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Jewish Christians were the followers of aJewish religious sect that emerged inJudea during the lateSecond Temple period (first century AD). These Jews believed thatJesus was theprophesied Messiah and they continued their adherence toJewish law. Jewish Christianity is the foundation ofEarly Christianity, which later developed intoCatholic,Eastern Orthodox, andOriental Orthodox Christianity. Christianity started withJewish eschatological expectations, and it developed into the worship ofJesus as the result of his earthlyministry, hiscrucifixion, and the post-crucifixion experiences of his followers. Modern scholars are engaged in an ongoing debate about the proper designation of Jesus' first followers. Many[who?] modern scholars believe that the term Jewish Christians is anachronistic given the fact that there is no consensus about the date of the birth of Christianity. Some[who?] modern scholars have suggested that the designations "Jewish believers in Jesus" and "Jewish followers of Jesus" better reflect the original context.
Jewish Christians drifted apart from mainstream Judaism. Their form of Judaism eventually became a minority strand within Judaism, and it had almost disappeared by the fifth century.Jewish–Christian gospels are lost except for fragments, so there is a considerable amount of uncertainty about the scriptures which were used by this group of Christians.
While previous scholarship viewed theFirst Jewish–Roman War and thedestruction of the Second Temple in AD 70 as the main events, more recent scholarship tends to argue that theBar Kochba Revolt was the main factor in the separation.[1] The split was a long-term process, in which the boundaries were not clear-cut.[2][3]
Early Jewish Christians (i.e. the Jewish followers of Jesus) referred to themselves as followers of "The Way" (ἡ ὁδός:hė hodós), probably coming fromJohn 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."[4][5][note 1] According toActs 11:26, the term "Christian" (Greek:Χριστιανός) was first used in reference to Jesus'sdisciples in the city ofAntioch, meaning "followers of Christ", by the non-Jewish inhabitants of Antioch.[11] The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" (Greek:Χριστιανισμός) was byIgnatius of Antioch, around 100 AD.[12]
The term "Jewish Christian" appears in modern historical texts contrasting Christians ofJewish origin withgentile Christians, both in discussion of theNew Testament church[13][2][3][14][15][16] and thesecond and following centuries.[17]
Christianity arose as a Pharisaic movement within the syncretist Hellenistic world of the first century AD, dominated by Roman law and Greek culture.[18]Hellenistic culture had a profound impact on the customs and practices of Jews, both in theLand of Israel and in theDiaspora. The inroads into Judaism gave rise to Hellenistic Judaism in the Jewish diaspora, which sought to establish aHebraic-Jewish religious tradition within the culture and language ofHellenism.
Hellenistic Judaism spread toPtolemaic Egypt from the 3rd century BC and became a notablereligio licita after theRoman conquest of Greece,Anatolia,Syria,Judea, andEgypt, until its decline in the 3rd century parallel to the rise ofGnosticism andEarly Christianity.
According toBurton Mack and a minority of commentators, the Christian vision of Jesus's death for the redemption of humankind was only possible in a Hellenised milieu.[note 2]
During the early first century AD, there were many competing Jewish sects in theHoly Land, and those that becameRabbinic Judaism andProto-orthodox Christianity were but two of these. There werePharisees,Sadducees, andZealots, but also other less influential sects, including theEssenes.[2][3] The first century BC and first century AD saw a growing number of charismatic religious leaders contributing to what would become theMishnah ofRabbinic Judaism; theministry of Jesus would lead to the emergence of the first Jewish Christian community.[2][3]
The Gospels contain strong condemnations of the Pharisees, though there is a clear influence ofHillel's interpretation of theTorah in the Gospel sayings.[19] However, certain laws followed the more stringent views of Shammai, such as regarding divorce. Belief in the resurrection of the dead in theMessianic age was a core Pharisaic doctrine.
Most of Jesus's teachings were intelligible and acceptable in terms ofSecond Temple Judaism; what set early Christians apart from Jews was their belief that Jesus was theMessiah.[20] While Christianity acknowledges only one ultimate Messiah, Judaism can be said to hold to a concept of multiple messiahs. The two most frequently mentioned are theMessiah ben Joseph and theMessiah ben David. Some scholars have argued that the idea of two messiahs—one "suffering" and the other fulfilling the traditionally conceived messianic role—was normative to ancient Judaism, predating Jesus, as can be seen from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Many would have viewed Jesus as one or both.[21][22][23][24]
Jewish messianism has its root in theapocalyptic literature of the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, promising a future "anointed" leader orMessiah to resurrect the Israelite "Kingdom of God", in place of the foreign rulers of the time. According toShaye J.D. Cohen, the fact that Jesus did not establish an independent Israel, combined with his death at the hands of the Romans, caused many Jews to reject him as the Messiah.[25][note 3] Jews at that time were expecting a military leader as a Messiah, such asBar Kokhba.
