The Myth of the 'Law-Free' Paul Standing between Christians and Jews
Christians and Jews agree that the Apostle Paul did not observe Torah as a matter of faith, or in his daily life, except when he sought to evangelize among Jews who observed Torah. This perspective and the reasoning provided to explain it conceptualize the essential difference between Christianity a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations
2009
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| In: |
Studies in Christian-Jewish relations
Year: 2009, Volume: 4, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-21 |
| Further subjects: | B
Proselyte Conversion
B Apostle Paul B James B Weak and Strong B Difference B Jewish Dietary Laws B Torah B Law-free Gospel B CHRISTIAN-Jewish relations B Antioch Incident B Discrimination B Ethnic Identity B Idol Food B Peter B Christian Origins B End of the Ages |
| Online Access: |
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| Summary: | Christians and Jews agree that the Apostle Paul did not observe Torah as a matter of faith, or in his daily life, except when he sought to evangelize among Jews who observed Torah. This perspective and the reasoning provided to explain it conceptualize the essential difference between Christianity and Judaism as revolving around Paul and his supposedly "Law-free Gospel," more so than around Jesus and his teachings. This understanding derives from the perception that Paul did not observe Jewish dietary norms, and that, moreover, he taught other Christ-followers not to observe them. This essay engages the primary texts on which this is based (Gal 2:11-15; 1 Cor 8—10; Rom 14—15) and finds that, contrary to the prevailing view, they show that Paul implicitly and even explicitly supported Jewish dietary norms among Christ-followers. The results challenge centuries of interpretation, with broad implications for Christian and Jewish portrayals of Paul and of the supposed foundations for differences that require and provide strategies of "othering" that continue to pose obstacles to progress in Christian-Jewish relations. |
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| ISSN: | 1930-3777 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in Christian-Jewish relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.6017/scjr.v4i1.1511 |