Source: “The Parting Of The Gods: Paul And The Redefinition Of Judaism**”**, By David Allen Brondos, 2021
Introduction To The Parting Of The Gods.wav
This series of podcasts introduces a critical reevaluation of the historical relationship between Judaism and early Christianity, particularly in the aftermath of the Holocaust, which highlighted the devastating impact of negative Christian portrayals of Jews. The author emphasizes how traditional Christian scholarship often caricatured Judaism as a legalistic, works-based religion, contrasting it sharply with Christianity's focus on grace and faith. This perspective led to the harmful notion that Christianity superseded Judaism. However, recent scholarship, influenced by figures like E.P. Sanders, argues that grace was central to ancient Jewish thought and that Jesus and Paul were observant Jews who did not intend to abandon or replace Judaism. The text proposes a "parting of the Gods," suggesting that early followers of Jesus, while still identifying as Jews, began to conceive of God and His will in ways fundamentally distinct from other Jewish expressions, primarily through their belief in Jesus as God's Son and Messiah, ultimately leading to a separate identity.
Topic 1: The impetus for reevaluating Jewish-Christian relations The source begins by emphasizing the urgent need to reconsider the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, a necessity brought into sharp focus by the Holocaust, which resulted in the systematic murder of over six million Jews. While those who orchestrated these atrocities did not explicitly justify their actions using Christian beliefs, the text asserts that the negative portrayals, caricatures, and inflammatory rhetoric directed against Jewish people by Christians over nearly two millennia significantly contributed to the crimes and violence perpetrated against them. This profound historical context highlights a moral and intellectual imperative for both Jewish and Christian communities, united in their horror at the atrocities, to re-examine their historical and theological interactions.
Topic 2: Traditional Christian views of Judaism Historically, particularly since the Protestant Reformation, a prevalent scholarly and theological trend has been to present Judaism as the antithesis of Christianity. This perspective often contrasted Christianity's message of God's grace, mercy, and free forgiveness through Christ with Judaism's supposed portrayal of God as a demanding judge whose favor had to be earned through strict observance of commandments and accumulation of good works. Jews were sometimes depicted as burdened by the impossible task of achieving salvation through legalistic means, or, conversely, as arrogantly claiming to have earned divine favor. Christianity, in this view, offered peace and assurance through faith alone, while Judaism was seen as a narrow, particularistic religion focused on petty legalism and meaningless rituals, lacking true spirituality. The perceived hypocrisy, Pharisaism, and "eye for an eye" mentality of Judaism were unfavorably contrasted with the Christian gospel of mercy, kindness, generosity, humility, and forgiveness. Furthermore, a common traditional view asserted that Jews were a rebellious and disobedient people who stubbornly rejected truth and were responsible for the death of the Son of God.
Topic 3: Supersessionism and its implications Flowing directly from the negative portrayals of Judaism, a significant theological conclusion was the doctrine of supersessionism. This doctrine posits that God had rejected the Jews and no longer regarded them as His chosen people, implying that Judaism had been superseded by Christianity. Consequently, it was believed that Judaism no longer served any divine purpose and was merely an obsolete relic that should disappear. The Church was understood to have replaced Israel as God's people, and the old covenant, established through Moses, was considered abolished, giving way to the new covenant established through Christ. The observance of the Mosaic law was deemed pointless, even contrary to God's will, and therefore to be rejected. These ideas were particularly associated with interpretations of Paul, who was seen as regarding life under the Jewish law as "loss" and "rubbish," and calling both Gentiles and Jews to abandon its observance as it allegedly led to "works-righteousness" and boasting, which God detested. Believers in Christ were thought to be redeemed from the law's slavery, which supposedly brought only death and condemnation, and those who insisted on clinging to law observance were seen as denying God's grace and remaining under His wrath.
Topic 4: The historical consequences of negative portrayals The source makes a clear and direct connection between the negative portrayals of Judaism and the historical conclusion that Judaism and Jews should be eradicated. This devastating outcome was tragically realized in the systematic extermination efforts of the National Socialist regime in Germany under Adolf Hitler. The text highlights that these atrocities, while not explicitly Christian-justified by their orchestrators, were significantly fueled by nearly two millennia of inflammatory rhetoric and negative caricatures of Jews originating from Christian traditions. As an example of this historical link, it notes that Martin Luther, in his notorious treatise "On the Jews and Their Lies," himself advocated violence towards Jews of his day based on similar negative characterizations of Judaism. This linkage underscores the profound real-world consequences and human suffering that can arise from deep-seated negative theological and cultural portrayals.
Topic 5: Post-Holocaust scholarly reappraisal of Judaism In the aftermath of the Holocaust, many Christian biblical scholars felt an urgent need to critically reappraise their foundational texts and traditional interpretations concerning Jews and Judaism. This reappraisal often involved collaboration with Jewish scholars. Key figures in this movement included David Daube, W.D. Davies, Geza Vermes, Krister Stendahl, and notably, E.P. Sanders, whose 1977 book Paul and Palestinian Judaism was highly influential. These scholars challenged traditional Christian assumptions, particularly the notion of a legalistic, works-righteous Judaism, arguing instead that the concept of grace was central to the ancient Jewish worldview. They proposed that the Mosaic law and the covenant with Israel were expressions of God's love, and that God expected a response of commitment to His commandments and atonement for sins, rather than perfect obedience. This led to a reinterpretation of early Christianity not as Judaism's antithesis, but as an expression or offshoot of it. Jesus and Paul were increasingly viewed as faithful, law-observant Jews who never intended to abandon Judaism or replace it with a new religion, and their earliest followers were seen as valuing and upholding the law.
