Judaizers

Judaizers is a term used in early Christian literature and refers to Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, who adhered to the ancient Jewish customs. As it had been already for Jesus of Nazareth, and was still considered the righteous for his brother James, they had in Jerusalem with the Temple and Judaism its center.

The early Christian Jewish and Gentile Christians who continue clinging to Jewish customs or Judaism were circumcised, the Sabbath every week imaginary, and sanctified him, and the binding for Jews only mitzvot ( commandments ) talked saw of criticism from two sides exposed. In consequence of the rapid alienation of the Gentile Christians from Judaism under the influence of Pauline theology and missionary of the Greco-Roman pagans and slaves to Christianity arising from the Gentile and the other part of Judaism. In the wake of the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the deposited Bar Kochba rebellion and the dispersion ( Galut ) of the Palestinian Jews by the Roman occupation forces in Palestine, however, this flow disbanded.

The spread of " Judaizing Christians" missionaries teachings were fought in Galatians by Paul and later by Justin ( Dialogue 47) Irenaeus of Lyons ( Adversus haereses. 26.2 I ) and the church father John Chrysostom.

The longest she stayed in the shape of the Ebionites and Nazarenes until the beginning of the 2nd century. A form of Christianity that adheres to Jewish rites, represents the flow of so-called Messianic Jews, who are considered by all major Christian and Jewish institutions not as Jews, but as Christians.

Word origin

The term comes from the Greek ἰουδαΐζω ( ioudaizo ). It means " according to the Jewish customs live." Evidence for the importance can be found in the Greek version of the book ester ( 8.17 AU) and the New Testament in Gal 2,14 EU. In the meaning " the Jews favor " ( Bell. Jew. 2,463 ) it is used by Josephus.

Recent research translates the well-known speeches " against the Jews " by the Greek church father John Chrysostom in recent work with speech " against Judaizing Christians." They were long regarded as Kronzeugnis of Christian anti-Judaism. His speeches should rather discourage the early Christians and heathen Christians to Jewish rites followed. So you were directed against Christians who still followed the Jewish rites.