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jesus renewal movement becomes christianity

jesus renewal movement becomes christianity ?Jesus? Renewal Movement? Becomes ?Christianity? As I have previously mentioned in previous essays, before this class I really had little to no knowledge of Judaism and Christianity and their relationship with one another. After reading Part 3 of Mary Boys? book, Has God Only One Blessing? I realized that there was a lot of information and knowledge that I got out of it. So, for this paper, I decided that I would just concentrate on one section of the chapters that we were assigned to read. The particular section that I chose to concentrate on was the section entitled: ?Jesus? Renewal Movement? Becomes ?Christianity.? Hopefully through this essay, I will demonstrate to you the knowledge that I have gained through reading this particular section. Basically what this chapter in the book deals with is the start of the separation of Judaism and Christianity into their own separate religions. As the book states, ?The quotation marks that clutter the title of this chapter hint at the difficulty of answering the seemingly simple question of how the Jewish renewal movement Jesus led became Christianity.? (Page 138) Sometime in the history of the religion of Judaism, a separate group of people started to emerge. They may not have all agreed with the teachings of Judaism and they began to start a new group, which they decided to call Christianity. Before taking this course, I didn?t know that at one time Judaism and Christianity was at one time the same thing. But through the readings, I discovered that they were in fact the same and through some disagreements, they divided into two separate religions. This quote taken from the book, backs up the fact that the two religions were at one time connected, but through these disagreements emerged a new leader and a new practice to follow. ?As many Gentiles, however, became followers of the Jesus, the religious practices that had maintained the community?s boundaries ? circumcision, dietary laws, the role of the Temple ? were passionately disputed among the believers-in-Jesus.? (Page 139) Another quote taken from the book emphasizes this point even further. ?The communities that eventually became ?Christianity? separated neither rapidly nor painlessly from Judaism and continued to have strained relations with Rome, including periods of persecution.? (Page 139) Jumping a little ahead, another fact that emphasizes the point that Judaism and Christianity were soon to split is the fact that Raymond Brown and John Meier argue that there should be a spectrum of positions, with at least four basic types of ?Jewish/Gentile Christianity.? This spectrum is laid out on page 146 of Mary Boys? book. On one extreme, Believers-in-Jesus must fully observe Mosaic Law. Next on the spectrum, Believers-in-Jesus need not be circumcised but must observe some Jewish practices. Further down the spectrum, Gentile believers-in-Jesus needs neither be circumcised nor keep the dietary laws of Judaism. And finally, on the other extreme end of the spectrum, Believers-in-Jesus need have no lasting connection to Judaism. As you can see, by this point in time, the two religions are pretty much split, although it has not been formally accepted that the two are separate. Still, there are more details that favor the eventual split between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus? vision for the renewal of Israel was an intimate relationship with a merciful and gracious God. Jesus was a very generous and forgiving man. He forgave many scandalous people, and for this some people looked down upon him for doing this. They felt threatened by this treatment. Jesus? outreach to these people included sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes. This infuriated some of the more comfortable people. They had nothing to worry about because they were model citizens and they didn?t feel that what Jesus was doing was right. And again, they felt threatened by his actions. They felt so threatened that they even felt that Jesus? preaching to the ?little people? might make them feel that they?re not so little after all. And this renewed sense of self-confidence could lead to the revolutionary power of these people. They didn?t want to think that the ?little people? could rise up against them and exercise the greater power. So this created even more tension between the Jews and the Christians. ?Changes were also evident among believers in Jesus as the Gentiles assumed dominance.? (Page 145) Raymond Brown notes that before 65, the leaders were all Jews, but that after 100 non-Jews such as Ignatius and Polycarp became the prominent figures. This goes to show that the power of the two religions were splitting, and followers were being forced to make decisions about who they wanted to follow. The power no longer belonged to just one group of people, and this was clearly shown. As the end of the first century was approaching, new factors changed the picture. Of enormous significance was the Jewish revolt against Rome, which resulted in the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the end of the Qumran settlement. The ranks of the priesthood, Sadducees, and Essenes were decimated, and the central institution, the Temple, lay in ruins. Tensions between the two sides also rose due to some incidents that took place that further split the lines of separation. In conclusion, by the end of the first century, the look of Judaism was beginning to fade, and the emergence of Christianity started to take form. ?In summary, it is clear that ?Jesus? Renewal Movement? evolved into ?Christianity? through a gradual, lively, and complex process.? (Page 147) However, Judaism and Christianity had not yet fully separated. Their separation was soon to follow though. Bibliography:

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