tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1230344530531927799.post6383778047011895336..comments2023-04-28T06:59:37.174-04:00Comments on twoTwentyEight: Early Christian Worship: Part 3Joseph Howellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00339898114118904716noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1230344530531927799.post-59359296377688899562015-10-22T16:55:48.004-04:002015-10-22T16:55:48.004-04:00This may be the most difficult question of all to ...This may be the most difficult question of all to answer with any historical certainty. One might have supposed, and I generally do suppose, that the post-AD 70 birkat ha-minim (curse upon Christians) would have made it very difficult for Christians to attend synagogue services, but that only begs the larger question as to how quickly and how widespread was the adoption of this curse in synagogue services empire-wide. In Palestine itself, it makes sense that it may have been adopted fairly quickly, given the savagery of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the 2nd temple, for it was not only a curse upon Christians but also a curse upon the Romans who had perpetrated the destruction. This makes psychological sense. Whether or how soon the curse was adopted by Diaspora Jews may be an entirely different question, and I don’t know how to answer it. I have generally assumed (perhaps mistakenly) that it may have been adopted widely in a relatively short period of time, but I have no historical underpinnings to argue this point. I used the phrase “around the turn of the century” (i.e., about AD 100) hoping to leave enough ambiguity to avoid being more precise. The examples you cited showing there was at least a modicum of participation (if not more) in synagogue worship by Christians at a much later time is hard to assess. Was such a participation by Gentile Christians or by Diaspora Jewish Christians? Was it generally true, an aberration or somewhere in between? I confess I have no strong historical case to make. However, with the scarcity of references in the Ante-Nicene fathers, even though a few references do exist, I’m inclined to think it was not widespread. Your assumption that it may have happened differently at different times and in different places may well be right.Dan Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12230336952558013110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1230344530531927799.post-17697894523492570122015-10-21T19:53:46.776-04:002015-10-21T19:53:46.776-04:00Another Question: When did Christian participation...Another Question: When did Christian participation in Jewish synagogue worship end?<br /><br />This post asserts that "participation in the synagogue continued until around the turn of the century" - that is, around the year 100 CE. The implication is that the "parting of the ways" - the emergence of Christianity as an independent religion distinct from and in competition with its Jewish roots - occurred at this time.<br /><br />Scholars have offered several possible dates for the "parting of the ways":<br /><br />1. The destruction of the Jewish temple and the scattering/relocation of the Jerusalem Christian community in 70 CE.<br /><br />2. The addition of the Twelfth Benediction to Jewish prayers that condemned heretics - most likely Christians - by the rabbis in Yavneh following the temple's destruction.<br /><br />3. The changing tax policy under the emperor Domitian who extended the "Fiscus Judaicus" tax on ethnic Jews to all who "live a Jewish life" - again the Christians - in the 80s or 90s CE.<br /><br />4. The Bar Kokhba revolt in the 130s CE - the failure of which effectively ended the ancient Jewish state.<br /><br />But there is much evidence that many Christians continued - at least at some level - to participate in Jewish synagogues and worship well beyond the first century. Consider these two pieces of evidence:<br /><br />1. The official separation of the date of Easter from the Jewish Passover at the council of Nicea in 325 CE. Apparently, many Christians continued to observe the Eucharist as a Passover meal and followed the Jewish calendar to do so. While the action of the bishops at Nicea is not direct evidence that Christians still participated in synagogue worship, it certainly shows that many Christians continued to perceive one of their central ceremonies in strict Jewish terms well into the 4th century CE.<br /><br />2. The preaching of John Chrysostom of Antioch in the last quarter of the 300s CE was filled with warnings to Christians who were still attracted to Jewish synagogues and worship. In his "Eight Homilies," Chrysostom refers to Christians who observe the Sabbath, participate in Jewish festivals, and visit synagogues to make oaths to God. Like his predecessors at Nicea, he argued that the Jewish Passover must not be practiced since it was replaced by the Christian Eucharist. Certainly with all this smoke, there must have been some fire of Christian participation in Jewish worship and synagogues.<br /><br />I do not know the definitive answer to the question of when the "parting of the ways" occurred. I assume it must have happened at different times in different locations. But I am quite sure that the identification of Christianity as a "Judaism" (or at least, belief in the on-going divine acceptance of the Jewish faith) by some Christians continued well after the end of the first century.Joseph Howellnoreply@blogger.com