Events

How, and why did the Jesus movement — a small Jewish group born and nourished within a first-century Jewish matrix — come to be Christianity — that defined itself as separate from, and even in opposition to, Judaism? Until the modern period, Christians had a simple answer to this question. When? With the birth of Jesus. How? By the will of God. Why? To bring salvation to all humankind. By the 19th century, however, historians and theologians alike sought new explanations that adhered more closely to the “science” of biblical criticism that was gaining momentum in the field. In this talk, I will look at several explanations that were offered in the period between the mid-19th century and our own era. I will argue that these explanations were (and are) profoundly shaped by two factors: the ideas prevalent in the historians’ own eras; and historians’ views about Jews and Judaism.