How can the New Testament writings be within Judaism? Distinguishing ways of asking and answering the question

Abstract

Abstract This article critically evaluates the meanings of “within Judaism” and related phrases when applied to the texts now collected in the New Testament. It uses social-scientific approaches to social categories and group boundaries to develop a theoretically informed approach for considering how the literature of the earliest Christ followers may or may not be considered Jewish texts, and how such claims can be evaluated. Examples from New Testament and Early Jewish texts illustrate the theoretical discussion throughout.