Judaizers

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Pelagius Hereticus and John Chrysostom . Illustration from the Schedelschen Weltchronik (1493).

Judaizer is a term from early Christian literature and denotes Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians who adhered to ancient Jewish customs and Judaism . They kept the Mitzvot (commandments) binding for Jews , sanctified the Sabbath and had themselves circumcised . Like Jesus of Nazareth and his brother James , they had their center in Judaism and in Jerusalem with the temple .

When Greco-Roman pagans were proselytized in early Christianity under the influence of Pauline theology , the pagan Christians quickly became alienated from Judaism. The Jewish Christians were now criticized from two sides: by the Gentile Christians on the one hand and by Judaism on the other. After the lost Jewish War (66–74) against the Roman occupation forces, the Palestinian Jews dispersed in the Roman Empire (see Jewish Diaspora ). As a result, the Jewish Christians also lost importance. After the suppression of the Bar Kochba uprising (135), the groups of Jewish Christians gradually dissolved. Individual groups of the Ebionites and Nazarenes lasted until late antiquity .

Paul condemned the teachings in Galatians that were spread by missionaries of the "Judaizing Christians" . Later, the teachings of the "Judaizers" were opposed by church fathers such as Justin ( Dialogue 47), Irenaeus of Lyon ( Adversus haereses. I 26,2) and John Chrysostom (see also Judaizing Christians in the 2nd century ).

Word origin

The term comes from the Greek ἰουδαΐζω ( ioudaizo ). It means “to live according to Jewish customs”. Evidence for the meaning can be found in the Greek version of the Book of Esther (8.17 EU ) and in the New Testament in Gal 2.14  EU . It is used by Flavius ​​Josephus to mean “favor the Jews” ( Bell. Iud. 2,463) .

The well-known speeches "against Judaism" by the Greek Church Father John Chrysostom have long been regarded as the key testimony of Christian anti-Judaism . Recent research speaks of speaking "against Judaizing Christians" to avoid this misunderstanding. These speeches were directed against Christians who still followed the Jewish rites. You should deter early Christians and Gentile Christians from observing Jewish rites.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ANF01 , p. 218 (Online: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.xlvii.html ).
  2. ↑ ANF01 , p. 352 (Online: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.ii.xxvii.html ).
  3. ↑ See: J. Eckert, Judaisten , in: M. Görg, B. Lang (Hrsg.), Neues Bibel-Lexikon , Vol. 2, Benziger, Zurich: 1995, Col. 398f.
  4. ↑ Bell. Iud. 2,457ff (en )
  5. ↑ occurrence of the word "Ioudaizo" cf .: Dictionary and Word Search for "Ioudaizo (Strong's 2450)" . ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2002. 4 May 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.blueletterbible.org
  6. ^ Paul W. Harkins: Discourses Against Judaizing Christians (The Fathers of the Church, 68), 1999
  7. ^ Robert L. Wilken: John Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the late 4th Century ; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
    Jacob Neusner: Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine: History, Messiah, Israel… ; University of Chicago Press, 1987.