← Home
Honestly with Bari Weiss · December 24, 2025 · 1h 10m

The Birth of Christianity

On Christmas Eve, Paula Fredriksen, one of the world's leading scholars of early Christianity, joins Bari Weiss to explore the first centuries of the Christian movement. The conversation examines the little-known fact that the earliest followers of Jesus were Jews who expected history to end imminently and did not set out to create a new religion. Fredriksen explains the gradual separation of Christianity from Judaism, the resistance from some Jews, and how the anti-Judaism of early Christian writings connects to modern antisemitism. These foundational centuries reveal crucial patterns about how ideas spread and persist.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

The First Christians Were Apocalyptic Jews
The earliest followers of Jesus were not trying to start a new religion; they were a Jewish sect convinced they were history's last generation, with Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah.
Early Anti-Judaism Shaped Modern Antisemitism
Fredriksen argues that the anti-Jewish rhetoric found in early Christian writings established patterns that are directly connected to antisemitism today.

References

When Christians Were Jews: The First GenerationPaula FredriksenExplores how the first Christians understood themselves as a Jewish apocalyptic movement
Paul: The Pagans’ ApostlePaula FredriksenRe-examines Paul's mission to pagans within a Jewish framework
Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred YearsPaula FredriksenTraces the diverse early Christian world

Misc

Paula Fredriksen lives in Jerusalem, just 20 minutes from Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified.
Was this useful?