Who changed the Christian idea from its original Jewish concept into a Greek/Roman philosophy based one?

Question

Until the total destruction of the Jewish nation on the 26 September 70 A.D. by the Romans, Christianity was just another branch of the Jewish religion, supported by the Zelots to take the power away from the stornger getting influence of Jewish hardliners. Who was that guy, who single handeldy changed Chtistianity into a succesful Religion, giving it more attractive western attributes.

Answer 1

Truth is always harmoinous with Truth. That's why the ancient greek writings of Socrates, Plato & Aristotle are congruent (morally) with Christ's teachings. St. Augustine certainly recognized this, and it also resonated with the Greeks of St. Paul's day. I don't think there's any one person who accomplished this, just like there's no one person "changing" culture today.

Answer 2

Back in the 1950s a huge collection of thousands of manuscripts, called the Dead Sea Scrolls, were found. This appears to have been a library for a Jewish religious community located near the Dead Sea in Israel. All of the material is religious in nature, including hundreds of copies of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures. (What Christians call the Old Testament.) This manuscripts appears to have been produce between 250 and 100 BC. So these manuscripts pre-date Christianity and the Bible. Yet compared to the Hebrew texts from which Christian Bibles are translated, these manuscripts are word for word identical over 99% of the time. Pretty solid evidence that the books of the Old Testament have not been altered by the Christians. About 250 BC the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek. Those translators also produced some additional material that covers the time period between 300 BC and about 100 BC. (The last books of the Hebrew Scriptures were completed about 500 BC). These translations would become "the Bible" for the Jewish people of Jesus' time and the early Christians (who as Gentiles did not read or understand Hebrew). They were used and quoted about the way the King James Bible is today in spite of all the other existing translations. All New Testament quotes are taken from this Greek version. Whenever Jesus quoted the Old Testament it was from the Greek translation. Because the early Christians did not speak Hebrew, the first Bibles made contained the Greek translation, not the original Hebrew. Through the Middle Ages, most translations made were taken from the Greek rather than the Hebrew text. Because no translation is ever perfect (no two languages are identical in the vocabulary and grammar), there are some early translation were the text is worded differently because it is a translation of a translation. But there are no examples of anyone dropping section, altering huge sections, adding new material, etc. All translations since the 1400's have been made from the Hebrew text. Now, the Catholic Bible, which was translated from the Greek texts in the 5th century, includes the seven additional Greek books not found in the Hebrew scriptures. While most Protestant translation today limit the books to the 39 found in the Hebrew scriptures since they were made after 1400 and translated from the Hebrew. (If they include the Greek books, they are in a separate section between the Old and New Testament - which is historical when they were written.) So the 39 books of the Protestant Old Testament are identical to the Hebrew/Jewish versions of those books. Although the chapters and verses number (which were not added until the 14th -15th century) do vary between the two. And the order in which the books are placed varies. The seven additional books of the Catholic Old Testament are identical to the Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts of those books. If nothing else, the Christian church can be congratulated on doing an excellent ob of preserving the texts of both the Old and New Testament. The discoveries in the last century and a half of the Dead Sea scrolls, roughly 2000 scattered New Testament scrolls, and other manuscripts demonstrate that the text we use for translating Bibles is accurate and reliable. These ancient manuscripts, made before the time of Christians (or during its infancy) match the texts from which translations are made today.

Answer 3

Paul had a lot to do with it. But every one of the Apostles was Jewish, except maybe one gentile, I think. Paul and Peter were killed in 63-65 a.d by Nero, along with as many Christians as the Romans could round up.
So these apostles and their message had little to do with the destruction of Jerusalem, and there were already many churches spread throughout the Roman Empire by the time of 70 a.d. I do not think that your beginning assumption is correct, though it was at least decade before the apostles took the message to the gentiles. They didn't change the message to make it more palatable to the Romans. It was God's commission to them to take the Gospel to the world. Frankly, most early Christ followers were pretty reluctant to offer "salvation" and good news to gentiles.
The destruction of Jerusalem may very well have forced the issue, spreading all the Jews and the Christians all around the Roman Empire at that time.

Answer 4

Christianity was successful since the day of the Ressurrection. This event is what seperates Jesus Christ from all other religions. Christianity is not about a religion, it's about reclaiming the relationship that was taken away in the Garden of Eden.The Apostles had written their Epistles by the time of revolt in A.D. 70. The Zealots were Jewish Nationals and had nothing to do with Christianity. Christians taught in the Temple and in homes, or where ever they could meet. Christianity is not about rebellion, quite the contrary.

Answer 5

Early Christianity was much more than "just another branch of the Jewish religion."

Jesus Christ created the Christian idea that was neither completely Jewish, Greek, nor Roman.

The Holy Spirit was guiding the early Christian Church and is guiding the Church today to become more and more perfect.

This evolving Church is a bit different today as it was a century ago and a century before that.

It is easy to understand that the first century Church was changing by leaps and bounds.

Just accepting Gentiles without making them become Jewish was a revolution.

With love in Christ.

Answer 6

I can't tell if you're simply mistaken, or biased in your point of view.

The Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, not the "Jewish nation."

Christianity, wasn't "just another branch of the Jewish religion." By 70 CE, Paul and Peter had already decided who each of them would reach out to, and it included more than just Jews.

There was a Hellenization of Jesus' message, but it wasn't just one person.

Each of the apostles went and talked with people, not just fellow Jews.

Some modern Christian churches in Persia have their roots in the first apostles -- people who knew and broke bread with Jesus -- not Paul.

No one person was responsible for 'changing' the message of Jesus. Everyone who heard it and responded did so because of the message, not because of the person sharing the message.

Godspeed.

Answer 7

Paul started the movement... but the Greek/Roman philosophy that is evident in all of the New Test writings is evident in many writings by different cultures that were ruled by Rome during that time. Hellenism was a great influence on the known civilized world in that area...

Answer 8

There wasn't any one guy. The first followers of Jesus were Jews, but they were Jews living in a Greco-Roman culture of the Roman Empire. Greco-Roman ideas were mixed in from the very start with Paul's writings. Gradually, the Jewish followings attracted more and more gentiles. Eventually, the gentiles, with their gentile cultural reinterpretation became dominant.

Answer 9

There wasn't any one guy.
A handful of men, armed with nothing but their faith in Christ, Whom they had seen with their own eyes, changed the world.
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PAUL?????
Are you kidding me? Puh-leeeeeze...a guy writes a few letters, and you give him credit for changing an entire religion?

Did you know, for instance, that the Israelites had, in effect, tossed God off of the throne back in the time of Samuel? That is what God told Samuel when the people came and asked him to give them a king...they had not rejected Samuel, God said, but they had REJECTED GOD from being king over them.
So, how do you figure that Christianity could have originally been a Jewish concept?
No, Dear...Christianity was originally God's idea...

Answer 10

Paul.