Psalm 2 was another source of Jewish messianism, which was prompted byPompey'sconquest of Jerusalem in 63 BC. Early Christians cited this chapter to claim that Jesus was the Messiah and the son of god and negateCaesar's claim to the latter.[26]
Most historians agree that Jesus or his followers established a newJewish sect, one that attracted both Jewish andgentile converts. The self-perception, beliefs, customs, and traditions of the Jewish followers of Jesus, Jesus's disciples and first followers, were grounded in first-century Judaism. According to New Testament scholarBart D. Ehrman, a number of early Christianities existed in the first century AD, from which developed various Christian traditions and denominations, includingproto-orthodoxy, Marcionites, Gnostics and the Jewish followers of Jesus.[27] According totheologianJames D. G. Dunn, four types of early Christianity can be discerned: Jewish Christianity, Hellenistic Christianity,Apocalyptic Christianity, andearly Catholicism.[28]
The first followers of Jesus were essentially all ethnically Jewish or Jewishproselytes.Jesus was Jewish, preached to the Jewish people, and called from them his first followers. According to McGrath, Jewish Christians, as faithful religious Jews, "regarded their movement as an affirmation of every aspect of contemporary Judaism, with the addition of one extra belief – that Jesus was the Messiah."[29]
Conversely, Margaret Barker argues that early Christianity has roots in pre-Babylonian exileIsraelite religion.[30] The Expositor's Greek Testament interpretsJohn 4:23 as being critical of Judaism andSamaritanism.[31] John Elliott also characterizes early Christianity as an 'Israelite sect' or a 'renewal movement within Israel', where followers were called 'Galileans', 'Nazarenes' or members of 'the Way' by the native inhabitants of 1st century Judea.[32]Paul the Apostle's criticism of the contemporary Jewish community most likely derive from Hebrew Bible theology rather thaninternalized antisemitism.[33]
Jewish Christians were the original members of theJewish movement that later becameChristianity.[13][34][2][3] In the earliest stage the community was made up of all those Jews who believed that Jesus was theJewish messiah.[2][3][35] As Christianity grew and developed, Jewish Christians became only one strand of theearly Christian community, characterised by combining theconfession of Jesus as Christ with continuedobservance of the Torah[13] and adherence to Jewish traditions such asSabbath observance,Jewish calendar,Jewish laws and customs,circumcision,kosher diet andsynagogue attendance, and by a direct genetic relationship to the earliest followers of Jesus.[13][34][2][14]
TheJerusalem Church was an early Christian community located in Jerusalem, of whichJames the Just, the brother of Jesus, andPeter were leaders.[36] Paul was in contact with this community.[citation needed] Legitimised byJesus' appearance, Peter was the first leader of the Jerusalemekklēsia.[37][38] He was soon eclipsed in this leadership by James the Just, "the Brother of the Lord,"[39][40] which may explain why the early texts contain scarce information about Peter.[41] According to Lüdemann, in the discussions about thestrictness of adherence to the Jewish Law, the more conservative view of James the Just became more widely accepted than the more liberal position of Peter, who soon lost influence.[41] According to Dunn, this was not an "usurpation of power," but a consequence of Peter's involvement in missionary activities.[42]
According toEusebius'Church History 4.5.3–4: the first 15 ChristianBishops of Jerusalem were "of the circumcision". The Romans destroyed the Jewish leadership inJerusalem in year 135 during theBar Kokhba revolt,[43] but it is traditionally believed the Jerusalem Christians waited out theJewish–Roman wars inPella in theDecapolis.[44]
ThePauline epistles incorporatecreeds, or confessions of faith, of a belief in an exalted Christ that predate Paul,[18] and give essential information on the faith of the early Jerusalem Church aroundJames, brother of Jesus.[45][46][47] This group venerated the risen Christ, who had appeared to several persons,[18] as inPhilippians 2:6–11, the Christ hymn, which portrays Jesus as an incarnated and subsequently exalted heavenly being.[48]
Early Christians regarded Jesus to be the Messiah, the promised king who would restore the Jewish kingdom and independence. Jewish messianism has its root in theapocalyptic literature of the 2nd century BC to 1st century BC, promising a future "anointed" leader ormessiah to restore the Israelite "Kingdom of God", in place of the foreign rulers of the time. This corresponded with theMaccabean Revolt directed against theSeleucid Empire. Following the fall of theHasmonean kingdom, it was directed against theRoman administration ofJudea Province, which, according toJosephus, began with the formation of theZealots andSicarii during theCensus of Quirinius (6 AD), although full-scale open revolt did not occur until theFirst Jewish–Roman War in 66 AD.
