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For centuries, Christians have understood some of the texts included in the New Testament as 'Jewish,' in the sense of them being written by (converted) Jews for other Jews. From a historical perspective, a new development in the academy suggests that such approaches do not do justice to the nature of these texts. Indeed, even more recent attempts at understanding the New Testament against the background of Judaism are also found wanting. Instead, placing these texts within the broader context of the diverse ways of embodying Jewish ancestral customs in the pre-rabbinic Second Temple period, this interpretive trajectory, involving scholars from a wide array of backgrounds, insists that Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Revelation etc., should be understood as expressions of Judaism. This article highlights key issues involved in such re-readings of New Testament texts, including ways in which they may or may not relate to normative-theological positions among Christians and Jews today. First, the study looks at how the question is asked in our contemporary setting. Then, moving down historical layers, issues related to history and categorisation are addressed before we, finally, return to the present to consider possible implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonplace in New Testament studies to point out that ancient writings need to be understood within their contemporary context if a historical reading is what we aim for. Most often, however, the framework within which to understand a text's thought patterns is sought in the world of ideas that can be found in other literary texts roughly contemporaneous with the text under investigation. It is far less common for scholars to provide a detailed analysis of the institutions of ancient societies in which the transmission of oral traditions and the production of texts were embedded, and allow this socio-institutional setting to interpret the thought patterns of a text. In this study, key ritual-theological themes in Matthew's narrative world are linked to, and understood from within, first-century synagogue institutions. As a result, Matthew's theology of purity, forgiveness, and atonement emerge as thoroughly intertwined with a first-century Jewish worldview rather foreign to later forms of mainstream Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea that the synagogue originated in the Babylonian exile has been so frequently repeated over the centuries that, despite the fact that this consensus broke down over 20 years ago, some researchers still quote it as if it were an incontestable historical fact. The present study analyses the history of scholarship on the origins of the synagogue, from the first century writings of Philo to the recent work of Lee Levine. Challenging old assumptions and ideas, it takes a new approach to the study of the synagogue and proposes a radical solution to this ancient riddle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the terminology and theology of Judaism and Christianity. Impact of using the terms 'universalism' and 'particularism' in the study of ancient Judaism and Christianity; Suggestion for using terms adaptable to the present state of theology research; Impact of the terminologies on religion studies.