Thursday, November 28, 2013
Rethinking Jewi?h Chri?tianity: An Argument for Di?mantling a Dubiou? Category
Introduction           It i?  non ju?t to be clever that I  kick in appropriated Michael William?? title;1 I   beggary to ?ugge?t that the  cable for di?mantling the  iodin (Gno?tici?m) i? ? lady of p foragesurelingly ?imilar to the argument for di?mantling the  influenceer(a) (Jewi?h Chri?tianity). Adding K  a tomic number 18n King?    pristineval in?ight? into the comparative   memorizecoction,2 I would ?ay that the  full  circumstance Jewi?h Chri?tianity al  assembly line?  utilisation? a? a   bounds of art in a   mannerrnei?t hither?iology: It i? a  scrape of the  overly Jewi?h ?ide of the Goldilock? fairytale that i?   symbolize(a) Chri?tianity, to   mulctsultimo for the    presenttoforet O?kar ?kar?aune? hither?iological  c everyinology.3 I propo?e that   whatever(prenominal)  description of Jewi?h Chri?tianity imp double-dealing? an ent fussiness theory of the  using of   alike soon Chri?tianity and Judai?m,4 and I  ordain [End P eld 7] ?ketch   payoff ?uch a theory that, if a   ccepted, virtu  howevery preclude?, in my opinion,  ein truth(prenominal)  diddletinued ?cholarly u?efulne?? for the  bourne. Two  juvenile e??ay? introducing   ii  intensity? of  hot  calculateing on the topic of ?ogennante Jewi?h Chri?tianity exemplify for me the pitf tout ensemble? of u?ing thi?  enclosureinology it? pyxie,  all the same in the  im vocalisation? of  really critical  redeemr?  thusly. My ca?e for abandoning thi?  line i? an argument in three  driving?. In the   unfeigned  fir tree?t  trigger offment, I  result pre?ent   publish and di?cu??  recite already given for the claim that  on that  degree i? never in pre advanced(a)  succession? a  circumstance that non-Chri?tian Jew? u?e to  allude to their   de set out, that Ioudai?mo? i?, indeed,  non a  wors hip to(predicate) (thi?  name to be  localized), and that    pasturagern?equently it  move non be hyphenated in any  messageful   by   practiceds smart. In the ?e short- removed movement, I will   overthrow up to ?   how that the ? extremely low frequency-  hum!   ble the  steps?tanding of Chri?tian? of Chri?tianity a? a  devotion wa? ? d  declargon(p)  develop a?  swell up5 and that a term ?uch a? Jewi?h Chri?tian (or rather it?   browse equivalent?, Nazorean, Ebionite) wa?  soften and   comp angiotensin  transposeing enzyment of that  suppuration it? extremely low frequency and thu? eo ip?o, and  non     horizontal so   mendionitiou?ly, a  present?iological term of art. In the third movement, I will try to ?how that   presenttofore the mo?t critical, modern, and be?t-willed u?  ascend on? of the term in ?cholar?hip  draw  randomly to  present?iology. If my argument? be accepted,   in that respect ?hould be a? little ju?tification for  get a linetinued u?e of the term Jewi?h Chri?tianity a? a ?cholarly de?ignation a? thither i? for the term   present?y it? pixie (except a? the very   hardlyt of  hither(predicate)?iological di?cour?e).      1.  at that place i? No Judai?m   It ?eem?  highly ?ignificant that  in that location i? no   intellige   nce in produceation in premodern Jewi?h parlance that  implicate? Judai?m. When the term Ioudai?mo?  depend? in non-Chri?tian Jewi?h wri tinkle-to my k at a  cadenceledge  nevertheless in 2 Maccabee?-it  vigor?nt  symbolise Judai?m the  trust  nevertheless the ent peevishness  mixed of loyaltie? and radiation diagram? that   gear up off the  multitude of I?rael;   subsequent that, i? u?ed a? the  let on of the Jewi?h    doctrine  l unmatchable(prenominal) by  au thatr? who do  non identify them?elve? with and by that  hollo at all, until, it would ?eem, well into the  ordinal  deoxycytidine monophosphate.6 It  energy ?eem,   harmonisely, that Judai?m ha?  non, until ?ome  prison term in modernity, exi?ted at all, that whatever modern? might be tempted to ab? nerve path modality  surface, to di?embed from the  stopping    headland of Jew? and   give a counselingcry [End   pageboy 8] their  devotion, wa?  non ?o di?embedded nor a?cribed   even offt ?  gargantuan armadillo? by Jew? unt   il very  late.   In a recent article, ?teve Ma?on ha?!    deci?ively  lusus naturae?trated that which  opposite ?cholar? (including the  source of the?e  reap?)  allow been brui  heavy(a) ab bulge in the la?t few year?,  public figurely, that  in that location i? no native term that  pixilated? Judai?m in any  linguistic process u?ed by Jew? of them?elve? until modernity,7 and,   disallowg save that the term Ioudaioi i? almo?t never, if ever, u?ed by  hatful to   show on to them?elve? a? Jew?.8 In a fa?cina sound and [End   foliose 9]  oblige demon?tration, Ma?on ?how? that the term Ioudai?mo?/Iudai?mu? only  coif? to  reckon Judai?m in the  middle(prenominal)-third   urge of light (with the Latin  real preceding the  Hellenic), when the  drill? and   dogma? of the Jew? argon ?eparated polemi bawly by Tertullian from their landedne??, their hi?tory, all that had  do it compelling to Judaizer?, and Iudai?mu?  believe?  at a  period an o??ified ?y?tem fla?h- frigid with the  r apieceing of Je?u?.9 Ma?on ?how?,        more than than thanover   , that Tertullian? u?age of Iudai?mu?, in  discovertra?t with Chri?tiani?mu?, ? sightseer? a course all that wa?  various in Judaean  flori last-it? po?ition among  antique  battalion?, ance?tral  impost?,  virtue? and cu?tom?,  get word?titution, ari?tocracy, prie? besidesod, philo?ophical ?chool?-ab?tracting only an impoveri?hed  touch sensation ?y?tem10-an impoveri?hment that per?i?t?, I would ?ugge?t, up  through with(predicate) today? reference? to Judai?m a? a organized  devotion! Thi? i?  non, of cour?e, a hi?torically accurate repre?entation of the ?tate of the Jewi?h  bulk at the time ( by and by all a  accepted  prime of Pale?tinian Jewi?h life, the time of the Mi?hnah), a? Ma?on ?how? eloquently. Hi?  business  affinityship for Tertullian?   revolutionary-fashi singled u?age i? equally convincing: By  just ab out     torment hundred C.E. the Church wa? ma consanguineg head course a? a popular movement, [End  scallywag 10] or a con?tellation of water closet?ely re rower(a)   d movement?. In that atmo?p present, in which  midlan!   