According to the New Testament, people reported that theyencountered Jesus after his crucifixion. They believed that he had beenresurrected (belief in the resurrection of the dead in theMessianic Age was a corePharisaic doctrine), and his resurrection provided the belief that he wouldsoon return and fulfill the rest ofMessianic prophecy such as theresurrection of the dead and theLast Judgment.[49]
1 Corinthians 15:3-9 gives an early testimony, which was delivered to Paul,[50] of the atonement of Jesus and the appearances of the risen Christ to "Cephas and the twelve", and to "James [...] and all the apostles", possibly reflecting a fusion of two early Christian groups:
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures;
5 and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve;
6 then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep;
7 then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles;8 and last of all, as to the [child] untimely born, he appeared to me also.[51]
The latercanonical gospels provide more detailed narratives about the resurrection of Jesus. The New Testament accounts do not describe the resurrection itself, but rather accounts of appearances of Jesus.[52] Jesus is described as the "firstborn from the dead",prōtotokos, the first to be raised from the dead, thereby acquiring the "special status of the firstborn as the preeminent son and heir".[53][web 1] Scholars debate on the historicity of specific details of these narratives such as theempty tomb andburial of Jesus along with the resurrection itself. WhileConservative Christian scholars argue in favor of a real, concrete, material resurrection of a transformed body,[54][55][web 2] secular andLiberal Christian scholars typically argue in favor of more naturalistic explanations, such as thevision theory. Other scholars such asCraig L. Blomberg argue that there are sufficient arguments for the historicity of the resurrection.[56] According toGéza Vermes, the concept of resurrection formed "the initial stage of the belief in his exaltation", which is "the apogee of the triumphant Christ".[57] The focal concern of the early communities is the expected return of Jesus, and the entry of the believers into the kingdom of God with a transformed body.[58]
Proponents of thevision theory argue that cognitive dissonance influenced the inspiration for resurrection belief. According toBart Ehrman, the resurrection appearances were a denial response to his disciples' sudden disillusionment following Jesus' death. According to Ehrman, some of his followers claimed to have seen him alive again, resulting in a multitude of stories which convinced others that Jesus had risen from death and was exalted to Heaven.[59][note 4] According toPaula Fredriksen, Jesus's impact on his followers was so great that they could not accept the failure implicit in his death.[60] According to Fredriksen, before his death Jesus created amongst his believers such certainty that the Kingdom of God and the resurrection of the dead was at hand, that with few exceptions (John 20: 24–29) when they saw him shortly after his execution, they had no doubt that he had been resurrected, and the general resurrection of the dead was at hand. These specific beliefs were compatible with Second Temple Judaism.[61]
According toN.T. Wright, "there is substantial unanimity among the early Christian writers (first and second century) that Jesus had been bodily raised from the dead,"[62] "with (as the early Christians in their different ways affirmed) a 'transphysical' body, both the same and yet in some mysterious way transformed," reasoning that as a matter of "inference" both a bodily resurrection and later bodily appearances of Jesus are far better explanations for the empty tomb and the 'meetings' and the rise of Christianity than are any other theories.[63] Rejecting the visionary theories, Wright notes that visions of the dead were always associated with spirits and ghosts, and never with bodily resurrection. Thus, Wright argues, a mere vision of Jesus would never lead to the unprecedented belief that Jesus was a physically resurrected corpse; at most, he would be perceived as an exalted martyr standing at the right hand of God.[64]
According to Johan Leman, the resurrection must be understood as a sense of presence of Jesus even after his death, especially during the ritual meals which were continued after his death.[65] His early followers regarded him as arighteous man and prophet, who was therefore resurrected and exalted.[66] In time, Messianistic,Isaiahic, apocalyptic and eschatological expectations were blended in the experience and understanding of Jesus, who came to be expected to return to earth.[66]
A point of debate is how Christians came to believe in a bodily resurrection, which was "a comparatively recent development within Judaism."[67] According to Dag Øistein Endsjø, "The notion of the resurrection of the flesh was, as we have seen, not unknown to certain parts of Judaism in antiquity", but Paul rejected the idea of bodily resurrection, and it also can't be found within the strands of Jewish thought in which he was formed.[68] According to Porter, Hayes and Tombs, the Jewish tradition emphasizes a continued spiritual existence rather than a bodily resurrection.[69]
Nevertheless, the origin of this idea is commonly traced to Jewish beliefs,[70] a view against which Stanley E. Porter objected.[71] According to Porter, Jewish and subsequent Christian thought were influenced by Greek thoughts, where "assumptions regarding resurrection" can be found,[72] which were probably adopted by Paul.[note 5] According to Ehrman, most of the alleged parallels between Jesus and the pagan savior-gods only exist in the modern imagination, and there are no "accounts of others who were born to virgin mothers and who died as an atonement for sin and then were raised from the dead."[73]
According to Ehrman, a central question in the research on Jesus and early Christianity is how a human came to be deified in a relatively short time.[74] Jewish Christians like the Ebionites had anAdoptionistChristology[75] and regarded Jesus as the Messiah while rejecting hisdivinity,[76] while other strands of Christian thought regard Jesus to be a "fully divine figure", a "high Christology".[77] How soon the earthly Jesus was regarded to be the incarnation of God is a matter of scholarly debate.[74][77]
Philippians 2: 5–11 contains the Christ hymn, which portrays Jesus as an incarnated and subsequently exalted heavenly being:[48]
