The historical development of relations between early Christianity and Judaism

Relations between early Christianity and Judaism are a complex and multi-layered theme of ancient religious history. In the first centuries after the turn of the century, two independent religious traditions developed from a common root, whose process of separating theological debates, political events and socialchanges was accompanied. The way this alienation took place and how it was reflected in the early Christian writings has had far-reaching consequences for the further history of both religions. The following consideration examines the beginnings of this development, the theological arguments and the historical circumstances that the process of mutualdemarcation. It becomes clear that the early Christian texts must be understood in their historical context in order to be able to adequately understand their meaning. This historical perspective helps to better understand the complex dynamics of religious identity formation in antiquity.

The common root of both religions

Christianity has its origins in Judaism and must not deny this origin, even if the spread of Christianity was linked to the detachment from Judaism on the one hand. On the other hand, this development was linked to the inculturation in the Roman-Hellenistic spiritual world and society. Jesus, his followers and followers as well as the first Christians after hisDeath, the members of the early communities, were Jews and lived according to Jewish tradition. To this day, the churches have preserved much together with Judaism and in their tradition, which shows the close relationship between both faiths.

Common elements in religious practice

Only a few outstanding things should be mentioned to make the connections clear. The Old Testament, the Jewish Bible, has also remained a part of the Christian Bible and forms a common basis. A weekly holiday and the design of a church year and calendar show parallel structures in religious life. certain prayer formulas and prays as well as the sermon asInterpretation of Bible passages combine both traditions in their practice. The appreciation of the tradition and the theory of creation with a focus on an end goal are further common elements. The history of salvation, the binding of revelation to the historical development and the high esteem of the arch-fathers and prophets are also part of the common heritage. The ethical canon forms oneanother bracket between the two religions.

The diversity of Judaism in the time of Jesus

The Jews in the time of Jesus and the early churches offered a colorful picture of different, different or opposite religious and political directions and movements. In any case, it was not a monolithic Judaism, but a diverse religious landscape. Therefore, the first Christian communities were obviously also specialSpecial communities tolerated that believed the Messiah had already come. The kingdom of God was close to her conviction and this expectation shaped her actions and her proclamation.

The prerequisites for recognition in the Jewish context

The fundamental affirmation of the Jewish ritual law, the Torah, and the temple cult was the prerequisite for recognition in the Jewish community. Because they formed the foundations of Jewish self-image and religious identity. From the beginning, Hellenistic Jewish Christians do not seem to have shared this basis, which led to tensions. in theActs of the Acts are reported in detail by the stones of their spokesman Stephanus and their expulsion from Jerusalem soon after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The reason was that they radically questioned the validity of the temple cult and the Torah and thus touched on the foundations of Judaism.

The economic and religious consequences of the new teaching

In doing so, they destroyed the religious and ethnic foundation of their community in the view of most Jews. They also triggered economic fears among those whose economic existence rested on these foundations. For example, some people sold sacrificial animals for the rites in the temple and were economically dependent on this cult. However, this was not a fundamental oneDivided line drawn between the two communities. The early Christian mission was able to insert many times into the synagogues and gain followers there.

The reaction to questioning the Jewish foundations

However, as soon as the basics of Judaism were questioned, the reaction was hostile and dismissive. In the letters of Paul and the Acts of the Acts we can follow and understand this development. The process of increasing Christian rejection by the Jews is difficult to follow and reconstruct because of the poor source situation. From the lack ofThe interest of Jewish informants in Christians can be concluded that these were basically only of marginal importance for Judaism.

The perception of tensions in pagan sources

Even pagan sources paid little attention to the tensions between Jews and Christians and only marginally mentioned them. But there are a number of Christian testimonies about the persecution of Jews, and it will hardly be possible to dismiss them all as slanders or as polemical phantasy products. This is especially true for the very early testimonies, the direct experiences of the first Christiansreflect. In the second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes about his own experiences with persecution and violence.

Paul’s personal experiences with persecution

He reports that he was overabundant and often near death in his service. He got the forty-less-one hits with the calfskin strap five times from Jews, a severe punishment. He received sticks three times and once he was stoned, which was only just survived. to the lynch justice, whose victim Stephanus was, is alreadybeen pointed out as an example of violent clashes. When Paul worked in Thessalonica and Corinth, i.e. in the Jewish diaspora, there were turmoil according to the report of the Acts of the Apostles. These turmoils had been triggered by the Jews and showed the tensions between the groups.

