Conversion to Christianity from the second century onwards did not pose a massive threat to Jews. The threat came from these Jews who held some Christian beliefs, who rejected Oral Law and legal interpretation of the scribes (57). "The early rabbis were divided in their approach to Christianity Some wanted to remove Jewish Christians entirely from the midst of the Jewish community Yet other Jewish leaders counseled that the heretics should be reformed and brought into the Jewish community (58)." What the rabbis said about their enemies has been preserved, although sparsely, in the Talmud and in related documents for the purpose of keeping Jews faithful to the law and lore as taught by their own holy teachers. While the works of Christians in the first four centuries show very strong antipathy towards Jews and Judaism in general, the works of the Jews, which likely date from the same period illustrate the nature of the Jewish response was markedly tamer in tone, but not in substance. Basser points out, however, that one must be cautious with the use of this literature because what someone might see as anti-Christian polemic, someone else might see simply as rabbinic exegesis independent of any polemical agenda (57). He reminds the reader that religious groups need to distinguish themselves from other groups, need to confront and discredit the groups from which they emerge, and have to mark themselves as "Godly" and their opponents as "Satanic" (15).
Basser's book is, if nothing else, extremely organized. In each section of Studies in Exegesis, he gives the reader the argument, provides the sides of the argument in the form of each Gospel where the argument is presented, and finally provides a commentary on each. After he explains the argument, he then applies his knowledge (and sometimes other theologist's research) as background to come to some type of conclusion. Each conclusion, however, is still up for argument because the subject matter is just that - it lends itself to multiple interpretations, but not full explanations.
