Most people understand that Christianity grew out of Judaism. Jesus was Jewish. So were Peter, James, John, and Paul. So were the many other named and unnamed initial believers who hailed from Palestine and from the Greek-speaking world. But as followers of Jesus began to invite non-Jews to join their movement, questions immediately arose about …
Continue reading Early Christianity’s Uneasy Relationship with the Torah, Jews, and Judaism
Among the earliest messengers (Greek = apostolos) proclaiming the messiahship of Jesus were the twelve specially chosen disciples and, later, secondary followers of Jesus who learned about him from those who knew him. Initially, these messengers limited their target audience to Jews; after all, the Jewish messiah had come; they based their belief on prophecies …
Continue reading The First “Apostle to the Gentiles”? The Possessed Man from Gergesa
David Christian Clausen 