Conflicts in the Jewish motherland

But even in Palestine, in the Jewish motherland, Jews tried to lynch Paul when he worked there. When that failed, they tried to mobilize the Roman judiciary against him in order to legally eliminate him. The Gospels and others were written in the last third of the first century, i.e. after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in the seventy by the Romans and othersNew Testament writings suggest disputes between Jews and Christians. They also show a strictly negative attitude of the Jewish superiors towards the Christian communities in western Asia Minor and in Syria.

The Revelation of John and her statements

The revelation of John, which was created at ninety-five, mentions an anti-Christian attitude of Jews in the letters to the communities of Smyrna and Philadelpheia. To the church in Smyrna, this city experienced an economic heyday in the second century, the angel says certain words. He knows about the distress and poverty, but the church is rich and he knows theblasphemy from those who claim to be Jews. The martyrs Polycarp also came from Smyrna after the middle of the second century and Pionius in the middle of the third century.

Martyr reports and Jewish participation

The reports of their martyries speak of a clearly anti-Christian party and of the cooperation of the Jews with the pagans in the persecution of Christians. Such remarks are not found in the other martyr’s trial files and reports that we have received, which shows the uniqueness of these reports. Specifically, the apologist Justin’s accusation that Barkochba in theJewish revolt of the years one hundred and thirty-two to one hundred thirty-five persecuted the Christians. This happened when they did not deny their faith and transcended to the Jewish insurgents.

The distinction between concrete and general allegations

One has to distinguish between localizable and concrete incidents of general allegations in the historical assessment. As evidence of an official Jewish inversion of Christians after the year seventy, reference is made to the twelfth Benedict of the Eighteen-Bidotquery. This prayer has been added to the scheme Israel, listen to Israel, after the year seventy and contains certainformulations. There should be no hope for the apostates and the pretentious kingdom will soon uproot and crush in our days. And the Noserim, probably to interpret as a Nazaren, and the Minim, heretics, may pass away and be erased from the book of life.

The interpretation of the twelfth benedict

They should not be listed with the righteous, according to the wording of the prayer. You are praised, Lord, who breaks down and the arrogant bends, is the conclusion. However, an original text cannot be constructed, since we have only handed down various later forms. The twelfth request is directed against three groups, the apostate, the Roman world power andheretic. The last group was more concrete in the situation of the respective Jewish community, so it was never the same and changed.

The time development of the text tradition

The name of the Nazaren in this group only appears in late traditions, which makes dating difficult. The heretics do not simply mean Jewish Christians, but a wider spectrum of deviants. It should also be noted that the twelfth beneficiary has an inner-Jewish orientation. It serves to determine the limits of Jewish identity and thedemarcation inwards. However, the Christians felt condemned by the Jews in the synagogues in the middle of the second century, at least in Rome. They were included among heretics and excluded from the Jewish community.

Justin’s dialogue as a historical source

This can be concluded from Justin’s dialogue with the Jew Tryphon, who gives important insights into the circumstances of the time. Justin accuses the Jews of having killed the righteous and his prophets before them. Now they are rejecting those who place their hopes on him and the Almighty God, the world creator who sent him. They dishonored them as far as possible with themby cursing the believers in Christ in your synagogues. For you would not have the power to lay hands on us thanks to those who are now ruling, the Romans. But you would have done it as often as you could, which shows the willingness to violence.

The accusation of influencing other peoples

The other nations will not allow themselves to be swept up in this injustice against us and Christ in the same way as you, so the accusation goes. You are to blame for the fact that they too have a preconceived idea against the righteous and against us, his descendants. Origen elaborated on the latter accusation in his approximately two hundred and thirty-five or eight written works Against Kelsoswhen Christianity began to be proclaimed, these Jews sought to discredit the gospel. They said the Christians sacrificed a small child and ate his flesh, a serious accusation.

The spread of anti-Christian rumours

And again, they put out the lights at their meetings to commit works of darkness and committed fornication. Everyone with the first one they encountered was accused of immoral practices. As absurd as this slander was, it once made an impression on countless people. It led those who were far from Christianity to believe that Christianswould really be such monsters. And even now, there are people who are deceived by this and are restrained by it for such reasons. Even simple verbal intercourse with Christians is avoided out of fear.

