So as the faith moved out, both in terms of movement out of Jerusalem and into the Diaspora, and as it moved out in terms of time, what would happen? Clearly a faith that we’ve seen molded so much by it’s Jewish roots would start to change, but how so?
This chapter on the Diaspora and [...]
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How important is place as we speak about holiness?
I think that’s an intriguing question, and one that is touched on in a number of different chapters in this book, but I highlight it now. In chapter nine Skarsaune is most conerned with telling the story of early Jewish believers as revealed by different sources- archaelogy, [...]
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So just what are a bunch of Jewish believers supposed to do with the Gentiles? That was one of the most important questions that would confront the Church early in it’s history.
It wasn’t a question of whether or not they should reach out to the Gentiles. Prophecy made it clear to all Jews that the [...]
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This entire book is entitled, In the Shadow of the Temple, which makes this chapter kind of intriguing because it explores the early Jewish believers in Jerusalem but gives special attention to the issue of the Temple.
It does so for an important reason. The last couple of weeks we’ve seen that the relationship of early [...]
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How Jewish was Jesus?
That’s kind of an interesting discussion, in part related to last week’s blog. It’s interesting that for many generations Christians were not in touch with Jesus’ Jewish roots. In fact, this book references a site in Nazi Germany where there was a large crucifix but also a sign stating “No Jews allowed”. [...]
I find it interesting that this chapter is titled, “How many Judaisms?” because it doesn’t define the time period in those words. As a history guy, I guess I love when I see the past come to the present. When you think today of all the strains of Judaism, the parallel helps a person understand [...]
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If you had to associate your faith with a place, where would that be?
Maybe there’s a church that stands out in your memory. Some people are baptized, confirmed, married, and buried in the same church. For some there are different churches that mark these events, but maybe one was especially key in our growth in [...]
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Have you ever been sent or scattered from your home?
This is a key to the identity of the Jewish people in Jesus’ time. Really, this dispersion or “Diaspora” of the Jewish people goes well beyond his time. It begins in 587 BC when the Babylonians invaded Judah and brought many of its people into exile. [...]
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Was the Roman Empire’s political context a good or bad one for Jewish and early Christian religion?
That’s an interesting question and one taken up in chapter two of the book, In the Shadow of the Temple, that we’ve begun to explore. Overall, Rome’s policy was much more lenient than other empires. In general they favored [...]
Continue reading about Shadow of the Temple- The Political Dimension
In this opening chapter Skarsaune does a wonderful job of giving you a breeze through history on some very important topics. First he discusses the Maccabees and their revolt against their Syrian rulers. This revolt was largely a reaction to the attempt by those who were ruling over Israel to impose Hellenistic culture and religion [...]
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