Partings

When did Judaism and Christianity become two separate faiths? Had the process already begun in the decades following Jesus' crucifixion, or did it take centuries for the first serious and inexorable divisions to appear? Or is it the case that Judaism and Christianity share so much in common that they, in fact, never really parted? This book traces the compelling and often muddled history of Judaism and Christianity through their formative years, from the shared background of first-century Judaism and all its varieties to the diverse interactions and experiences of Jews, Christians and Jewish-Christians under centuries of Roman rule. More than a dozen chapters, authored by the world's foremost scholars in early Judaism and Christianity, tell the story of a complex and evolving "parting of the ways" that occurred in different places and at different times. Other chapters explore specific events and groups that may have shaped this history, such as the legendary Christian flight to Pella, the enigmatic Jewish sympathizers known as Godfearers, and the mysterious Torah-observant Christian sects of teh Ebionites and Nazoraens. -- from dust jacket.