Who Made Early Christianity? : The Jewish Lives of the Apostle Paul / John Gager , Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gager , Jr., John, author.

Series:

American Lectures on the History of Religions

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paul, the Apostle, Saint--Relations with Jews.

Paul.

Identification (Religion).

Christianity and other religions--Judaism.

Christianity and other religions.

Judaism--Relations--Christianity.

Judaism.

Christianity--Origin.

Christianity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (203 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Columbia University Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this historical and theological study, John G. Gager undermines the myth of the Apostle Paul's rejection of Judaism, conversion to Christianity, and founding of Christian anti-Judaism. He finds that the rise of Christianity occurred well after Paul's death and attributes the distortion of the Apostle's views to early and later Christians. Though Christian clerical elites ascribed a rejection-replacement theology to Paul's legend, Gager shows that the Apostle was considered a loyal Jew by many of his Jesus-believing contemporaries and that later Jewish and Muslim thinkers held the same view. He holds that one of the earliest misinterpretations of Paul was to name him the founder of Christianity, and in recent times numerous Jewish and Christian readers of Paul have moved beyond this understanding.Gager also finds that Judaism did not fade away after Paul's death but continued to appeal to both Christians and pagans for centuries. Jewish synagogues remained important religious and social institutions throughout the Mediterranean world. Making use of all possible literary and archaeological sources, including Muslim texts, Gager helps recover the long pre-history of a Jewish Paul, obscured by recent, negative portrayals of the Apostle, and recognizes the enduring bond between Jews and Christians that has influenced all aspects of Christianity.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. WAS THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES THE FATHER OF CHRISTIAN ANTI-JUDAISM?

2. THE APOSTLE PAUL IN JEWISH EYES Heretic or Hero?

3. LET'S MEET DOWNTOWN IN THE SYNAGOGUE Four Case Studies

4. TWO STORIES OF HOW EARLY CHRISTIANITY CAME TO BE

5. TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN

6. EPILOGUE

NOTES

INDEX

Notes:

Includes index.

Pilot project,eBook available to selected US libraries only

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Other Format:

Print version: Gager, John G. Who made early Christianity? : the Jewish lives of the Apostle Paul.

OCLC:

908305641