The Relationship Between Judaism and Christianity

[Channalee]

You've obviously put a lot of thought into this post, and I'll probably come back later and post a longer response, in order to do it justice.
 
But right now, I just want to say that your use of the terms "race traitors" and "race treachery" kind of took me aback. 

Yeah, and mind you--these aren't my terms because, again, as a Catholic, I had seen Christianity as an outgrowth of Judaism. These were terms that were used by an Orthodox Jewish friend of mine to describe the disciples of Jesus and the apostle Paul. I want to assure you that I don't actually believe this myself and that the terms didn't come from me but rather from this conversation.

Any conversation that veers into a discussion of race politics is something I generally find disturbing.  Thank you for your explanation, though.

I'll just attempt to sum up your topic with the questions I think you are asking, and I'll give you my answers (which are not at all to be considered "official Jewish opinion," as you may get different answers from different Jews):
 
Was Jesus a Jew?
 
Yes.
 
Were the followers of Jesus also Jews?
 
Probably some of them were, and some of them weren't.
 
Was Jesus the Messiah?
 
No.
 
Do Jews cease to be Jews the moment they take on the belief that Jesus is the Messiah?
 
They become apostates, losing many of the recognized rights and privileges of a member of the Jewish community.  But it is my understanding that the door is always left open for an apostate to return to Judaism.
 
Is Christianity a "branch off the tree"?
 
Christianity has its origins in more than just Judaism (there are scholars who believe that the pagans of the first few centuries of the Common Era incorporated their beliefs and practices into Christianity). So Christianity is not a branch that is attached to the tree of Judaism.