Table of Contents

Introduction
A Note on Abbreviations and References
General Literature
Translations of Sources

Part One: The Mother Soul: Judaism from the Maccabees to the Rabbis
1. The Cultural Dimension: Judaism Hellenism
Introduction: The Maccabbes Revolt
Alexander the Great and the Triumph of Hellenism
The Hellenistic City: The Polis
A New Conception of the Torah
The Concept of Judaism
Greek in Israel
Active Disemination of Judaism and Christianity
Postscript
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
2. The Political Dimension: Jews the Roman Empire
The End of the Hasmonean Dynasty and the Beginning of Roman Rule
The Bar Kokhba Revolt
The Tension Between Jews and Romans
The Legal Position of Jewish and Gentile Believers
Epilogue
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
3. The Geographical Dimension: The Land of Israel the Diaspora
The Diaspora
The Land of Israel
The Galilee
Jerusalem: The Capital of All Jews
"Palestinian" Judaism and "Hellenistic" Judaism?
Geography of Synagogue and Church
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
4. Jerusalem: The City of the Temple
Was Jerusalem Relevant?
The Temple and the Pilgrimages
The Temple: The Financial Significance
The Temple: The Religious Significance
The Chief Priests, the Priests and the Levites
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
5. How Many "Judaisms"?
Introduction: "Give me Jabne!"
The Priestly Elite
Priestly Judaism: The Sadducees
Priestly Judaism: The Community at Qumran and the Essenes
The Community at Qumran
The Essenes
Priestly Judaism for Laypeople: The Pharisees
Judaism Apart from the Temple: The Synagogue
Nationalistic Judaism: The Zealots
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading

Part Two: Christian Beginnings: From Jewish Party to Gentile Church
6. Jesus Within Judaism
"The Old Quest"
"The New Quest"
"The Third Quest": A Jewish Quest
Jesus and the Hope for Israel
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
7. The Early Jerusalem Community of Believers in Jesus
The Importance of Jerusalem to the Early Church
Conflict in the Temple; Sympathy from the People
Increased Conflict: The "Hellenists"
The First Believers' View of the Temple
What About the Torah?
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
8. The Mission to the Gentiles the Question of the Torah
Problems?
The Role of Paul and the Apostolic Counsil
The Mission to the God-Fearing Gentiles
The Reaction of the Roman Authorities
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
9. The Land of Israel: The Church of Jewish Believers
Internal Diversity
The Sources
Jewish Believers in the Land of Israel (I): The Archaeology of Holy Places
Jerusalem: The Holy Sepulchre
Jerusalem: A Community Center on Mount Zion
Capernaum: The House of Peter?
Nazareth
Jewish Believers in the Land of Israel (II): Literary Evidence
The Relatives of Jesus
Eusebius's List of Jewish Christian "Bishops"
The Rabbis and the Minim
Bar Kokhba and the Jewish Believers
The Nazarenes
The Ebionites
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
10. The Diaspora: The Church of Jews Gentiles
The Apostolic Fathers
1 Clement
Didache
Ignatius
Barnabas
Concluding Remarks: The Jewish Believers as the Theological Teachers of Gentile Christianity
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
11. Encounter with Paganism-- the Jewish Heritage
Introduction
Conversion in Judaism and Christianity
The Apologists
The Martyrs of Lyons
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
12. Orthodoxy Heresy: The Challenge from Gnosticism Marcion
The Basic Defination of Heresy
The Fundamentals of Gnostic Doctrine
Gnosticism and Christianity
The Origins of Gnosticism
Gnostic Elitism
Marcion
Conclusion: Heresy and Orthodoxy
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
13. Elder Younger Brothers: The Second-Century Debate with Judaism
Introduction: The Bitterness of Family Strife
From Jewish Self-Criticism to Anti-Jewish Slogans
The Assertiveness of the Younger Brother
Justin's Dialogue with Trypho
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading

Part Three: The Persistence of the Jewish Heritage: Faith Order in the Early Church
14. Which Books Belong in the Bible? The Question of Canon
What is "Scripture"?
The Old Testament Canon in Judaism and the Early Church
Delimiting the Hebrew Canon
The Old Testament Apocrypha
The New Testament as Canon
Delimiting the New Testament Canon
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
15. Christology in the Making (I): The Messiah
Jesus: The Messiah?
The Messianic Task
Confessing Belief in the Messiah: The Apostolic Creed
Suggestions for Further Reading
16. Christology in the Making (II): The Incarnate Word
Eastern and Western Christology
Eastern Christology: Hellenistic?
Wisdom Incarnate
Jesus and Wisdom/Torah
The Father and the Son
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
17. The Creative Spirit
From Spirit to Organization?
The Spirit Who Creates
Spirit, Eucharist and Ministry
Charismatic Gifts
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading
18. Conversion, Baptism New Life
Conversion and Baptism in the Early Community: The Double Background
Jewish and Christian Baptism
Jewish and Christian Rituals of Conversion
Pre-Baptismal Instruction
Fasting, Prayer and Exorcism
Renouncing the Devil, Confessing Faith
The "Living Water" of Baptism
Going Down, Coming Up
Undressing and Dressing Anew
Post-Baptismal Anointing
The Baptismal Eucharist
The Season for Baptism
Baptism, Spirit and New Life
Suggestions for Further Reading
19. Worship Calendar: The Christian Week and Year
Freedom and Order
The Big Novelty of Christian Worship: The First Day
Sunday Worship
The Service of the Word
The Christian Day and Week
The Christian Year
Passover (Pesach) and Easter
The Jewish Festival of Weeks (Shavuot) and Christian Pentecost
Suggestions for Further Reading
20. Passover Eucharist
The Eucharist: Lines of Development
The Eucharist Prayer and the Passover Meal
The Eucharist Prayers in Didache 9-10
The Eucharist Prayer in Justin and Polycarp
The Eucharist Prayer in Hippolytus
Temple Square
Suggestions for Further Reading

Part Four: Epilogue
21. The Church Facing a New Era
The Great Roman Crisis and Restitution
The Great Persecution
"The Constantinian Revolution"
What Has the Emperor to Do with the Church?
Renouncing the World in a "Christian" Empire
"The Sanctification of Time"
The Sanctification of Places: The Idea of the Holy Land
Christian Philo-Semitis: A Grass-Roots Movement
Postscript: No End
Suggestions for Further Reading

Index of Modern Authors
Index of Subjects
Index of Ancient Writings

About the Author

Oskar Skarsaune is professor of church history at Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo, Norway. He is the author of Incarnation: Myth or Fact? and The Proof from Prophecy: A Study in Justin Martyr's Proof-Text Tradition and editor (with Reidar Hvalvik) of Jewish Believers in Jesus.

Reviews

"[O]ffers surprising insights into how much interaction took place between early Christians and Jews. It supplements standard textbooks on early church history as it reconnects the 'disconnect' between New Testament history and early church history. It also contains 'snapshots' of thematic developments rather than continuous historical narrative and includes helpful annotated bibliographies by topic for further reading and research."--Savannah Jones, Sir Read a Lot (sirreadalot.org), December 1, 2008
"Skarsaune's fine book is balanced and rich with insight. It is highly recommended."--Craig A. Evans, Dharma Deepika, July-December 2007