Editing Early Christianity (section)

=== Jewish Christians ===
''See Also [[Jewish Christians]]''

[[Image:Saint James the Just.jpg|thumb|left|150px|James, brother of Jesus.]]

Jesus and most of his original followers were Jews or Jewish [[proselyte]]s. According to many historians, these first followers viewed Jesus as a charismatic preacher and healer, who prophesized the imminent restoration of God's kingdom on earth.<sup>[8]</sup>  Some of the first followers of Jesus composed a sect of first-century [[Judaism]] marked by their belief in Jesus' prophecy, and other teachings of his; according to Christian theology, they more specifically believed that [[Jesus]] of Nazareth was the long-awaited [[Messiah]]<sup>[9]</sup> ([[Acts 2:22]]-[[Acts 2:36|36]]), and that the [[Kingdom of God]] either [[Full Preterism|had come]] or [[Parousia|would soon come]],<p>[10]</sup> in [[Messianic prophecy|fulfilment of expectation]] ([[Acts 19:8]]). 

Practice among the groups that followed Jesus included those who were strictly Jewish, including the [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Church leaders in Jerusalem]], and those strongly [[proselyte|attracted to Jewish belief]].<sup>[9]</sup> This movement was centered around Jerusalem and led by [[James the Just]]. The Acts of the Apostles asserts "''All the believers were united and shared everything with one another.They made it their practice to sell their possessions and goods and to distribute the proceeds to anyone who was in need."'' They held faithfully to the [[Torah]] and [[Halacha|Jewish law]] which included acceptance of [[Proselytes|Gentile converts]] based on what appears to be a version of the [[Seven Laws of Noah#First Century CE.2C Acts 15|Noachide laws]] ([[Acts 15]] and [[Acts 21]]). In Christian circles, "Nazarene" later came to be used as a label for those faithful to Jewish law, in particular for a certain [[Nazarene (sect)|sect]]. These Jewish Christians, originally a central group in Christianity, were not at first declared to be unorthodox, but were later excluded and denounced, as [[Judaizers]]. Some Jewish Christian groups, such as the [[Ebionite]]s, were considered to have unorthodox beliefs, particularly in relation to their views of Christ and Gentile converts. The [[Nazarene (sect)|Nazarene]]s, holding to orthodoxy except in their adherence to Jewish law, were not deemed heretical until the dominance of [[orthodoxy]] in the fourth century. The Ebionites may have been a splinter group of Nazarenes, with disagreements over Christology and leadership. After the condemnation of the Nazarenes, "Ebionite" was often used as a general pejorative for all related "heresies".<sup>[11]</sup><sup>[12]</sup> At the other extreme were [[Marcionism|Marcionists]] who rejected all things Jewish.

Jewish Christians eventually constituted a separate community from the [[Pauline Christianity|Pauline Christians]] and that they remained part of the Jewish community. There was a post-Nicene "double rejection" of the Jewish Christians by both Gentile Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. It is believed that there was no direct confrontation, or persecution, between Gentile and Judaic Christianity. However, by this time the practice of Judeo-Christianity was diluted, both by internal schisms and external pressures. The traditional understanding is that the original Jewish Christianity continued until the fifth century, after which there are no more references to Jewish followers of the Jesus movement.<sup>[13]</sup> Those remaining fully faithful to Halacha became purely Jews, while those adhering to the Christian faith joined with Gentile, Graeco-Roman, [[Pauline Christianity]].  Gentile Christianity remained the sole strand of orthodoxy and imposed itself on the previously Jewish Christian sanctuaries, taking full control of those houses of worship by the end of the fifth century.<sup>[14]</sup> Yet, even today, there are Christian groups that claim to be [[Jewish Christians#Contemporary Jewish Christians|Contemporary Jewish Christians]].