Verus Israel (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization)

A new translation of a classic study, Verus Israel examines the relationship between Jews and Christians in the Roman Empire from the second Jewish War (AD 132-135) to the end of the Jewish Patriarchate (AD 425). In opposition to the commonly held view that once their gradual separation was complete the two communities ceased to be concerned with each other, Simon maintains that Judaism continued to make its influence felt on and to be influenced by the outside world. This relationship took the form of both a conflict between rival orthodoxies and a many-sided and enduring attraction to Judaism by sectarian Jewish Christianity and the Catholic Church itself. This intriguing study concludes with a discussion of the causes of the eventual disappearnace of Judaism as a missionary religion.