Anti-semitism and Early Christianity

Download Anti-semitism and Early Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Augsburg Fortress Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Anti-semitism and Early Christianity by : Craig A. Evans

Download or read book Anti-semitism and Early Christianity written by Craig A. Evans and published by Augsburg Fortress Publishing. This book was released on 1993 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity

Download Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
ISBN 13 : 0889206317
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (892 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity by : Peter Richardson

Download or read book Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity written by Peter Richardson and published by Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The period since the close of World War II has been agonizingly introspective—not least because of the pain of reassessing Christianity’s attitude to Judaism. The early Christian materials have often been examined to assess their role in the long-standing negative attitude of Christians to Jews. The motivation for the early church’s sometimes harsh attitude was partly theological—it needed to define itself over against its parent—and partly sociological—it needed to make clear the line that divided the fledgling group of Christian believers fromt he group with which it was most likely to be confused. This collection of studies emphasizes the context and history of early Christianity in reconsidering many of the classic passages that have contributed to the development of anti-Judaism in Christianity. The volume opens with an essay that clearly delineates the state of the question of anti-Judaism in early Christianity. Then follow discussions of specific passages in the writings of Paul as well as the Gospels.

When Christians Were Jews

Download When Christians Were Jews PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300240740
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis When Christians Were Jews by : Paula Fredriksen

Download or read book When Christians Were Jews written by Paula Fredriksen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling account of Christianity’s Jewish beginnings, from one of the world’s leading scholars of ancient religion How did a group of charismatic, apocalyptic Jewish missionaries, working to prepare their world for the impending realization of God's promises to Israel, end up inaugurating a movement that would grow into the gentile church? Committed to Jesus’s prophecy—“The Kingdom of God is at hand!”—they were, in their own eyes, history's last generation. But in history's eyes, they became the first Christians. In this electrifying social and intellectual history, Paula Fredriksen answers this question by reconstructing the life of the earliest Jerusalem community. As her account arcs from this group’s hopeful celebration of Passover with Jesus, through their bitter controversies that fragmented the movement’s midcentury missions, to the city’s fiery end in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, she brings this vibrant apostolic community to life. Fredriksen offers a vivid portrait both of this temple-centered messianic movement and of the bedrock convictions that animated and sustained it.

Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity

Download Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
ISBN 13 : 0889205523
Total Pages : 201 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (892 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity by : Stephen G. Wilson

Download or read book Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity written by Stephen G. Wilson and published by Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second volume in this two-volume work studying the initial developments of anti-Judaism within the church examines the evolution of the Christian faith in its social context as revealed by evidence such as early patristic and rabbinic writings and archaeological findings.

The Temple in Early Christianity

Download The Temple in Early Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300245599
Total Pages : 497 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Temple in Early Christianity by : Eyal Regev

Download or read book The Temple in Early Christianity written by Eyal Regev and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive treatment of the early Christian approaches to the Temple and its role in shaping Jewish and Christian identity The first scholarly work to trace the Temple throughout the entire New Testament, this study examines Jewish and Christian attitudes toward the Temple in the first century and provides both Jews and Christians with a better understanding of their respective faiths and how they grow out of this ancient institution. The centrality of the Temple in New Testament writing reveals the authors’ negotiations with the institutional and symbolic center of Judaism as they worked to form their own religion.

Jewish-Christian Relations

Download Jewish-Christian Relations PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Mascarat Publishing
ISBN 13 : 151361648X
Total Pages : 375 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (136 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Jewish-Christian Relations by : Abel Mordechai Bibliowicz