Topic 6: The "Parting of the Ways" between Jews and Jesus' followers Recent scholarly reevaluation has led to an increased appreciation of the Jewish background and roots of the Christian faith. Many New Testament scholars now assert that the Apostle Paul can only be properly understood within Judaism, not in distinction from it, and consider terms like "Christian" and "church" anachronistic when referring to the earliest believers in Christ. In the years immediately following Jesus' death, Jewish followers of Christ largely continued to live peacefully within the Jewish community, meeting in synagogues. Tensions and conflicts primarily emerged when large numbers of uncircumcised Gentiles were fully incorporated into these communities without observing the Jewish law, an unexpected byproduct of the gospel's proclamation. Initially, these conflicts were internal debates among Jewish believers regarding Gentile inclusion. Eventually, however, tensions escalated between the communities of Jesus' followers and the broader Jewish community, leading to a "parting of the ways." This separation occurred at different times and in various ways in different locales, but most scholars agree it would be inaccurate to place it any earlier than the late first century, with some even arguing for a much later or no complete parting at all.
Topic 7: Theological questions for early Jewish believers in Christ The new understanding of early Christianity as an offshoot of Judaism raises considerable theological challenges, particularly regarding the beliefs and self-understanding of Jesus' earliest followers who were Jewish. If their conviction was that the crucified and risen Jesus was Israel's Messiah and Son of God, what was the basis for convincing fellow Jews to also believe in Jesus? If commitment to the Mosaic law was sufficient for God's acceptance and righteousness, and God didn't demand perfect obedience, what need did law-observant Jews have for Jesus' salvation? If Jewish sacrificial rites already provided atonement for sins, what was the use of Jesus' atoning death? The full acceptance of uncircumcised Gentiles into the ekklēsia, justified by faith without law observance, further complicated matters, raising questions about the meaning and purpose of continued law-observance for Jewish believers. Did it imply that faith in Christ was insufficient for them? Should Jewish believers set aside the law for fellowship with Gentiles? Moreover, if God had always intended salvation through Christ, why was the law given in the first place, and why was it good for Jewish believers to observe it but wrong for Gentiles to adopt it? These questions highlight the profound theological complexities faced by Jesus' earliest Jewish followers, even before significant Gentile inclusion.
Topic 8: The concept of a "Parting of the Gods" A crucial argument presented is that a "parting of the Gods" occurred from the moment Jesus' earliest followers began to proclaim the crucified, risen, and exalted Jesus as God's Son and Israel's Messiah. This implies that while they still believed in the God of Israel, their understanding of this God was fundamentally redefined by His relationship to Jesus. From the perspective of Jews who did not believe in Jesus, the claims regarding what the God of Israel had done in relation to Jesus (sending His Son, allowing His crucifixion, raising Him) were not true, leading them to perceive the God proclaimed by Jesus' followers as distinct from the God they had traditionally believed in. This distinction was not ontological—they didn't believe in a literally different God—but rather a new way of viewing and conceiving the God of Israel, now primarily defined by His connection to Jesus and His desire for Judaism to be redefined and resignified around Jesus. This "parting of the Gods" is presented as occurring from the very beginning of the movement, potentially even during Jesus' lifetime, due to the distinctive vision of God's intentions that Jesus and his followers presented. The source also notes that a second "parting of the Gods" occurred in later centuries with the development of Christian thought, as the God of whom Paul spoke was replaced by a God displaying traits associated with pagan deities.
Topic 9: Methodology for reconstructing early Christian thought The author acknowledges the difficulty of directly reconstructing the precise beliefs of the historical Jesus or his immediate followers due to a lack of direct access and the speculative nature of such attempts. Therefore, the chosen methodology for understanding the beliefs of Jesus' earliest followers involves focusing on the earliest and most reliable sources at disposal: the undisputed epistles of Paul (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon), generally dated approximately twenty to twenty-five years after Jesus' crucifixion. This approach aims to provide a picture of early followers' self-understanding in relation to Judaism that can resolve many questions raised by recent scholarship while avoiding past caricatures. The author posits that this examination will reveal that the understanding of God and God's will among Jesus' earliest followers was fundamentally distinct from other first-century Jewish expressions. This undertaking also necessitates a profound and thorough rethinking of certain core theological beliefs found in Second Temple Jewish thought and in Paul's writings, concerning God's intentions for Israel and the nations, the purpose of the Mosaic law, and the nature of righteousness, justification, and salvation.
Topic 10: The author's scholarly approach and scope This work positions itself within biblical studies and biblical theology, approaching texts from a historical perspective and focusing on the beliefs of Jews in the Second Temple period, especially Paul. However, it explicitly departs from contemporary biblical scholarship's typical emphasis on highly precise, narrowly defined topics or specific textual passages. Instead, it addresses broader, underlying assumptions and fundamental questions that are often presupposed rather than explicitly discussed in biblical texts, such as God's intentions for Israel, the purpose of the Mosaic law, or the precise manner of human salvation through Christ. The author often notes various interpretive possibilities for specific passages without advocating for one, prioritizing the larger questions. Methodological choices include translating directly from original Hebrew and Greek texts to ensure accuracy and nuance not always present in common English translations. Furthermore, the author deliberately uses masculine pronouns for God to reflect ancient linguistic practices for historical accuracy, distinguishing this aim from contemporary theological concerns about gendered language. The author acknowledges a deep indebtedness to scholars like Mark Nanos and Paula Fredriksen, who have championed interpreting Paul within his Jewish context, reinforcing the work's commitment to understanding Paul as someone who cherished his Jewish identity and traditions throughout his life.