Judaism and the Rise of Christianity: A Roman Perspective

Abstract

Romans did not see Christianity as part of Judaism. They objected to Jewish proselytisation but did not link Christians with it. In Rome (under Nero) Christians presented an unrelated novelty. Their name is a Latin formation, implying public factionalism. The Jews at Antioch must have successfully kept their distance for it to be coined at all. Nerva’s making the Jewish tax optional licensed the Jewish life-style. This latitude was never extended to Christians nor claimed by them. The clear dividing line in civil practice implies the tax was based on lists supplied by the synagogues.