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The Origins of Christianity

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A Review of: "The Origins of Christianity: An Exploration", by Etienne Nodet and Justin Taylor. (Liturgical Press: Collegeville MN) 1998.

Review by Jim West, ThD, Adjunct Professor of Bible, Quartz Hill School of Theology

Etienne Nodet is the noted author of the very important study, "A Search for the Origins of Judaism". This earlier monograph clearly sets forth Nodet's view of the beginnings of Judaism. Nodet teaches at the famed Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, as does his co-author, Justin Taylor.

Simply put, the thesis of the present study is that Christianity emerged from among the Essenes. This remarkable and provocative thesis is demonstrated by the two most important rites of Christianity- the Eucharist and Baptism. These rites were the very rites given central position by the Essenes themselves. It is well known that the Essenes practiced emersion; but they also celebrated together a communal meal consisting of bread and wine.

The book Nodet and! Taylor wrote, and which we are considering here, gives flesh to the bones of the aforementioned thesis. In the first chapter of the book, Nodet and Taylor offer some very important "Starting Points" for the study the reader is about to undertake. They describe their use of the primary sources in this part of the volume. The second chapter, "The Central Institutions", discusses in incredible and thorough detail the two central rites of Essenism and Christianity; Baptism and the Supper. With this background in hand, the authors turn in chapters three and four to a consideration of the historical situation of Galilee. Specifically, chapter three focuses on the history of the region from the Exile (586 BCE) to Jesus' death (30 CE or thereabouts). And chapter four investigates the historical events of the region from the Jewish War (66-72 CE) to the Mishnah (mid 3rd century CE or so). In the fifth chapter, Nodet and Taylor turn their attention to the "Nazoreans and Jews! in Palestine". This, I think, is the central chapter of ! the book as it makes clear the milieu of the early Church and its very fascinating connections to Essene Judaism (as well as other segments of Judaism). Chapter six looks at the spread of the Church and the transformation which took place when the Church encountered the gentile world. The title of this chapter is "The Mission". This nicely summarizes the contents of this particular part of the book.

In chapter seven, "Passover, Pentecost, and Covenant", our authors take one final look at the central Christian rites, Baptism and Eucharist. But now, with a new historical perspective, the meaning of these rites and their roots look totally different. The book closes with a nice summary of the results obtained by the authors and a forward glance to what still needs to be accomplished. This book is 448 pages long and includes a preface, and indices of Biblical texts, texts from Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Rabbinic texts, ancient authors,! and modern writers.

The fabric of this book is so tightly woven that the entire argument may unravel if one of the major threads is found to be faulty or even broken. There are several places where the weave of the author's argument may, indeed, be a little frayed. The primary hurdle the reader must overcome, in my estimation, is rather a simple one. That is, can dependence or interdependence between disparate groups be proven by similar rites? Perhaps. But perhaps not. This is the one haunting question that lays in the back of my mind as I consider this really wondrous tome. By their own admission, the authors suggest that more work needs to be done on the Historical Jesus himself (a concern not directly addressed here); the Jewish context; and the early Church. Nevertheless, this book answers more questions than it raises and it is sure to be highly debated. It will be scorned by some and admired by others, but it most certainly should be read by all.

Did the! authors accomplish their goal and demonstrate to our satis! faction their claim that Christianity is an offshoot of Essenism? Put simply, yes. Though questions tarry, and some of the more technical issues remain to be debated, the authors have written a persuasive, provocative, and brilliant book.

Finally, those who would wish to disagree with Nodet and Taylor must master the sources to an equal degree in order to demonstrate our writer's failings. This task in itself will be extremely difficult.