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Article: Matthew's Christian-Jewish Community.
- Article from:
- Theological Studies
- Article date:
- March 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Theological Studies, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The chief value of this splendid book is negative: it exposes a common view of Matthew and his community as an anachronistic over-simplification. In the traditional view, still dominant in popular understanding but also frequently found in scholarly circles, a sharp distinction between "Judaism" and "Christianity" had already taken place in Matthew's situation - often connected with a supposed "council" of Jamnia that altered the synagogue liturgy in such a way that Christians could no longer participate. For such an understanding, the primary issue is whether Matthew's Christian group is "still in" or "already out of" the synagogue.
Rather than taking sides on this ...