Jews and Christians in the First Two Centuries: The Changing Paradigm

16 SHOFAR JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN THE FIRST TWO CENTURIES: THE CHANGING PARADIGM by Anthony 1. Saldarini 'Anthony J. Saldarini received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1971 and is Professor of Theology at Boston College, specializing in Judaism and the New Testament. He is the author of Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees (1988). Research in the past twenty-five years has established and emphasized three characteristics of Judaism and Christianity in late antiquity: the diversity of groups within each community, the gradual (rather than sudden and complete) development and ascendancy of the classic forms of rabbinic Judaism and orthodox Christianity, and the constant interaction of Jewish and Christian groups with one another and with their larger cultural world. In contrast, earlier treatments of Jewish and Christian history, though acknowledging many of these phenomena, often treated them as heretical or as epiphenomena with relation to fixed, classical forms of each religion which were viewed anachronistically as normative. Consequently, alternativeforms of Christianity were neglected and the rich diversity of second- and thirdcentury Christianity was lost.1 Similarly, the vitality and variety of local Jewish communities and traditions, especially in the diaspora, were ignored or treated as insignificant deviations from a dominant normative tradition.2 IThe classic affirmation of diversity is found in Walter Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971). 2For critiques of Christian and Jewish scholarship on Judaism, see A. T. Kraabel , "Synagoga Caeca: Systematic Distortion in Gentile Interpretations of Evidence for Judaism in the Early Christian Period," in «To See Ourselves as Others See Us": Christians, Jews, «Others" in Late Antiquity, ed. Jacob Neusner and Ernest S. Frerichs (Chico, CA: Scholars, 1985), pp. 219-46, and Jack Lightstone, "Christian Anti-Judaism in Its Judaic Mirror: The Judaic Context of Early Christianity Revised," in Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity, Vol. 2, Separation and Polemic, ed. Stephen G. Wilson Volume 10, No.2 Winter 1992 17 Talmudic Judaism and the "Great Church" tradition were often retrojected into the pre-Mishnaic and New Testament periods so that the limited power and influence of early rabbinic and church leaders was obscured and the strength of important movements and groups was diminished. True, some of the blame for this situation may be laid to the surviving sources, which were edited and preserved by the groups that eventually dominated the Jewish and Christian traditions. But, just as important, evidence for competing movements was often ignored. Within the arena of Jewish-Christian relations, the perdurance of numerous groups of Jewish believers-in-Jesus and the continued attraction of gentile Christians to Jewish worship and community activities through the fifth century and beyond are notable. Similarly, many discussions in the Talmud suggest that rabbinic leaders struggled to establish and maintain a distinct identity for the Jewish community in the face of the attractions of the Greco-Roman world, including Christianity. In light of recent strides beyond the old consensus just described, it is the goal of this survey to relate disparate discoveries and insights to one another so that the development and relationships of Judaism and Christianity may be understood according to a more adequate paradigm. This paradigm takes account of the variety of Jewish and Christian communities .in existence in the first centuries, of the close relationships (positive and negative ) among many of them, and of the long, complex process which resulted in the classical forms of each religion. Varieties ofJudaism Recent studies of the development of rabbinic Judaism after the destruction of the Temple demonstrate that the rabbis gained influence and power in Palestinian society only gradually, over several centuries. The loss of much of the national leadership in Jerusalem (the chief priests, wealthy families, Hasmoneans and Herodians) in 70 c.B. led to confusion and competition for Roman favor and authority. Various groups maneuvered for power, including surviving priests, Herodians and a variety of other less influential groups.3 Local authority, as always, remained in the hands of village elders, wealthy families, and landlords, as well as local priests, scribes, and popular leaders. Similarly, synagogues continued to be governed by local community (Studies in Christianity and Judaism 2; Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfred Laurier Press, 1986), pp. 103-32, esp.103-12. 3For...