Description
When exactly did the "Parting of the Ways" between Jews and Christians take place? Was it already Jesus who separated himself and his followers from "the Jews?" Or did Paul make the decisive step with his mission of pagans? Or do we have to wait longer - until after 70 CE, when the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed, and different Jewish groups had to define their identities anew? Is the overall question perhaps formulated inadequately? In his new book, which goes back to the 2013 Deichmann lectures at Ben Gurion University, Beersheva, Tobias Nicklas shows that at least for the second and third centuries CE the overall idea of a parting of the ways between Jews and Christians is a misconception. Instead, one has to distinguish between the situations of different groups at different places and in different historical circumstances. Even concrete individuals could behave differently in different contexts of their lives. That's why, now, much more dynamic images have to be found to describe ancient realities more adequately. Focussing on so-called "Christian" perspectives on the matter, Nicklas discusses images of "Jews" in early Christian writings, concepts of God and his Covenant with Israel, problems of "Christological" and "Ecclesiological" hermeneutics of Israel's Scriptures, and, finally, the questions how different "Christian" groups treated matters of Halakha for believers in Christ.