Download or read book Jewish-Christian Relations written by Abel Mordechai Bibliowicz and published by Mascarat Publishing. This book was released on 2019-03-01 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I am in fundamental agreement with Bibliowicz's thesis (that the anti-Jewish polemic in the New Testament reflects debates between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus - not a polemic between Christians and Jews), and with the implications which he has drawn for Christian theology... May this book find a wide readership among people devoted to the cause of the healing of memories between Jews and Christians." —Peter C. Phan, Professor. Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University; President of the Catholic Theological Society of America ‘Standing on a brilliant and insightful reconstruction of Paul, and on a quite shocking (but perhaps compelling) reading of Mark—the author offers a number of original and, in some cases, quite compelling theoretical reconstructions of the context and purposes of early Christian texts... a work of sublime moral passion.’ —David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director, Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University. President-elect American Academy of Religion. Author of Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context ‘An intrepid excursion into the Christian discourse... The quest of an intellectual, a humanist... Interesting and, in fact overwhelming... A timely and honest engagement of the Christian texts, authors, and scholars by a Jewish intellectual.’ —Burton L. Mack, – Professor of Early Christianity, Claremont School of Theology, California; author of A Myth of Innocence: Mark and Christian Origins “There is great merit to Bibliowicz's approach... I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Jewish-Christian dialogue.... Scholars may disagree with a number of Bibliowicz' conclusions, as I do with his interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews. But even in disagreeing, scholars in the field of Jewish-Christian studies, will learn new ways of challenging and thinking about old presumptions." —Eugene J. Fisher, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Saint Leo University. Former staff person for Catholic-Jewish relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Consultor to the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, member of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee representing the Holy See. ‘An important work... Sensitive and deeply researched... In the deepest sense, a profound theological work.’ —Clark M. Williamson, Professor. Christian Theological Seminary, Indiana; author of Way of Blessing, Way of Life: A Christian Theology ‘I very much appreciated the depth and scope of the scholarship, accompanied by the kind and humble spirit of the author…it may also prove to be one of the formidable and formative scholarly contributions of the decade for both biblical and historical scholars. ‘ —Michael Thompson, Professor. Religious Studies – Oklahoma State University ‘In methodical and precise fashion Bibliowicz takes the reader through the relevant ancient Christian texts bearing on the question at hand. In so doing, he proposes an intriguing, compelling thesis. The book should prove to be a major voice in the ongoing debate.’ —Brooks Schramm, Professor of Biblical Studies, Lutheran Theological Seminary ‘Impressive work... With this impassioned study available to us, it will no longer be possible for us to ignore the unintended ways the unthinkable came to be and still say ‘we did not know.’’ —Didier Pollefeyt, Professor. Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Belgium; coauthor of Anti-Judaism and the Fourth Gospel and Paul and Judaism ‘An original and plausible claim that goes beyond most of modern scholarship... a solid contribution to the study of anti-Judaism in early Christianity.’ —Joseph B. Tyson, Professor. Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University; author of Marcion and Luke-Acts: A Defining Struggle ‘Well-researched and thorough. Intelligent and thoughtful... accessible, the argumentation compelling.’ —Michele Murray, Professor. Bishop’s University, Canada; author of Playing a Jewish Game: Gentile Christian Judaizing in the First and Second Centuries C.E. ‘A detailed and insightful exploration of the writings of the early Jesus movement... argues convincingly that the origins of Christian anti-Judaism are to be found among early non-Jewish followers of Jesus who were in conflict with Jesus’s disciples and first followers... a must read.’ —Tim Hegedus, Professor of New Testament, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada ‘Bibliowicz uses solid scholarship to engage large and difficult topics while managing to be balanced and clear... invites Christians to walk a deep journey toward truth... and suggests a compelling nuance that the conflicts in the early texts were between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus, not between Jews and Christians.’ —David L. Coppola, Executive Director, Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding, Sacred Heart University ‘A meticulous study... a mammoth endeavor... goes beyond others in his interpretation of the evidence, tracing and documenting distinctions and tensions in the early Jesus movement.’ —N. A. Beck, Professor of Theology and Classical Languages, Texas Lutheran University; author of Mature Christianity in the 21st Century: The Recognition and Repudiation of the Anti-Jewish Polemic of the New Testament ‘The topics Bibliowicz engages are complex. Although some of his interpretations are controversial... Gentile Christians should set aside apologetical agendas and honestly ponder the challenges put forward by the author.’ —Dale C. Allison, Jr. Professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary; author of Constructing Jesus: History, Memory, and Imagination

