193: AD 100–300

BEMA Episode Link: 193: AD 100–300
Episode Length: 26:12
Published Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2020 01:00:00 -0700
Session 5
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings walk through the second and third centuries of Church history. Why are we so not-Jewish in our Christian practice today? What happened to cause such a schism between Jews and Christians?

AD 100–300 Presentation (PDF)

Discussion Video for BEMA 193

Bar Kokhba revolt — Wikipedia

Didache — Wikipedia

Transcript for BEMA 193

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 193: AD 100-300 - Study Notes

Title & Source Summary

Episode: 193 - AD 100-300 Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings Focus: Church history during the second and third centuries, exploring the Jewish-Gentile schism

This episode examines the critical period of AD 100-300 in church history, focusing on the dramatic separation between Jewish and Gentile believers in the Jesus movement. Marty and Brent explore why Christianity became so disconnected from its Jewish roots, examining two major scholarly theories about when and how this schism occurred. The episode provides a sweeping overview of how the loss of Jewish connection led to fundamental changes in biblical interpretation, canon formation, and theological understanding that continue to impact Christianity today.

Key Takeaways

The early Christian movement was predominantly Jewish and may have included Gentile God-fearers worshiping alongside Jews until the early second century
Recent archaeological evidence from modern Turkey supports the theory that Jews and Gentiles worshiped together longer than previously thought
The aggressive Roman persecutions under Trajan and Hadrian (around AD 114-120) targeted Jews specifically, creating a crisis point for Gentile believers
Gentile Christians abandoned their Jewish brothers and sisters during persecution, claiming their Gentile identity to avoid Roman violence
The separation from Jewish leadership meant losing connection to Torah, the text, and the “walking libraries” who preserved and taught Scripture
Without Jewish grounding, Gentile Christianity defaulted to Hellenistic philosophical frameworks, particularly dualistic thinking that separated spirit from body
This schism led to anti-Semitic writings appearing in church fathers just one or two generations after the apostles
The Muratorian Canon and the reordering of Hebrew scriptures reflect an anti-Semitic bias that shaped how Christians read the Bible
Modern evangelical Christianity still exhibits Marcion-like tendencies by neglecting the Old Testament and over-emphasizing Paul
Marty suggests this schism may have delayed the return of Christ and the coming of the age to come

Main Concepts & Theories

Two Theories of the Jewish-Gentile Schism

Theory 1: The Paul vs. James Division This scholarly position argues for an earlier, more defined schism between Jewish and Gentile churches. It suggests:

Jerusalem church (led by James) and the Pauline church (in Asia Minor) represented fundamentally different movements
The aggressive evangelism of the Jesus movement violated the Jewish Exception’s prohibition on proselytization
Judaism itself expelled Jesus-followers because their missionary activity threatened to bring Roman persecution on all Jews
This theory sees the tension in Acts as evidence of irreconcilable differences

Theory 2: The Hadrianic Persecution Division (Marty’s view) This position holds that the schism occurred later, in the early second century:

The Jesus movement remained predominantly Jewish through the first century
Christians were so Jewish that Romans didn’t distinguish them from Judaism
The Trajan and Hadrian persecutions (AD 114-120) specifically targeted Jews
When Rome came to kill Jews, Gentile believers abandoned their Jewish brothers by claiming, “We’re not Jewish - we’re Gentiles”
This betrayal created a permanent rupture that has never healed

The Jewish Exception

This was a special legal status granted to Jews in the Roman Empire that:

Exempted Jews from emperor worship requirements
Allowed Jews to pay a temple tax instead of participating in Imperial cult practices
Prohibited aggressive Jewish proselytization
Created a protected but restricted status for Judaism within the empire

The aggressive evangelism of the Jesus movement challenged this arrangement, creating tension both with Rome and potentially with established Jewish communities trying to maintain their legal status.

Binding and Loosing

A rabbinic process of theological decision-making that Marty believes the apostles successfully employed at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). This process allowed for:

Wrestling with how Torah applied to new situations
Making authoritative decisions about practice while maintaining unity
Finding Spirit-led solutions to tensions between different communities
Balancing continuity with tradition and adaptation to new contexts

The Loss of Connection to Torah

When Gentile believers separated from Jewish leadership, they lost:

“Walking libraries” - rabbis and Jewish teachers who had memorized vast portions of Scripture
The Jewish narrative framework for understanding God’s story
Proper hermeneutical tools for interpreting Scripture within its original context
The continuous tradition of application and interpretation
Connection to the text itself in an era before printing presses

This was catastrophic because in the ancient world, Scripture existed primarily in memorized form and in a few precious scrolls. Without Jewish teachers, Gentile Christians had to interpret Scripture through the only framework they knew intimately - Hellenistic philosophy.

