Jesus Christ was born into a conventional Jewish family positioned firmly within then-contemporary Jewish religion, tradition and society (Borg, 1994). Living under the Roman conquerors in Palestine some 2,000 years ago, Jesus was variously regarded by Jews and Romans as a radical teacher or "rabbi," a possible Messiah, a political activist, and a threat to the Jewish hierarchy (Fisher, 1999). Judaism had a long established expectation that a messiah or savior would come to liberate them. In a brief three year public ministry, Jesus drew many devoted followers to him and the gospels that he preached. As noted by Fisher (1999), however, Jesus never declared that he had come to form a new religion although he did identify himself as the Son of God and of man. His life occurred at a time when apocalyptic expectations were running high and Israel was chaffing under the Roman yoke, which included heavy taxation and strict rule. The teachings of Jesus therefore were meant, at lest in part, to emphasize the importance of love for one's fellow men and the necessity of selfless service to everyone, including those generally despised by conventional religious leaders (Fisher, 1999).
It was after the death and resurrection of Jesus that many of his followers (apostles) began to spread the story of his life and his teachings (Borg, 1994). A former Pharisee tentmaker named Saul, renamed Paul, was aggressive in persecution of Christians, who were then a sect within Judaism. Later, Paul would become a dedicated follower of Jesus' worldview and would take the teachings of Jesus to the Gentiles as well as the Jews (Fisher, 1999). Paul tried to convince the Jews of the truth of Jesus' birth and death as the anticipated messiah, but he failed in this effort. Consequently, beginning about 50 to 60 years after the death of Jesus, Christianity began to move away from Judaism and take on the attributes of an autonomous faith. In Paul's lifetim...