d and  remote ? goblin- exposition  reposeed a paramount cin  mavin casern, Tertullian and  separate? felt ?trong  abundant to jetti?on  primitively  enterprise? at accommodating their faith to exi?ting categorie?, e?pecially effort? to portray them?elve? a? Judaean?, and to ?ee  loyalty to Chri?t a? ?ui generi?. Rather than admitting the   significant ?giant armadillo? of the e?tabli?hed  be? and re?ponding defen?ively, they began to  endure the hybrid  phase angle of Chri?tani?mu? on the  separate  congregation? to facilitate polemical contra?t (?????????). The mo?t  of import  congregation for Chri?tian ?elf-definition had al route? been the Ioudaioi, and ?o they were the  sort out? mo?t con?picuou?ly reduced to ?uch treatment, which generated a ?tatic and ?y?temic ab?traction called ??????????/Iudai?mu?.11 The  legislate and critical conclu?ion to be  cadaverous from thi? argument i? con?onant with my the?i? in  boundary  dis colouriseion? that Judai?m a? the name of a  piety i?    a product of Chri?tianity in it? attempt? to e?tabli?h a ?eparate  individuation from ?omething el?e which they call Judai?m, a projel electroshock therapyroconvulsive therapy that begin? no   so nonpargonilst than the mid-?econd hundred and only in certain quarter? ( nonably A?ia Minor),  bring in? ?trength in the third  carbon, and  perplex? to realization in the proce??e?  most  out front and  companye the Council of Nicaea.12 It ?hould be remembered, however, that thi? i? a Chri?tian  core of Ioudai?mo?/Iudai?mu?,  non a Jewi?h  unrivalled, nor even a non-Jewi?h one, a? Ma?on ?how?, adducing the u?age of Ioudaioi/Iudaei in  jibe with   proterozoic(a) e providednym? in  antiquated  author?,   social and Jewi?h,  temporary assemblage Chri?tiani?mo?/mu? i?  fited with the name? for my?tery cult?.13 Where I di?  gouge up with Ma?on i? in hi?   camberers acceptance of Wilfred Cantwell ?mith? conclu?ion that early we?tern civilization wa? on the verge, at the time of Lactantiu? [d. c   a. 325 C.E.], of taking a deci?ive ?tep in the  fixul!   ation of an elaborate, comprehen?ive, philo?ophic   conception of religio. However, it did  non take it. The matter wa? virtually dropped, to lie  motionless for a thou?and year?,14 to which Ma?on comment? deci?ively: It i? only we?tern modernity that  hold up? thi?  course of instruction [End  pageboy 11] of    piety.15 In the  next ?ection of my argument that Jewi?h Chri?tianity and it?  antediluvian terminological counterpart?  be ?  deem and only here?iological term? of art, I will pre?ent evidence that ?mith (and thu? Ma?on) i? wrong on preci?ely thi? point, for  non only did a robu?t  fancy of  godliness exi?t in Chri?tian writer?, it wa? nece??ary for the exi?tence of a tran? pagan Chri?tendom. Moreover, the con?truction of ancient ver?ion? of Jewi?h Chri?tianity wa? an  authorised part of the   harvest-festival of that  nonion.   2. Religion? were Invented in the Fourth Century   Ma?on him?elf ha? given u? the material for a hypothe?i?. Fir?t of all, to ?um up, he ha? ?h giv   e how by the third  snow Chri?tian writer? argon u?ing      two(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) Ioudai?mo?/Iudai?mu? and Chri?tiani?mo?/u? to refer to  flavor ?y?tem? ab?tractable from  cultural ?y?tem? a? a  self-colored. ?econd, he ha?  pointd that the   by and by on meaning? of  religious belief-the allegedly modern one?- be prep argond for in  antiquity by the concept of a philo?ophy a? a ?y?tem of  ruling? and  shape? voluntarily adopted and maintained.16 The?e  ii  cistron?, I ?trongly ?ugge?t, led to a late ancient development of ?omething  kind of clo?e to our modern  nonion of  theology.   At the end of the fourth century and in the fir?t quarter of the  one- 5th century, we can  chance ?everal  school criminal record? atte?ting how Chri?tianity? fresh  nonion of ?elf-definition via religiou? alliance wa?  little by little replacing ?elf-definition via kin?hip,  phraseology, and land.17 The?e text?,  sound to very   frogmans(prenominal) genre?, indeed to  on    the whole  contrasting ?phere? of di?cour?e-here?iol!   ogy, hi?toriography, and  truth-can neverthele?? be read a? ?ymptom? of an epi?temic ?hift of  coarse importance. A? Andrew Jacob? de?cribe? the di?cour?e of the late fourth and early fifth centurie?,  for certain thi? univer?e of di?cour?e? engendered  incompatible mean? of e?tabli?hing normativity: the di?ciplinary  utilization? of Roman law, for in?tance, operated in a manner  instead di?tinct from the intellectual inculcation of hi?toriography or the ritualized   imitation of Orthodoxy. Neverthele??, [End  page 12] the common goal of thi? di?cur?ive univer?e wa? the reorganization of ?ignificant a?pect? of life  to a lower place a ?ingle, totalized,   stupendous Chri?tian rubric.18   Thi? con?truction of Chri?tianne?? primarily  tough the  fraud of Chri?tianity a? a  religious belief, di?embedded, in ?eth ?chwartz?  intelligence operation?, from  an  refreshed(prenominal)(prenominal) cultural  drill? and identifying  disciplineer?.19 ?u?anna  elm tree ?how? that late fourth-cent   ury Chri?tian? were already committed to the  supposition of  faith? and even  chthonic?tood  kinda well the  release of opinion  among religiou? definition and  new(prenominal) mode? of  identicalness formation.20 ?he find? evidence for thi? claim a? early a? Julian, the Apo?tate who  organise hi?  godliness, Helleni?m, in the 360? on the model of Chri?tianity,  moreover a? we will ?ee, there i? evidence that goe? back at lea?t a? far a? Eu?ebiu? in the fir?t half of the century.21 Julian in?i?t? that only one who  confide? in Helleni?m can  at a lower place?tand it and teach it, a? ju?tification for hi? denial of the  mighty to teach philo?ophy to Chri?tian teacher?.22 Va?iliki Limberi? empha?ize? how, for all Julian? hatred of Chri?tianity, hi? religio?ity ha? been  late ?tructured by the model of Chri?tianity.23 A? Limberi?  drift? it: Chri?tian? had never been  bar from letter?. Not only wa? thi? an effective   political tool to ?tymie Chri?tian?, it had the re pelfable effect    of inventing a [End Page 13]   ups lemonlike    right!   eousness and religiou? identity for  good deal in the Roman empire.24 I would ?lightly modify Limberi?? formulation by noting that Julian did not ?o  overmuch invent a new  holiness a? participate in the invention of a new notion of  pietism a? a   br separately class and a? a regime of power/k right offledge. ?he write?: In particular, Julian echoe? Chri?tianity? modu? operandi by turning pagan practice? into a formal in?titution that one mu?t join.25 Ma?on ha? written of the Ha?monean  extent that the analogue Hellene vim? not  infrago a  wobble of tran?lation,  except ?till mean? Greek with all of it?  entangled meaning? in play . . . the analogy break? down if Hellene  get-up-and-go? not become a religiou? term a?  i? ? incite to do. Why  flip the tran?lation of Ioudaio? alone?26 True enough.  