The Separation of Early Christianity from Judaism

Download The Separation of Early Christianity from Judaism PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781604977004
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (77 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Separation of Early Christianity from Judaism by : Marianne Dacy

Download or read book The Separation of Early Christianity from Judaism written by Marianne Dacy and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There exists a plethora of literature on the relationship between early Christianity and Judaism, but these studies focus on one or two issues. In the tradition of James Parkes, whose 1930 study of the break between the Church and the Synagogue remains a classic, this book takes on the larger relationship and shows how the separation evolved over time. Rather than pinpointing a specific date for the break, the study broadens the context and looks at the wider issues, showing that separation took several centuries. In the wake of the Holocaust and in seeking to understand how the relationship between Judaism and Christianity deteriorated over the course of two millennia, this book examines the origins of the conflict. In seeking to cast new light on the separation of early Christianity from Judaism, a number of documented areas that are often treated separately by authors have been examined in order to uncover evidence for the separation. This book covers an enormous amount of material on the relationship between early Christianity and Judaism, but presents this in a highly accessible manner, clearly showing how the separation between the two emerged over time. It also reveals the ways they continued to be related. The author pinpoints two pervasive issues that impelled the separation: the relationship of the early church to Jewish law and the increasing divinization of Jesus. The Separation of Early Christianity from Judaism is essential for the shelves of academic institutions and public libraries, and it will also be a helpful supplement to the libraries both of scholars and Christian and Jewish religious leaders.

Constantine's Sword

Download Constantine's Sword PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 13 : 9780618219087
Total Pages : 774 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (19 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Constantine's Sword by : James Carroll

Download or read book Constantine's Sword written by James Carroll and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2002 with total page 774 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rare book that combines searing passion with a subject that has affected all of our lives. "Chicago Tribune" Novelist, cultural critic, and former priest James Carroll marries history with memoir as he maps the two-thousand-year course of the Church s battle against Judaism and faces the crisis of faith it has sparked in his own life. Fascinating, brave, and sometimes infuriating ("Time"), this dark history is more than a chronicle of religion. It is the central tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reaching deep into our culture to create a deeply felt work ("San Francisco Chronicle") as Carroll wrangles with centuries of strife and tragedy to reach a courageous and affecting reckoning with difficult truths."

In the Shadow of the Temple

Download In the Shadow of the Temple PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830828443
Total Pages : 455 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (38 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis In the Shadow of the Temple by : Oskar Skarsaune

Download or read book In the Shadow of the Temple written by Oskar Skarsaune and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2008-10-28 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oskar Skarsaune gives us a new look into the development of the early church and its practice by showing us the evidence of interaction between the early Christians and rabbinic Judaism. He offers numerous fascinating episodes and glimpses into this untold story.

The Rise of Christianity

Download The Rise of Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0060677015
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (66 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Rise of Christianity by : Rodney Stark

Download or read book The Rise of Christianity written by Rodney Stark and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 1997-05-09 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This "fresh, blunt, and highly persuasive account of how the West was won—for Jesus" (Newsweek) is now available in paperback. Stark's provocative report challenges conventional wisdom and finds that Christianity's astounding dominance of the Western world arose from its offer of a better, more secure way of life. "Compelling reading" (Library Journal) that is sure to "generate spirited argument" (Publishers Weekly), this account of Christianity's remarkable growth within the Roman Empire is the subject of much fanfare. "Anyone who has puzzled over Christianity's rise to dominance...must read it." says Yale University's Wayne A. Meeks, for The Rise of Christianity makes a compelling case for startling conclusions. Combining his expertise in social science with historical evidence, and his insight into contemporary religion's appeal, Stark finds that early Christianity attracted the privileged rather than the poor, that most early converts were women or marginalized Jews—and ultimately "that Christianity was a success because it proved those who joined it with a more appealing, more assuring, happier, and perhaps longer life" (Andrew M. Greeley, University of Chicago).

