Ziffer BCMJ 2006

This book is an excellent source for understanding the early years of Christianity in light of its Jewish roots. It is written by a scholar of both Judaism and Christianity who is also a Holocaust survivor. The text is very readable and concise. In fact, the author wrote the book with an audience of college students in mind after being unsatisfied with other textbooks which cover the birth of Christianity. While the book's focus is on Christianity as a sect of Judaism, there is a wealth of information about Jewish and Christian history throughout the book, including many dates, topic discussions, and primary source texts scattered throughout the book. The book follows the Jesus movement from its birth through the Jewish-Christian split after the second Jewish war in 132 CE. A great deal of Christian texts are written about and discussed in the book, particularly Gospel literature. These texts are discussed and analyzed in order to uncover themes which may have led to the division of the two religions. Political, sociological, and economic reasons are also given for the split between Judaism and Christianity.

The author also addresses many texts in Christian literature which have perpetuated anti-semitism throughout years of Christian interpretation. He looks at these texts and examines them both critically and historically in order to uncover the basis for their anti-semitism and how anti-semitism developed during the rise of Christianity.

This book is an exquisite introductory source which can provide a wealth of information to its reader and also lead the reader to further study within the topic of the rise of Christianity from the Jewish religion.