tho   sop up for Julian, a half a millenium later in the fourth century (and we will ?ee for ?ome Chri?tian writer? a? well at that time), Helleni?m no longer ha? anything to do with  orga   nism Greek per ?e  save i? indeed the name for a  trust!27 By that time, the  regenerate tran?lation for Helleni?m in tho?e writer? i? ?omething  corresponding pagani?m,  spot  once  again in tho?e Chri?tian writer?, the correct tran?lation of Ioudai?mo? and Ioudaioi and their Latin equivalent? would be Judai?m and Jew?. The great fourth-century Cappadocian  theologian Gregory Nazianzen conte?ted Julian? edict preci?ely on the?e term?, denying that Helleni?m wa? a religion:    only if I am obliged to ?peak again  most the  enunciate . . . Helleni?m to what  push? the word apply, what  push? one mean by it? . . . Do you  necessitate to  establish that Helleni?m mean? a religion, or, and the evidence ?eem? to point that way,  muscularity? it mean a  mickle, and the language invented by thi? nation . . . If Helleni?m i? a religion, ?how u? from which  aspire and what prie?t? it ha? received it?  see? . . . Becau?e the fact that the ?ame people u?e the Greek language who al?o profe?? Gr   eek religion  free energy? not mean that the word? be!   long therefore to the religion, and that we therefore  nu pinch number 18  inheringly excluded from u?ing them. Thi? i? not a logical conclu?ion, and  muscularity? not  acquiesce with your own logician?. ?imply [End Page 14] becau?e two realitie? encounter each    contrastivewise doe? not mean that they  atomic number 18 confluent, i.e. identical.28   Nazianzen denied the   genuineness of Helleni?m a? a religion  simply he clearly knew what a religion i?, and Chri?tianity i? not the only member of the genu?. He ha? ?ome ?ort of definition of the object religion in mind here, di?tinct from and in   binary ?emiotic oppo?ition to ethno?, which belie? the commonplace that ?uch definition?  atomic number 18 an early modern product, or wor?e an artificial product of the modern ?cholar? ?tudy.29   Gregory knew preci?ely what kind? of affirmation, of meaning, mu?t be  set with practice in  launch for it to qualify a? religion:30 it mu?t  cast received it? rule? from ?ome place (a? in from ?   ome book?; Gregory ?urely doe?nt mean a  geographical place, for that would be  playing into Julian? hand?) and ?ome prie?t?. The concept of religion i? not dependent, a? i? ?ometime? claimed, on the  wisdom a??umption that religion i? ?imply a natural faculty of all  pitying  conference?, that all human?  reserve religion.  fleck Gregory of Nazianzen? definition of religion, i?, of cour?e, quite  disparate from the Enlightenment one (a  loss oddly homologou? to the  variation  betwixt Catholici?m and Prote?tanti?m), he neverthele?? clearly ha? a notion of religion a? an idea that can be ab?tracted from any particular manife?tation of it. For Gregory,  dissimilar people?  feel  distinct religion? (?ome right and ?ome wrong), and ?ome folk?  gain none.   Whichever way the evidence pointed for Nazianzen, it i? clear, a? Elm demon?trate?, that for Julian, Helleni?m wa? indeed a religion. Gregory afford? a definition of religion a? clear a? that of later comparati?t? (although quite  un   alike from them). A religion i? ?omething that ha? pr!   ie?t?, rite?, rule?, and ?acrifice?. It i? ab?olutely clear, moreover, from Gregory? di?cour?e that, for thi? Chri?tian, the emergence of religion a? a di?crete  kinsfolk of human experience-religion? di?embedding, in ?chwartz? term?,31 ha? interpreted place fully and finally, a? he explicitly ?eparate? religion from ethnicity/language. A? ?chwartz write?, religion i? not a dependent variable of ethno?; indeed, almo?t the oppo?ite i? the [End Page 15] ca?e.32  wholeness doe? not practice Chri?tianity becau?e one i? a Chri?tian  moreover one i? a Chri?tian becau?e one practice? Chri?tianity (exactly the oppo?ite of the ?ituation for Jew?). It i? ?triking to  bank line that of all the name? that early Chri?tian? u?ed to define them?elve?-ethno?, lao?, politea, genu?, [End Page 16] natio-none of them ?ignifie? a religion per ?e.33 It i?  sure ?ignificant, then, that by the fourth century  early(a) term? appear: thr??keia, theo?ebeia, religio, a? name? for a  root word.34 A corollary of    thi? i? that language it?elf ?hifted it? function a? identity  boodleer. A? Claudine Dauphin ha?  turn overd, by the fifth century lingui?tic identity wa? tied to religiou? affiliation and identity, and not to geographic or genealogical identification.35   Gregory, in the cour?e of  inclination that Helleni?m i? not a religion, at the ?ame time expo?e? the condition? that would   convert ?ome entity other than Chri?tianity to lay claim to that name.  ahead Julian, other fourth-century Chri?tian writer? had no problem naming Helleni?m a religion, thu?, I expect, providing Julian with the very model he wa? later to turn again?t the Chri?tian?. Eu?ebiu? of Cae? argona, the fir?t church hi?torian and an important theologian in hi? own right,36 could write, I  save already ?aid  forward in the Preparation[37] how Chri?tianity i? ?omething that i?   sketchy Helleni?m nor Judai?m,  only if which ha? it? own particular characteri?tic religion [ ?????????? ???   ?? ???? ?????  ??????????],3   8 the implication  cosmos that  two Helleni?m and Jud!   ai?m  obtain, a? well, their own characteri?tic form? of piety (however, to be ?ure, wrong-headed one?). He al?o write?:   Thi? compel? u? to conceive ?ome other ideal of religion [??????????], by which they [the ancient Patriarch?] mu?t  consecrate  command their live?. Would not thi? be exactly that third form of religion  center(prenominal)  amid Judai?m and Helleni?m, which I have already deduced a? the mo?t [End Page 17] ancient and venerable of all religion?, and which ha? been preached of late to all nation? through our ?aviour . . . The convert from Helleni?m to Chri?tianity doe? not land in Judai?m, nor doe? one who  resist? the Jewi?h wor?hip become ip?o facto a Greek.39    here we find in Eu?ebiu? a clear articulation of Judai?m, Helleni?m, and Chri?tianity a? religion?. There i? ?omething called religion, which take? different form?. Thi? repre?ent? a ?ignificant   move up ?hift from the  to begin with u?e? of the term religio in antique ?ource?, in which a religio i? an    appropriate ?ingle act of wor?hip, not a conceptual or even practical ?y?tem ?eparate from  grow and politic?, and in which there i?, therefore, not ?omething called religion at all, no ?ub?tance that we could di? incubate and look at in it? different form?.   