Judaism and Christianity

What do you KNOW about Judaism and Christianity?

Students will understand that Judaism and Christianity share a great deal and helped shape ideas in history.

The Big Idea

Objectives

1. Identify the Jewish Bible and the Christian

Bible and their parts, and recognize their

importance to Jews and Christians.

2. Understand Abraham’s covenant with God

and his role as patriarch for Jews, Christians,

and Muslims.

Lesson #1: The Covenant

How was Earth made?

What is the meaning of life?

What happens to us when we die?

Human beings have asked these questions for

centuries and many have found answers in the form

of religious faith.

Vocabulary

Scripture – sacred writings that are believed to be the word of God.

Bible – simply means “book” Covenant – a relationship in which two parties agree to

depend on each other Monotheism – the religious belief that there is only one

divine being Sacrifice – to kill a living creature as an offering to a

god Patriarch – a man who is a founder or father of a group

of people

The Bible

Most of what we know about Judaism and Christianity comes from the bible.

The bible is a collection of sacred writings, or Scripture, that is important to Jews and to Christians as well.

The Bible

Christians and Jews both possess the Bible, but in different forms.

For Jews, the Bible, which they call the Tanach, consists only of those writings that Christians call the Old Testament.

The Bible

The Jewish Bible is a collection of books written over a period of about a thousand years.

It includes the laws, history, poetry, letters, and legends of the ancient Hebrew, or Jewish, People.

The Bible

For Christians, the Bible contains, besides the Old Testament, the New Testament, which consists of Christian writing added after the time of Christ

The Beginning of Judaism

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, tells the story of a man name Abraham who lived many years ago- around 3,500 – 4,000 years ago.

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

Covenant with God

Abraham and Isaac

Abraham and Isaac

Why the Sacrifice?

The Legacy of Abraham

The idea of a covenant between God and a people has lasted for centuries. It

has been the basis for three major religions and has

changed the way millions of human beings have

thought of themselves.

Review Questions

1.What is Scripture?

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2. What Scripture is sacred to Jews?

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3. What Scripture is sacred to Christians?

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4. What does the New Testament contain?

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5. How did God and Abraham enter into a covenant with each other?

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6. How did Abraham prove his faith in God?

Objectives

1. Describe the Exodus of the Hebrews from

Egypt.

2. Explain the Ten Commandments and how

God revealed them to Moses.

3. Understand the content of the Torah, or

Pentateuch.

Lesson #2: The Commandments

10 rules in order to make the world a better place

Vocabulary

Torah – the first five books in the Bible; also known as the Books of Moses and the Pentateuch

The Legacy of Abraham

Canaan to Egypt

Moses

Moses

Moses

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments

The Torah

Abraham and Moses

Review Questions

1.What was the Exodus? According to the Bible, who was responsible for helping the Hebrews in it?

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2. Where does the Bible say that God revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses? How did God reveal them to him?

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3. What do the Ten Commandments represent to Jews?

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4. What five books comprise the Torah?

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5. What is the Pentateuch and what are some of the things contained in it?

Objectives

1. Understand the role of Prophets such as

Amos and Isaiah in Judaism.

2. Understand what happened to the Jewish

people during the almost 1,000 years

between David’s Kingdom and the coming

of Roman rule.

Lesson #3: The Prophets

The Prophets

Warned their fellow Jews about religious failings and social

injustices.

Vocabulary

Prophet – in the Bible, a person who is inspired by God

Messiah – the anointed one; an agent of God who comes to set things right for God’s people

The Kingdom of Israel

The Hebrews, or the Israelites, as they now became known, fought many wars with the other peoples and tribes who lived in Canaan.

David and Goliath

David had a powerful faith in God.

His only weapons were his slingshot and his faith.

King David

David went on to become Israel’s king and one of it greatest heroes.

King David

David was also a talented musician, and he is said to have written a number of Psalms, or sacred hymns, in honor of God.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down green pastures;

He leadeth me beside the still waters.He restoreth my soul;

He guideth me in straight paths for Hisname’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley ofThe shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,For Thou (God) art with me;

Twenty-third Psalm

Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.Thou preparest a table before me in the

Presence of mine enemies;Thou anointest (blessed) my head with oil;

My cup runneth over.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow

Me all the days of my life;And I will dwell in the house of the

Lord for ever.

Twenty-third Psalm

King Solomon

When King David died his son Solomon became king.

The Sorrows of Israel and Judah

Destruction of Solomon’s Temple

Throughout these centuries of

turmoil, the Jewish people connected their belief in God’s fairness with

their own expectations of themselves.

If God was just and cared for people, then he expected people to care for

one another as well.

The Prophets

Religious offense

One religious offense that angered the

prophets was the early Jews’

tendency to forget the covenant and begin worshiping

other gods.

They would set up idols such as this golden calf

Amos was a religious leader who lived in the

northern kingdom and foresaw the little state’s conquest by might Assyria.

He taught about justice and judgment

Amos

Was from the southern kingdom of Judah

He warned that Judah would face the same fate as the northern kingdom if it did not treat its poor justly.

Urged the Jews to honor their covenant with God, in order to bring about peace and justice on Earth.

Isaiah

About 2,500 years ago,

Cyrus, the king of Persia (a country now known as

Iran), destroyed the Babylonian Empire.

