The First Crack in Christianity: Part Two – Separating From Judaism

HOW THINGS WORK: SPECIAL EDITION – CONSIDERATION #151

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Tuesday August 27, 2024

“It is through Christianity that Judaism has really conquered the world. Christianity is the masterpiece of Judaism...”

– Ernest Renan

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PREFACE

Welcome Everybody!

Buckle up, for a substantial crash-course in Pauline Christian theology in this week’s Special Edition Newsletter considering Paul’s doctrine of faith, grace, and redemption – and how it differs from the ideology of the original Jerusalem Church. In addition to considering how it laid the foundation for what we now know today as Christianity; the single greatest influence on Western culture in over 2,000 years.

After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the churches established by Paul throughout the Roman Empire became the foundation of the new faith. Much of that faith is based on a series of letters credited to the apostle Paul. This theology shapes the bedrock principles we recognize today as modern Christianity. Paul’s amazingly complex, and yet also very simple gospel begins with separating Christianity from Judaism.

The essence of Paul’s gospel is encapsulated in his letter to the Romans.

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.

– Romans 3:21-25

The meeting of Paul with the council of the Jerusalem Church, as recorded in the book of Acts, suggests that the “problems” between the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians had been agreeably and overwhelmingly resolved. However, the letters of Paul suggest a continued and growing schism between the “circumcised” and the “uncircumcised” followers of Jesus.

Those people [circumcised] are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.

– Galatians 4:17

Paul’s gospel is a message of universal redemption for all “mankind.” According to Paul, Godliness, or Righteousness, is not possible through obeying the Law of Moses, because Moses represents an “empirical” or “worldly” approach to Righteousness. Jesus, on the other hand, represents a completely “spiritual” or “rational” approach to Righteousness. Redemption does not come because of our individual effort and works, true spiritual redemption is a spiritual experience; manifested through faith, grace, and redemption. 

For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law...   since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 

– Romans 3:28-30

Paul explains that because the Law is empirical, or worldly, it is not eternal, or spiritual. It only has significance as long as you are alive in the physical world. Paul’s Christianity offers something beyond the empirical limitations of the Law.

Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives?

– Romans 7:1

At this point, Paul connects Jesus to the original covenant with Abraham, arguing that the covenant made between Abraham and God was one of faith.

It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

– Romans 4:13

Paul argues that the covenant between God and Abraham involved all people on earth, not only the Jews. With the message of Jesus, all people become the “children of Abraham” based on their faith, which results in God’s grace. This is a spiritual experience.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 

As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations...”

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations… 

– Romans 4:16-18

According to Paul, sin has always existed, and all human beings sin; but only those “under the law” are held responsible for their sins under the law. Paul basically wants to replace the limited empirical law of Moses with the new universal Spiritual Law of Jesus.

To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 

– Romans 5:13

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so… You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. 

– Romans 8:6-9

Paul argues that the Jews are “zealous” for God, but that the Law has become the stumbling block to their ultimate goal of knowing and understanding God. Paul wants them to recognize that Jesus is the promised fulfillment of the Jewish Law, the true Messiah.

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge... Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

– Romans 10:1-4

Paul’s goal and purpose is to teach one unifying gospel designed to explain the spiritual message of Jesus. There are competing factions vying for supremacy in the new religion, Paul seeks to lay the foundation for a new unified church that would spread his new gospel of Christianity.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters… that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought...  

– Corinthians 1:10-4

Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy…  He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

– Corinthians 4:16-17

 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…

– Corinthians 5:18

However, despite Paul’s hope for reconciliation, the problems between Paul and the Jerusalem Church only continued to grow.

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CONSIDERATION #151 – Separating from Judaism

Paul’s gospel begins with his personal vision of the resurrected Christ.

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

– Galatians 1:11-12

This is what separates Paul’s gospel from the original gospels and the more traditional teachings of the Jerusalem Church. Paul is essentially claiming that his gospel is the only gospel that is divinely inspired through the resurrected Christ, not Jesus, but “Christ Jesus.” The other apostles may have experienced the earthly Jesus, but Paul experienced the perfection of the risen Christ. Therefore, Paul’s gospel is a “spiritual gospel.”

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 

– 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Paul, the once zealous Pharisee persecuting Christians for their non-Jewish beliefs, was now at odds with those very same Christians because he believed they were essentially being too Jewish! The Biblical irony never ends.