The attribution of accusations to Jewish propaganda

The accusations against the Christians quoted above from the dialogue of Minucius Felix, which are widespread among the people, are partly attributed to Jewish propaganda. Justin made yet another accusation against the Jews and their activities. For after you crucified him, the only blameless and just man, not only would you not have repented of your iniquities, but youwould now have chosen selected men from Jerusalem and sent them out into all the world. To proclaim that a godless sect has arisen in Christianity, and to bring charges against us. Which bring against us all those who do not know us and are guided by prejudice.

Blaming the Jews

Therefore, you are not only guilty of the wrongs that you yourself do, but also of the wrongs that all other people commit in the first place. Such accusations will not be dismissed lightly, but must be seriously examined. A major reason for anti-Christian Jewish actions can probably be seen in the fear held by the Jews. They feared that the special rights of aReligio licita, a permissible religion, if one were to be put in one with the Christians. The Christians bore the stain of rebellion, contempt for the tried and tested Roman traditions and amorality.

The effort to differentiate from Christianity

In this way, the Jews wanted to stand out visibly from the Christians and thus manifest themselves publicly. It should be shown that Christians are not a sect that can be equated with Judaism or even settled within Judaism. The fact that such fears were justified may be explained by an edict of the Emperor Claudius from the forties of the firstCentury. Suetonius indicates and mentions this in his biography of Claudius. He, Emperor Claudius, drove the Jews out of Rome because, incited by Chrestus, they constantly caused trouble.

The Possible Identification of Chrestus with Christ

If Christ is meant by Chrestus, then the Jews of Rome would have suffered persecution by equating them with Christians. Unmistakable divisions arose in the context of the two Jewish uprisings in Palestine against Roman rule. These took place in the years sixty-six to seventy-three and one hundred and thirty-two to one hundred and thirty-five.Church history reports that the Jewish Christians in Palestine emigrated before the first Jewish uprising. The uprising led to the catastrophe of the year seventy with the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple by the Romans.

The emigration of Jewish Christians to Pella

They emigrated to the East Bank, to Pella, to escape the conflict. This information is controversial in detail, but shows that the Jewish Christians did not follow the Jewish nationalists. Consequently, in their eyes, they betrayed common political foundations and were considered traitors. On the persecution of the Jewish Christians in the bar-cooking uprising one hundred and thirty-two toone hundred and thirty-five has already been pointed out. Only after the events of the year seventy did one of the Jewish parties gain the upper hand as a result of the abolition of the central and unifying temple cult. Namely that of the Pharisees, who were to shape religious development from then on.

The Development of Rabbinic Judaism

Now, in a very long process, something like a Jewish school theology emerged. This led to the theological separation of dissenters and to the consolidation of one’s own doctrine. But this rabbinical Judaism was also primarily geared towards strengthening a new identity within the Jewish community. Among the deviants, the Christians were not mentioned by name, which the innerWhen evaluating Christian testimonies, the credibility of concrete statements is to be valued higher than generalizations. Concrete information relates to certain local circumstances and is therefore more reliable than blanket judgments.

Beware of literary conventions

In this context, it is important to be particularly careful when literary and theological conventions and always recurring themes appear in the Christian reports. For example, the line of arguments prophet killer-masters killer-christians, which forms a fixed scheme. In addition, the propagandistic Christian effort must not be overlooked. that theWritings and arguments aimed at the emperors or high representatives of the Roman state. when it came to getting the reputation of state loyal subjects at the expense of the rebellious Jews after the two Jewish uprisings.

The Christian claim of the fulfillment of Jewish promises

The Christians arose with the claim that the divine promise and hope of the Jewish people in Jesus had found their fulfillment in Jesus. In many ways, God once spoke to the fathers through the prophets, so the conviction is. At the end of these times he spoke to us through the son, with these words that introduce the letter to the Hebrews, that isclaim expressed in the shortest possible way. From this point of view it was self-evident that all Jews should now convert to Jesus and go the new way.

The justification of the claim from the Jewish Bible

The evidence of this claim was obtained from the Jewish Bible, the Old Testament, by referring to Jesus. The Christian communities were also included in this interpretation and seen as the fulfillment of the prophecies. This uncompromising claim and the way of justifying it was a confrontation with the various JewishGroups pre-programmed. They did not want to submit to the claim and rejected the Christian interpretation. It was based in the nature of the Christian self-understanding, i.e. of a principle of a principle and non-negotiable.

