Yes. Remember the Jews were historically steeped in Godly Beliefs, and were assimilating with Gentiles, to whit Jesus called them lost.
Historically Israel, Tribesmen, Jews had multiple traditions, of holy days celebrations, mournings, feasts, etc. <—- Traditions
Whether they were lost, unknowing, or first learning....the Jews were being taught and reminded to hold on to, continue their Traditions.
Paul was steeped in knowledge of the OT and Jewish Laws and Traditions.
Thank you for that thoughtful post. I would like to collaborate with what I found on a JEWISH site: (
my words in italics)
CHURCH FATHERS, term designating the spiritual and doctrinal proponents of Christianity during its first centuries. First reserved for bishops, the designation was later also accorded to other ecclesiastical authorities. The criteria of eligibility for this designation are (1) orthodoxy of doctrine (i.e., identification with the teachings of the official Church); (2) saintliness of conduct; (3) ecclesiastical approbation; (4) seniority. The authority of the Church Fathers resides in the principle accepted by the Church of considering tradition a source of faith. The patristic period ends in the West in 636 with the death of *Isidore of Seville and in the Orient in 749 with that of John of Damascus. In the main, two aspects concerning the relationship between the Church Fathers and the Jews and Judaism are discussed here: their contribution to anti-Jewish polemics; and their knowledge of Hebrew and rabbinic teachings.
Mention should be made of the "Epistle of Barnabas" (second century), a New Testament apocryphal work in Greek, which is unique in the literature of the early Church for its radical anti-Jewish attitude. According to the anonymous author of this text, the Jews have misunderstood the Law by interpreting it literally instead of looking for the spiritual meaning. The author stresses the obligation of Christians not to celebrate the Sabbath, but Sunday, the day of the resurrection of Jesus. (
we should be grateful the Church Fathers corrected those morons who thought this garbage was inspired, instead of ignoring them)
"The Epistle of Barnabas"
ARISTIDES OF ATHENS, in his
Apologia addressed to Emperor Hadrian in about 123–24, attacks the Jews at the same time as he polemicizes against the Barbarians and the Greeks. The first Christian polemicist to attack the Jews directly was ARISTON OF PELLA (mid-second century) in his "Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus"; this work has been lost and only the preface to a Latin translation (also lost) is extant.
Wow! That must be why nobody can find Sabbatarians in the 2nd century!!!
It's ironic that "sola scriptura" is a LATIN phrase!
The first anti-Jewish polemic in Greek which has been almost entirely preserved is the "Dialogue with Tryphon" by JUSTIN (d. 165), the most important Christian apologist of the second century.
The setting is presented as a chance meeting between Justin and Trypho in
Ephesus. Justin had just
converted to Christianity from a philosophical background and Trypho had just fled the disturbances in Judea.
[1]
When Justin suggests to Trypho to convert to Christianity, the dialogue becomes animated. Trypho criticizes Christians on a number of grounds, and Justin provides answers to each criticism.
[1]
In the opening of the
Dialogue, Justin relates his vain search among the
Stoics,
Peripatetics, and
Pythagoreans for a satisfying knowledge of God; his finding in the ideas of
Plato wings for his soul, by the aid of which he hoped to attain the contemplation of the God-head; and his meeting on the sea-shore with an aged man who told him that by no human endeavor but only by divine revelation could this blessedness be attained, that the prophets had conveyed this revelation to man, and that their words had been fulfilled. Of the truth of this he assured himself by his own investigation; and the daily life of the Christians and the courage of the martyrs convinced him that the charges against them were unfounded. So he sought to spread the knowledge of Christianity as the true philosophy.
In the
Dialogue, Justin also wrote, "For I choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines [delivered] by Him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this [truth], and venture to blaspheme the God of
Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of
Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians."
[4] This passage is sometimes cited as evidence that the
early church subscribed to the doctrine of
soul sleep, though some claim that Justin's emphasis is on saying that denial of the
resurrection of the dead is what makes them non-Christian, especially considering that he claims that "even after death souls are in a state of sensation" in Chapter 18 of his
First Apology.
[5]
The work is an adaptation of a debate which perhaps actually took place between Justin and a philosopher who lived in Ereẓ Israel, possibly R. *Tarfon . The discussion, which lasted two days, deals with the validity of Old Testament Law, the divinity of Jesus, and the Christian claim that the Nations represent a New Israel. Justin's work contains a considerable amount of aggadic material. Bishop APOLLINARIS OF HIERAPOLIS (Phrygia) wrote a polemic work against the Jews in about 175.
Ante-Nicene Christian Library/Dialogue with Trypho - Wikisource, the free online library
full context of the Dialgue here. Decide for yourself if Justin is an anti-Jewish polemic. Keep in mind Justin's teachers got thrown out of the synagogues like Jesus said they would.