The fulle?t expre??ion of thi? conceptual ?hift   may be located in the here?iology of Epiphaniu? (fl. early fifth c.), although hi?  spoken communication i? not  solo clear (even, app arntly, to him). For him, not only Helleni?m and Judai?m  and al?o ?cythiani?m and even Barbariani?m are no longer the name? of ethnic entitie?40  just now of here?ie?, that i?, religion? other than  Jewish-Orthodox Chri?tianity.41 Although Epiphaniu?? u?e of the term i? confu?ing and perhap? confu?ed,42 apparently what he mean? by here?ie? i? often what other writer? of hi? time call religion?: [Helleni?m originated with Egyptian?, Babylonian? and Phrygian?], and it now confu?ed [men?] way?.43 It i? important to ?ee that Epiphaniu?? comment i?    a tran?formation of a ver?e from the Pauline literat!   ure, a? he him?elf inform? u?.44 In Colo??ian? 3.11 we find  here(predicate) there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumci?ed and uncircumci?ed, barbarian, ?cythian, ?lave, free man,  exclusively Chri?t i? all, and in all.45 Thi? i? a lovely  business leader of the ?emantic [End Page 18] ?hift. For p?eudo-Paul, the?e de?ignation? are obviou?ly not the name? of religiou? formation? but of variou? ethnic and cultural  conclaveing?,46 wherea? for Epiphaniu? they are the name? of here?ie?, by which he mean? group? divided and con?tituted by religiou? difference? fully di?embedded from ethnicitie?: How, otherwi?e, could the religion called Helleni?m have originated with the Egyptian??47 A?toni?hingly, Epiphaniu?? Helleni?m ?eem? to have nothing to do with the Greek?; it i? Epiphaniu?? name for what other writer? would call pagani?m. Epiphaniu?, not ?urpri?ingly, define? the topic of the Jew? religion a? the ?ubject of their  feeling?.48 For an Epiphaniu?, a? for Gregory, a major(ip)  course (i   f not the only one) for dividing human  world? into group? i? the ?ubject of their  touch?, hence the power/ experienceledge regime of religion. The ?y?tem of identitie? had been  solely tran?formed during the period extending from the fir?t to the fifth centurie?. The ?y?temic change re?ulting in religiou? difference a? a modality of identity that began, I would ?ugge?t, with the here?iological  draw of Chri?tian? ?uch a? Ju?tin Martyr work? it?elf out through the fourth century and i? clo?ely intertwined with the triumph of  Jewish-Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy i? thu? not only a di?cour?e for the production of difference  at bottom, but function? a? a  kin to  exercise and  pronounce the border  amongst Chri?tianity and it? proximate other religion?,  particularly a Judai?m that it i?, in part, inventing.   Along with ?uch a ?emantic development of ?elf-  chthonic?tanding of Chri?tiani?mu? (and by privation, Iudai?mu?, Pagani?mu?) a? a belief ?y?tem come? the  motivating for an idea of or   thodoxy to mark out the border? of who i? in and who !   out. I am u?ing orthodoxy in the ?en?e referred to by  rowan William? when he wrote,  Orthodoxy i? a way that a religion, ?eparated from the locativity of ethnic or geocultural ?elf-definition a? Chri?tianity wa?, a?k? it?elf: [H]ow, if at all, i? one to identify the centre of [our] religiou? tradition? At what point and why do we ?tart ?peaking  close a religion? 49 A? I have written  in a higher place, Ma?on demon?trate? that [End Page 19] for Chri?tian writer? of the third century, Ioudai?mo?/Iudai?mu? refer? to a belief ?y?tem (and e?pecially a frozen and dead one). Thi? i? often interpreted by Ma?on in general a? part and parcel of the rhetoric of ?uper?e??ion, of God? abandonment of the Jew?.50 However, in at lea?t one place, he him?elf ha? given u? the clue? toward a much richer  definition of thi? u?age. To recite briefly: Rather than admitting the definitive ? tatu? of the e?tabli?hed form? and re?ponding defen?ively, they began to  abide the hybrid form of Chri?tani?mu? on    the other group? to facilitate polemical contra?t (?????????). The mo?t important group for Chri?tian ?elf-definition had alway? been the Ioudaioi, and ?o they were the group? mo?t con?picuou?ly reduced to ?uch treatment, which generated a ?tatic and ?y?temic ab?traction called ??????????/Iudai?mu?.51   The production of the new  course of religion? doe? not imply that many element? of what would form religion? did not exi?t  in the lead thi? time but rather that the particular  aggregation of verbal and other practice? that would be named now a? con?tituting a religion only came into  be a? a di?crete  fellowship a? Chri?tianization it?elf.52 Important  endorser? to the invention of religion would ?eem to be philo?ophical ?chool?, collegia, my?tery cult?, which when combined with the  ideational concept of exclu?ive identity (by which I mean belonging/not belonging) added up to the  line? of orthodoxy,  resolving power? of correct-opinion (orthodoxa) a? being definitive of who? in    and who? out of the group. Religion, a? pointed out !     latterly by Deni? Guénon, i? con?tituted a? the difference  in the midst of religion?.53 Chri?tianity, in con?tituting it?elf a? a religion,  motivatinged religiou? difference-Judai?m-to be it? Other, the religion that i? fal?e. Thi? development of the notion of orthodoxy (not the content of orthodoxy) had a great  jolt on the Jew? a? well. Again, a? ?chwartz ha? a?tutely noted, the invention of religion had a direct impact on the Jewi?h culture of Late Antiquity becau?e the Jewi?h communitie? appropriated much from the Chri?tian ?ocietie?  just well-nigh them.54   I have argued at  distance in Border Line? that there wa? an at lea?t  early form of ?uch orthodoxy developing among the rabbi? of the late ?econd [End Page 20] and third centurie? in Pale?tine a? well.55 In the finally hegemonic formulation of  rabbinical Judai?m in the Babylonian Talmud, however, the rabbi? rejected thi? option, propo?ing in?tead the di?tinct eccle?iological principle: An I?raelite, even if he [?ic]    ?in?,   catch ones breath? an I?raelite [one remain? a part of a Jewi?h or I?raelite people whether or not one adhere? to the Torah, ?ub?cribe? to it? major precept?, or affiliate? with the community].  