The Hellenistic character of some Christians

Another aspect came along and increased the separation. Hellenistic Christians, the circle around Stephanus was already mentioned, in Jerusalem, in Antiocheia and other places the theoretical consequence. They saw the existing effect of the new doctrine outside of Judaism and acted accordingly. They broke away from the Jewish ritual obligations andonly adopted its moral laws for their community. They recognized early and very clairvoyant that in the Hellenistic pagan world only this form of Christianity could have a future.

The exclusion of the Jewish Christians

But the so-called Jewish Christians, who continued to comply with the Jewish ritual laws, became special Christian groups over time. They were excluded from both the followers of the Mosaic religion because of their behavior in the two Jewish elevations. as well as rejected by the early Catholic Church because of their adherence to the ritual regulations of the Torah.The apostle Paul gave the best and most sustainable theological justification for the departure from the Jewish ritual law, including the circumcision demand. Paul was a Jew and wanted to remain a Jew, which makes his argument particularly credible.

The Pauline Theology of Grace

That is why his knowledge is so credible that the work justice associated with the observance of the Tor does not lead to God. but that faith is a gift of God’s grace and cannot be earned through works. In the apostle’s very personal letter to the churches in Galatia, he reported on his conversion. His understanding of the gospel he has of theJewish Christians aloof and clearly distinguished. Not the followers of the dead law, but those living from faith are the true sons and heirs of Abraham. also his divine promises, which should now apply to all believers.

The law as overseer to Christ

Before the Christian faith came, we were subject to the law, imprisoned and guarded for the coming time. Since faith should be revealed, according to Paul’s argument. Thus the law has become our overseer, until Christ appeared and his act of redemption. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to any supervisor and free from thebondage. You are all through the faith of God in Christ Jesus, so the liberating message. He became even clearer towards the end of the letter and made the consequences clear.

Refusal of circumcision as a path of salvation

See, I, Paul, explain to you, if you let yourself be circumcised, Christ will do you no good. I again testify to anyone who is circumcised that he then makes the obligation to fulfill the whole law. You are divorced from Christ, if you want to be righteous by the law, you have fallen out of grace. Because we expect in spirit from faithFulfillment of our hope for justice. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcised nor uncircumcised, but rather faith alone. The faith that comes to effect through love is the decisive factor.

The overcoming of Judaism in its previous form

In this view, Judaism was outdated in its previous form and had fulfilled its salvation-historical task. The path of Christianity from a Jewish sect to an independent world religion was open and could be walked. In his last preserved letter to the church, Paul led to even greater theological depths. Paul reprimanded hereThe disobedience of the Jews to God, however, believed that they would ultimately be saved. The stiffness, which has come partly through Israel, will last until the full number of the heaths has found its way. Then all of Israel will be saved, according to Paul’s hope.

The inner-Jewish character of the Pauline debate

Paul’s confrontation with Judaism is of a theological nature alone and not ethnically motivated. It is so convincing because it was ultimately an inner-Jewish dialogue and not a xenophobia. Paul was deeply disappointed in the disapproval of the Jews, which shaped his argument. Some sentences in the oldest surviving letter are all the more strangePaul, who was addressed to the church at Thessalonike. for you have become like the Christian churches in Judea and endured something corresponding from your compatriots. as they were of the Jews who persecuted and afflicted them.

The problematic statements in the Thessalonian Letter

They killed the Lord Jesus as well as the prophets, and so they persecut us, so the reproach. They don’t live well with God, are repugnant to all people and try to prevent us from doing so. To bring the pagans through the sermon rescue is accused of being a hindrance to the mission. So they always fill the measure of their offenses and heap up their own fault. But the angerGod has already come over them to end up having an effect on them. There is a lot to be said for this, especially the vulgar anti-Judaism, which is expressed here. which the Jew Paul can only be accused of with a difficult time that there is a later interpolation.

The canonical sanctioning of the lyrics

But it was always from a Christian pen, and by being accepted into the Canon of the New Testament, it was sanctioned. Most of the New Testament writings were written after the catastrophe of the first Jewish uprising. In them, therefore, experiences were reflected in different ways. The authors and their communities had these experiences with themade of old-believers Jews. Even if the actual intention was less the defamation of the Jews and more the strengthening of the sometimes very weakly developed Christian identity of the readers. The flat rate offered here, for example, has a decisive influence on the Christian image of the Jews as a counterpart of Jesus.