5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men;
8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient [even] unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name;
10 that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven and [things] on earth and [things] under the earth,11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[78]
According to Dunn, the background of this hymn has been strongly debated. Some see it as influenced by a Greek worldview[note 6][79] while others have argued for Jewish influences. According to Dunn, the hymn contains a contrast with the sins of Adam and his disobedience. Dunn further notes that the hymn may be seen as a three-stage Christology, starting with "an earlier stage of mythic pre-history or pre-existence," but regards the humility-exaltation contrast to be the main theme.[79]
This belief in the incarnated and exalted Christ was part of Christian tradition a few years after his death and over a decade before the writing of the Pauline epistles.[74][77]
According toBurton L. Mack the early Christian communities started with "Jesus movements", new religious movements centering on a human teacher called Jesus. A number of these "Jesus movements" can be discerned in early Christian writings.[80] According to Mack, within these Jesus-movements developed within 25 years the belief that Jesus was the Messiah, and had risen from death.[18]
According to Erhman, the gospels show a development from a "low Christology" towards a "high Christology".[74] Yet, a "high Christology" seems to have been part of Christian traditions a few years after his death, and over a decade before the writing of the Pauline epistles, which are the oldest Christian writings.[77] According to Martin Hengel, as summarized by Jeremy Bouma, the letters of Paul already contain a fully developed Christology, shortly after the death of Jesus, including references to his pre-existence.[77] According to Hengel, the Gospel of John shows a development which builds on this early high Christology, fusing it withJewish wisdom traditions, in which Wisdom was personified and descended into the world. While this "Logos Christology" is recognizable for Greek metaphysics, it is nevertheless not derived from pagan sources, and Hengel rejects the idea of influence from "Hellenistic mystery cults or a Gnostic redeemer myth".[77]
According to Margaret Baker, Christian trinitarian theology derived from pre-Christian Palestinian beliefs about angels. These beliefs revolved around the idea that there was aHigh God and severalSons of God, one of which wasYahweh. Yahweh was believed to manifest as an angel, human being or a Davidic king, which led some 1st century Palestinians to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, Messiah and Lord.[81]
TheBook of Acts reports that the early followers continued dailyTemple attendance and traditional Jewish home prayer. Other passages in theNew Testament gospels reflect a similar observance of traditional Jewish piety such asfasting, reverence for theTorah and observance ofJewish holy days.
According toLarry Hurtado, "the christology and devotional stance that Paul affirmed (and shared with others in the early Jesus-movement) was… a distinctive expression within a variegated body of Jewish messianic hopes."[82] According to Dunn, Paul presents, in hisepistles, a Hellenised Christianity.[83][note 7] According to Ehrman, "Paul's message, in a nutshell, was a Jewish apocalyptic proclamation with a seriously Christian twist."[84][page needed]
Paul was in contact with the early Christian community inJerusalem, led byJames the Just.[80][note 8] Fragments of their beliefs in an exalted and deified Jesus, what Mack called the "Christ cult," can be found in the writings of Paul.[80][note 9] According to the New Testament, Saul of Tarsus first persecuted the early Jewish Christians, but thenconverted.[note 10] He adopted the name Paul and startedproselytizing among the gentiles, adopting the title "Apostle to the Gentiles". Saint Peter, Paul and other Jewish Christians told the Jerusalem council that Gentiles were receiving the Holy Spirit, and so convinced the leaders of the Jerusalem Church to allow gentile converts exemption from mostJewish commandments at theCouncil of Jerusalem, which opened the way for a much larger Christian Church, extending far beyond the Jewish community.
While Paul was inspired by the early Christian apostles, his writings elaborate on their teachings, and also give interpretations which are different from other teachings as documented in thecanonical gospels, earlyActs and the rest of the New Testament, such as theEpistle of James.[18][91]
Some early Jewish Christians believed that non-Jews mustconvert to Judaism and adoptJewish customs in order to be saved. Paul criticized Peter for himself declining to eat withgentiles during a visit by some of these Christians and therefore presenting a poor example to non-Jews joining the Christians.[92] Paul's close coworkerBarnabas sided with Peter in this dispute.[93][94] Those that taught that gentile converts to Christianity ought to adopt more Jewish practices to be saved, however, were called "Judaizers".[95] Though theApostle Peter was initially sympathetic, theApostle Paul opposed the teaching at theIncident at Antioch (Gal. 2:11–21) and at theCouncil of Jerusalem (Acts 15:6–35).[95][96] Nevertheless, Judaizing continued to be encouraged for several centuries, particularly by Jewish Christians.[95]
Paul opposed the strict applications of Jewish customs for gentile converts,[96] and argued with the leaders of the Jerusalem Church to allow gentile converts exemption from mostJewish commandments at theCouncil of Jerusalem, where Paul met with the "pillars of Jerusalem Church" (whom Paul identifies as Peter,Jesus's brother James, andJohn) over whether gentile Christians need to keep the Jewish Law and becircumcised. According to Acts, James played a prominent role in the formulation of thecouncil's decision (Acts 15:19NRSV) that circumcision was not a requirement. In Galatians, Paul says that James, Peter andJohn[97] will minister to the "circumcised" (in generalJews and Jewishproselytes) in Jerusalem, while Paul and his fellows will minister to the "uncircumcised" (in general, gentiles) (Galatians 2:9).[98][note 11]