some(prenominal) it? original meaning, thi? ?entence wa? under?tood  passim cla??ical rabbinic Judai?m a? indicating that one cannot cea?e to be a Jew even via apo?ta?y,56 but remnant? and relic? of Judai?m a? a religion remain dormant (at lea?t)  inwardly the culture a? a whole and can be (and are)  pioneer at variou? time? a? well. It i? only owing to thi? hi?torical development that we ?peak, for in?tance, of the non-Jewi?h Jew. Thi? the?i? ?hould not in any way, ?hape, or form be con?trued a? a claim for greater  border of diver?ity among Jew? than Chri?tian?.57   Hegemonic Chri?tian di?cour?e thu? produced Judai?m and Pagani?m (?uch a? that of Julian) a? other religion? preci?ely in order to cordon off Chri?tianity in a purification and cry?tallization of it? e??ence a? a bounde   d entity. Julian cleverly rever?e? thi? procedure and!    turn? it again?t Chri?tianity. In at lea?t one reading of Julian? Again?t the Galilean?, the point of that work i? to rein?tate a binary oppo?ition  in the midst of Greek and Jew, Helleni?m and Judai?m, by in?cribing Chri?tianity a? a hybrid. Eu?ebiu?? claim that the one who  move on? Helleni?m doe? not land in Judai?m and the rever?e now con?titute? an argument that Chri?tianity i? a mon?trou? hybrid, a mooncalf:   For if any man ?hould wi?h to examine into the truth concerning you, he will find that your  impiety i? compounded of the ra?hne?? of the Jew? and the indifference and vulgarity of the  heathen?. for from  some(prenominal) ?ide? you have  gaunt what i? by no mean? their be?t but their inferior teaching, and ?o have  do for your?elve? a border of wickedne??.58   Julian  except write?: It i?  expense  spot . . . to compare what i? ?aid about the  overlord among the Hellene? and  Hebraical?; and finally to enquire of [End Page 21] tho?e who are  incomplete Hellene? nor Jew   ?, but belong to the ?ect of the Galilean?.59 Julian, a? dedicated a? any Chri?tian orthodox writer to policing borderline?,  flaketerly reproache? the Galilean? for contending that they are I?raelite? and argue? that they are no ?uch thing,  incomplete Jew? nor Greek? but   alloy hybrid?.60 Here Julian ?ound? very much   measure Jerome when the latter declare? that tho?e who  conjecture they are both Jew? and Chri?tian? are neither, or Epiphaniu? when he refer? to the Ebionite? a? nothing. Thi? would make Julian?  disgorge ?tructurally identical to the  barf? of the Chri?tian here?iologi?t? who, at about the ?ame time, were rendering Chri?tianity and Judai?m in their orthodox form? the  fine term? of a binary oppo?ition with the Judaizing Chri?tian?, the hybrid? who mu?t be excluded from the ?emiotic ?y?tem, being mon?ter?. I ?ugge?t, then, a deeper explanation of Julian? in?i?tence that you cannot mix Helleni?m with Chri?tianity. It i? not only that Helleni?m and Chri?tianity are    ?eparate religion? that, by definition, cannot be mix!   ed with each other, but even more that Chri?tianity i? alway? already (if you will) an admixture, a ?yncreti?m. Julian want? to rein?tate the binary of Jew and Greek. He provide?, therefore,  some other in?tance of the di?cur?ive form that I am  contention for in the Chri?tian text? of hi? time, a horror of ?uppo?ed hybrid?. To recapitulate, in Julian? very formation of Helleni?m, a? a religiou? difference, he mirror? the effort? of the orthodox churchmen. Thi? i?  other in?tanciation of the point make above by Limberi?.61 A? he protect? the border? between Helleni?m and Judai?m by excluding Chri?tianity a? a hybrid, Julian ?eem? unknowingly to ?muggle Chri?tian idea? into hi? very attempt to outlaw Chri?tianity.   There i? a new moment in fifth-century Chri?tian here?iological di?cour?e. Where in previou? time? the general move wa? to name Chri?tian  contestant? Jew? (a motif that continue?  on?ide the new one),62 only [End Page 22] at thi? time (notably in Epiphaniu? and Jerome) i   ? di?tingui?hing Judaizing  heretic? from orthodox Jew? central to the Chri?tian di?cur?ive project.63 A? one piece of evidence for thi? claim, I would  say an explo?ion of here?iological intere?t in the Jewi?h-Chri?tian here?ie? of the Nazarene? and the Ebionite? at thi? time. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, J. K. L. Gie?eler already  accept that the brighte?t moment in the hi?tory of the?e two group? doubtle?? fall? about the year  cd A.D., at which time we have the be?t  count on? concerning them.64 Given that, in fact, it ?eem? unlikely that the?e ?ect? truly flouri?hed at thi? particular time,65 we  contract to di? screenland other way? of under?tanding thi? ?triking literary flowering. The Ebionite? and Nazorean?, in my reading, function much a? the  fab trick?ter  design? of many religion?, in that preci?ely by tran?gre??ing border? that the culture e?tabli?he?, they reify tho?e boundarie?.66 The di?cour?e of the Judaizing heretic? thu? perform? thi? very function    of reinforcing the binarie?.67   The purpo?e of Epip!   haniu?? di?cour?e on the Ebionite? and Nazarene? i? to participate in the  proud project of  lock of (in thi? ca?e) Pale?tine by identifying and reifying the . . . religion?. Epiphaniu? explicitly indicate? that thi? i? hi? purpo?e by  opus of Ebion, the (imaginary) here?iarch  return of the ?ect:   But ?ince he i? practically midway between all the ?ect?, he i? nothing. The word? of ?cripture, I wa? almo?t in all evil, in the mid?t of the church and ?ynagogue [Prov 5.14], are fulfilled in him. For he i? ?amaritan, but reject? the name with di?gu?t. And  duration profe??ing to be [End Page 23] a Jew, he i? the oppo?ite of Jew?-though he doe? agree with them in part.68   In a  elevated moment of midra?hic wit (which one he?itate? to attribute to Epiphaniu? him?elf), the ver?e of  sawing machine? i? read to mean that I wa? in all evil, becau?e I wa? in the mid?t (between) the church and the ?ynagogue. Epiphaniu?? declaration that the Ebionite? are nothing, e?pecially when put next to    Jerome? famou? declaration that the Nazarene?  cogitate that they are Chri?tian? and Jew?, but in reality are neither, ?trongly  resound? for me the in?i?tence in the modern period that the people of ?outhern Africa have no religion, not becau?e they are not Chri?tian?, but becau?e they are not pagan?.69 ?uddenly it ?eem? important to the?e two writer? to a??ert a difference between Judaizing heretic? and Jew?. The a?cription of exi?tence to the hybrid? a??ume? (and thu? a??ure?) the exi?tence of nonhybrid,  beautiful religion?. Here?iology i? not only, a? it i? u?ually figured, the in?i?tence on ?ome (or another) right doctrine but on a di?cour?e of the pure a? oppo?ed to the hybrid, a di?cour?e that then  posit? the hybrid a? it? oppo?ite term. The di?cour?e of race a?   test by Homi Bhabha prove? helpful: The exertion? of the official knowledge? of coloniali?m-p?eudo-?cientific, typological, legal-admini?trative, eugenici?t-are  pose at the point of their production of meaning an   d power with the fanta?y that dramatize? the impo??ib!   le de?ire for a pure, undifferentiated origin.70 We need only ?ub?titute here?iological for eugenici?t in thi? ?entence to arrive at a major the?i? of thi? article. If, on one level, a? I have tried to expre??, orthodox Judai?m i? produced a? the  unhopeful of Chri?tian here?iology, and orthodox Chri?tianity a? the  base of Jewi?h here?iology, on yet another level, the heretic? and the minim are di?cur?ively (and perhap? literally) the ?ame folk?: they con?titute the impo??ible de?ire of which Bhabha ?peak?.   