JUDAISM VS CHRISTIAN

WORLDVIEW

BY:TANISHA BURKE

GENE 100

MAKING OF THE CHRISTIAN MIND

WH

AT IS

A

WO

RLD

VIE

W?

“A worldview is a

commitment, a

fundamental orientation of

the heart, that can be

expressed as a story or in

a set of presuppositions

(assumptions which may

be true, partially true or

entirely false) which we

hold (consciously or

subconsciously,

consistently or

inconsistently) about the

basic constitution of

reality, and that provides

the foundation on which

we live and move and

have our being” (Sire, The

Universe Next Door,17).

JUD

AIS

M

JUD

AIS

M:

WH

O A

M I?

“While Judaism recognizes that

humans are complex creatures,

there is the hope that a person

will devote him or herself more

fully to doing good, than to

doing evil” (Ehrlich,59).

“Judaism is a complex marriage

of history ethnic identity and

lifestyle guidelines that inform

everyday actions as well as

spiritual decisions”(Ruggiero,

12). “Since God is holy and just,

Jews must emulate God in

these and all other aspects of

the divine being” (Ehrlich,60).

JUD

AIS

M:P

UR

PO

SE

IN T

HE W

OR

LD?

“Orthodox Jews believe that

upholding Jewish law, just as it

is laid out in the Torah is the

best way to practice their

religion in accordance with

God’s wishes” (Ruggiero,13).

“The core of Judaism is its

pronouncement of existence of

one God and his choice of the

Jews as a chosen people who

will establish an example for all

nations” (Ruggiero,18).

JUD

AIS

M:

AFT

ER

LIFE

? “As the end approaches, Jews

are encouraged to confess their

sins before the Great Judge”

(Ehrlich,91). “This indicates a belief in a

continuing existence, at least of

the soul, in which making a

honest reckoning with one’s

past can only be beneficial”

(Ehrlich,91).

JUD

AIS

M:

WH

ER

E

AM

I?

“While Judaism recognizes that this

world is the vestibule to the world to

come, while there is daily prayers for

the coming of the Messiah and the

Messianic age, the primary emphasis

in Judaism is on the present world, the

here and now, in keeping with the

emphasis in the Tanakh” (Brown,51-

52). Judaism is much more committed to a

daily, weekly and annual life cycle

than Christianity, and therefore Jewish

life revolves around the calendar more

than does Christianity, which puts a

greater emphasis on individual

relationship with God and life in the

Spirit (in the context of a community

of believers) than on the ordered

lifestyle of a religious community”

(Brown,53).

JUDIAISM: THE NATURE OF THE WORLD “Orthodox Jews live in tight-knit,

distinctive communities that

feature Hebrew newspapers,

yeshivas (Jewish schools), and

special religious stores that

keep hours based on the Jewish

calendar” (Ruggiero,13).

“Judaism again had a central

sanctuary and a degree of self-

government, and so began the

pattern whereby a Jewish

presence in the land of Israel

coexisted with Jewish

communities in the outside

world, collectively known as the

Diaspora (dispersal)”(Enrlich,13).

JUD

AIS

M:

WH

AT’S

TH

E P

RO

BLE

M?

“Judaism believes in God’s

absolute unity: Christianity

believes in God’s tri-unity”

(Brown,50). “Jews often decide what is

objectionable not only by their

own compass but by the non-

Jewish world” (Ruggiero,174).

“Judaism does not believe that

blood atonement is essential

for personal atonement”

(Brown,51).

JUD

AIS

M: W

HAT IS

TH

E N

ATU

RE O

F EV

IL?

“Judaism believes that every

human being has a battle

between the good inclination

(the yetzer hatov) and the evil

inclination (the yetzer hara) but

it does not believe in the

doctrine of “original sin,”

emphasizing instead that

through the power of

repentance the evil inclination

can be overcome” (Brown,50-

51).

JUD

AIS

M:W

HAT’S

TH

E R

EM

ED

Y?

“By meeting people where they

are, rather than where we think

they should be, we make

Judaism welcoming, compelling

and helpful to individuals

navigating life’s journey”

(Ruggiero,177). “The former places its emphasis

on being faithful to the Torah

and rabbinic traditions, praying

the communal prayers and

studying the texts.” (Brown,52).

“After the destruction of the

Temple, the rabbis taught us

how to find other paths to God”

(Ruggiero,175).

JUD

AIS

M:

FULF

ILLM

EN

T?

“As Reform Judaism continues

to move in strengthening the

education of its people and in

maintaining its unique

commitment to change when

necessary. It will easily meet

the challenge of fulfilling

God’s promise to Abraham and

Sarah [to make their

descendants as numerous as

the stars]” (Ruggiero, 177).

JUD

AIS

M:D

O I

HAV

E A

FU

TU

RE?

“The future of Judaism will

ultimately depend on how

inclusive it can be, and how

well it can transmit its

tradition”(Ruggiero,177).

