I am looking for recommendations for works that compare and contrast Post-exilic Judaism and Christianity with regard to John's portrayal of Jesus and the Torah. I would appreciate any advice.
I think you should go over your previous research.
Did not Jesus attack PE Judaism in relation to the Torah? What/who exactly is to be compared to "Christianity" (is it only John's presentation of Jesus in relation to the Torah?).
I am going down another area of study. Jesus did not attack the Torah, but instead offered his own interpretation of the law that conflicted with the interpretations of scribes and Pharisees.
Mathew 23: 2-3 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So practice and observe everything they tell you.
Pirkei Avot 1:1 Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly.
I now consider the treatment of Judaism by early Christianity to be particularly repugnant. Not because they asserted that Jesus was the Messiah, challenged the validity of Jewish religious leadership, or held different views on God and the Law. I am only studying John at the moment.
IJesus did not attack the Torah, but instead offered his own interpretation of the law that conflicted with the interpretations of scribes and Pharisees.
That was not what I said, or even hinted. Jesus attacked PE Judaism because it was not consistent with the Torah (and Jesus was more than a mere interpreter).
I now consider the treatment of Judaism by early Christianity to be particularly repugnant.
Hmmm... I have found so little data and so much variation in both Judaism and Christianity in this period that I have never been able to reach an opinion. I think of Judaism as quite unsettled until the Karaite movement settled out, indicating that the Rabbinic Judaism had really fully flowered. As for Christianity, even once the Gnostic and syncretic versions had been filtered out of orthodoxy, there was still rather different responses when you look geographically. You have the skill to ask very interesting topics but you still need to work on your ability to do original research on them. And you need to force yourself to spend a reasonable amount of time on the research - you simply can't genuinely research questions of this type unless you allocate weeks rather than hours on the topic. If you are just looking for an overview of the major positions on the topic, a day or two should usually suffice ... although sometimes it can take surprisingly long to find the information.
You are slipping back into providing too much information regarding your questions. Remember to give only the background or personal opinion that is necessary for others to answer your question. And make sure that you keep your language neutral - repugnant is not necessarily the best choice of words. From my own perspective which may not be shared by others, I am concerned that you claim to already have taken a position on a topic you are researching. A position is the last step of honest inquiry.
For someone who has been given a considerable amount of leeway to skirt the forum guidelines, I think this is jumping WAY over the limits.