Jerome, Epiphaniu?? younger contemporary, i? the other mo?t prolific writer about Jewi?h-Chri?tian? in antiquity.71 Jacob? read? Jerome? Hebraic knowledge a? an important part of the coloniali?t project of the Theodo?ian age.72 I want to focu? here on only one a?pect of Jerome? [End Page 24] di?cour?e about Jew?, hi? di?cu??ion? of the Jewi?h-Chri?tian?.  cumulusel Newman ha? recently argued that Jerome? di?cour?e about the Judaizer? and Nazarene? i? more or le?? con?tructed o   ut of whole cloth.73 It thu? ?harply rai?e? the que?tion of motivation, for, a? hi?torian Marc Bloch note?, [T]o e?tabli?h the fact of forgery i? not enough. It i? further nece??ary to di?cover it? motivation? . . . Above all, a fraud i?, in it? way, a piece of evidence.74 I would ?ugge?t that Jerome, in general a much clearer thinker than Epiphaniu?, move? in the ?ame direction but with greater lucidity. For him, it i? ab?olutely unambiguou? that rabbinic Judai?m i? not a Chri?tian here?y but a ?eparate religion. The Mi?chlinge thu? explicitly mark out the ?pace of ilauthenticity, of no religion:   In our own day there exi?t? a ?ect among the Jew? throughout all the ?ynagogue? of the Ea?t, which i? called the ?ect of the Minei, and i? even now  convicted by the Phari?ee?. The adherent? to thi? ?ect are know commonly a? Nazarene?; they believe in Chri?t the ?on of God, born of the Virgin Mary; and they ?ay that He who ?uffered under Pontiu? Pilate and ro?e again, i? the ?ame a? the    one in whom we believe. But while they de?ire to be b!   oth Jew? and Chri?tian?, they are neither the one nor the other.75   Thi? proclamation of Jerome? come? in the context of hi? di?cu??ion with Augu?tine about Galatian? 2, in which Augu?tine, di?allowing the notion that the apo?tle? di??imulated when they kept Jewi?h practice?, ?ugge?t? that their Jewi?h-Chri?tianity wa? legitimate. Jerome re?pond? vigorou?ly, under?tanding the danger of ?uch notion? to totalizing  proud orthodoxy.76 What i? new here i? not, obviou?ly, the  condemnation of the Jewi?h-Chri?tian heretic? but that the Chri?tian author condemn? them, in addition, for not being Jew?: He thu? implicitly mark? the exi?tence and legitimacy of a true Jewi?h religion along?ide Chri?tianity, [End Page 25] a? oppo?ed to the fal?itie? of the Mi?chlinge. Thi? move parallel?, then, Epiphaniu?? in?i?tence that the Ebionite? are nothing. Pu?hing Jacob??  reading a bit further, I would ?ugge?t that Jerome? in?i?tence on tran?lating from the Hebrew i? both an in?tance of control of the    Jew (Jacob?? point) and al?o the very marking out of the Jew? a? ab?olute other to Chri?tianity. I think that it i? not going too far to ?ee here a reflection of a ?ocial and political proce?? like that David Chide?ter  watch? in an  merely different hi?torical moment, The di?covery of an indigenou? religiou? ?y?tem on ?outhern African  landmark? depended upon colonial conque?t and domination. Once contained under colonial control, an indigenou?  commonwealth wa? found to have it? own religiou? ?y?tem.77 Following out the logic of thi? ?tatement ?ugge?t? that there may have been a ?imilar nexu? between the containment of the Jew? under the colonial  nerve centre of the Chri?tian empire and the di?covery/invention of Judai?m a? a religion. Looked at from the other direction, the a??ertion of the exi?tence of a fully ?eparate-from-Chri?tianity orthodox Judai?m functioned for Chri?tian orthodoxy a? a  fix of the Chri?tian? own bounded and  long identity and thu? furthered the project    of imperial control, a? marked out by Jacob?. The di?!   cur?ive proce??e? in the ?ituation of Chri?tian empire are very different from the project? of mutual ?elf-definition that I have el?ewhere explored.78 Jerome? famou? ?tatement ju?t cited above that the Nazorean? are neither Jew? nor Chri?tian?79 i? emblematic of the prescriptive and pre?criptive-not de?criptive-nature of ?uch categorie?, which of cour?e, become de?criptive in?ofar a? the pre?cription i? adhered to, no more or le??.   Thi? interpretation add? ?omething to that of Jacob?, who write? that among the   unnatural figure? of Chri?tian di?cour?e we often find the Jew, the proximate other u?ed to produce the hierarchical ?pace between the Chri?tian and the non-Chri?tian.80 I am ?ugge?ting that the heretic can al?o be read a? a proximate Other, producing a hierarchical ?pace between the Chri?tian and the Jew. Thi? point i? at lea?t partially anticipated by Jacob? him?elf when he write? that Jew? exi?t a? the paradigmatic to-be-known in the overwhelming project of conceptuali   zing the all in all of orthodoxy. Thi? come? out mo?t clearly in the [Epiphanian] [End Page 26]  depict? of Jewi?h-Chri?tian here?ie?.81 One way of ?pinning thi? would be to ?ee here?iology a? central to the production of Judai?m a? the pure other of Chri?tian orthodoxy, while the other way of interpreting it would be to ?ee Judai?m a? e??ential to the production of orthodoxy over-again?t here?y. My point i? that both of the?e moment? in an o?cillating analy?i? are equally important and valid. ?een in thi? light, the very notion of Jewi?h Chri?tian? (not by that name, of cour?e but a? Judaizing Chri?tian?) i?   of the essence(p) in the formation of Chri?tianity a? the univer?al and imperial religion of the late Roman empire and, later on, of European Chri?tendom a? well.      3. Jewi?h-Chri?tianity i? a Term of Art of Modern Here?iology   I begin thi? ?ection with ?ome reflection? of Matt  seafarer?on-McCabe from hi? programmatic e??ay at the beginning of Jewi?h Chri?tianity Recon?i   dered:   The  mob ha? generally been con?trued by ?ch!   olar?, and mo?tly unreflectively ?o, a? a ?ubcla?? of Chri?tianity. Two critical if typically un?poken a??umption? brace up thi? notion of a Jewi?h Chri?tianity. The fir?t i? that, even if the name it?elf had not yet been coined, a religion that can u?efully be di?tingui?hed from Judai?m a? Chri?tianity wa? in fact in exi?tence immediately in the wake of Je?u? death, if not already  indoors hi? own lifetime. The ?econd i? that tho?e ancient group? who ?eem from our per?pective to ?it on the borderline between Judai?m and Chri?tianity are nonethele??   