Feeling Persecuted

Download Feeling Persecuted PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Reaktion Books
ISBN 13 : 178023001X
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Feeling Persecuted by : Anthony Bale

Download or read book Feeling Persecuted written by Anthony Bale and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Feeling Persecuted, Anthony Bale explores the medieval Christian attitude toward Jews, which included a pervasive fear of persecution and an imagined fear of violence enacted against Christians. As a result, Christians retaliated with expulsions, riots, and murders that systematically denied Jews the right to religious freedom and peace. Through close readings of a wide range of sources, Bale exposes the perceived violence enacted by the Jews and how the images of this Christian suffering and persecution were central to medieval ideas of love, community, and home. The images and texts explored by Bale expose a surprising practice of recreational persecution and show that the violence perpetrated against medieval Jews was far from simple anti-Semitism and was in fact a complex part of medieval life and culture. Bale’s comprehensive look at medieval poetry, drama, visual culture, theology, and philosophy makes Feeling Persecuted an important read for anyone interested in the history of Christian-Jewish relations and the impact of this history on modern culture.

Popularizing Anti-Semitism in Early Modern Spain and its Empire

Download Popularizing Anti-Semitism in Early Modern Spain and its Empire PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004268871
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Popularizing Anti-Semitism in Early Modern Spain and its Empire by : Francois Soyer

Download or read book Popularizing Anti-Semitism in Early Modern Spain and its Empire written by Francois Soyer and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-03-06 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book charts the history and influence of the most vitriolic and successful anti-Semitic polemic ever to have been printed in the early modern Hispanic world and offers the first critical edition and translation of the text into English. First printed in Madrid in 1674, the Centinela contra judíos (“Sentinel against the Jews”) was the work of the Franciscan Francisco de Torrejoncillo, who wrote it to defend the mission of the Spanish Inquisition, to call for the expansion of discriminatory racial statutes and, finally, to advocate in favour of the expulsion of all the descendants of converted Jews from Spain and its empire. Francisco de Torrejoncillo combined the existing racial, theological, social and economic strands within Spanish anti-Semitism to demonize the Jews and their converted descendants in Spain in a manner designed to provoke strong emotional responses from its readership.

Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity

Download Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004271112
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity by : Pieter W. van der Horst

Download or read book Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity written by Pieter W. van der Horst and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-03-13 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past 45 years Professor Pieter W. van der Horst contributed extensively to the study of ancient Judaism and early Christianity. The 24 papers in this volume, written since his early retirement in 2006, cover a wide range of topics, all of them concerning the religious world of Judaism and Christianity in the Hellenistic, Roman, and early Byzantine era. They reflect his research interests in Jewish epigraphy, Jewish interpretation of the Bible, Jewish prayer culture, the diaspora in Asia Minor, exegetical problems in the writings of Philo and Josephus, Samaritan history, texts from ancient Christianity which have received little attention (the poems of Cyrus of Panopolis, the Doctrina Jacobi nuper baptizati, the Letter of Mara bar Sarapion), and miscellanea such as the pagan myth of Jewish cannibalism, the meaning of the Greek expression ‘without God,’ the religious significance of sneezing in pagan antiquity, and the variety of stories about pious long-sleepers in the ancient world (pagan, Jewish, Christian).

