This article is about events that marked the split between Early Christianity and Judaism. For a general timeline, see Timeline of Christianity. For Jewish Schisms, see Schisms among the Jews. For the origins of Christianity, see Origins of Christianity. For the age of Jesus, see Ministry of Jesus.
The split between Pharisaic/Rabbinic Judaism (the period of the Tannaim) and Early Christianity is commonly attributed to the Rejection of Jesus recorded in the Gospels, or the Council of Jerusalem in 50, or the Destruction of the Second Temple in 70, or the postulated Council of Jamnia of 90, or the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–135, but these are all simplifications of history. Various events contributed to or marked the widening split between Christianity and Judaism. The following is a listing of these events in rough historical order:
List of events marking changes in the relations between Christians and Jews in early Christianity[]
First century[]
See also: Christianity in the 1st century
New Testament[]
- Actions of Jesus "cleansing the temple" and trial by Sanhedrin according to the Gospels (c. 30), both of which are accepted by the majority of modern scholars, but rejected by more radical critics; see also Rejection of Jesus and the Jesus Seminar's Acts of Jesus[1].
- Peter's speech at the Jerusalem Temple accusing the Israelites of killing Jesus according to Acts 3:12–4:4,[2] c 34, see also Responsibility for the death of Jesus and Josephus on Jesus.
- Stephen before a Sanhedrin, his speech and stoning according to Acts 6:8–8:1,[3] c 35.
- Baptism of Cornelius the Centurion by Peter according to Acts 10,[4] traditionally considered the first gentile convert to Christianity[5]
- martyrdom of James, son of Zebedee by Agrippa I according to Acts 12:1–2, c 44
- Paul's proselytization of gentiles as "Apostle to the Gentiles" (see also Proselytes and Godfearers and Paul of Tarsus and Judaism), 1st mission c 45
- Incident at Antioch[6] where Paul accused Peter of Judaizing, but even Barnabas sided with Peter, c 49
- Council of Jerusalem, c 50, which allowed gentile converts who did not also "convert to Judaism", or another interpretation: decreed proto-Noahide Law[7], see also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity and Dual-covenant theology.
- Paul, persecuted by the Jews of Jerusalem, on charges of Antinomianism, is saved by the Romans and sent to Rome, Acts 21:1–28:31.
- Woes of the Pharisees, Lament over Jerusalem[8], Great Commission[9] from the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke, c 80, earlier if actually spoken by Jesus.
- Epistle to the Hebrews and the New Covenant, pre-AD 70, given that the argument of the letter presupposes that temple worship and sacrifice were in operation at the time of the writing. (If post AD 70, the writer would have used the destruction of the temple and the discontinuation of sacrifices as proof of the passing of the Old Covenant and the institution and superiority of the New.
- John 6:60–6:66 records "many disciples" (who were largely Jewish) leaving Jesus after he said that those who eat his body and drink his blood will remain in him and have eternal life (6:48–59, for interpretations of this passage, see Transubstantiation), c 90–100[10], earlier if actually spoken by Jesus
Other Sources[]
- Census of Quirinius and creation of Iudaea Province, c. 6
- John the Baptist is executed by Herod Antipas, c 30, recorded in Jewish Antiquities 18.5.2
- Crisis under Caligula, 37–41, proposed as the first open break between Rome and the Jews[11]
- Claudius's expulsion of Jews from Rome[12], 49
- James the Just, considered the 1st Christian bishop of Jerusalem, is stoned at the instigation of the High Priest, c. 62, according to Jewish Antiquities 20.9.1.
- Development of Christian scripture, starting with Paul's epistles c 49 (Epistle to the Galatians, prior to the Jerusalem Council) and the Gospel of Matthew c 55.
- Destruction of the Second Temple and institution of the Fiscus Iudaicus, the Roman annual head tax on all Jews to pay for upkeep of the Jupiter Capitolinus temple in Rome instead of the Jerusalem Temple, Vespasian orders arrest of all descendants of King David according to Eusebius' Church History 3.12, 70
- Hypothetical Council of Jamnia may have excluded the Christian scriptures and may have excluded Jewish Christians as Minuth, c 90
- Domitian applied the Fiscus Iudaicus tax even to those who merely "lived like Jews"[13], c 90
- Titus Flavius Clemens (consul) condemned to death by the Roman Senate for conversion to Judaism, 95
- Nerva relaxed the Fiscus Iudaicus applying it only to those who professed to be practicing Judaism, c. 96
Second century[]
See also: Christianity in the 2nd century
- The 3rd bishop of Antioch, Ignatius's Letter to the Magnesians 9–10 against the Sabbath in Christianity[1] and Judaizers[2], c 100
- crucifixion of the 2nd bishop of Jerusalem, Simeon of Jerusalem, c 107[14]
- Certain Gospels (not necessarily limited to those in the modern canon, see also Jewish-Christian Gospels) begin to be discussed by Jewish writers, who refer to them as Gilyonim. Rabbi Tarfon possibly advocated burning them, c 120, but this is a disputed reading.[15][16].
- controversial claim of Simon bar Kokhba to be the Jewish Messiah, 132–135, rejected by Rabbinic Judaism, final result of the revolt was the expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem which was rebuilt as Aelia Capitolina, end of Christian "bishops of the circumcision" according to Eusebius' Church History 4.5, Caesarea Maritima became the center of Palestinian Christianity (the Metropolitan bishops over the Jerusalem Suffragan bishops) while the Great Sanhedrin of Judaism had previously relocated to Yavne.