TheCatholic Encyclopedia[99] claims: "St. Paul's account of the incident leaves no doubt that St. Peter saw the justice of the rebuke." However,L. Michael White'sFrom Jesus to Christianity[100] claims: "The blowup with Peter was a total failure of political bravado, and Paul soon left Antioch aspersona non grata, never again to return." ScholarJames D. G. Dunn, who coined the phrase "New Perspective on Paul", has proposed that Peter was the "bridge-man" (i.e., thepontifex maximus) between the two other "prominent leading figures" of early Christianity: Paul and James, the brother of Jesus.[101]
Talmud scholarDaniel Boyarin has argued that Paul's theology of the spirit is more deeply rooted in Hellenistic Judaism than generally believed. InA Radical Jew, Boyarin argues that the Apostle Paul combined the life of Jesus withGreek philosophy to reinterpret theHebrew Bible in terms of thePlatonic opposition between theideal (which is real) and thematerial (which is false). Judaism is a material religion, in which membership is based not onbelief but rather descent fromAbraham, physically marked bycircumcision, and focusing onhow to live this life properly. Paul saw in the symbol of a resurrected Jesus the possibility of a spiritual rather than corporeal Messiah. He used this notion of Messiah to argue for a religion through which all people—not just descendants of Abraham—could worship theGod of Abraham. Unlike Judaism, which holds that it is the proper religion only of the Jews, Pauline Christianity claimed to be the proper religion for all people.[102]
By appealing to the Platonic distinction between the material and the ideal, Paul showed how the spirit of Christ could provideall people a way to worship the God who had previously been worshipped only by Jews, Jewishproselytes andGod-fearers,[103][104][105] although Jews claimed that he was theone and only God of all. Boyarin roots Paul's work in Hellenistic Judaism and insists that Paul was thoroughly Jewish, but argues that Pauline theology made his version of Christianity appealing to gentiles. Boyarin also sees this Platonic reworking of both Jesus's teachings and Pharisaic Judaism as essential to the emergence of Christianity as a distinct religion, because it justified a Judaism without Jewish law.[102]
As Christianity grew throughout the gentile world, the developing Christian tradition diverged from its Jewish andJerusalem roots.[106][107] Historians continue to debate the precise moment when early Christianity established itself as a new religion, apart and distinct from Judaism. It is difficult to trace the process by which the two separated or to know exactly when this began. Jewish Christians continued to worship insynagogues together withcontemporary Jews for centuries.[108][109][110] Some scholars have found evidence of continuous interactions between Jewish-Christian and Rabbinic movements from the mid-to late second century CE to the fourth century CE.[111][112]Philip S. Alexander characterizes the question of when Christianity and Judaism parted company and went their separate ways as "one of those deceptively simple questions which should be approached with great care".[113] The first centuries of belief in Jesus were characterized by great uncertainty and religious creativity.[114] "Groups of believers coalesced into proto-factions of like-minded individuals, and then into factions. […] The degree of doctrinal cohesion of these groups is unknown. As attested by the extant texts, confusion and chaos were rampant."[115] At first, early belief in Jesus was very much a local phenomenon with some degree of coordination among communities on a regional basis.[116]
BothEarly Christianity andEarly Rabbinic Judaism were far lessorthodox and less theologically homogeneous than in modern day. Both religions were significantly influenced byHellenistic religion and borrowed allegories and concepts from ClassicalHellenistic philosophy[117] and the works of the Greek-speaking Jewish authors of the end of theSecond Temple period. The two schools of thought eventually firmed up their respective "norms" and doctrines, notably by increasingly diverging on key issues such as the status of "purity laws", the validity ofJudeo-Christian messianic beliefs, and, more importantly, the use ofKoine Greek andLatin assacerdotal languages replacingBiblical Hebrew.[118]
Heinrich Graetz postulated aCouncil of Jamnia in 90 that excluded Christians from thesynagogues, but this is disputed. Jewish Christians continued to worship in synagogues for centuries.[108][119][110]
According to historianShaye J. D. Cohen, "the separation of Christianity from Judaism was a process, not an event", in which the church became "more and more gentile, and less and less Jewish".[120][note 12] According to Cohen, early Christianity ceased to be a Jewish sect when it ceased to observe Jewish practices, such as circumcision.[25] According to Cohen, this process ended in 70 AD, after the great revolt, when various Jewish sects disappeared and Pharisaic Judaism evolved intoRabbinic Judaism, and Christianity emerged as a distinct religion.[121]
Talmudist and professor of Jewish studiesDaniel Boyarin proposes a revised understanding of the interactions between nascent Christianity and Judaism in late antiquity, viewing the two "new" religions as intensely and complexly intertwined throughout this period. According to Boyarin, Judaism and Christianity "were part of one complex religious family, twins in a womb", for at least three centuries.[122][note 13] Alan Segal also states that "one can speak of a 'twin birth' of two new Judaisms, both markedly different from the religious systems that preceded them".[123][note 14]
According to Robert Goldenberg, it is increasingly accepted among scholars that "at the end of the 1st century AD there were not yet two separate religions called 'Judaism' and 'Christianity'".[124][note 15]
Jewish Christianity fell into decline during theJewish–Roman wars (66–135) and the growinganti-Judaism perhaps best personified byMarcion of Sinope (c. 150). With persecution by theNicene Christians from the time of theRoman Emperor Constantine in the4th century, Jewish Christians sought refugeoutside the boundaries of the Empire, inArabia and further afield.[125] Within the Empire and later elsewhere it was dominated by the gentile-based Christianity which became theState church of the Roman Empire and which took control of sites in theHoly Land such as theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre and theCenacle and appointed subsequentBishops of Jerusalem.