The Passion Stories and their Impact

First and foremost, the passion stories in the gospels that describe the suffering of Jesus should be mentioned here. Folklore Passion Play or Settings of Passion Reports also subliminally pass the negative image of the Jewish image offered in this context to the present day. The tendency towards generalization and denigration of the Jewishopponent. if such a result was ultimately the disappointment of the disapproval of the Jews. statements were made that testified to complete irreconcilability and did not build bridges.

The sharp polemics in the Gospel of John

You come from the devil, who is your father, and what he wants you to do. It sounds the same in the revelation of John, namely in the letters to the churches in Smyrna and to Philadelpheia. Here the Jews of this city are called synagogue of Satan, a sharp condemnation. The acknowledgment of Christ also necessarily seemed to be polemicto include against the Jews. A place in the later Christian anti-Jewish polemics was the central biblical evidence of a collective guilt of the Jews. The answer of the Jews to Pilate, which was only handed down in the Gospel of Matthew, in the trial against Jesus.

The problematic blood call point

Then the whole Jewish people replied, his blood came over us and our children, so the wording. The Christian anti-Jewish polemics of the following centuries were based on the basis shown above. It became an increasingly heavier burden for Christians that the majority of the Jews insisted on rejecting the claim of the Christian Church. The claim, the new andto be true people of God with whom God made a new covenant. After the old Israel failed, the Christian view of things was.

The questioning of the Christian claim to truth

Instead, the Jews lived on as if Christians did not come from the same root as them. As if they were not derived from the Old Testament, which the Christian arguments undermined. Due to the sheer fortune of the Jewish religion, the Christians’ claim to truth was ultimately challenged anew. For the Christians, this resulted in the need forconstant theological justification of their claim to the Jews. of proof that only the right is the right way, and proof of the legitimate appropriation of the Jewish patriarchs and prophets as the forerunners of Christians.

The polemics as an identity creation

polemics against the Jews, to confirm one’s own identity and to prove one’s own interpretation of the connections as the only right one. Christian polemics were primarily intensified by two factors that shaped the argument. On the one hand, Judaism remained a very attractive competitor of Christianity and attracted many people. The reasons for this were in hisClear monotheism, its age, to have a long tradition was considered an invaluable value in ancient times. the high moral integrity, the joie de vivre that could be expressed strongly at the festivals, and in the high esteem of the family.

The attraction of Judaism to pagans and Christians

This had a great effect on pagans, but also made the Jewish religion, and the church leaders reacted particularly allergic, attracting Christians. The extent to which Judaism still fascinated Christians at the end of the fourth century is impressively demonstrated by the eight sermons. The John Chrysostom in the years three hundred and eighty-six or seven in Antiochhe turned against Judaizing Christians who were leaning toward Judaism. At that time, Christianity had been promoted in the Roman Empire for half a century. And Judaism suffered legal restrictions on its activities, which changed the situation.

The fusion of theological and Roman prejudices

On the other hand, theological arguments of Christians against the Jews merged with arguments of anti-Judaism present in the Roman Empire. The very banal accusations and prejudices spawned and spread. Tacitus mentioned some such blanket prejudices against the Jews as were prevalent in all social strata of the Imperium Romanum. To support the people for the futureassure us, Moses introduced new religious customs. Those who were at odds with the usual ones in the world and were considered foreign.

The Roman prejudices against Jewish customs

There with the Jews everything is unholy that is holy with us, on the other hand, what we consider an abomination is permitted with them. Or the ceremonies instituted by the god Liber are festive and joyful. The nature of the Jews, however, is absurd and shabby, according to the verdict. The donkey enjoys divine worship with them, because wild donkeys are the Jews in their desert wanderings before thirstingeven more comprehensive was the anti-Jewish catalogue by the Egyptian grammarian Apion. Which, in turn, was based on older sources and collected the prejudices.

Josephus as a defender of Judaism

The views expressed here were opposed by the Jewish historian Josephus, thirty-seven to about ninety-five AD. The Jews were descended from leprous Egyptians, they worshipped a donkey in Jerusalem. They took an oath to hate everyone else, especially the Greeks. The accusation of Odium generis humani, hatred of the human race, was made.no famous men produced, no inventors, artists, philosophers. Josephus also objected to the mockery of circumcision and the renunciation of pork.