History, Religion, and Antisemitism

Download History, Religion, and Antisemitism PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 9780520912267
Total Pages : 396 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (122 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis History, Religion, and Antisemitism by : Gavin I. Langmuir

Download or read book History, Religion, and Antisemitism written by Gavin I. Langmuir and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1990-05-08 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gavin I. Langmuir's work on the formation and nature of antisemitism has earned him an international reputation. In History, Religion, and Antisemitism he bravely confronts the problems that arise when historians have to describe and explain religious phenomena, as any historian of antisemitism must. How, and to what extent, can the historian be objective? Is it possible to discuss Christian attitudes toward Jews, for example, without adopting the historical explanations of those whose thoughts and actions one is discussing? What, exactly, does the historian mean by "religion" or "religious"? Langmuir's original and stimulating responses to these questions reflect his inquiry into the approaches of anthropology, sociology, and psychology and into recent empirical research on the functioning of the mind and the nature of thought. His distinction between religiosity, a property of individuals, and religion, a social phenomenon, allows him to place unusual emphasis on the role of religious doubts and tensions and the irrationality they can produce. Defining antisemitism as irrational beliefs about Jews, he distinguishes Christian anti-Judaism from Christian antisemitism, demonstrates that antisemitism emerged in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries because of rising Christian doubts, and sketches how the revolutionary changes in religion and mentality in the modern period brought new faiths, new kinds of religious doubt, and a deadlier expression of antisemitism. Although he developed it in dealing with the difficult question of antisemitism, Langmuir's approach to religious history is important for historians in all areas.

Why This New Race

Download Why This New Race PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231133359
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (311 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Why This New Race by : Denise Kimber Buell

Download or read book Why This New Race written by Denise Kimber Buell and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2008-08-28 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Denise Kimber Buell radically rethinks the origins of Christian identity, arguing that race and ethnicity played a central role in early Christian theology. Focusing on texts written before the legalization of Christianity in 313 C.E., including Greek apologetic treatises, martyr narratives, and works by Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian, Buell shows how philosophers and theologians defined Christians as a distinct group within the Roman world, characterizing Christianness as something both fixed in its essence and fluid in its acquisition through conversion. Buell demonstrates how this view allowed Christians to establish boundaries around the meaning of Christianness and to develop the kind of universalizing claims aimed at uniting all members of the faith. Her arguments challenge generations of scholars who have refused to acknowledge ethnic reasoning in early Christian discourses. They also provide crucial insight into the historical legacy of Christian anti-Semitism and contemporary issues of race.

Neither Jew nor Greek?

Download Neither Jew nor Greek? PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0567658821
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (676 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Neither Jew nor Greek? by : Judith Lieu

Download or read book Neither Jew nor Greek? written by Judith Lieu and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-19 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A ground-breaking study in the formation of early Christian identity, by one of the world's leading scholars.In Neither Jew Nor Greek, Judith Lieu explores the formation and shaping of early Christian identity within Judaism and within the wider Graeco-Roman world in the period before 200 C.E. Lieu particularly examines the way that literary texts presented early Christianity. She combines this with interdisciplinary historical investigation and interaction with scholarship on Judaism in late Antiquity and on the Graeco-Roman world.The result is a highly significant contribution to four of the key questions in current New Testament scholarship: how did early Christian identity come to be formed? How should we best describe and understand the processes by which the Christian movement became separate from its Jewish origins? Was there anything special or different about the way women entered Judaism and early Christianity? How did martyrdom contribute to the construction of early Christian identity? The chapters in this volume have become classics in the study of the New Testament and for this Cornerstones edition Lieu provides a new introduction placing them within the academic debate as it is now.

Jews and Gentiles in the Early Jesus Movement

Download Jews and Gentiles in the Early Jesus Movement PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 1137281103
Total Pages : 286 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (372 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Jews and Gentiles in the Early Jesus Movement by : A. Bibliowicz

Download or read book Jews and Gentiles in the Early Jesus Movement written by A. Bibliowicz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers new insights on Jewish-Gentile relations and the evolution of belief in the early Jesus movement, suggesting that the New Testament reflects the early stages of a Gentile challenge to the authority and legitimacy of the descendants of Jesus' disciples and first followers as the exclusive guardians and interpreters of his legacy.