When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation

When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation

<DIV><B>A compelling account of Christianity€s Jewish beginnings, from one of the world€s leading scholars of ancient religion</B><BR /><BR /> How did a group of charismatic, apocalyptic Jewish missionaries, working to prepare their world for the impending realization of God€s promises to Israel, end up inaugurating a movement that would grow into the gentile church? Committed to Jesus€s prophecy€"€œThe Kingdom of God is at hand!€€"they were, in their own eyes, history€s last generation. But in history€s eyes, they became the first Christians.<BR />  <BR /> In this electrifying social and intellectual history, Paula Fredriksen answers this question by reconstructing the life of the earliest Jerusalem community. As her account arcs from this group€s hopeful celebration of Passover with Jesus, through their bitter controversies that fragmented the movement€s midcentury missions, to the city€s fiery end in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, she brings this vibrant apostolic community to life. Fredriksen offers a vivid portrait both of this temple€‘centered messianic movement and of the bedrock convictions that animated and sustained it.</DIV>