Gnosticism and Hellenistic Dualism

When left to their own devices, Gentile Christians defaulted to the dominant philosophical framework of their culture:

Dualism: The strict separation of spiritual (good) and physical (bad) realms
Docetism: The belief that Jesus only appeared to be human but wasn’t truly physical
The devaluation of the body, creation, and material reality
An emphasis on secret knowledge and mystical spiritual experience
A tendency to reject or minimize the Old Testament and Jewish elements

Marty notes that scholarship is learning more about Gnosticism and some earlier characterizations may have been overstated, but the dualistic worldview was undeniably influential and problematic.

The Marcion Controversy

Marcion (second century) proposed a radical restructuring of Christian Scripture:

Complete rejection of the Tanakh (Old Testament)
Rejection of most of the Gospels (keeping only Luke)
Full acceptance of Paul’s letters
A theology that saw the God of the Old Testament as different from Jesus’s Father

Though declared a heretic, Marty observes that modern evangelical Christianity often operates with a similar de facto canon:

The Old Testament is largely ignored or seen as irrelevant
Paul is heavily emphasized over other New Testament voices
Jesus’s Jewish context is minimized
The continuity between Old and New Testaments is broken

The Muratorian Canon

This early list of authoritative Christian writings:

Initially contained only 22 of the 27 New Testament books
Emerged from the controversy over which teachings were authoritative
Reflected an anti-Semitic bias in its selection and arrangement
Led to the reordering of Hebrew scriptures for Christian use
Forms the basis of our modern New Testament

The canon formation process happened in the context of separation from Jewish scholarship and was influenced by anti-Jewish sentiment that had already taken root.

Irenaeus and Early Church Fathers

By the late second century, just one or two generations after the apostles:

Church fathers like Irenaeus were already writing anti-Semitic material
These leaders were “disciples of the disciples” but had lost Jewish connection
They contributed important theological work while simultaneously exhibiting harmful prejudice
Their writings show how quickly the church shifted away from its Jewish roots

The Synagogue of Satan

Referenced from Revelation, Marty identifies this as:

An exceptional group of Jews who betrayed Gentile believers to Rome
Those who said “These aren’t Jews, they’re Gentiles” when Romans came
The exception to the general rule that Jewish communities protected their Gentile God-fearers
A reversal that would later be mirrored when Gentiles betrayed Jews during persecution

Persecution Patterns in the Third Century

The third century AD was characterized by:

Cyclical patterns of persecution and tolerance
Different emperors taking different approaches to Christianity
Scapegoating of Christians for Rome’s problems
Christians “running for their lives” alternating with periods of relative safety
Rome struggling as an empire and using persecution to distract from internal problems

The Delayed Return of Christ

Marty proposes a provocative theological idea:

The New Testament writers expected Jesus’s imminent return
The concept of “speeding the coming of Christ” suggests human participation matters
The schism between Jew and Gentile may have been the “something” that delayed Christ’s return
Jesus may have been on the verge of returning when this rupture occurred
The separation from Jewish roots prevented the age to come from arriving as the apostles anticipated

Examples & Applications

Archaeological Evidence from Turkey

Recent discoveries in modern Turkey (ancient Asia Minor) provide physical evidence of Jewish-Gentile worship:

Synagogue structures with both Jewish and Christian symbols
Inscriptions indicating mixed congregations
Physical layouts suggesting shared worship spaces
These finds support David Flusser’s theory that was unpopular for decades

This demonstrates how new archaeological evidence can vindicate minority scholarly positions and change our understanding of history.

The Bar Kochba Revolt

This Jewish uprising against Rome (AD 132-135) provides historical context:

A major Jewish rebellion led by Simon Bar Kochba
Brutally suppressed by Emperor Hadrian
Resulted in devastating persecution of Jews throughout the empire
Created the crisis moment when Gentile Christians had to choose sides
The aftermath sealed the Jewish-Gentile separation

Modern Evangelical Bible Reading Patterns

Contemporary Christianity often exhibits Marcion-like patterns:

Church members know Paul’s letters well but struggle with Old Testament
Sermons predominantly come from Gospels and Epistles
People say “BEMA made the Old Testament come alive” - revealing prior neglect
Jesus is sometimes seen as “hard to understand” while Paul is accessible
The Jewish context of all Scripture is minimized or ignored

This shows how ancient heresies can persist in practical form even after being theologically rejected.

The Printing Press Factor

The absence of printing technology (still a millennium away) meant:

Scripture existed primarily in memorized form
Physical copies were rare, expensive, and precious
Communities depended on teachers who had Scripture memorized
Losing Jewish teachers meant losing access to the text itself
No BibleGateway.com or Bible apps to fill the gap

This helps modern readers appreciate how catastrophic the loss of Jewish leadership was for Gentile communities.

Political Scapegoating Parallels

Marty draws contemporary parallels to Roman scapegoating:

Modern political discourse targeting immigrants, outsiders, or Muslims
The tendency to blame societal problems on “those people”
Cycling between inclusive and exclusive political rhetoric
Using persecution of minorities to distract from systemic problems

These patterns reveal how human societies repeatedly use the same dysfunctional strategies across millennia.

