Judar och hedningar i den tidiga kristendomen

Abstract

In the work discussed in this article, Gerd Theissen presents three models for determining the relationship between Judaism and Christianity during the first century. According to Theissen, New Testament Christianity can be interpreted as a parallel to Judaism; as its de-restriction; and as its transformation. These models are all shown to have a place in the theology of Paul and one reason for this is that they had a basis in the social reality of the society that Paul and early Christianity were part of. In Theissen’s view, Paul creates an antithetical relationship between two separate religions: Judaism and Christianity. This reconstruction of Theissen is taken as a point of departure for a critical discussion of the relations between Judaism and Christianity. An alternative way of presenting the relations is presented that takes into account the complex socio-political situation in the Roman Empire. It is suggested that Gentile adherents to the Jesus movement had to subordinate to the Jewish community and that Christianity up to the Jewish War was a Jewish, messinic movement with Gentile adherents. Seen from this perspective, Paul never created a dicotomy between «Judaism» and «Christianity» but was rather involved in an inter-Jewish debate over the salvation of Israel—and the Gentile nations.