CH

RIS

TIA

NIT

Y

CH

RIS

TIA

NIT

Y:

WH

O A

M I?

“Human beings are created in the

image of God and thus possess

personality, self-transcendence,

intelligence, morality,

gregariousness and creativity”(Sire,

The Universe Next Door,31).

Sir Philip Sidney describes God’s

Creativity: “lifted up with the vigor of his

own invention, doth grow, in

effect, into another nature, in

making things either better than

nature bringeth forth, or quite a

new, forms such as never were

in nature, freely ranging within

the zodiac of his own wit” (Sire,

The Universe Next Door, 33).

CH

RIS

TIA

NIT

Y:A

FTER

LIFE

?

“Christianity sees the world to

come-specifically, heaven and

hell-as being of paramount

importance to the point that

the way we are called to live in

this world can only make

complete sense in the life of

eternity”(Brown,52).

While there is a wholesome

appreciation of life in this world,

it is not to be separated from

the world to come” (Brown,52).

CHRISTIANITY:MEANING OF HISTORY &NATURE OF THE WORLD “In short, the most important aspect of

the theistic concept of history is that

history has meaning because God-the

Logos, meaning itself is behind all

events, not only sustaining all things by

his powerful word” (Heb 1:3)” (Sire,

The Universe Next Door,43).

“Human “history” can be subsumed

under four words-creation, fall,

redemption, glorification” (Sire, The

Universe Next Door,43).

“Because God by his character sets

the standards of righteousness, human

goodness consisted in being what God

wanted people to be-beings made in

the image of God and acting out that

nature in their daily life” (Sire, The

Universe Next Door,37-38).

CH

RIS

TIA

NIT

Y:W

HAT’

S T

HE P

RO

BLE

M?

THE FALL OF ADAM & EVE

RESULTS “In personality, we lost our capacity

to know ourselves accurately and to

determine our own course of action

freely in response to our

intelligence” (Sire, The Universe

Next Door,38). “Our self self-transcendence was

impaired by alienation from God, for

as Adam and Eve turned from God,

God let them go” (Sire, The Universe

Next Door,38). “Now we can no longer gain fully

accurate knowledge of the world

around us, nor are we able to reason

without constantly falling into

error” (Sire, The Universe Next

Door,38-39).

CH

RIS

TIA

NIT

Y:W

HAT’S

TH

E

REM

ED

Y?

“Christianity believes that Adam’s

fall affected the entire human race

(this too, is believed by Judaism,

but not in a radical a way), that

the best of us fall infinitely short of

God’s glory and perfection and

only through the blood of Jesus,

the Messiah, can we be spiritually

transformed” (Brown,51).

“Christianity believes that the

Messiah who was both fully human

and fully divine-the word

incarnate, the Son of God-came

two thousand years ago to die for

our sins, rising from the dead and

sending God’s Spirit to the earth

to continue His mission”

(Brown,50).

DIF

FER

EN

CES O

F JU

DA

ISM

&

CH

RIS

TIA

NIT

Y

JUDAISM SPEAKS: (HONOR THE LAW) “It is in our interest to know

our history because it is in our

interest to know about

ourselves” (Palmer,44). CHRISITIANITY SPEAKS:

(FALL UNDER GRACE) “It is in our interest to achieve

accuracy because history can

then serve as a partial guide

to the future by helping us

avoid past mistakes”

(Palmer,45).

BA

RR

IER

S O

F JU

DA

ISM

AN

D

CH

RIS

TIA

NIT

Y

JUDAISM (DENIES THE BLOOD OF JESUS)

“Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls

and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse

people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just

think how much more the blood of Christ will purify

our consciences from sinful deeds[a] so that we can

worship the living God. For by the power of the

eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a

perfect sacrifice for our sins” (Hebrews 9:13-14,

NLT BIBLE).

JUDAISM (HOLDING THE LAW OVER GRACE)

“No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with

God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying

the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart

produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a

changed heart seeks praise from God, not from

people” (Romans 2:29, NLT Bible).

JUDAISM (REJECTION OF THE SON)

“Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the

Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the

Son has the Father also”(1 John 2:23, NLT Bible).

MLA

WO

RK

S

CIT

ED

PA

GE

1. Sire, James. The Universe Next Door.

Illinois: InterVarsity Press,

2004.Print.2. Ruggiero, Adriane. Religions and

Religious Movements Judaism.

Michigan: Thomson Gale, 2006.Print.

3. Brown, Michael. 60 Questions

Christians Ask About Jewish Beliefs

and Practices. Minnesota: Chosen

Books, 2007. Print.4. Ehrlich, Carl. Understanding

Judaism. London: Duncan Baird

Publishers, 2004. Print.

5. Palmer, Michael. Elements of a

Christian Worldview. Missouri:

Gospel Publishing House, 1998.

Print.