The return to Jerusalem

Alexander the Great

Hanukkah

Roman Empire

The conquering of the Middle East

Ever since the time of Isaiah, more than 500 years before,

prophets had foretold a messiah, or savior, whom God would send to free Israel and

establish righteousness throughout the world.

Hopes for the Messiah

Review Questions

1.Who was the head of the unified kingdom of Israel about three thousand years ago? What were some of his achievements?

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2. What happened to the Jewish kingdom after the death of Solomon?

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3. What foreign ruler restored Jerusalem to the ancient Jews?

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4. Who were the Jewish prophets, and what did they do?

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5. What did the prophet Isaiah try to convey?

Assignment

Timeline Worksheet

Objectives

1. Understand the centrality of Jesus Christ

to Christianity.

2. Understand the content of Jesus’

teaching in the Beatitudes, Golden Rule,

parables, and Lord’s Prayer.

Lesson #4: The Life of Jesus

The Christian religion began as a movement

within Judaism.

The Man Called Jesus

Jesus

Jesus

Jesus

Healer and Teacher

Healing the Sick

Parables

In the Gospel account, Jesus often made his points by using parables, or stories

The Two Great Commandments

Sermon on the Mount

Many of Jesus’ teachings were presented on a

famous occasion when he

addressed a crowd from a

hilltop.

The Eight Beatitudes

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10

Final Event in Jesus’ Life

Eventually, Jesus and

some of his followers went to Jerusalem. The city was holy to Jews because God’s Temple

was there.

Final Event in Jesus’ Life

The Last SupperGarden of

Gethsemane

Pontius Pilate

Was a cruel form of public

execution used frequently by the Romans for people guilty

of what the government considered particularly awful crimes, especially rebellion.

Crucifixion

Tomb

Review Questions

1.What four books of the New Testament treat Jesus’ actions and words?

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2. According to the New Testament, what miracles did Jesus perform?

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3. According to Jesus’ followers, what happened after Jesus was crucified?

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4. In the Golden Rule, what does Jesus urge his listeners to do?

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5. What people do the Beatitudes address?

Objectives

1. Understand the spread of Christianity through

Jesus’ followers, such as Paul of Tarsus.

2. Understand the Roman persecution of

Christians, the efforts of church councils to

standardize Christianity, and the growth of

Christianity as a major religion.

Lesson #5: The Rise of Christianity

Jesus lived during the time when

Rome ruled the ancient Middle East. After Jesus’ execution by

the Romans, his followers (called Christians) began to worship

him as God’s son and the Messiah, and they spread his

message throughout the Roman Empire.

The Rise of Christianity

At first, Jesus’ followers talked

about their belief in Christ to their neighbors in their Jewish communities. But the Jewish

community as a whole did not accept this idea that Jesus

Christ was the messiah who would start a new age.

Two Religions

The Spread of Christianity

Paul

One of the most important of the early Christians was Paul. A Jew from Tarsus in

modern Turkey, Paul started out hating Christians and persecuting

them.

Paul

Paul began preaching, trying

to persuade people to believe in Jesus Christ. He made three long journeys to start new communities

of Christians.

The Spread of Christianity

Paul arrested

Gradually, the small communities that

Paul and other missionaries established gave rise to Christian

groups throughout the Roman Empire.

But Christians were not always liked by their non-Christian neighbors. Many people thought that Christians had

strange ideas and practices.

Christianity Becomes a Major Religion

Despite such persecution the

number of Christians continued to increase. Over the course of the third and

fourth centuries, Christianity became the major religion of

the Roman Empire.

Christianity Becomes a Major Religion

Nicene Creed

By the 600s the Church was flourishing in most parts of the old Roman Empire.

Christians had strong leaders, carefully reasoned beliefs, and a faith that was expressed through

beautiful songs and prayers.

Review Questions

1.How did Paul try to persuade people to believe in Jesus Christ?

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2. Why did Romans persecute Christians?

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3. What document declared that the Christian Church could exist in the Roman Empire?

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4. At what council was the creed established that declared God exists as a Trinity?

Objectives

1. Understand that Judaism and Christianity agree

on one God, who is good and who make

everything in the universe, and that people

should be good.

2. Understand that Judaism and Christianity

disagree on question of human nature and life

after death.

Lesson #6: Ideas About God and Humanity

Judaism and Christianity have

many ideas in common. Both teach that there is one God,

that he is good, that he made everything in the universe,

including human beings, and that he wants people to avoid

evil and do good.

Similarities and Differences

Judaism

At the center of Jewish life and teaching is the Torah, through which, Judaism teaches, God reveals himself to human beings.

Christianity

Christians agree that God revealed himself to people through the Old Testament, but they do not follow all the instructions of the Torah.

Human Nature

Judaism

Most Jews agree that people can recognize good and evil and must use their consciences to choose between them.

Christianity

Christians use the story of Adam and Eve to shape their view of human nature

Life After Death

Judaism

Jews disagree among themselves about whether there is life after death and, if so, what it might be like.

Christianity

Traditional Christians insist that there is life after death.

Springing from the same

ancient roots, Judaism and Christianity offer answers to basic questions about the

meaning of life that people have always asked. Both offer people many opportunities to

explore their faith in God.

Judaism and Christianity

Review Questions

1.What issues do Jews and Christians agree on concerning God?

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2. How does God reveal himself according to the Jewish faith?

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3. How does God reveal himself according to the Christian faith?

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4. How do Jewish and Christian beliefs about human nature differ?

Review Questions

5. What different beliefs do Jews and Christians have about the end of the world?