Full-scale, open revolt against the Romans occurred with theFirst Jewish–Roman War in 66 AD. In 70 AD,Jerusalem was besieged and the Second Temple was destroyed. This event was a profoundly traumatic experience for the Jews, who were now confronted with difficult and far-reaching questions.[126][note 16] After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, sectarianism largely came to an end. TheZealots,Sadducees, andEssenes disappeared, while theEarly Christians and thePharisees survived, the latter transforming intoRabbinic Judaism, today known simply as "Judaism". The term "Pharisee" was no longer used, perhaps because it was a term more often used by non-Pharisees, but also because the term was explicitly sectarian, and the rabbis claimed leadership over all Jews.
Many historians argue that the gospels took their final form after the Great Revolt and the destruction of the Temple, although some scholars put the authorship of Mark in the 60s.[127][128][129][130][131] Strack theorizes that the growth of a Christian canon (the New Testament) was a factor that influenced the rabbis to record the oral law in writing.[note 17]
A significant contributing factor to the split was the two groups' differing theological interpretations of the Temple's destruction. Rabbinic Judaism saw the destruction as a chastisement for neglecting the Torah. The early Christians, however, saw it as God's punishment for the Jewish rejection of Jesus, leading to the claim that the 'true' Israelwas now the Church. Jews believed this claim was scandalous.[132] According to Fredriksen, since early Christians believed that Jesus had already replaced the Temple as the expression of anew covenant, they were relatively unconcerned with the destruction of the Temple during the First Jewish-Roman War.[60]
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In Christian circles, the term "Nazarene" later came to be used as a label for those Christians who were faithful toJewish law; in particular, it was used as a label for a certain sect of Christians. At first, these Jewish Christians, originally the central group in Christianity, were not declared unorthodox but they were later excluded from the Jewish community and denounced. Some Jewish Christian groups, such as theEbionites, were accused of having unorthodox beliefs, particularly in relation to their views of Christ and gentile converts. The Nazarenes, who held to orthodoxy but adhered to Jewish law, were not deemed heretical until the dominance oforthodoxy in the4th century. The Ebionites may have been a splinter group of Nazarenes, with disagreements over Christology and leadership. After the condemnation of the Nazarenes, the term "Ebionite" was often used as a general pejorative for all related "heresies".[133][134]
Jewish Christians constituted a community which was separate from thePauline Christians. There was a post-Nicene "double rejection" of the Jewish Christians by adherents of gentile Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. It is believed that no direct confrontation occurred between the adherents of gentile Christianity and the adherents of Judaic Christianity. However, by this time, the practice of Judeo-Christianity was diluted by internal schisms and external pressures. Gentile Christianity remained the sole strand of orthodoxy and it imposed itself on the previously Jewish Christian sanctuaries, taking full control of those houses of worship by the end of the 5th century.[135]
Growing anti-Jewish sentiment among early Christians is evidenced by theEpistle of Barnabas, a late-1st/early-2nd century letter attributed toBarnabas, the companion ofPaul mentioned in theActs of the Apostles, although it could be byBarnabas of Alexandria, or an anonymous author using the name Barnabas.[136] In no other writing of that early time is theseparation of the gentile Christians from observant Jews so clearly insisted upon. Christians, according to Barnabas, are the only true covenant people, and the Jewish people are no longer incovenant with God.Circumcision and the entire Jewish sacrificial and ceremonial system have been abolished in favor of "the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ". Barnabas claims thatJewish scriptures, rightly understood, serve as a foretelling of Christ and its laws often contain allegorical meanings.
While 2nd-centuryMarcionism rejected all Jewish influence on Christianity,Proto-orthodox Christianity instead retained some of the doctrines and practices of 1st-century Judaism while rejecting others.[note 18] They held theJewish scriptures to be authoritative and sacred, employing mostly theSeptuagint orTargum translations, and adding other texts as theNew Testament canon developed. Christianbaptism was another continuation of a Judaic practice.[137]
The Ebionites were a Jewish Christian movement that existed during the early centuries of the Christian Era.[138] They show strong similarities with the earliest form of Jewish Christianity, and their specific theology may have been a "reaction to thelaw-free Gentile mission."[139] They regarded Jesus as the Messiah while rejecting hisdivinity and hisvirgin birth,[76] and insisted on the necessity of followingJewish law and rites.[140] They used theGospel of the Ebionites, one of theJewish–Christian gospels; the Hebrew Book of Matthew starting at chapter 3; reveredJames the brother of Jesus (James the Just); and rejectedPaul the Apostle as anapostate from the Law.[141] Their name (Ancient Greek:ἘβιωναῖοιEbionaioi, derived fromHebrewאביוניםebyonim,ebionim, meaning "the poor" or "poor ones") suggests that they placed a special value onvoluntary poverty.