Rare dialogues between Christians and Jews

Only rarely did a real dialogue between Christians and Jews occur in the church history of the second and third centuries. Origen conducted such disputes at Caesarea in Palestine and sought an exchange. In general, however, the arguments of the Jews were not taken seriously and dismissed. For example, in the Christian writings of this time, which dealt with followers of theof the Mosaic faith. Either the teaching, the argumentation from the secure standpoint of the superior. Or the missionary goal was in the foreground and set the tone.

The intra-Christian motivation of anti-Jewish polemics

Sometimes, however, anti-Jewish polemics were motivated within the Christian community and pursued a different goal. It pursued the goal of preventing Christians from being interested in Judaism, from being too sympathetic to the Mosaic religion or even from converting to Judaism. Here, attention can only be focused on a selection of particularly important writings and arguments. An alignment of the entireThe Old Testament, based solely on Jesus Christ and his church, represented a letter probably written between one hundred and thirty and one hundred and thirty-two in the eastern part of the kingdom. An unknown author was behind it, the letter was attributed to Barnabas, the companion of the Apostle Paul.

The effect of the letter to Barnabas

This always gave great weight and effect to the content of this letter in the Christian community. Three main theses were represented in it and shaped the further discussion. There has never been a covenant of God with Israel or an old and a new covenant. But only one, namely the one that had been concluded with the Christians. I also ask you aseiner euresgleichen, der euch einzeln und alle zusammen mehr als sich selbst liebt. Auf euch achtzugeben und euch nicht gewissen Leuten gleichzumachen, indem ihr ihren Sünden weitere hinzufügt.

Der Verlust des Testaments durch die Juden

Und sagt, das Testament jener, der Juden, ist auch das unsrige. Das unsrige freilich, aber jene haben es für immer eingebüßt. Weil sie sich zu den Götzen hinwandten, verloren sie es und damit ihren Anspruch. Nie sei die Thora wörtlich zu verstehen gewesen, so die zweite These. Vielmehr müsse das Alte Testament in einem christlich-geistlichen Verständnis als Sammlung von Aussagen über Jesus undseine Gemeinde interpretiert werden. Von Anfang an seien die Speisegesetze, die Beschneidung, der Tempelkult in einem übertragenen Sinne gemeint gewesen. Die Juden hätten das aber falsch verstanden und blieben beim Buchstaben hängen.

Die Deutung von Rebekka und ihren Söhnen

Schließlich bezog sich der Barnabasbrief auf erste Mose fünfundzwanzig, einundzwanzig bis dreiundzwanzig. Eine Stelle, die auch schon Paulus im Römerbrief angesprochen hatte und deutete. Der Herr sprach zu Rebekka, zwei Nationen sind in deinem Leib und zwei Völker in deinem Schoß. Und ein Volk wird das andere übertreffen, und das ältere wird dem jüngeren dienen. Verstehen müßt ihr, wer Isaak undwer Rebekka ist und an welchen er gezeigt hat. Dass dieses Volk größer ist als jenes, so die christliche Deutung. Der Gedanke der Knechtschaft der Juden spielte in der weiteren Entwicklung eine große Rolle.

Markion’s radical separation

Markion made an even more radical separation and split the community. Coming from Sinope in Asia Minor, he worked one hundred forty-four in Rome until he was expelled from the church in the year. He abandoned the God of Light, the God of the New Testament, the God of Darkness. The evil god of the Old Testament, which he rejected and rejected. Consequently, he eliminated the old oneTestament completely and also cleaned the New Testament of all this. which was Judaizing in his eyes and clouded the new teaching.

The Reaction of the Church to Markion

This made the church shaken up to make clear decisions in relation to its Jewish heritage and also to the remaining Judaism. It is thanks to the small Asian Irenaeus, who died by two hundred and the bishop of Lyon, was to be thanked. that a clear line was found and the church positioned itself. The Old Testament was considered an inalienable part of the ChristianBible recognized and retained. Irenaeus thus represented a conception that Markion had expressly turned against. The Jews were integrated into a Christian story of salvation, stretching from creation to Jesus Christ.

The salvation history classification of Judaism

In addition, to the kingdom of God, according to the comprehensive framework. In it, the patriarchs, Moses, the prophets, the Kings David and Solomon, found positive assessment. The Torah in the time before Jesus was given the task of educating the Jewish people to become the true God. after it had fallen off its god by worshiping the golden calf. After Jesus’ work, this task wasHowever, as fulfilled and the Torah had served its purpose. From now on, the Torah should no longer have a right to exist in the Christian view.

