Who Made Early Christianity? THE JEWISH LIVES OF THE APOSTLE PAUL

203 Pages·2016·15.36 MB·English

by  JOHN G. GAGER

Who Made
Early Christianity?
T H E
JEWISH LIVES
OF THE
APOSTLE
PAUL
JOHN G. GAGER
Who Made Early Christianity?
American Lectures on the History of Religions
his volume is the eighteenth to be published in the series of Ameri-
can Lectures on the History of Religions for which the American
TCouncil of Learned Societies, through its Committee on the His-
tory of Religions, assumed responsibility in 1936, and for which the Ameri-
can Academy of Religion assumed responsibility in 1995. Under the program
the Committee from time to time enlists the services of scholars to lecture
in colleges, universities, and seminaries on topics in need of expert elucida-
tion. Subsequently, when possible and appropriate, the Committee arranges
for the publication of the lectures. Other volumes in the series are Martin P.
Nilsson, Greek Popular Religion (1940); Henri Frankfort, Ancient Egyptian
Religion (1948); Wing-tsit Chan, Religious Trends in Modern China (1953);
Joachim Wach, Te Comparative Study of Religions, Christianity (1959); Rob-
ert Lawson Slater, World Religions and World Community (1963); Joseph M.
Kitagawa, Religion in Japanese History (1966); Joseph L. Blau, Modern Vari-
eties of Judaism (1966); Morton Smith, Palestinian Parties and Politics Tat
Shaped the Old Testament (1971); Philip H. Ashby, Modern Trends in Hindu-
ism (1974); Victor Turner and Edith Turner, Image and Pilgrimage in Chris-
tian Culture (1978); Annemarie Schimmel, As Trough a Veil: Mystical Poetry
in Islam (1982); Peter Brown, Te Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual
Renunciation in Early Christianity (1988); W. H. McLeod, Te Sikhs: History,
Religion, and Society (1989); Caroline Walker Bynum, Te Resurrection of the
Body in Western Christianity, 200–1336 (1995); Wendy Doniger, Te Implied
Spider (1998); and Bruce B. Lawrence, New Faiths, Old Fears: Muslims and
Other Asian Immigrants in American Religious Life (2002).
Who Made
Early Christianity?
T H E
J EWI S H L I V E S
OF T H E
A P O S T L E
PAU L
d
JOHN G. G AGE R
Columbia University Press
New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
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Copyright © 2015 Columbia University Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gager, John G.
Who made early Christianity? : the Jewish lives of the Apostle Paul / John G. Gager.
pages cm. — (American lectures on the history of religions ; 18)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-17404-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-53937-1
(e-book)
1. Paul, the Apostle, Saint—Relations with Jews. 2. Identifcation (Religion)
3. Christianity and other religions—Judaism. 4. Judaism—Relations—Christianity.
5. Christianity—Origin. I. Title.
BS2506.3.G34 2015
225.9⬘2—dc23
2014044886
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-free paper.
Tis book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover Design: Jordan Wannemacher
Cover Image: Torah shrine. Courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery,
Dura Europos Collection.
References to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
C O N T E N T S
d
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1. Was the Apostle to the Gentiles the Father
of Christian Anti-Judaism? 17
2. The Apostle Paul in Jewish Eyes:
Heretic or Hero? 37
3. Let’s Meet Downtown in the Synagogue:
Four Case Studies 53
4. Two Stories of How Early Christianity
Came to Be 87
5. Turning the World Upside Down:
An Ancient Jewish Life of Jesus 117
6. Epilogue 139
Notes 147
Index 185
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
d
hese chapters grew out of a series of lectures delivered in At-
lanta, Georgia, in April of 2013. Sponsored by the American
T Academy of Religion (AAR), the lectures form part of the series,
Te American Lectures in the History of Religions. My lectures were de-
livered at Agnes Scott College, Georgia State University, Spelman College,
Morehouse College, and Emory University. My hosts for these lectures
were Jack Fitzmier, Executive Director of the AAR, and Lou Ruprecht of
Georgia State University. Without their friendship and constant support,
these lectures and chapters would not have happened. I am deeply grateful
to them. Teir eforts went well beyond what was necessary. I must also
express my gratitude to the students from the various institutions who at-
tended my lectures and raised important questions in our discussions.
Te work refected in these chapters reaches back over many years and
is indebted to many friends and colleagues in the Department of Religion
at Princeton. Martha Himmelfarb and Leora Batnitzky have shown en-
couragement at every stage of my work. Simi Chavel, Naphtali Meshel,
and Azzan Yadin-Israel (Rutgers) demonstrated outstanding patience and
knowledge as we worked through various versions of the Toledot Yeshu.
Peter Schäfer, my distinguished colleague for many years, served as both
mentor and helpful critic. He shared generously from his enormous knowl-
edge of ancient Judaism. Michael Meerson has proved to be a reliable
resource at many points. Jefrey Stout has been a constant companion. Un-
dergraduate students, reaching back to 1968 at Princeton and elsewhere,
have provided a constant source of inspiration.
Tis is also the place to recognize the work of my graduate students,
who have become my teachers in this prolonged project. In the world of
the academy, there can be no greater joy than seeing one’s students fourish
as distinguished scholars and teachers.
Two deceased scholars—Krister Stendahl and Lloyd Gaston—have ex-
ercised an enormous impact on my understanding of the apostle Paul. It is
impossible to overstate what their work and friendship has meant to me
over many years. I must also recognize the work of two Jewish scholars,
neither of whom was known to me personally, whose work on Paul de-
serves far more attention than it has received—Jacob Taubes and Michael
Wyschogrod.
I would be remiss not to acknowledge the support I have received from
various Israeli colleagues, to whom I am grateful—David Satran, Guy
Stroumsa, Israel Yuval, Hillel Newman, Maren Niehof, Yair Furstenberg,
and Yaacov Deutsch.
I must also acknowledge the two anonymous reviewers of my manu-
script. Tey read it with great care and understanding. Teir criticisms and
suggestions aimed at making this a better book, not a diferent one. I can
only hope that I have not disappointed them in following their proposals.
Some of the material in these chapters has appeared in earlier publica-
tions. Portions of chapter 1 appeared in my book Reinventing Paul (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Much of chapter 4 appeared in my
essay “Te Rehabilitation of Paul in Jewish Tradition,” in “Te One Who
Sews Bountifully”: Essays in Honor of Stanley K. Stowers, ed. C. Hodge,
S. Olyan, D. Ullicci, and E. Wasserman (Providence: Brown University
Press, 2013), 29–41. It is used here by permission. Portions of chapter 5 have
appeared in various earlier publications, as indicated in the endnotes.
Finally, I dedicate this book to my beloved children—Kristin, Peter, and
Andrea. Tey make living and working worthwhile.
viii ack n owl ed g m en ts
Who Made Early Christianity?