nail down under?tood a? example? of the latter. ?eriou? que?tion? have been rai?ed regarding both of the?e a??umption? in recent ?cholar?hip.82   Jack?on-McCabe then correctly ?pecifie? that particularly important for the que?tion of Jewi?h Chri?tianity in all thi? ha? been the realization that much of what ha? traditionally been a??ociated with Chri?tianity in particular wa?  factually characteri?tic of other fir?t-century Jewi?h move   ment? a? well.83 I would go further than thi? (and have), arguing that [End Page 27] everything that ha? traditionally been  place a? Chri?tianity in particular exi?ted in ?ome non-Je?u? Jewi?h movement? of the fir?t century and later a? well. I ?ugge?t, therefore, that there i? no nontheological or nonanachroni?tic way at all to di?tingui?h Chri?tianity from Judai?m until in?titution? are in place that make and   dramatize out thi? di?tinction, and even then, we know preciou? little about what the nonelite and nonchattering cla??e? were   sentiment or doing. In my work, I have tried to ?how that there i? at lea?t ?ome rea?on to think that, in fact, va?t number? of people around the empire make no ?uch firm di?tinction? at all until  more or less late in the ?tory. I want to make clear now that it i? (almo?t) equally impo??ible to ?peak of Judai?m nontheologically or in a nonback?hadowing way either until in?titution? are formed which can enforce thi? di?tinction and then with the ?   ame  caveat?. What doe? thi?  advent do to the catego!   ry of Jewi?h Chri?tianity?   Jack?on-McCabe rightly note? that there are ?cholar? who have recently ?ugge?ted abandoning the name Jewi?h Chri?tianity and even Chri?tian Judai?m, ?ub?tituting rather ?uch alternative term? a? a Je?u?-movement or Je?u?-believing Jew?, Chri?t-believer?, or apo?tolic Judai?m, but then cavil?, Whether employing the procedural Chri?tian or not, however, thi? new approach ?uffer? from ?ome of the ?ame ba?ic problem? that have plagued the more traditional formulation?. There i? no more agreement among the?e ?cholar? about the criteria that allow one to di?tingui?h Chri?tian (or Je?u?-believing, etc.) Judai?m from Chri?tianity, or regarding the ?pecific body of data relevant to the category, than there ha? been in the ca?e of Jewi?h Chri?tianity. If, however, we follow the intent of at lea?t ?ome of the?e ?cholar?, me  for certain included, thi? objection rather mi??e? the point, which i? preci?ely not to di?tingui?h between the?e and other Chri?tian? but bet   ween the?e and other Jew?; the only two categorie?, when divided by thi? criterion, are between Jew? who believed in Je?u? in ?ome ?en?e or another and Jew? who did not. The entire que?tion ha? been ?hifted   all told; it i? no longer a dogmatic que?tion of di?tinction? within Chri?tianity between orthodox and heterodox, or even between different varietie? of orthodoxy a? Cardinal Daniélou would have it, but between different type? of Jew?, pro?elyte?, and theo?eboumenoi, and gerim (re?ident alien?, who were required to keep preci?ely the law? marked out in  cause? for gentile   retainer? of Je?u?, [End Page 28] a? pointed out by Hill).84 One relevant taxon for ?uch de?cription? i? Je?u?-belief but it i? no longer clear that even thi? i? the mo?t intere?ting or per?picaciou? way of thinking about different Jewi?h group?. The whole enterpri?e i? no longer eccle?iocentric and ?o the category of Jewi?h Chri?tianity i? completely evacuated of meaning. It i? not enough to point out, a?    Jack?on-McCabe i?  wieldful to do, that different ?ch!   olar? have different under?tanding? of the new terminologie? but rather one mu?t mark that radical ?hift in per?pective from the here?y model. Anything le?? i? to continue to commit the theologically founded anachroni?m of ?eeing Jew? (and thu? Jewi?h Je?u? folk al?o) a? more or le?? Jewi?h in?ofar a? they approach the religion of the rabbi? (which wa? al?o much more heterogeneou? than we had thought). ?een from thi? per?pective, which may indeed be a jaundiced or otherwi?e di?torted one,  continuing to u?e the term and concept Jewi?h Chri?tianity i? ?imply to reject, explicitly or implicitly, the work of ?cholar? who have rethought genealogie? of Judai?m and Chri?tianity that render the term meaningle?? and to perpetuate-I would argue-eccle?iological and here?iological categorie?, comparatively unque?tioned for centurie? becau?e both Jew? and Chri?tian? were comfortable with the ?ocial di?tinction? they enforced. In other word?, I am ?ugge?ting that while the category of Jewi?h Chr   i?tianity ha? ?hifted it? meaning along with ?hift? in the under?tanding of the relation of Judai?m to Chri?tianity, a hi?torical under?tanding that obviate? the categorie? of Judai?m and Chri?tianity (for ?ome purpo?e? until the mid-?econd century and for other? until the fourth) will certainly have no u?e whatever for the category of Jewi?h Chri?tianity, implying, a? it doe?, preci?ely what the revi?ioni?t hi?torical account denie?.   I am ?ugge?ting that the problem i? not how to define Jewi?h Chri?tianity, but why we ?hould be u?ing ?uch a category at all? What work doe? it do? What work could it po??ibly do, other than to delineate Judai?m from Chri?tianity rhetorically or po??ibly to di?tingui?h between Chri?tian? who in?i?t that they are not Jew? and Chri?tian? who make no ?uch declaration?? The choice of terminology ha? con?equence?. In hi? clear-thinking and  praiseworthy paper on the Jeru?alem church, Craig Hill prefer? to continue to u?e the term Jewi?h Chri?tianity over    Chri?tian Judai?m, arguing that in part, thi? i? a  r!   etroactive?pective  apprehension that take? into account the eventual ?plit between the two religion?. [End Page 29] Ju?t a? important, it factor? in the exi?tence of Gentile Chri?tianity, who?e legitimacy wa? formally  accepted by the Jeru?alem church. (Gentile Chri?tian? were not con?idered Jew?, ?o Judai?m i? not the overarching category.)85 There ?eem to me here a few undertheorized category a??umption? that are  knobbed from my point of view, namely, (1) the a??umption that the  set up of whatever ?plit there can be imagined between Judai?m and Chri?tianity wa? between two religion? and (2) that there wa? a religion called Judai?m to which tho?e who were not Jew? did not belong. The?e two a??umption? re?ult preci?ely from the retro?pective judgment to which Hill admit? that he i? committed, according to which (but again from an admitted Chri?tian per?pective) there end up being two religion?, one called Chri?tianity and one called Judai?m. However, a? I have argued at length (i   n an argument that I would think need? at lea?t to be refuted before we can go on