Jewish Christians were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). These Jews believed Jesus to be the prophesied Messiah, and blended his teachings into the Jewish faith, including the observance of the Jewish law. Jewish Christianity is the foundation of Early Christianity, which later developed into Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Christianity started with Jewish eschatological expectations, and it developed into the worship of Jesus after his earthly ministry, his crucifixion, and the post-crucifixion experiences of his followers. Modern scholarship is engaged in an ongoing debate as to the proper designation for Jesus' first followers. Many see the term Jewish Christians as anachronistic given that there is no consensus on the date of the birth of Christianity. Some modern scholars have suggested the designations "Jewish believers in Jesus" or "Jewish followers of Jesus" as better reflecting the original context. Jewish Christians drifted apart from mainstream Judaism, eventually becoming a minority strand which had mostly disappeared by the fifth century. Jewish–Christian gospels have been lost except for fragments, so there is considerable uncertainty as to the scriptures used by this group. The split of Christianity and Judaism took place during the first centuries CE. While the First Jewish–Roman War and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE were main events, the separation was a long-term process, in which the boundaries were not clear-cut. Etymology Early Jewish Christians (i.e. the Jewish followers of Jesus) referred to themselves as followers of "The Way" (: hė hodós), probably coming from , "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." According to , the term "Christian" () was first used in reference to Jesus's disciples in the city of Antioch, meaning "followers of Christ", by the non-Jewish inhabitants of Antioch. The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" () was by Ignatius of Antioch, in around 100 AD. The term "Jewish Christian" appears in modern historical texts contrasting Christians of Jewish origin with gentile Christians, both in discussion of the New Testament church and the second and following centuries. Origins Jewish-Hellenistic background Hellenism Christianity arose as a Pharisaic movement within the syncretistic Hellenistic world of the first century CE, which was dominated by Roman law and Greek culture. Hellenistic culture had a profound impact on the customs and practices