"Beginning in the Third Century with frescoes in the catacombs of Rome, public art began to illustrate the doctrine of supersessionism. This analysis of a millennium of Christian art outlines the path by which Christians reinterpreted the Hebrew Scriptures to prove they foretold the ascendancy of Christianity. Starting with a solid introduction to the origins of Christianity and the beginnings of Christian art in the catacombs of Rome, Henry Claman skillfully demonstrates the development of the anti-Jewish message of Christian art. The study culminates with analyses of the majestic cathedral at Chartres, the public burning of the Talmud in Paris in 1248, and the expulsion of the Jews from France and England."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

For all iconophiles, that is, those who accept the dogma of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, but especially the Orthodox who claim that the icon has a sacramental and mystical character, it is naturally disquieting to hear the claim that the early Christians were aniconic and iconophobic. If this claim is true, the theology and the veneration of the icon are seriously undermined. It is, therefore, natural for iconophiles to attempt to disprove the thesis according to which the early Christians had no images whatsoever (aniconic) because they believed them to be idols (iconophobic). It is equally natural for iconophiles to want to substantiate, as much as this is possible, their deep intuition that the roots of Christian iconography go back to the apostolic age. This study weakens the notion and credibility of the alleged hostility of the early Christians to non-idolatrous images, providing a more balanced evaluation of this question.

A compelling account of Christianity’s Jewish beginnings, from one of the world’s leading scholars of ancient religion 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—“The 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. 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.

Three preeminent historians provide an ecumenicalportrait of Mary by exploring the varied ways in whichthe mother of Jesus is perceived. For Pelikan, Mary is thefocal point for spirited theological discussion and dogma. ForFlusser, Mary is a symbol for myriad Jewish mothers whosuffer and endure — the mater dolorosa in a world of totalinhumanity. For Lang, Mary is the wife and mother throughwhom flows the love and devotion of centuries of faithfulRoman Catholics. Their engaging text, for the first time available in paperbackand with a new Preface, is enhanced by forty-eight pages offull-color illustrations, accompanied by excerpts from earlyChristian sources and from the Mary legend traditions. Illustrations include photographs of actual sites as well asmagnificent reproductions of art inspired by Mary.

In Christian Images and Their Jewish Desecrators, historian Katherine Aron-Beller analyzes the common Christian charge that Jews habitually and compulsively violated Christian images, identifying this allegation as one that functioned alongside other anti-Jewish allegations such as ritual murder, blood libel, and host desecration to ultimately inform dangerous and long-lasting prejudices in medieval and early modern Europe. Through an analysis of folk tales, myths, legal proceedings, and religious art, Aron-Beller finds that narratives alleging that Jews committed violence against images of Christ, Mary, and the disciples flourished in Europe between the fifth and seventeenth centuries. She then explores how these narratives manifested differently across the continent and the centuries, finding that their potency reflected not Jewish actions per se, but Christians’ own concerns about slipping into idolatry when viewing depictions of religious figures. In addition, Aron-Beller considers Jews’ own attitudes toward Christian imagery and the ways in which they responded to and rejected—or embraced—such allegations. By examining how desecration allegations affected Jewish individuals and communities spanning Byzantium, medieval England, France, Germany, and early modern Spain and Italy, Aron-Beller demonstrates that this charge was a powerful expression of the Christian majority’s anxiety around committing idolatry and their eagerness to participate in practices of veneration that revolved around visual images—an anxiety that evolved through the centuries and persists to this day.

The idea of a Jewish Church has been banned from the Christian horizon for almost two millennia. But things are changing. Since the middle of the 70s the Messianic Jewish movement has strived to build an ecclesial home for all Jewish believers in Christ. This new phenomenon brings to life issues that had disappeared since the first centuries of the Church. What does it mean to be a Jew in the Church? Should there be a distinction between Jews and non-Jews among believers in Christ? Is such a distinction compatible with the unity of the whole Body of Christ so ardently preached by Paul? What lifestyle should this Church promote? In his various works, Mark Kinzer, a prominent Messianic Jewish theologian, has attempted to provide substantial answers to these questions. Antoine Lévy is a Dominican priest. With Kinzer, Lévy has launched the “Helsinki Consultation”, a cross-denominational gathering of Jewish theologians. In Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism, Lévy examines Kinzer’s positions critically, bringing forward an alternative vision of what a “Jewish Church” could and should be. This is only the beginning of what promises to be a fascinating discussion.

Judith Lieu examines the rhetorical function of Jews in the early texts of the second century and seeks to acknowledge the complex nature of an issue which is too easily proclaimed 'Christian anti-Semitism'.