Shortly, the God-fearers were pagans who strongly sympathized with Judaism.
Much of the debates and acts in the New Testament after the Gospels concerned the God-fearers.
God-fearers accepted Judaic beliefs, but they didn't keep the dietary laws (hence Jews and their Christian sub-cult refused to eat with them at
first), and the men were not circumcised (a very painful and risky operation for men in those days).
Few texts are really clear on the God-fearers and their monotheistic yearnings.
However, most academia now accepts that they existed, and that Jewish synagogues were not always unanimous on their position.
As semi-Jews they were seen as lucrative at times (instead of physical circumcision St Paul advised them to fund "the poor" in Jerusalem), and Jews
also fell into pagan ways by associating with such semi-converts.
Before the clear division of Christians and Jews it seemed they played a crucial role in discussions.
Jewish purists accepted them as God-fearers, but the Christian sect of course suddenly accepted them as full members of the religion.
This meant a major loss of income for non-Christian Judaic groups with large God-fearing congregations, and quite some bitterness.
The split caused much debate, and some scholars argue that the author of Revelations actually refers to St Paul as the "Synagogue of Satan", and that
there are dual contradictory streams of teachings on the God-fearers in the Bible.
Today there are some groups who once again attempt to merge Christianity and Judaism, from Messianic Jews and the Jews for Jesus, to preachers like
Michael J. Rood.
What category are these new believers?
If they be Jews, do Zionist Christians have a right to return to Israel?
Are they cults to destroy Judaism?
Would it not be more correct to call them latter-day "God-fearers"?
edit on 21-10-2012 by halfoldman because: (no reason given)