Nazarene (sect)
The Nazarenes (or Nazoreans; Greek: Ναζωραῖοι, romanized: Nazorēoi)[1] were an early Jewish Christian sect in first-century Judaism. The first use of the term is found in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 24, Acts 24:5) of the New Testament, where Paul the Apostle is accused of being a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes ("πρωτοστάτην τε τῆς τῶν Ναζωραίων αἱρέσεως") before the Roman procurator Antonius Felix at Caesarea Maritima by Tertullus.[2] At that time, the term simply designated followers of Jesus of Nazareth, as the Hebrew term נוֹצְרִי (nôṣrî),[3] and the Arabic term نَصْرَانِي (naṣrānī),[4] still do.
As time passed, the term came to refer to a sect of Jewish Christians who continued to observe the Torah, in contrast to gentiles who eschewed Torah observance.[5] They are described by Epiphanius of Salamis and are mentioned later by Jerome and Augustine of Hippo.[6][7] The writers made a distinction between the Nazarenes of their time and the "Nazarenes" mentioned in Acts 24:5.[8]
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$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__call_to_action.textDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$The Judeo-Nazarenes (7th century)[edit]
Odon Lafontaine, from the Revisionist School of Islamic Studies, hypothesized that this sect survived into the seventh century, when they attempted to precipitate the return of Jesus, as the Messiah of the Apocalypse, by translating their scripture and lectionaries into Arabic, recruiting the local Arab Christians, capturing Jerusalem, rebuilding the Temple, and re-initiating its sacrifices. When Jesus did not return, he concluded that the situation eventually spun out of control, resulting in the development of the Quran and Islam.[29]
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A number of modern churches use the word "Nazarene" or variants in their name or beliefs:
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