NO OF PAGES: 455 SUB CAT I: First Century Judaism SUB CAT II: Early Church History SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: The widespread perception of a decisive "parting of the ways" between Christianity and Judaism after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 has distorted our understanding of the following decades and centuries of Jewish and Christian history. We are left with the impression that hostile polemic or mutual avoidance between Christians and Jews was the order of the day. To be sure, there were points of bitterness and strife between these two groups, but the story of their relationship is better told as the relationship between a younger and older sibling. In and between the lines of our historical data, there is abundant evidence of interaction between the early church and the ancient synagogue. This took place at both the level of leadership and laypeople, and it left its imprint on the emerging shape of the church. But this story has not yet been fully told. "In the Shadow of the Temple" offers a new perspective on the development of the early church in its practice (e.g., worship, baptism and Eucharist) and doctrine (e.g., Scripture, Christology, pneumatology). Oskar Skarsaune begins by tracing the story of second temple Judaism from the crisis of the Jewish encounter with Hellenism in the second century B.C. through the diverse Judaisms of the first century A.D. Then, from the time of Jesus and the origins of the church up to the Constantinian revolution of the early fourth century A.D., Skarsaune offers us fascinating snapshots and analyses of the interactions, the arguments and the shaping influences of Judaism on the life, creed and practices of the church.NOTES: Purchased from CBD. SUBTITLE: Jewish Influences On Early Christianity

A good introduction and reference to various socio-historical situations in Judaism from the first century to Rabbinic times and its influence upon or relation with the nascent Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua. A primary focus is how Temple thinking and understanding shaped and/or defined both religious milieus. Instead of forging its own academic arguments, this surveys many of the various scholastic views, choosing to substitute bibliographic lists of important books on the subject for argument-bearing footnotes. As befits a broad-reaching survey, many conclusions are not thoroughly examined and tested, leaving this to the reader. I did feel, however, that at some points, arguments or conclusions were so insubstantial that the author was chasing shadows. Overall, this is an easy-to-understand, well-organized foundation with many jump-off points to delve into more serious academic study about first century Judaism, Rabbinic Judaism, and the Jewish makeup of Christianity. ( )