Judaism and Early Christianity

This article will review, in brief, the relationship between Judaism and Christianity between the AD second century and fifth century and how it formed the Christian community with lasting effects in the Orthodox Church. In this period the Jewish and Christian communities changed in their attitude towards each other, certainly both external and internal pressures within Christianity moved Christians in a distinctive way not only spiritually but also sociologically. Literature from Christian, Jewish, and pagan sources will demonstrate what these pressures were and how they acted upon the early Christians.

Covering the following points would take a series of volumes to make good any thorough investigation. But the attempt here is to offer information in an evenhanded way to the layperson who is not conversant on the subject. In each topic the reader will discover how within the late Hellenistic and early Roman imperial periods the Jewish-Christian dialogue took on its own character and sometimes, unfortunately, in quite unpleasant ways for both groups.

Problems of Historical Investigation

Despite the issues involving this interaction, whether from the medieval or modern eras, a caution faces the reader who eagerly desires to smell the odor of controversy. The period under review is neither medieval nor modern and is not one under psychological scrutiny (though the latter would make for much interesting subjective ideas!). Instead, sticking to the time period is essential without trying to read back into it developments which never occurred but in the imagination of a modern writer.

Too much literature written on the subject tends to the sensational and one suspects that this is done more to sell books than to demonstrate sound ideas. Book-selling is a tough field wherein most books do not make a profit so the tactic is understandable. As bad as this situation may be in the capitalist climate in the non-academic world, there has been infiltration of this approach among academics as well. So while one may indeed charge an Orthodox Christian with an anachronistic reading of early Christian history surely the Orthodox Christian may return the charge against many other writers of various persuasions.

Most unfortunate is the lack of falsifiability; i.e., much of what we infer from sources is not a falsifiable scientific endeavor. Thus, perusing through sources for historical writing demands even more self-criticism and care on the part of the author. Let it be stated that this endeavor will not only be rigorous but also charitable to the sources at hand as this writer will strive to avoid besserwissen, that today one "knows better" than our predecessors.

The Categories of Jewish-Christian Dialogue

The following five categories are not proposed to be an exhaustive list but is a foundational one which will help any reader comprehend the results of the early Jewish-Christian dialogue within what is now the Orthodox Church. It is likely that this would benefit an understanding of the Catholic Church. To the degree that Protestant and independent churches relate to this early Christian history would be the mark of whether such Christians would gain much comprehension of their current church practices by reading it. For instance, a Lutheran would gain most from it whereas less so for an independent church whose leadership eschews Christian development throughout the centuries and rejects it.

I. Art and Architecture

II. Ethics

III. Liturgy

IV. Scripture

V. Theology