Paul begins promoting his gospel with mild criticism of Judaism, mostly emphasizing the positive aspects of his vision of Christianity that would unify and reconcile Jews and Gentiles in a new Spirit of peace, allowing them to share in the blessings of Abraham together. However, this could not be accomplished through the Law of Moses, but only through the grace of God.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 

– Ephesians 2:14-16

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

– Ephesians 2:19-22

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

– Galatians 3:14

Paul contends that “the law” is a remnant of the empirical world of “the flesh” which cannot lead to “spiritual” transformation. Spiritual transformation, or redemption, is not about our empirical actions; it is about our spiritual understanding and manifestation. Paul’s Christianity is a religion centered around the expansion of Spirit as opposed to a religion centered around limiting our empirical actions. We also see the first glimpse of the relationship between Paul’s notion of Spirit and his notion of freedom; which becomes part of Enlightenment thinking in the Age of Reason.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

– 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

At this point Paul does not directly confront the “circumcised” Christians, preferring to use negative inference, such as “unveiled faces,” to separate themselves from the Jewish Christians and the Jerusalem Church. He also begins to admonish them for interfering with his teachings and warning his followers about following their misguided vision of Christianity.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith…  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

– Galatians 3:26-28

Paul’s gospel also references Plato’s “Realm of Forms” concept of rationalism, with the Jews reflecting the “shadow world” of empirical reality (the law/empirical actions) which is manifested through a higher spiritual reality that reflects the true source and substance of those shadows (The Realm of Forms/The Spiritual Dimension/Christ). This reference makes sense given Paul’s “Greek” background and education. Platonism is already showing up in Paul’s understanding and interpretation of Christianity. Plato’s “Realm of Forms,” also heavily influences the Christian concept of Heaven.

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 

– Hebrews 10:1

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 

– Colossians 2:16-17

They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven… But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one…

– Hebrews 8:5-6

Paul’s use of Platonism and other Greek ideas, such as the logos, only widens the chasm between Paul and the Jerusalem Church.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

– Galatians 5:22-23

They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

– Hebrews 9:10

Ironically, despite Paul’s admonishments regarding “Jewish Christians,” he continues to use Jewish metaphors to explain his understanding of Christianity; consistently maintaining a deep Jewish influence throughout his gospel.

Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 

– Hebrews 7:27

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

– Galatians 3:29

However, as the tension between Paul and the Jerusalem Church increase Paul becomes considerably more acerbic in his tone and criticism.

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POSTSCRIPT

As the schism between Paul and the Jerusalem Church continues, Paul’s criticism turns to outright mockery and contempt.

As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. 

– Galatians 2:6

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

– Galatians 2:21

I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. 

– Galatians 2:5-6

However, whenever Paul left a Church to travel, the apostles and disciples of the Jerusalem Church would try to convert Paul’s followers to their interpretation of Christianity: eventually leading to direct confrontation.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 

– Galatians 1:6-8

...stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 

– 1 Timothy 1:3-4

Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself… And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

– 1 Hebrews 3:3-4

At one point Paul calls Peter (Cephas) and the apostles of the Jerusalem Church hypocrites!

When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy...  

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

– Galatians 2:11-14

Eventually, despite his constant arguments against empirical acts, or works, Paul claims to be a “better” apostle than Peter, John, and James by declaring that he has done, and been through much more, than they had.

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more…

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea… 

I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.

 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

– 2 Corinthians 11:22-28

At the peak of the rivalry between the two visions of Christianity Paul’s criticisms become vile and bombastic.

 …pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth… In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted... They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit…

As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

– Titus 1:14-16

So much for reconciliation!

There is no way to know how this rivalry might have ended had not Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Church in 70 CE. However, after the destruction of Jerusalem the conflict between competing gospels abated, and Paul’s theology of Christianity remained, becoming the dominant influence in the new Christian religion.

Ironically, some of Paul’s intense criticism of the “Jewish Christians” would later be used to support anti-semitic propaganda against Jews. Paul, a zealous Pharisee originally dedicated to eliminating all Christians, would later be misused by zealous Christians seeking to eliminate all Jews. However, these people failed to understand the other critical aspect of Paul’s theology: Love.

Next week we conclude our special three-part newsletter regarding the Crack in Christianity with a consideration of the single most important aspect of Paul’s theology; the essential glue that holds his vision of Christianity together…

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