Jewish Backgrounds and Interactions of Early Christianity

Liberty University

the tale of two feisty Sisters:
The Jewish Backgrounds and Interactions of Early Christianity with Judaism

A research paper submitted to Dr. Scrutinus Severus
In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements For
The course NBST 695

Liberty baptist Theological seminary

By
Maximus Decius Claudius Pompus

Lynchburg, Virginia
April 04, 2011 Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Setting the stage: the expansion of the Jewish Diaspora 2 the Jewish roots of Christianity 4
Hellenistic Judaism and Early Church 6
Jewish Christian relations after the fall of Jerusalem 8
The Last straw: the Bar Kokhba Revolt 13 the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt and Jewish-Christian relations 16 the final parting of the ways. 19
Conclusion 22
Bibliography 25
Introduction
Students of church history often puzzled by the sharp contrast between the Jewishness of the writers and events of the New Testament on one hand and the definitively non-Jewish character of the Early Church after the apostolic period on the other hand. An appreciation of the Jewish background of the Early Church and knowledge of the development of Jewish-Christian relations in the first three centuries of the Christian era is therefore crucial if one desires to understand the parting of ways between Judaism and Christianity. These two sister faiths would become bitter enemies within a few centuries after the emergence of the Christian faith. Our study, while heavily relying and interacting with primary sources of the time, will endeavor to highlight the Jewish origin of Christianity, trace its development within Judaism, and chronicle its inexorable divorce from its Jewish roots and sister faith.
Setting the stage: the expansion of the Jewish Diaspora During the Persian occupation of Palestine (538-332 BC), many Jews decided to pass on the magnanimous offer of Cyrus allowing them to return to Palestine and chose to remain in Babylonia where subsequently,

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