“Our game was boys against girls. In today’s Bible story, Jesus stopped and talked to a woman from Samaria. Jewish men did not speak to women in public, but Jesus was not like other Jews. Jesus loves everyone. We’ll find out what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman.”
“Even though Jesus was a Jew, He was kind to the Samaritan woman. Jesus offers salvation to anyone who will trust in Him as Lord and Savior.”
Lesson 71:
“Jesus was traveling through Jericho, where a man named Zacchaeus lived. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, and he was very rich. Zacchaeus was in charge of collecting taxes from the Jewish people in Jericho for the Roman government. Many Jews did not like tax collectors because they were often dishonest.”
Year Four
Lesson 74:
“Then, the expert on the law asked, ‘Who is is my neighbor?’ Rather than give a list of whom the man should love, Jesus responded with a parable. Jesus’ story about the Good Samaritan surprised the people who heard it. The priest and Levite—men dedicated to serving God neglected to help the man in need. By showing mercy, the Samaritan (whom Jews considered a social outcast) proved to be a neighbor to the man in need. Jesus told the lawyer, ‘Go and do the same.’”
“Over time, other foreign people settled among God’s people, and they began to marry each other. Their bloodlines, their beliefs about God and their ways of living mixed together. These people became known as Samaritans. Even after the exile, most Jews wanted nothing to do with Samaritans because they felt the Samaritans had disobeyed God’s laws.”
Lesson 75:
“Ask the class: Whom do you want for a friend? Whom does God like more? Jesus taught that God loves everyone no matter what. Sometimes, His people, the Jews, would get upset and think they were better than the ‘sinners,’ but today we’ll hear three stories that Jesus told about God’s love for people who are lost and don’t know the way to Heaven.”
Lesson 81:
“Jesus had enemies. In the midst of His public ministry, the Jewish religious leaders began plotting to kill Him (Mk. 3:6).”
Lesson 86:
“The Pharisees and other Jews in Jerusalem did not like Jesus. He didn’t play by their rules (Matt. 12:1-14), He claimed to be God (John 8:58-59; 10:22-33), and He extended salvation beyond the Jewish people (Luke 4:29). So, they plotted several times how they might kill Him.”
“Jesus was betrayed and arrested even though He did nothing wrong. The Jews tried to find a legitimate reason to kill Jesus, but they couldn’t find one (Matt. 26:59-60).”
Lesson 89:
“A few days had passed since Jesus was arrested, beaten and crucified. His followers were afraid and confused. They met together in a house, locking the doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Would the Jews do to them what they had done to Jesus?”
“On the first day of the week, in the evening, the disciples gathered together in a house. They locked the doors because they were afraid of the Jews. They didn’t want to be killed like Jesus had been killed.”
Lesson 91:
“‘Lord, are You giving the kingdom back to Israel now?’ the disciples asked. God was with His people—the Jews—but they looked Weak. The Romans ruled over them. The Jewish people wanted to have power over other nations.”
Lesson 94:
“As Stephen preached, he showed how the Old Testament pointed to a coming Savior and how that Savior was Jesus. Stephen pointed out that the Jews’ ancestors had rejected God’s prophets. And they were just like their fathers: they rejected the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, Not only did they reject Jesus, they killed Him!”
“The Jewish leaders rushed at Stephen. Stephen looked into Heaven. He saw God’s glory, and Jesus was standing at God’s right hand. The Jews forced Stephen out of the city, and they stoned him.”
“Stephen told them these stories to explain that Jesus was the Messiah God had promised! But just like their ancestors rejected and killed the prophets in the Old Testament, these Jewish leaders had rejected Jesus and murdered Him!”
“The Jewish leaders screamed at the top of their lungs. They covered their ears and rushed at Stephen. They threw Stephen out of the city and began to throw stones at him. As they were stoning him, Stephen called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’ Then, Stephen knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ After saying this, Stephen died.”
“Stephen accused the Jewish leaders of rejecting Jesus, the Messiah, and murdering Him. (True, Acts 7:52)”
“The Jewish people put Stephen in prison. (False; they threw him out of the city and threw stones at him, Acts 7:58)”
“The Jewish leaders were angry, and they stoned Stephen.”