with bu?ine?? a? u?ual), the  privation of an appellation for Chri?tianity before at lea?t the invention of the term in Antioch in the early ?econd century, and even after that in mo?t of the world until much later, i? not a mere gap in the lexicon but an e??ential cultural fact. It i?, moreover, no coincidence that the fir?t u?e? of the term Ioudai?mo? to mean a religiou? phenomenon in any ?en?e of the word al?o ?tem from Antioch and refer to believer? in Je?u? who dont believe rightly, according to Ignatiu?. ?peaking hi?torically, then, Judai?m i? the name of a group of Chri?tian?, anathematized from the very beginning of the name by gentile? stressful to e?tabli?h their legitimacy and the exclu?ive legitimacy of their antidocetic theologie? and anti-Torah-ba?ed practice?. What can Jewi?h Chri?tianity mean? A? intere?ting a? Hill? e??ay i?, hi? a??umption? lead him to the fal?e (from my point of view   ) a??umption that there i? a ?eparate religion that c!   an be called Chri?tianity even before Paul come? on the ?cene, a fortiori afterward.86 A??umption? that lead good ?cholar? to ?uch conclu?ion? need to be examined from the ground up.   All thi?, I ?hould empha?ize once again, i? not to  challenge the ?cholar?hip of Craig Hill-but to ?ugge?t an entirely different way of  bod and thinking about that excellent ?cholar?hip it?elf. Let me put the que?tion differently:  stock-still a??uming for a moment that Hurtado i? right-and Hill follow? him-that wor?hip of a figure like Je?u? i? ab?olutely  unequaled within Judai?m to the group? who wor?hipped Je?u?, on what ground? could we con?ider thi? a new or different ?pecie? of the genu? religion?? The rabbi? introduced innovation? no le??  dramatic vi?-à-vi?  ahead I?raelite, [End Page 30] and even Jewi?h (by which I mean belonging to Yehud), religiou? practice? but no one i? tempted to call them a different religion. Even ?uppo?ing that it i? unique, why ?hould wor?hip of Je?u?, con?titute    a different religion? And further, why ?hould it con?titute one even prior to the actual exi?tence of the practice, ?uch that we would know that the practitioner? were entering into the category of Chri?tian? when they embarked on ?uch practice? I? there a Platonic Idea of Chri?tianity hovering ?omewhere in the onto?phere?   The volume edited by ?kar?aune and Hvalvik ?tart? out ?eemingly with a much more radical change in per?pective, with it? title, Jewi?h Believer? in Je?u?,87 which would ?eem, at lea?t at fir?t glance, a? an attempt to di?place the category of Jewi?h Chri?tianity.  later a fairly elaborate opening ?tatement, in which the  editor program? make clear that they are not talking about a category of Chri?tianity but a category of Chri?tian?, that i?, believer? in Je?u? (whatever their Chri?tian practice and belief) who are of Jewi?h ethnic background, they neverthele?? retain the term Jewi?h Chri?tian to mean tho?e of that group who maintain a Jewi?h way of life. But,    then, ?omewhat confu?ingly ?kar?aune write?, a? well,!    we will u?e the  adjectival Jewi?h Chri?tian a? applying to all categorie? of Jewi?h believer?.88 In any ca?e, whatever the terminology, the empha?i? i? firmly on the ethnicity of the believer? in que?tion and not the form of their Chri?tianity. Thi?, it i? ?ugge?ted and ?upported, i? in line with ancient u?age? a? well. Here the problem? (a? admitted) begin. ?kar?aune a?k? why the category  be by ethnicity ?hould be of theological ?ignificance and an?wer? that thi? i? becau?e the ?o-called Jewi?h leader?hip  defined Chri?tian? who were Jew? a? apo?tate? but not gentile Chri?tian?, and ?een from thi? per?pective, the que?tion of ethnicity wa? a que?tion of the utmo?t theological ?ignificance.89 But there are ?everal problem? with thi? ?tatement: Fir?t of all, thi? would render it a que?tion of Jewi?h theology, not Chri?tian theology, a??uming, of cour?e a? the editor? do, that the?e can be di?tingui?hed at the time. ?econd, there i? no definition of what Jewi?h leader?hip i? being    talked about, nor when, nor where: rabbi? in third-century Pale?tine, in ?ixth-century Babylonia, Phari?ee? of the fir?t century, Jame? the Ju?t, Jo?ephu?? Finally, Jewi?h believer?-oh what a theologically loaded term that i? when unqualified and mean? believer? in Chri?t; clearly ordinary Jew? are not believer?-in [End Page 31] Je?u? were not called apo?tate? to the be?t of my knowledge but minim, which mean? ?omething like heretic? or ?ectarian?, i.e., adherent? of a deviant form of Judai?m and not non-Jew?. For the earlier rabbi?, ?o-called gentile Chri?tian? ?eem to be ?imply gentile? (to the extent that they were   sensible of ?uch a phenomenon at all) and for later Babylonian rabbi?, minim, a? well. Thu?, while I do agree with the point that having Jewi?h ethnicity  do a difference in early Chri?tianity, including of the Pauline   limiting (but who know? until when?), it remain? a major methodological   deceit to define the difference it made in term? of the   ideological pron   ouncement? of the leader? of certain group? within bo!   th Chri?tian and non-Chri?tian Judai?m. Inter alia, it involve? the ?ame kind of anachroni?tic reification of categorie? that we have ?een above. A? ?kar?aune write?, The bottom line regarding Jewi?h identity, then, i? that people who con?idered them?elve? Jewi?h and were con?idered to be Jewi?h by the Jewi?h community were Jewi?h.90 Thi? pa??age it?elf can be read in two way?: either that Jew? are tho?e who are  recognize a? ?uch by a Jewi?h community a? ethnic Jew? and thu? ?ubject to apo?ta?y, or, Jew? are tho?e who are recognized by a Jewi?h community a? having remained within the community. The fir?t definition i? le?? problematical than the ?econd for obviou? rea?on?. It ha? the virtue, at lea?t, of le?? obviou?ly importing and impo?ing normative categorie?. However, given that non Chri?tian Jew? rarely (at be?t) called them?elve? Ioudaioi, and that Chri?tian Jew? ?eemed to have u?ed the term for ?omeone other than them?elve?, and that at lea?t ?ome non-Jewi?h Chri?tian? u?ed    it to mean   atypical Chri?tian? and other? ?imply to mean tho?e people whom were likely today to call Jew?, were in trouble here too.   To hi? credit, ?kar?aune clearly recognize? that normative definition? of  hard-hitting religiou? boundarie? e?tabli?hed by religiou? leader? among Jew? and Chri?tian? by which Jew? cannot be Chri?tian? and Chri?tian? cannot be Jew?, ?hould not be accepted by hi?torical ?cholar?hip.91 At the ?ame time, however, hi? view remain?   
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
 
 
No comments:
Post a Comment