A. Christianity Originated from Judaism

A. Christianity Originated from Judaism

Christianity is a religious movement that emerged from Judaism (Nikolaus Walter uses the term “Primitive Christianity” to describe its origin in Judaism). It is an undeniable fact that Christianity indeed originated from Judaism. Jacob Neusner and Bruce Chilton even state that for anyone studying the academic field of religion, there is no better premise than the fact that Christianity originated from Judaism. It can therefore be said that without Judaism, the emergence of Christianity would have been highly unlikely.

Christianity was not a religion that arose independently with its own entirely new doctrinal concepts. Both Jesus and His disciples came from Israel, and they clearly believed in the Scriptures of Israel as the word of God. All beliefs and practices within Christianity originated from Judaism. These include belief in the one true God, belief in God who spoke to Moses, belief in the Old Testament as sacred Scripture, the practice of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, gathering in places of worship on the seventh day, the Kingdom of God, and belief in the coming of the Messiah. All of these concepts clearly originate from Judaism.

Early Jewish Christians did not regard their belief that Jesus was the Messiah as a new religious movement at all. On the contrary, they believed that they remained adherents of Judaism. The term “Christian” (Khristianos, Χριστιανός), meaning “follower of Christ,” was actually given by the non-Jewish community in Antioch, not by the Jewish community (Acts 11:26).

It is highly unlikely that Jews would have coined the term “Christian” (Khristianos, Χριστιανός) for the Christian community in Antioch, since the term means “follower of the Messiah.” If Jews had given this designation, it would have amounted to an admission that Jesus was the Messiah—something they clearly did not acknowledge. Therefore, the designation almost certainly originated from the non-Jewish community.

From the Jewish perspective itself, there is clear evidence that the followers of Jesus were regarded as a sect or movement within Judaism (Acts 24:14; 28:22). The Greek term used for “sect” is airesis (αἵρεσις), meaning a religious sect. The same term is also used to describe the group of the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). This indicates that the community of Jesus’ followers was not viewed as a new religion, but as one of the sects within Judaism.

Although the beliefs of early Jewish Christians caused conflict with mainstream Judaism at the time, they were still regarded as part of Judaism. For this reason, Jews referred to them as a “sect” (airesis, αἵρεσις) within Judaism.

Early Jewish Christians never considered themselves a community separate from Judaism. They did not construct foreign doctrines detached from Jewish tradition, because they never claimed to be a new religion. All of their beliefs, understandings, doctrines, and practices originated from Judaism, including baptism, speaking in tongues, the Kingdom of God, the concept of the Messiah, and even hermeneutical methods.

Robert Travers Herford stated that rabbinic literature such as the Talmud, Midrash, and Mishnah must also be included in accurate research on the origins of Christianity. Not only the literature itself, but also the ways in which Jews interpreted Scripture. Thus, to properly understand the teachings of the New Testament, one must have a solid understanding of Jewish teachings and practices.