“The Jewish leaders threw stones at Stephen until he died. Stephen was killed because he was a Christian.”
Year Five
Lesson 97:
“The Jews did not like Saul’s message, so they planned to kill him. Saul heard what the Jews wanted to do, so one night he left the city. The disciples helped Saul escape by lowering him down the city wall in a basket.”
“How did believers help Saul escape when the Jews were planning to kill him?”
Lesson 98:
“In some places, the Jews made plans to kill Paul.”
“Paul and Barnabus left Cyprus and went on to Pisidian Antioch. They shared the good news about Jesus in the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath. Many people believed, and the whole city came to listen to them on the next Sabbath. The Jewish leaders saw this, were filled with jealousy and rejected the message. So, Paul and Barnabus told the Gentiles in Antioch about Jesus. The Gentiles accepted the good news with joy. God’s Word spread throughout the entire area, but the Jewish leaders mistreated them because of their message and drove them out of Pisidian Antioch.”
“Next, God sent Paul and Barnabus to Iconium. They shared the gospel in the Jewish synagogue. A great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. Other Jews refused to believe and turned the Gentiles against the missionaries, so Paul and Barnabus stayed in Iconium a long time. They spoke boldly about Jesus and did many miraculous signs and wonders through God’s power. When they learned that the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles planned to stone them, they left Iconium to share the good news in other cities nearby.”
“Then, some Jewish leaders showed up from Pisidian Antioch, and Iconium and caused trouble so that the people in Lystra turned against Paul and Barnabas, too. They threw stones at Paul and dragged him out of the city. They thought he was dead, but when the believers in Lystra gathered around Paul, he got up.”
“What did the Jews from Pisidian Antioch, and Iconium do to Paul?
Encouraged the people to stone Paul, Acts 14:19”
Lesson 99:
“The Jews in Lystra tried to stop Paul from preaching. What hard things did Paul and Barnabas go through? (Some people treated them unkindly because of their message, the crowd tried to kill Paul by stoning him and they were continually forced to leave towns.)”
Lesson 101:
“Before long, Jews in the city became jealous and forced Paul and Silas out of the city. Even though the Jews opposed Paul’s preaching, the number of believers in Thessalonica grew and the church there was established.”
“Paul made his way through Berea, where people heard the gospel and believed. The Jews from Thessalonica followed him and caused trouble, so Paul went to Athens.”
“The Jewish leaders in Thessalonica heard that Paul was preaching in Berea, so they came and turned the crowds against Paul. The Berean church sent Paul to the city of Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed to teach the Bereans more about Jesus.”
“How did the Jewish leaders make trouble for Christians in Thessalonica?
They started a riot in the city, Acts 16:5”
Lesson 102:
“After the riot, Paul sent for the believers, encouraged them and said goodbye. He traveled to the churches in Macedonia and strengthened them. He spent three months in Greece until the Jews there threatened to hurt him.”
“What did the Jews from Antioch and Iconium do to Paul? (Stoned him and dragged him out of town)”
Lesson 103:
“Peter, one of Jesus’ original disciples, had grown up in a culture where the Jews believed that God only cared about them, not the Gentiles. Because of this, most of the Jews looked down on the Gentiles and refused to even associate with them. Jews believed Gentiles were unclean; Gentiles didn’t live the right way to please God. Any Jew who did associate with Gentiles did so at the risk of being ridiculed by his own people.”
“How did the Jews treat the Gentiles?
They refused to be around them”
“Peter felt pressure to do certain things when he was around what group of people?"
Jews”
Lesson 111:
“As Paul’s third missionary journey came to an end, a prophet named Agabus warned him that the Jews would seize him in Jerusalem and hand him over to the Gentiles (see Acts 21:10-11). But Paul did not hesitate. He returned to Jerusalem and was seized by a group of Jews who wanted to kill him because he taught things contrary to their law.”
