What exactly is Jewish Christianity? Who is a Jewish Christian? Which books in the NT can be regarded as being Jewish Christian? Should it (or they) be defined ethnically, based on praxis, or doctrinally?
James Carleton Paget is probably on the money when he (tentatively) opts for a praxis-based definition of "a Jewish Christian as someone who accepts the messianic status of Jesus (the bare minimum requires of someone wishing to be a Christian) but feels it necessary to keep, or perhaps adopt, practices associated with Judaism such as circumcision, in the case of males, the sabbath, the food laws, and other such related practices". (p.734).
Paget, J. Carleton. 2002. ‘Jewish Christianity.’ In Cambridge History of Ancient Judaism. 3 vols. Edited by W.D. Davies. Cambridge: CUP. 3:731-75.
In more recent times, some "Messianic Jews" dislike being called "Christians" since they wish to maintain that they are still Jews. Is this insistence misplaced?
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4 comments:
By the definition you cited, do any NT books qualify as "Jewish Christian"?! Which book(s) holds to circumcision, food laws, and Sabbath observance?
My own opinion is that Judaism was much broader than that in the 1c, even though these are of course "big ticket" items. To frame the question in terms of those items alone, however, is to place a decidedly rabbinic stamp on things.
If we can have Jewish Christians in 2006, and still allow for the keeping of shabbat and other Judaistic practices, can we then have Islamic Christians...that is Christians who have turned from Islam, yet still want to keep the festivals of Islam?
which NT books hold Sabbath, circumcision, and food laws? Let's take the synoptics. Circumcision is a tricky one as it is not polemically mentioned and so who knows what was happening (although I would find it hard to think at least some 'Matthean Christians' were not circumcising their baby boys). Matthew 15.20 makes it clear Jesus did not criticise food laws and similarly the Matthean Jesus does not contradict any biblical ruling on the Sabbath. I would say the similar things about Mark and Luke. But does that mean that juest because Jesus was observant should Christians now be do? Even Paul says Jesus was born under the law. In the case of Matthew and Mark, I suspect law observance was expected (Mark isall tied up with my dating so a disclaimer). It is interesting though that he seems to think 'well even those who aren't so good and those naughty ones who teach people not to be good will be in the kingdom, the least in the kingdom, yes, but still there' (a paraphrase of Matt. 5.19). But while Luke clearly portrays Jesus as Law observant he has a kind of revelation history whereby in Acts it is clear that gentiles and even jews no longer have to observe major commandments.
What that says about Jewish Christianity I don't know but that's what some gospel people might have thought.
I once heard a rabbi describe both Judaism and Christianity as off-shoots of Second Temple Judaism. Modern Judaism's relationship to Israelite religion seems pretty minimal to me.
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