Christianity emerged from the religion of Israel. Or rather, it has as its background a persistent strain in that religion. To that strain Christians have looked back, and rightly, as the preparation in history for their faith.

Kenneth Scott Latourette (1884–1968), a leading American historian of Christianity, frequently framed Christian origins within the long arc of Jewish religious history. In his synthetic histories written for students and general readers, he emphasized both continuity and discontinuity: Christianity arose in first-century Palestine among Jews, drew on Israel’s scriptures and hopes, and yet developed into a distinct movement. This remark reflects Latourette’s characteristic effort to describe Christianity’s emergence not as an abrupt break from Judaism but as growing out of particular currents within Israel’s faith—especially prophetic monotheism, ethical demands, and eschatological expectation—that Christians later interpreted as providential “preparation” for the gospel.

Latourette is arguing for a historically grounded account of Christian beginnings. By saying Christianity “emerged from the religion of Israel,” then refining it to a “persistent strain” within that religion, he avoids reducing Judaism to a mere precursor while still explaining why Christians read Israel’s story as anticipatory. The “strain” suggests enduring themes—covenant faith in one God, moral seriousness, prophetic critique, and hope for redemption—that made the Jesus movement intelligible within Jewish categories. The final clause (“preparation in history”) expresses a Christian theological interpretation of history: what historians can describe as continuity of ideas and institutions believers may also construe as providential groundwork.