“In the morning, a group of Jews got together and made a plan to kill Paul. They promised to not eat or drink until Paul was dead. These men told the Jewish leaders about their plan. Paul’s nephew overheard this evil plan. He hurried to tell Paul what was going on. Paul told his nephew to report it to the commander.”
“Who tried to have Paul killed?
Jewish leaders from Asia, Acts 24:27-30”
“Who made a plan to kill Paul?
A group of Jews, Acts 28:12”
“Clue #2: I overheard the Jews plotting to kill Paul, so I told the commander of the army to protect him. (Paul’s nephew)”
“Clue #4: I wanted to kill Paul. He stood before me telling us about Jesus, but I don’t believe that Jesus is really God’s own Son. (Jews/religious leader)”
“A group of 40 Jews vowed not to go swimming until they had killed Paul. (False; not to eat or drink, Acts23:12>43)”
Lesson 112:
“The Jewish leaders had brought serious charges against him, so Paul now stood before Felix, the governor. Felix listened to Paul’s defense but delayed a ruling. He met with Paul off and on for two years. When his time as governor ended, Felix left Paul in prison because he did not want to upset the Jews.”
“During our last class, we learned that the Jewish leaders tried to find away to kill Paul by spreading lies about him. Does anyone remember why? (They didn’t want Paul to talk about Jesus.) Paul was arrested by Roman soldiers to keep him safe from the Jews. What message did God give Paul while he was in prison? (To have courage because Paul would keep sharing about Jesus.) What plan did some Jewish men come up with? (To kill Paul.)”
“Paul had narrowly escaped death in Jerusalem. The Jews planned to kill Paul, but the Roman soldiers took him away to Caesarea, where he would be safe. However, Paul was still a prisoner. The Roman leaders wanted to figure out why the Jews hated Paul so much. So, Paul met with rulers to try to explain what was going on.”
“The new governor was named Festus. He traveled to Jerusalem to meet with the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders asked Festus to bring Paul to Jerusalem. They were still planning to attack Paul and kill him. But Festus wanted Paul to stay in Caesarea. He invited some of it the Jewish leaders to go with him to see Paul.”
“Why did the Jews want Festus to bring Paul to Jerusalem?
So they could kill him, Acts 25:2-3”
“The Jews wanted Festus to bring Paul to Jerusalem so they could kill him. (True, Acts 25:2-3)”
Lesson 113:
“Paul was in Roman custody because of unfounded accusations brought against him by the Jews.”
“The Bible tells the story of how God rescues sinners through His Son, Jesus. In the New Testament, we find the story of Paul, a believer who helped spread the gospel—the good news about Jesus. Paul boldly shared Jesus, but the Jewish people tried to kill him because they didn’t want others to turn from the Jewish religion to Jesus. Who found out about their plan,and told the Roman soldiers? (Paul’s nephew.) Paul spoke to many rulers of the land. What did Paul share with them?(The good news.) Why didn’t they release Paul from prison? (To please the Jews.)”
Lesson 14:
“We have learned about some of Paul’s most difficult experiences. Paul obeyed God’s call to tell people about Jesus, but the Jews planned to kill him.”
“Paul was living as a prisoner in Rome. He had done nothing wrong, but the Jewish leaders had tried to kill him because he believed and taught that Jesus had risen from the dead.”
Final word (for now)
LifeWise’s curriculum does not merely reflect outdated biblical storytelling — it systematically revives classic anti-Jewish stereotypes and presents them to young children as unquestioned truth.
With no historical framing and repeated depictions of “the Jews” as violent, jealous, or murderous, LifeWise teaches young children dangerous tropes that have fueled antisemitism for centuries.
Delivered during school hours to impressionable students, these lessons blur ancient conflicts into modern prejudice, potentially creating a weekly pipeline teaching animosity under the guise of Bible study rather than age-appropriate understanding.
Their curriculum director also has a doctorate in Messianic Studies from Kings University in Southlake, Texas.
Vital. This kind of twisted narrative is more flexible than I'll ever be in Pilates, and that's not a compliment. It's genuinly alarming how prejudice can be packeged for children. Your insight here is crucial.