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Karan Mamgain

Mr. Boerma

Comparative Religions

October 7, 2011

Judaism and Christianity

Judaism is the root of all Abrahamic religions; namely, Christianity and Islam.

Christianity, one may say is extremely close to Judaism in all aspect barring the position on

Jesus being a messiah; however, this would be fallacious. Yes, the two beliefs do share a lot in

common, but the differences are also quite stark. Their differences and similarities can be

revealed in four different categories: history and statistics, religious authority, beliefs and

doctrines, and rituals and practices. The first category doesnt reveal much about beliefs, and

therefore would not be included in this analysis. The remaining three do highlight the

fundamental differences and similarities in the two faiths; hence, would be central in this

analysis.

The first category would be about religious authority. The sacred text, in both beliefs, is

indispensable to the development of the followers of the respective beliefs. The Jewish Bible

Tanakhis considered sacred in both the beliefs. Christianity, although, adds the New

Testament, a post-messianic addition, to the Jewish Bible to form the Bible. Jews, on the other

hand, consider the Jewish Bible to be the only sacred text, and regard it as being noncanonical.

Both beliefs, interestingly, share the same opinion on the status of prophets, who, time to time,

have been key figures in the development of the faithsbut this mainly applies for Judaism, but

because Judaisms pre-Jesus development is part of Christianity, it also applies for Christianity.

Lastly, the views of the two beliefs greatly vary human interaction with God. The post-Diaspora

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Judaismrabbinicalsays that Rabbis are needed to connect with God. In Christianity, too,

there are two different views on it: the Catholics believe that man can connect or interact with

God with the help of the Pope; Protestants believe that the Holy Spirit helps each and every

Christian to achieve spiritual intimacy with God.

The second category is about beliefs and doctrines. Both the religions believe in the same

God, the God of Abrahamthe one God. Their idea about the nature of that God, however,

differs greatly. Judaism teaches about one God with only one aspect, one personalitythe one

entity. Christianity, on the contrary, subscribes to the notion of a Trinity: one God with three

aspects, personalities, personsstill being the same, one God. Namely, the three members of the

Trinity are God the father, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit that guides Christians spiritually

and intellectually. Secondly, the two beliefs have varied ideas about Jesus Christ. For Christians,

hes the promised Messiahthe saviorthe Son of God. In Judaism, however, Jesus is either

considered a false prophet orat besta good teacher, but nothing more than that; certainly, not

the Christ. This is perhaps the biggest and decisive difference between Christianity and Judaism.

The Christian faith mainly premises on one event: the resurrection of Jesus. While the Jews deny

it, Christians use it to prove that Jesus was the Messiah. The point can be extended to conclude

that Christians are waiting for the second coming of Jesus, while the Jews are still waiting for a

promised Messiah. Both the faiths embrace the same idea about the human nature: it is inherently

corrupted due to the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Both the beliefs, again, have

differing views regarding salvation. For Christians, it can be achieved though Jesus alone, who

died for the sins of mankind. In Judaism, because the messiah is yet to come, the chief means of

salvation becomes belief inand obedience toGod, and good deeds or acts of love and

kindness. Also, it shall be noted that some Christian sects strongly propose the idea of

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predestination. For Jews, there is no doctrine of predestination. Their views on each other are

also noteworthy. While Christianity views Judaism as a valid faith, but with incomplete

revelation. Judaism, on the other hand, just views Christianity as a fallacious interpretation of

Judaism.

The third and the last category is about the rituals and practices. It would be correct to

assert that Judaism requires far more adherence to rituals than Christianity does. Jews see rituals

as an unalienable aspect of their faith, while for Christians, a lot of those are not even included in

the New Testament. Christianity places a huge emphasis on belief and faith in Jesus, while

Judaism places it on obedience to the rituals. The holidays, as well, for the two faiths greatly

vary For Christians, the only two necessary rituals and observances are baptism and communion.

The differences between the two faiths are quite large and fundamentalenough to

consider them two different faiths. The similarities, too, are numerous. Perhaps, as mentioned

before, the one biggest difference between the two faiths is the status of Jesus. One considers it

the Messiah, the Son of God; the other, a false prophet, great teacher, or a lunatic.