Mystic-skeptic Radio Show

In this week's show our guest is Rabbi Dr. Juan Marcos Bejarano Gutierrez  author of Reimagining Boundaries: Jewish and Christian Identity in Late Antiquity.In the eighth century, a debate between Sergius the Stylite and a Jew occurred. The discussion was conveniently titled, Debate against a Jew. It records arguments about the relevance of biblical texts to Christians and the Jewish people. The anti-Jewish perspectives of Sergius are not surprising. The response given by his Jewish interlocutor is, however. The Jew noted that he was surprised by the number of Christians who attended his synagogue, contributed to it, and celebrated various Jewish holidays alongside Jews.What does this tell us? It shows us that the boundaries between Jews and Christians even as late as the 8th century were permeable at the very least and ill-defined at the most extreme. The anti-Jewish polemics of Melito of Sardis in the second century or John Chrysostom in the fourth century are heartfelt. Regardless of how vile they are