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Early Christians and Judaism

Question

Weren’t the first Christians Jews? Isn’t Christianity rooted in the Torah and the only difference between Christianity and Judaism is the belief in Jesus as the Messiah?

Answer

You are correct that the early Christians were Jews and the only difference between their practices and those of the Jews was their belief in the Messiahship of Jesus. However, all that changed with the Council of Nicea which ushered in a new Christianity that was markedly different from Judaism and would have been quite unrecognizable to the early Christians.

Follow-up question

Question

What were the Talmudic references to Christianity?

Answer

See the following post on our site: https://www.jewishanswers.org/?p=208

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