Speaking of faith from American public media is supported by faith and values media, producers

of the Four Chaplains, Sacrifice at Sea, available on DVD.

Support is also provided by the Pew Charitable Trusts, investing in ideas returning results,

PewTrusts.com, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the John Templeton Foundation.

This is speaking of faith, conversation about belief, meaning, ethics, and ideas.

I'm Christa Tippett.

Today, the Jewish Roots of the Christian Story.

In our Christian-influenced culture and especially perhaps in the season of Easter, it's easy

to forget the essential fact that Jesus and His early followers were Jewish.

This hour, we'll explore the Jewish character of early Christianity.

Doing so sheds new light on hard questions that are raised in every generation.

Is there an anti-Jewish strain at the heart of the Christian faith?

What do the biblical writings say and what do those writings mean both in the context

of their time and in hours?

This month, Mel Gibson releases a new, less violent version of his movie, The Passion.

In defending that film against charges of anti-Semitism last year, he insisted that his was

a literal rendering of the biblical story.

But as we'll explore, the New Testament itself does not offer a single unified account.

The Four Gospels vary in how they detail and interpret the events before, during, and

after Jesus' crucifixion.

In places, the Gospels are also colored by an era of persecution, real enough for the

Christians of 2000 years ago who did indeed struggle to survive in the Roman Empire.

...