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Title: A meticulously researched study
Review: Sim's book is one of the most important books on Matthean studies and Christian Judaism since J. D. Dun's Unity and Diversity in the New Testament. The chapter on Pauline Christianity and the Matthean Community is significantly important, for Sim argues that Matthew is anti-Pauline, thus Paul's Torah-free Christianity is anathema to the Matthean Community. Furthermore, Matthew's Gospel has a number of anti-Gentile statements, which Sim concludes is a result of the Matthean Community being surrounded by a hostel Gentile environment. Gentiles wanting to join the Matthean Community first had to convert to Judaism and then undergo Nazarene indoctrination and ritualism. In short, Sim argues that the Matthean Community is totally committed to Judaism as interpreted by Jesus from Nazareth. This book raises a number of important questions, which cannot be ignored to do so is at Christianity's peril.
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