The Jewish Roots of Christianity
I was intrigued recently over a story I saw on the news about a Chicago man who faces possible jail time for taking his daughter to church. Apparently in the custody settlement with his ex-wife (a Jew), Joseph Reyes (a Catholic) was barred from exposing this daughter to anything but the Jewish faith. He then very publicly took his daughter to church and is now facing potential jail time for that act. While strong arguments could be made in this particular case that this man acted like a jerk and that custody rulings are often unfair to fathers, what I find most fascinating is the argument he is using in his defense. Basically, Reyes argues that he did not break any court order since Catholicism is a derivative of Judaism. He asserts that he simply exposed his daughter to the teachings of the greatest Jewish rabbi ever.
I saw his lawyer make that assertion in a TV interview and the reporter could barely hold it together, saying “what idiot fed you that line?” The lawyer simply said that most Christian theologians would say that Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism, to which the reporter said something along the lines of “good luck with that.”
On the human level, I wish these parents weren’t using their daughter as a pawn in their bitterness and revenge games. And I also don’t claim to understand the struggles parents of differing traditions face in choosing how to expose their children to the diversity of their faiths. But on a theoretical level, I am interested in how this has played out. I know that the theological emphasis on the historical roots of Christianity is fairly recent, and that a willingness to see Jesus as the Jewish rabbi he was has been slow to emerge. But, one would think there enough of those cheesy “My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter” bumper stickers around that the wider culture would catch on that Christians are finally acknowledging our roots. I honestly don’t know of any Christian who wouldn’t say that our faith is based in Judaism, worships the same God, and treasures at least some of the same scriptures (it is a very different story when it comes to acknowledging the mutual roots of our faith with those who practice Islam).
Granted, most of the public perception of Christians is that of hate-filled crusaders fighting to keep away those that are not exactly like them. Since there is such a poor history in how Christians have interacted with Jews in the past, no wonder people would be surprised to hear a Christian claim roots in Judaism (especially for such manipulative ends). I doubt that this case will spark real theological dialogue, but I find myself wondering what can (or should) be done to help promote our commonalities. Christianity cannot be understood apart from Judaism (wouldn’t exist apart from it). How can that best be discussed in the wider culture without prompting displays of incredulity?
julieclawson(at)gmail(dot)com 
Some of the recent push on emphasizing Christianity's historical roots has come from Jewish scholars such as Geza Vermes and Amy-Jill Levine. Levine, especially, in The Misunderstood Jew has written very accessibly about these issues. Pointing this out to more reporters, or simply handing a copy of her book to them, would help (hopefully).
The problem in the assertion of Christianity's Jewish roots are not the undeniable links to the Jewishness of the 2 key figures in the Christian faith: Jesus and Paul. The problem is to what extent the Jewish community today ( – btw, who can actually legitimitely speak for all Jews, orthodox AND non-orthodox?) would recognize the Christian faith as a legitimate extension and interpretation of those roots.
To use a comparison: would any Christian denomination recognize JWs as a legitimate expression of Christianity?
It's important to note that both Christianity and modern Judaism are off-shoots of First Century Judaism. Modern Judaism is not just the same as Judaism in Jesus' day, any more than Christianity is. Granted, modern Christianity may be a much wider divergence than modern Judaism, but in the time of the apostles Christianity was still just another Jewish sect.
I doubt the father was really trying to expose the daughter to the Jewish roots of Christianity by attending Mass.
But assuming arguendo that he was, it is definitely possible to do so.
For anyone interested in this topic, I recommend Meredith Gould's book "Why is There a Menorah on the Altar?" There is a great deal of custom and liturgy that is inherited from Judaism.
http://www.amazon.com/There-Menorah-Jewish-Christian-Worship/dp/1596271175
You might be surprised by how many Christians are pretty astounded to discover that there was no such thing as Christianity for quite a while after Jesus was crucified — and not by "the Jews." I wrote Why Is There a Menorah on the Altar? The Jewish Roots of Christian Worship to introduce Christians to their/our rich heritage. There is precious little, especially when it comes to sanctuary decor and the structure of worship, that is NOT derived from pre-Rabbanic Judaism, as reading through Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers will reveal!
Sounds like a good read. Thanks for the recommendation!
Not only no established Christianity in the early years of the "Christian church", Jesus never advocated a new religion. The judge in the custody case probably considered that Jewishness (if that is even a word) is passed on through the mother so if having to rule in the case of parents who couldn't or wouldn't compromise, this would be a logical, reasonable conclusion. The father could just be behaving as a jerk and defying the order, or he could be trying to get the mother to compromise-such as the child could attend services of the parent's faith when with that parent. Too bad these warring parents can't work together for the good of their child.
It would be wrong for the judge to assume matrilineal descent as a criteria for "what" the child is. Reform and Reconstructionist Judiasm recognize patrilineal descent.
Julie! First off it was great to meet you at Convergence! At the time I sensed a "kindred" spirit and as I read your stuff I am more convinced and thankful for your voice.
Another good book on the subject of Christianity's heritage is "Christianity is Jewish" by Edith Schaeffer … I don't think it's in print anymore but if you can find it, it's a lot easier to read than some of her husbands stuff was(Francis)!!