- controversial claim of Marcion against the Jewish Bible, c 144, rejected by Proto-orthodox Christianity
- Epistle to Diognetus polemic against the Jews, c 150
- Martyrdom of Polycarp implicates the Jews, c 150
- Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew[3], c 150
- Octavius of Marcus Minucius Felix, for example[4]: "XXXVIII.—To the Jews. Evil always, and recalcitrant ...", c 180
- excommunication of Quartodecimanism by Pope Victor I whose decree was unpopular in the East and perhaps rescinded[17], c 190
- Tertullian's Adversus Judaeos/An Answer to the Jews[5], c 200
See also[]
- Timeline of Christianity
- History of Christianity
- Christian-Jewish reconciliation
- Anti-Judaism
References[]
- ↑ The Temple Incident (Mark 11:15–19 and parallels) is a pink event, Before the Council is a "core event not accurately recorded"
- ↑ Acts 3:12–4:4
- ↑ Acts 6:8–8:1
- ↑ Acts 10
- ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia: Cornelius: "The baptism of Cornelius is an important event in the history of the Early Church. The gates of the Church, within which thus far only those who were circumcised and observed the Law of Moses had been admitted, were now thrown open to the uncircumcised Gentiles without the obligation of submitting to the Jewish ceremonial laws. The innovation was disapproved by the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem (Acts 11:2–3); but when Peter had related his own and Cornelius's vision and how the Holy Ghost had come down upon the new converts, opposition ceased (Acts 11:4–18) except on the part of a few extremists. The matter was finally settled at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15)."
- ↑ Gal 2:11–21, Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers see section titled: "The Incident At Antioch"
- ↑ Augustine's Contra Faustum 32.13: "The observance of pouring out the blood which was enjoined in ancient times upon Noah himself after the deluge, the meaning of which we have already explained, is thought by many to be what is meant in the Acts of the Apostles, where we read that the Gentiles were required to abstain from fornication, and from things sacrificed, and from blood, that is, from flesh of which the blood has not been poured out."
- ↑ Matt 23:37–39, Luke 13:31–35
- ↑ The Great Commission advocates Jesus' teachings for all nations whereas Rabbinic Judaism advocates full Jewish Law only for Jews and converts with the Seven Laws of Noah for other nations.
- ↑ Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
- ↑ H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0674397312, The Crisis Under Gaius Caligula, pages 254–256: "The reign of Gaius Caligula (37–41) witnessed the first open break between the Jews and the Julio-Claudian empire. Until then — if one accepts Sejanus' heyday and the trouble caused by the census after Archelaus' banishment — there was usually an atmosphere of understanding between the Jews and the empire ... These relations deteriorated seriously during Caligula's reign, and, though after his death the peace was outwardly re-established, considerable bitterness remained on both sides. ... Caligula ordered that a golden statue of himself be set up in the Temple in Jerusalem. ... Only Caligula's death, at the hands of Roman conspirators (41), prevented the outbreak of a Jewish-Roman war that might well have spread to the entire East."
- ↑ Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Claudius XXV.4, referenced in Acts 18:2
- ↑ See Jewish Encyclopedia: Fiscus Iudaicus The following is a direct quote (including editor's notes in brackets) of a translation of Suetonius's Domitian XII: "Besides other taxes, that on the Jews [A tax of two drachmas a head, imposed by Titus in return for free permission to practice their religion; see Josephus, Bell. Jud. 7.6.6] was levied with the utmost rigor, and those were prosecuted who, without publicly acknowledging that faith, yet lived as Jews, as well as those who concealed their origin and did not pay the tribute levied upon their people [These may have been Christians, whom the Romans commonly assumed were Jews]. I recall being present in my youth when the person of a man ninety years old was examined before the procurator and a very crowded court, to see whether he was circumcised."
- ↑ possibly with Jewish involvement: Eusebius' Church History 3.32.4: "And the same writer says that his accusers also, when search was made for the descendants of David, were arrested as belonging to that family." Sidenote 879: "This is a peculiar statement. Members of the house of David would hardly have ventured to accuse Symeon on the ground that he belonged to that house. The statement is, however, quite indefinite. We are not told what happened to these accusers, nor indeed that they really were of David's line, although the ὡσ€ν with which Eusebius introduces the charge does not imply any doubt in his own mind, as Lightfoot quite rightly remarks. It is possible that some who were of the line of David may have accused Symeon, not of being a member of that family, but only of being a Christian, and that the report of the occurrence may have become afterward confused."
- ↑ Kuhn (1960) and Maier (1962) cited by Paget in ‘The Written Gospel’ (2005), pg 210
- ↑ Friedlander (1899) cited in Pearson in ‘Gnosticism, Judaism and Egyptian Christianity’ (1990)
- ↑ Eusebius. "Church History". p. 5.24. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.x.xxv.html.: "Victor, head of the Roman church, attempted at one stroke to cut off from the common unity all the Asian [Eastern] dioceses .... But this was not to the taste of all the bishops: They replied with a request that he would turn his mind to the things that make for peace and for unity and love towards his neighbors. We still possess the words of these men, who very sternly rebuked Victor."