Jewish Christianity: The Making of the Christianity-Judaism Divide
in Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library
Pages
320
Publisher
Yale University Press
Published
2020
ISBN-13
9780300180138
A fresh exploration of the category Jewish Christianity, from its invention in the Enlightenment to contemporary debates
In this provocative work, Matt Jackson-McCabe argues that the concept of Jewish Christianity represents an enduring legacy of Christian apologetics. Freethinkers of the English Enlightenment created the category of Jewish Christianity as a means of isolating a true and distinctly Christian religion from the Jewish culture of Jesus and the apostles. Jackson-McCabe skillfully shows how a category that began as a way to reimagine the apologetic notion of an authoritative “original Christianity” continues to cause problems in the contemporary study of Jewish and Christian antiquity.
In this provocative work, Matt Jackson-McCabe argues that the concept of Jewish Christianity represents an enduring legacy of Christian apologetics. Freethinkers of the English Enlightenment created the category of Jewish Christianity as a means of isolating a true and distinctly Christian religion from the Jewish culture of Jesus and the apostles. Jackson-McCabe skillfully shows how a category that began as a way to reimagine the apologetic notion of an authoritative “original Christianity” continues to cause problems in the contemporary study of Jewish and Christian antiquity.