Arnoldo wrote:Magnus Zetterholm attempts to use sociological methods to determine how Christianity eventually branched from Judaism in his book,
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/dail ... an-center/
so far as I am aware, (I am uninformed!), the oldest "church" excavated in Turkey, was discovered after an earthquake, and is situated in Laodicea, dated at the time of Constantine, i.e. 4th century.
To discuss "sociological methods" to determine the interaction between Jews and Christians in Antioch, one must first, in my opinion, establish the existence, by archaeology, of a viable, functioning, extant christian community in Antioch, prior to Lord Constantine's imposition of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.
Can you suggest another seismic shift in society, comparable to Constantine's imposition of Christianity, progression of which has been successfully elaborated using the methods of Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx? I confess to being very fond of the writings of Rosa Luxemburg, but I doubt that her knowledge, skill, and linguistic expertise, can be invoked to explain the rise of fascism in Germany, the very force which led to her assassination by the Freikorps, established in the eighteenth century.
I need someone to explain why any Jew, of any age, would not consider the single most important aspect of his/her religion, the contract, the agreement, the covenant, between YHWH, and humans. In my narrow minded view, belief in the sacred covenant is the single most important aspect of Judaism, which distinguishes it better than anything else, from all other religions. Perhaps I err in that opinion.
But, if I err not, then, why would ANY Jew, follow the direction of a guy, (Paul/Saul) who is NOT a Jewish religious leader, informing them of a "new" covenant? Give up the old, and follow the new??? I don't have a degree in Sociology, but common sense suggests that no amount of sociological theory is going to assist us to understand why any Jew would forsake the ancient "truth" to follow an apostate. On the other hand, "Turkey" as we call it, was an integral component of the Greek, and then Roman Empire. Folks there built huge stone temples to honor Herakles. Jews were not a huge majority in that region. Pagans were. If you seek to know, the ethnicity of the earliest Christians, in ancient "Turkey", then look to the pagans, not the Jews. I guess that is sociology, then, isn''t it?