Judaism and Early Christianity

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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 at least rhetorically if not concretely.

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. Unless it can be shown with reasonable abduction that it is otherwise the case he will give way to the ancient sources.

The Categories of Investigation

The following 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 also 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 Christian whose leadership eschews Christian development throughout the centuries and ultimately rejects it.

Herewith the categories:

I. Art and Architecture II. Ecclesiology III. Ethics IV. Liturgy V. Scripture VI. Theology

Interestingly, a Jewish reader may obtain as much comprehension of their own special synagogal history although on the surface it may seem that this would not be so. But since the Jewish community was the "other half" of this dialogue one can affirm from the outset that it must necessarily be the case, that significant information about Jewish ideas will be presented is just as serious an exploration as those of the Christians.

I. Art and Architecture

Although some laypersons have the notion that Christians could not have their own separate facilities for worship before the Edict of Milan (AD 313/314), occasionally governors would allow Christians to maintain both a church and a cemetery. Permission was intermittent, however, hence many Christians prudently found protection in a private house; i.e., security was preferable given the possiblity of persecution.

The "house church" of Dura-Europos (in what is now Syria), an AD third century structure pre-dating the Edict, offers a clue as to its art and structure since it is within walking distance of a Jewish synagogue on the same street and of the same date. Of course, this "church" had its own particulars formed by specific Christian needs (e.g., a baptistry or a martyr's tomb). Although in other churches the bishop's seat might just as well connect the practice of this seat to “Moses’ seat” or to the elders benches in the synagogues (with an apse, no less) of which there is hard evidence archaeologically.

Whether these Christians were deliberately copying the Jewish forms is likely not so much the question here as they had little to work with in terms of resources and capability. The Jewish community was lively and resourceful if one may infer this from both the architecture and the art of both buildings at Dura-Europos. Nonetheless, the desire to use artistic expression is not only an extension of the so-called "catacomb art" but also that of using Jewish examples for sacred stories. Both Jewish and Christian figures in these paintings have a debt to pagan styles as well; in terms of content and perhaps solemnity, one may see the unique presentation in the synagogue and in the church.

Little doubt remains on the rise of church-building after the Edict of Milan. Constantine himself engaged in this activity and promoted the building of churches throughout the empire, generally in the basilica form.

As to the basilica style of most Western churches Constantine built, one asks: what else? One discovers that many, if not most, Jewish synagogues of the day were a basilica. Varieties of synagogues either adapted the basilica or took another form too. The basilica was used for housing as well; a “hall,” as we might say today.

Constantine had other types built (octagonal in Antioch), and so it was in the East that the cruciform church was predominant. One remembers that cultures and religions influence each other. He had a pagan temple torn down so a Christian church could be built over the holy tomb. Thus, while the Christian use of the basilica or "great hall" was a popular one in the Western Empire for Jewish, Christian, pagan, and secular structures it was in the Eastern Empire where the Christian church took on its special form.

Although some authors point to the Jewish influence upon the Christian adoption of the basilica form, the varied Christian building in the East and the ubiquitous, if not overwhelming, influence of secular architecture muddle this conclusion. Possibly, however, the Jewish employment of such plans marked a direction for Christians. At this point there appears to be no strong, external vestiges of special Jewish influence, though the internal working of the church may have similarities to that of the synagogue which now will be reviewed.

Moses' Seat

First, the aforementioned "Moses' Seat" in the synagogue; the obvious association that a Christian may make with this is the seat of the bishop in a church. The temptation to make this parallel is lessened, however, when one realizes that the model of Roman government may have been in the background of both synagogue and church. Nonetheless, while the function of the synagogue varied from that of the church the need for placement of a position of authority has religious roots as much as political.

But in reviewing the "religious roots" it is unknown whether they are Israelite, pagan, or Christian. Nothing alike to this is found described in the Old Testament. That is, to date the best of archaeological evidence indicates more that it was a Jewish adoption of a pagan practice and possibly a Christian one. The earliest account of "Moses' seat" is found in the New Testament (Matthew 23) and whether this was a literal or metaphorical description of authority provides fodder for perennial debate. Hence, the question becomes not whether Christians derived the "bishop chair" from the synagogue but whether both synagogue and church communities appropriated the notion from pagan buildings.

The question concerning the function of the synagogue "seat" divides into two: was it for the placement of the Torah scroll or was it for a person? And if for a person, was it for the president, the teacher, or for a guest? Perhaps the "seat" was employed for all of these purposes depending upon the stage of the liturgy. For the relevance here, however, none of this appears to have made an impact on the use of the bishop seat in the church except that it was a place of honor. Specifically, the Christian employment was a depiction of the ideal unity of the church in the bishop.