The salvational function of the Jews

Contemporary Jews were already viewed as being directed in their blindness to God’s actual goals. but still assigned them a function of salvation history in God’s plan. So if the Jews hadn’t become the killers of the Lord, what cost them eternal life. They would not have killed the apostles and did not persecut the church. why they in the depths of angerfell, and so we could not have been saved. For like those by the blindness of the Egyptians who drowned in the sea persecuted by Israel. Thus, through the blindness of the Jews, we too receive salvation, according to the argument.

The Saving Effect of Jesus’ Death

If the death of the Lord is enough for condemnation for those who attached him to the cross and did not believe in his arrival. So he serves to save those who believe in him and follow him. Soon after the middle of the second century, the Samaria-born apologist Justin wrote in Rome. The first comprehensive examination of the Judaism of his time, the great effectunfolded. He dressed them in dialogue form, dialogue with the Jew Tryphon, which shaped the literary form. This work was of the utmost importance for the further Christian assessment of the Jews and shaped the tradition.

Justin’s Old Testament Design Method

His method of interpretation of the Old Testament was similar to that of Barnabas’ letter and followed similar principles. He held up to the Jews, you let yourself be deceived by words of the same name. For when the law of the Lord is impeccable, you understand it by the law given by Moses. And not from the one who was to come after him, although God proclaims it loudly.According to the promise, that he would found a new law and a new covenant. It was easy to believe that Jesus was the Messiah expected by the Jews.

The Christians as true Israel

And that the Christians embodied the true people of Israel, to whom the promises of God were intended. This has also been proven by the God’s punishment of the years seventy and one hundred and thirty-five. Because the fleshly circumcision introduced by Abraham was given as a sign of identification. so that you are separated from the other peoples and us. so that you alone suffer what you are rightly doing nowendures, according to the interpretation of the story. So that your land is devastated, the cities are burned down by fire. Consume the fruits before you and neither of you enter Jerusalem.

The interpretation of the destruction of Jerusalem as a punishment

So it’s good and right for you that this happened to you, so the verdict. The decline of the Jews has already begun with the work of Jesus and continued. Her further clinging to the Torah is an uproar against God and is done on incitement of the demons. They are stalled and ungrateful, according to Justin. Justin’s polemic against Judaism of his time used all passages in theold testament. where reproach and threats of punishment of God were pronounced over Israel’s disobedience.

The allegations against the Jews

He called the Jews and the prophetic murderers and made serious allegations. You have killed Christ and still have no repentance, so the accusation. But you, too, who believe in God, the Father of the universe through Christ, will murder you in your hatred. As often as you get the power and take the opportunity. Again and again, your Christ himself and his followers curse,That’s the accusation. The idea of Israel’s bondage, derived from the two women of Jacob, is also found in him.

The interpretation of Lea and Rachel

Lia is your people and the synagogue, while Rachel is our church, so the symbolism. Christ is still in service for one and the other today. Also for those who are and serve the servants here and there. So he didn’t see the Jews as a definitively convicted, but with a chance. Until the return of Christ, they still have the possibility of repentance. through theBarnabas letter and by Justin, the most important arguments and methods of further engagement with the Jews were given.

The further argumentation tradition

The later Christian writers were based on them and further developed the polemics. Also mentioned should be the North African Tertullian, who dealt with Judaism in several works. and the Jewish heritage that shaped the church. Its effect on the Latin-speaking area was very large, especially since it formulated precisely. Two aspects are particularly worth mentioning and formativefor tradition. On the one hand, he advocated the accusation of a Jewish collective guilt, which affected everyone.

The accusation of eternal guilt

If Israel wishes to all the members every day, it is never pure. Without a doubt, his hands are always impure, the blood of the prophets and the Lord himself sticks to them forever. On the other hand, he derived the idea of the bondage of the Jews and the rule of the Christians. From the first Moses twenty-five, twenty-three, the place of the two peoples. thechurch historian At the end of the third century, Euseb of Caesarea gave concrete form to Christian theory of salvation history. in his historical works, chronicle and church history, which worked far.

Euseb’s interpretation of the catastrophe of the year seventy

In his view, the catastrophe of the year was the actual salvation-historical turning point. When the Christians had left the country before the uprising. The last judgment of God about the Jews broke in the last of the Jews because of the many crimes. which they had committed to Christ and his apostles, according to the interpretation. and completely averted this family of the wicked from thehuman history. It should be so that they are just in the days on which they are about the Savior and Benefactor of all. and imposed suffering to the anointed God, as were locked in a prison. and learned of the divine justice which they would befalling downfall.