Distinctive features of theGospel of the Ebionites include the absence of thevirgin birth and of thegenealogy of Jesus; anAdoptionistChristology,[75] in which Jesus is chosen to beGod's Son at the time of hisBaptism; the abolition of theJewish sacrifices by Jesus; and an advocacy ofvegetarianism.[142]
The Nazarenes originated as asect of first-century Judaism. The first use of the term "sect of the Nazarenes" is in theBook of Acts in the New Testament, wherePaul is accused of being a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes ("πρωτοστάτην τε τῆς τῶν Ναζωραίων αἱρέσεως").[143] The term then simply designated followers of "Yeshua Natzri" (Jesus the Nazarene),[note 19] but in the first to fourth centuries the term was used for a sect of followers of Jesus who were closer to Judaism than most Christians.[144] They are described byEpiphanius of Salamis and are mentioned later byJerome andAugustine of Hippo,[145][146] who made a distinction between the Nazarenes of their time and the "Nazarenes" mentioned in Acts 24:5.[147]
The Nazarenes were similar to theEbionites, in that they considered themselvesJews, maintained an adherence to theLaw of Moses, and used only theAramaicGospel of the Hebrews, rejecting all theCanonical gospels. However, unlike half of the Ebionites, they accepted theVirgin Birth.[148][149]
TheGospel of the Hebrews was asyncreticJewish–Christian gospel, the text of which islost; only fragments of it survive as brief quotations by the earlyChurch Fathers and in apocryphal writings. The fragments contain traditions ofJesus' pre-existence,incarnation,baptism, and probabletemptation, along with some of hissayings.[150] Distinctive features include aChristology characterized by the belief that theHoly Spirit is Jesus'Divine Mother; and a firstresurrection appearance toJames, the brother of Jesus, showing a high regard for James as the leader of theJewish Christian church in Jerusalem.[151] It was probably composed inGreek in the first decades of the 2nd century, and is believed to have been used by Greek-speaking Jewish Christians inEgypt during that century.[152]
TheGospel of the Nazarenes is the title given to fragments of one of the lostJewish-Christian Gospels of Matthew partially reconstructed from the writings ofJerome.
The Knanaya of India descend from Syriac Christians of Jewish origin who migrated to India from Mesopotamia between the 4th and 9th century under the leadership of the merchantKnai Thoma. In the modern age, they are a minority community found among the St. Thomas Christians. The culture of the Knanaya has been analyzed by a number of Jewish scholars who have noted that the community maintains striking correlations to Jewish communities, in particular theCochin Jews of Kerala. The culture of the Knanaya is a blend of Jewish-Christian, Syriac, and Hindu customs reflecting both the foreign origin of the community and the centuries that they have lived as a minority community in India.[153][154][155]
The unique combination ofethnocultural traits inhered from the fusion of aGreek-Macedonian cultural base,Hellenistic Judaism andRoman civilization gave birth to the distinctly Antiochian "Middle Eastern-Roman" Christian traditions of Cilicia (Southeastern Turkey) and Syria/Lebanon:
The mixture of Roman, Greek, and Jewish elements admirably adapted Antioch for the great part it played in the early history of Christianity. The city was the cradle of the church.[156]
Members of these communities still call themselvesRûm which literally means "Eastern Roman", "Byzantine" or "Asian Greek" inTurkish,Persian andArabic. The term "Rûm" is used in preference to"Ionani" or"Yāvāni" which means "European Greek" or "Ionian" inClassical Arabic andAncient Hebrew.
MostMiddle-Eastern "Melkites" or "Rûms", can trace theirethnocultural heritage to the Southern Anatolian ('Cilician') and Syrian Hellenized Greek-speakingJewish communities of the past andGreek andMacedoniansettlers ('Greco-Syrians'), founders of the original "Antiochian Greek" communities ofCilicia, Northwestern Syria and Lebanon. Counting members of the surviving minorities in theHatay Province of Turkey, in Syria, Lebanon, Northern Israel and their relatives in the diaspora, there are more than 1.8 million Greco-Melkite Christians residing in the Northern-MENA, the US, Canada and Latin America today, i.e.,Greek Orthodox andGreek Catholic Christians under the ancientjurisdictional authority of thepatriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem ("Orthodox" in the narrow sense) or theirUniat offshoots ("Catholic" or "united" with Rome).
