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The Separation of Christianity from Judaism
In the mid-2nd century CE, Christianity began a gradual process of identity-formation that would lead to the creation of a separate, independent religion from Judaism. Initially, Christians were one of many...
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The Gospels
The New Testament contains four gospels attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The four gospels are not biographies of Jesus, nor are they history as we define it. What each gospel attempted to do was write a theological explanation...
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Masada
Masada (“fortress” in Hebrew) is a mountain complex in Israel in the Judean desert that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is famous for the last stand of the Zealots (and Sicarii) in the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE). Masada is a UNESCO...
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Legions of Judea
Judea was initially dependent on its neighbor Syria for military support until it received a Roman legion of its own in 70 CE after the Great Jewish Revolt of 66 CE. Legio X Fretensis was stationed at remains of the burned city...
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The First Christian Missionaries
According to Luke's Acts of the Apostles, the last thing Jesus did before he bodily ascended to heaven was to commission the disciples to 'witness' to his teachings. 'Disciple' meant 'student' and was derived from...
Definition
Old Testament
Old Testament is the Christian name for the books of the Jewish scriptures that constitute the first half of the Christian Bible. "Old" in this sense was a means to distinguish Judaism from Christianity at the creation of the New...
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New Testament
New Testament is the name for the second half of the Christian Bible, compiled from the 2nd century CE, after the separation of Christianity from Judaism. The Christian Bible retained books of the Jewish scriptures, the Old Testament...
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Kingdom of Israel
The Kingdom of Israel occupied that part of the land on the Mediterranean Sea known as the Levant which corresponds roughly to the State of Israel of modern times. The region was known, historically, as part of Canaan, as Phoenicia...
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles is the story of how the movement that became Christianity began in Jerusalem and spread throughout the Eastern Mediterranean cities of the Roman Empire. It was written by the same author as the third...
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Pharisees
The Pharisees were a Jewish sect that emerged c. 150 BCE and promoted the idea of priestly purity for all Jews, belief in providence or fate, and the concept of the resurrection of the dead, and taught that besides the commandments...