The blessing of God among Christians

The blessing of God was no longer on them, but on the Christians. The teachings of our Savior and His Church flourished more and more and made progressively. But the Jews got into ever greater need with ever new accidents. Both of Euseb’s works determined the Christian historical picture over the centuries. The scheme of argumentation basically always remainedsame and was passed on. They referred to the scolding of the people of Israel and the punishments of God for his disobedience. And his ingratitude, which was already mentioned in the Old Testament, especially by the prophets.

Die christliche Deutung der alttestamentlichen Verheißungen

Die Christen bezogen alle Verheißungen im Alten Testament auf Christus und auf seine Kirche. Deuteten die Drohungen und angedrohten Strafen aber im Hinblick auf die Juden. Da diese aber die christliche Interpretation des Alten Testaments, die in der Sicht der Christen ja die einzig richtige war. Als falsch ablehnten und nicht anerkannten, sie vielmehr als eine Verfälschung des eigentlichenSinnes verstanden. Entstand bei den Christen der Eindruck, die Juden seien verstockt. Und deshalb unfähig, die Heilstaten Gottes und den eigentlichen, den geistlichen Sinn der rituellen Gebote der Thora zu verstehen.

Der Vorwurf des Gottesmordes

Als sehr gefährlich erwies sich in der weiteren Entwicklung der Vorwurf. Die Juden hätten Jesus ermordet, also die Schuld des Gottesmordes auf sich geladen. Die Zerstörung Jerusalems und seines Tempels durch die Römer im Jahr siebzig. Des weiteren die Umbenennung Jerusalems in Aelia Capitolina im Zuge des zweiten Aufstandes einhundertzweiunddreißig bis einhundertfünfunddreißig. Mit dem Verbotfür alle Juden, diese Stadt zu betreten, wurden als gerechte Strafe Gottes für diese Tat gedeutet. So fühlte man sich in der Annahme bestätigt, als das wahre Israel an die Stelle der dem alten Bund verhafteten Juden getreten zu sein.

Die Christen als rechtmäßige Erben

Die Christen verstanden sich von diesem Zeitpunkt an als die rechtmäßigen Erben des alten Israel. Sie seien das Volk Gottes, dem seine Verheißung an den Erzvater Abraham galt. Die Juden hätten ihre Chance verpasst und den richtigen Weg nicht erkannt. Folgenreich bis ins Mittelalter war der Gedanke vom Knechtsstand der Juden. Die den Christen zu dienen hätten, so die theologische Konstruktion.Wenig tröstlich, doch darf es nicht übersehen werden, ist die Tatsache. Dass bei fast allen christlichen Zeugen die Hoffnung auf die Bekehrung der Juden zu Christus zum Ausdruck gebracht wurde.

Die Hoffnung auf die Rettung eines Restes

Zumindest in der Formel, dass ein Rest von ihnen in der Endzeit gerettet werde. Eine Verdammung der Juden für alle Zeiten wurde also meist nicht vertreten. Sondern eine Tür zur Umkehr offen gehalten in der theologischen Argumentation. Nach diesen Entwicklungen während der ersten drei Jahrhunderte ist eine weitere Verschärfung im Verhältnis der Christen zu den Juden zu beobachten. Die Kirche warnämlich durch die Konstantinische Wende vom vierten Jahrhundert an in eine Machtposition geraten. Nun unterwarf die staatliche Gesetzgebung die Juden verschiedenen Einschränkungen. Vor allem wurden jüdische missionarische Aktivitäten unmöglich gemacht und verboten.

Der gesetzliche Schutz des Judentums

Andererseits aber erhielt die jüdische Religion auch gesetzlichen Schutz vor der christlichen judenfeindlichen Volksmeinung. Diese weitere Entwicklung ist hier nicht mehr zu verfolgen, da der Fokus auf der Frühzeit liegt. Die Grundlagen wurden aber in der frühen Zeit gelegt und prägten die weitere Geschichte. Die historischen Prozesse der Entfremdung zwischen Christentum und Judentum zeigen dieKomplexität religiöser Identitätsbildung. Die theologischen Argumentationen dieser Zeit haben weitreichende Folgen gehabt. Das Verständnis dieser Entwicklungen hilft, die Geschichte beider Religionen besser zu begreifen.