The ‘Jewish Problem’
To the Greek Paulines, there were pluses and minuses to having (the Jewish) Jesus as the centerpiece of the essentially new
religion that was being crafted, fine-tuned and morphed for the Gentiles.
The plus side of the ledger included –
- The Jesus core story itself – a story of sincere courage and martyrdom.
- Jesus was heir to Sinai and to the entire epic Jewish saga, including the reigns of Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon and the Maccabee.
- The Torah – the Jewish Bible – was a uniquely extraordinary document. Accepted as divine by major segments of the First Century world, the Torah had resonance, authenticity and gravitas.