Apparently the connection between this feature of a church in Antiquity and that of the current Orthodox or Catholic practice is more direct than other architectural features from the past. That the bishop had supreme importance in the earliest churches there is no serious scholarly controversy; the question, today, is one of the degree of that significance. For Orthodox and Catholic dialogue, of course, the other aspect is that of judicial aspirations. But in terms of "Moses' seat" one may conclude that the unity that the synagogal community saw and today sees in Mosheh Rabbenu ("Moses our teacher") so the Orthodox community sees in its overseer, the bishop (Episkopos).

Art

Previous to the 20th century, popularly maintained was the approach that the early Jewish community eschewed religious artwork and particularly in the synagogue. Were it not for the Hebrew scripture that tells us otherwise concerning Israelite artistic depictions in the tabernacle and temple, in addition to Josephus' descriptions, one would need concede to this puritanical view of early Jewish or Christian practice. Although this is hardly the case another question would remain as to the Jewish representation of the human figure.

As the 1932 archaeology team of Clark Hopkins removed millennia-old patina from the walls of the Dura-Europos synagogue (AD third century), so was the popular belief removed. The use of not only representational art in the synagogue, but also that of especially the human figure, demolished once-and-for-all the opinion about the early Jewish community and art. That other such examples have been found only affirmed the point that the Jewish people in Antiquity expressed their beliefs through representational art.

One wall of the Dura-Europos synagogue is forty-feet long and covered from top to bottom with various scenes from the Bible. Abraham, Moses, pictures of the Exodus, illustrations of the book of Esther, pictures of the temple and temple instruments--all of these are shown in bold lines and color. Even more significant is the metaphorical representation of divinity by a hand seen in some of the pictures. The divine power shown as present through this biblical idiom of the "hand of the Lord"(yad yhwh) is not so odd in the literature as it might seem in visual artwork. Incongruent though it may seem to some, one suspects that it looks stranger to those unfamiliar with the conception of synagogal artwork.

In any case, Dura-Europos is not the only example. Earlier synagogues such as the AD first century Galilee structure with much ornamentation and designs portrays an artistically-sensitive community employing visual effects for the engagement of the religious person. Carved animals (e.g., lions), temple objects (e.g., menorah), and vegetation (e.g., grapes, figs) supplement the usual decorative acanthus leaves and hexagram (i.e., the magen David). The friezes offer relief illustrations of the temple furniture (e.g., the menorah).

That other synagogues as those of the AD fifth century Bet Alpha in Galilee are decorated with mosaics of pagan motifs (e.g., a zodiac) should not be as surprising as that early Christian art in churches or in burial places lacks some of these specific themes. While the early depiction of Christ in the catacombs is more pagan than Jewish the usual pagan motives do not appear quite as blithely or blatantly in Christian communal locations as they do in the Jewish synagogues of the same period. Here one may cautiously conclude that the Jewish community was, perhaps, simply more comfortable in its environment whereas the Christians of this period were always "outsiders," rejecting the culture of its oppressors.

So it is that few are the people today who debate the issue of the Jewish use of artistic devices, but the next question is how much influence this tradition had upon early Christians. Did Jewish art influence Christian artists? Probably so. But one might say that any powerful visual effect, Jewish or pagan, affected Christian style.

Here we encounter an imposing challenge as to how to qualify exactly what is meant by some authors regarding the "higher" or "loftier spirituality" of early Jewish art in contrast to the that of pagan work. After all, one first needs to look at pagan art. Is there not a "higher" or "lofty" spirituality in some of the finest pagan portraits? Anyone who has viewed the Demosthenes of the third century BC or the Dying Gaul of the same period or even the first century BC Laocoon cannot but help have sympathy for the subjects. Here are figures with personalities! Whichever view the reader holds, let it be noted that this writer does not want to go too far in order to prove a point that lacks hard evidence. As in all discussions of the arts, this topic lacks the precise kind of falsifiability criteria that causes one to look on enviably at colleagues in the sciences who can utilize it in their work.

Instead, one might better begin with the Jewish art itself. How many times one hears the remark, after showing someone early Jewish figurative representations, how much these are alike to Christian art. Certainly pagan painting and sculpture offered art of the highest caliber (if such may be said of the arts), but beyond technicalities one does not stray far into speculation to think that Christian art inherited its religious approach more from its Jewish than from its pagan backgrounds. There is no need to think this is more "lofty" as compared to "lowly" pagan art which comprehension in itself is a silly comparison; one thinks of such evaluations made of Rembrandt with a "low score" in comparison with other artists popular in his day.