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

David Flusser’s Scholarship: Investigate the work of this Jewish scholar who proposed that early Christianity was predominantly Jewish, and why his views were initially rejected by both Jewish and Christian scholars.
The Didache: Study this early church manual that preserved apostolic teaching for converts. How did it function? What does it reveal about early Christian practice?
The Bar Kochba Revolt: Research this pivotal uprising and its aftermath. How did it reshape Judaism and Jewish-Christian relations?
Binding and Loosing: Explore this rabbinic process more deeply. How did it work in practice? How might modern Christians apply similar approaches to contemporary questions?
The Muratorian Canon: Examine the process of canon formation. What criteria were used? Which books were initially excluded and why?
Gnostic Christianity: Study the various forms of Gnosticism and their influence on early Christian theology. How do scholars’ understanding of Gnosticism continue to evolve?
Marcion’s Theology: Investigate Marcion’s full theological system. Why was it so appealing? How was it ultimately refuted?
Irenaeus and Church Fathers: Read primary sources from Irenaeus and other early church fathers. Where do you see both valuable insights and problematic prejudices?
The Jewish Exception in Roman Law: Study the legal status of Jews in the Roman Empire. How did this shape Jewish-Christian relations?
Ancient Memorization Practices: Research how ancient peoples memorized and transmitted texts. What techniques did they use? How accurate was oral transmission?
Pax Romana: Explore the height of Roman peace and power. How did this political context shape the spread of Christianity?
Theosebeis (God-Fearers): Study these Gentile adherents to Judaism. What was their status? How did they function in Jewish communities?
Trajan and Hadrian: Research these emperors and their policies toward Christians and Jews. What motivated their persecutions?
Christian Reordering of Hebrew Scriptures: Investigate how and why Christians reorganized the Tanakh. What theological implications followed from this reordering?
Theology of Christ’s Return: Examine New Testament expectations about Jesus’s return and how these have been understood throughout church history.

Comprehension Questions

What are the two main scholarly theories about when the Jewish-Gentile schism occurred, and what evidence supports each position? Which theory does Marty hold and why?
Explain the “Jewish Exception” and how the evangelistic nature of the Jesus movement created tension with both Rome and established Jewish communities. How did this contribute to the eventual schism?
What did Gentile Christians lose when they separated from their Jewish brothers and sisters during the Hadrianic persecutions? Why was this loss so catastrophic in the context of the ancient world?
How did Marcion’s proposed canon compare to the approach many modern evangelical Christians take toward Scripture? Why is this ironic given that Marcion was declared a heretic?
What does Marty suggest may have been the spiritual and eschatological consequences of the Jewish-Gentile schism? How does this relate to the New Testament expectation of Jesus’s imminent return?

Personal Summary

Episode 193 provides a sobering examination of one of Christianity’s greatest historical tragedies - the separation from its Jewish roots. The episode challenges listeners to confront an uncomfortable truth: when faced with persecution, Gentile Christians betrayed their Jewish brothers and sisters to save themselves. This act of cowardice and self-preservation had catastrophic consequences that echo through two millennia.

The loss went far beyond broken relationships. By severing connection with Jewish teachers and the Torah framework, Gentile Christianity lost its interpretive foundation just as it lost access to the texts themselves. In an era before printing, this meant losing the “walking libraries” who carried Scripture in their hearts and minds. Left to their own devices, Gentile believers defaulted to Hellenistic dualism - a worldview fundamentally at odds with the embodied, creation-affirming theology of the Hebrew Scriptures.

What emerges is a tragic irony: Christianity was declared heretical by those who practiced a Marcion-like neglect of the Old Testament, yet modern evangelicalism often exhibits the same patterns Marcion championed. We love Paul, struggle with Jesus, and ignore the Old Testament - exactly what the early church condemned.

Perhaps most provocative is Marty’s suggestion that this schism may have delayed Christ’s return. If the New Testament writers genuinely expected the imminent arrival of the age to come, and if our participation somehow matters in “speeding” that arrival, then this rupture may have been the “something” that postponed what God was ready to accomplish.

The episode serves as both historical education and prophetic warning. The same scapegoating dynamics that drove persecution in Rome appear in modern political discourse. The same tendency to abandon vulnerable communities for self-preservation tempts us today. And the same loss of our roots threatens every generation that fails to remain connected to the full story of Scripture.

Understanding this history is not merely academic - it is essential for anyone who wants to follow the Jewish rabbi Jesus faithfully. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors or remain content with the distorted theology they left us. Reconnecting with our Jewish roots is not optional nostalgia; it is recovering the interpretive framework without which we cannot properly understand the text, the mission, or the Messiah himself.

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S5 193: AD 100–300

A Schism Between Jews and Gentiles [26:12]