Today, certain families are associated with descent from the early Jewish Christians of Antioch, Damascus,Judea, andGalilee. Some of those families carry surnames such asYouhanna (John),Hanania (Ananias),Sahyoun (Zion),Eliyya/Elias (Elijah),Chamoun/Shamoun (Simeon/Simon),Semaan/Simaan (Simeon/Simon),Menassa (Manasseh),Salamoun/Suleiman (Solomon),Yowakim (Joachim),Zakariya (Zacharias), Kolath and others.[157]
In the field ofQuranic studies, it has long been argued that Jewish Christianity played an important role in the formation of Quranic conceptions of Christians in Muhammad's Arabia.[158][159] The first major author to assert that Jewish Christianity played an important role in the formation of Quranic tradition was Aloys Sprenger in his 1861 bookDas Leben und die Lehre des Moḥammad. Since then, numerous other authors have followed this argument, including Adolf von Harnack, Hans-Joachim Schoeps, M. P. Roncaglia, and others.[160] The most recent notable defenders of this thesis have been Francois de Blois[161] and Holger Zellentin, the latter in the context of his research into the historical context of the legal discourses present in the Quran especially as it resembles the Syriac recension of theDidascalia Apostolorum and theClementine literature.[162] In turn, several critics of this thesis have appeared, most notably Sidney Griffith.[163][164] De Blois provides three arguments for the importance of Jewish Christianity: the use of the termnaṣārā in the Quran (usually taken as a reference to Christians, as in Griffith's work) which resembles the Syriac term used forNazoreans, the resemblance between the description of Mary as part of theTrinity with traditions attributed to theGospel of the Hebrews, and dietary restrictions associated with the Christian community. In turn, Shaddel argued thatnaṣārā merely may have etymologically originated as such because Nazoreans were the first to interact with the Arabic community in which this term came into use. Alternative sources as well as hyperbole may explain the reference to Mary in the Trinity. However, Shaddel does admit the ritual laws as evidence for the relevance of Jewish Christians.[165] In the last few years, the thesis for the specific role played by Jewish Christians has been resisted by Gabriel Said Reynolds,[166][167] Stephen Shoemaker,[168] and Guillaume Dye.[169]
In modern times, the term "Jewish Christian" or "Christian Jew" is generally used in reference toethnic Jews who have either converted to or been raised in Christianity.[citation needed] They are mostly members ofCatholic,Protestant andOrthodox Christian congregations,[citation needed] and they are generallyassimilated into the Christian mainstream, but they may also retain a strong sense of attachment to theirJewish identity. Some Jewish Christians also refer to themselves as "Hebrew Christians".
TheHebrew Christian movement of the 19th century was an initiative which was largely led and integrated byAnglicans, and they included figures such asMichael Solomon Alexander,Bishop of Jerusalem 1842–1845; some figures, such asJoseph Frey, the founder of theLondon Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews, were more assertive of their Jewish identity and independence.
The 19th century saw at least 250,000 Jews convert to Christianity according to existing records of various societies.[170] According to data which was provided by thePew Research Center, as of 2013, about 1.6 million adultAmerican Jews identify themselves asChristians, and most of them identify themselves asProtestants.[171][172][173] According to the same data, most of the Jews who identify themselves as some sort of Christian (1.6 million) were either raised as Jews or are Jews by ancestry.[172] According to a 2012 study, 17% ofJews in Russia identify themselves asChristians.[174][175]
Messianic Judaism is a religious movement which incorporates elements of Judaism with thetenets of Christianity. Its adherents, many of whom are ethnically Jewish, worship in congregations which reciteHebrew prayers. They also baptize messianic believers who are of theage of accountability (able to accept Jesus as the Messiah), often observe kosherdietary laws and keepSaturday as the Sabbath. Additionally, they recognize the ChristianNew Testament as holy scripture, though most of them do not use the label "Christian" to describe themselves.
The two groups are not completely distinct; some adherents, for example, favor Messianic congregations but they freely choose to live in both worlds, such as the theologianArnold Fruchtenbaum, the founder of Ariel Ministries.[176]
TheHebrew Catholics are a movement of Jews who converted toCatholicism and Catholics of non-Jewish origin who choose to keep Jewish customs and traditions in light of Catholic doctrine.[177]
A major difficulty in tracing the growth of Christianity from its beginnings as aJewish messianic sect, and its relations to the various other normative-Jewish, sectarian-Jewish, and Christian-Jewish groups is presented by the fact that what ultimately became normative Christianity was originally but one among various contending Christian trends. Once the "gentile Christian" trend won out, and theteaching ofPaul became accepted as expressing the doctrine of theChurch, the Jewish Christian groups were pushed to the margin and ultimately excluded as heretical. Being rejected both by normative Judaism and the Church, they ultimately disappeared. Nevertheless, several Jewish Christian sects (such as theNazarenes,Ebionites,Elchasaites, and others) existed for some time, and a few of them seem to have endured for several centuries. Some sects saw in Jesus mainly aprophet and not the "Christ", others seem to have believed in him as the Messiah, but did not draw thechristological and other conclusions that subsequently became fundamental in the teaching of the Church (the divinity of the Christ,trinitarian conception of the Godhead,abrogation of the Law). After the disappearance of the early Jewish Christian sects and the triumph of gentile Christianity, to become a Christian meant, for a Jew, toapostatize and to leave the Jewish community.
Though every definition ofJewish Christians has problems, the most useful is probably that they were believers in Jesus, of ethnic Jewish origin, whoobserved the Torah and so retained theirJewish identity.
[...] the original apostolic Christianity that came before Paul, and developed independently of him, by those who had known and spent time with Jesus, was in sharp contrast toPaul's version of the new faith. This lost Christianity held sway during Paul's lifetime, and only with thedeath of James in 62 AD, followed by the brutaldestruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, did it begin to lose its influence as the center of Jesus movement. Ironically, it was theproduction and final editing of the New Testament itself [...] supporting Paul's version of Christianity, that ensured first the marginalization, and subsequently the death of this original form of Christianity.
The Messiah before Jesus: The Suffering Servant of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Bechtel, Florentine Stanislaus (1910). "Judaizers". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.The Nazarenes of ecclesiastical history adhered to the law of their fathers; whereas when Tertullus accused Paul as 'a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes', he accused him as one who despised the law, and 'had gone about to the temple', Acts xxiv, 5, 6.