What is only declared here is that Jewish and Christian art are a continuum of two communities having a theistic view of the world. Each community taught that there was a personal deity who had scruples and acted in history. Granted, the Christian view intensified decidedly in the belief that divinity has come in the flesh. And this extraordinary doctrine supported the perspective that as one may see the deity, one may represent the person.

This theistic approach concerned a deity who did care about human behavior in terms of divine standards while offering compassion and mercy. One is tempted to say that Jewish and Christian art had less sensuality and this is concretely demonstrated by those religious conventions against what was thought to be immoral (e.g., nudity). Nevertheless, both communities had in common the stories of the Old Testament and though each read them in dissimilar contexts the theism of both came through in their artistic expression. That the Christian wing of Western theism carried on the religious figurative tradition in contrast to Judaism or Islam does not obscure the evidence for not only a theological reason (i.e., the incarnation) but also a cultural, environmental one which included both paganism and Judaism.

How did Christian art, then, manifest itself among this small and persecuted community in the Empire? Our first examples of Christian art are from what have been called the "Catacombs." These underground burial places of Christians followed Jewish practice and it is unknown to date as to precisely why it was so. Was it due to persecution? This is doubtful. Once Judea was subdued Rome did allow many rights to the Jewish people and upon the assassination of Julius Caesar there was mourning in synagogues. Certainly many people did not like or even the trust the Jewish community who were seen as atheists (atheoi) because most Jews would not participate in local pagan festivals. And if the much later Mishnaic tractate Avodah Zarah indicates any of the social reality of Antiquity, the Jewish community kept aloof from Gentiles.

Still, we do have the Jewish catacombs and their artwork as evidence of a practice pre-dating the rise of Christianity.

II. Ecclesiology

III. Ethics

IV. Liturgy

V. Scripture

VI. Theology

Sources

Ancient

The reader will do well to look up the primary texts, many available online, of various Christian and Jewish writers. The following is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the ancient authors but only relevant to the subject at hand.

  • The New Testament
  • Clement of Rome
  • Ignatius of Antioch
  • The Didache
  • Polycarp
  • The Epistle of Barnabas
  • The Martyrdom of Polycarp
  • The Epistle to Diognetus
  • Justin Martyr
  • Melito of Sardis
  • Tertullian
  • Didascalia Apostolorum
  • Origen
  • Eusebius of Caesarea
  • Josephus
  • The Mishnah
  • Philo of Alexandria
  • Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

Modern

  • William G. Braude, Jewish Proselytizing, 1940.
  • Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, 1967.
  • Charles Norris Cochrane, Christianity and Classical Culture, 1940.
  • Encyclopedia Judaica, 1971.
  • Craig A. Evans and Donald A. Hagner, eds., Anti-Semitism and Early Christianity, 1993.
  • Jack Finegan, Light from the Ancient Past, 1959.
  • Eugene Fisher, Interwoven Destinies: Jews and Christians through the Ages, 1993.
  • Edward Flannery, The Anguish of the Jews, 1985.
  • W. H. C. Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church, 1965.
  • E. R. Goodenough, Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, 1969.
  • Andre Grabar, The Beginnings of Christian Art, 1967.
  • _______, Christian Iconography: A Study of its Origins, 1968.
  • Clark Hopkins, The Discovery of Dura-Europos, 1979.
  • A. H. M. Jones, Constantine and the Conversion of Europe, 1948.
  • Michael Kaniel, Judaism: Art of World Religions, 1979.
  • A. T. Kraabel, “The Diaspora Synagogue,” Aufstieg und Niedergang der Romischen Welt, v. II.19.1, 1979.
  • Lee I. Levine, The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years, 2000.
  • Arnaldo Momigliano, The Conflict Between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century, 1962.
  • Jacob Neusner and William Scott Green, eds., Origins of Judaism, 1990.
  • James Parkes, The Conflict of the Church and the Synagogue, 1934.
  • Emil Schurer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, rev. G. Vermes and F. Millar, 1973.
  • Menahem Stern, Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism, 3 vols., 1974.
  • Clemens Thoma, A Christian Theology of Judaism, 1980.
  • Arthur Voobus, The Didascalia Apostolorum in Syriac, 1979.
  • Robert L. Wilken, John Chrysostom and the Jews, 1983.
  • _______, Judaism and the Early Christian Mind, 1971.