Step 1
In the first century, the world was divided, just like today, but the basic distinction was between Jew and Gentile. For that reason, some Jewish Christians had trouble accepting Gentile converts—some even said they needed to become Jewish first. Paul shows the Ephesians how God answered the world’s plea for oneness—it was in Christ.
The paragraph before my section speaks of the former state of Gentiles and Jews. Jews hated those who were not of their race and called them Gentiles, but the Law affected their bodies and not their hearts; Gentiles were outsiders-excluded from God’s people. My section talks of the wall being broken down and the new structure. All people—Jew or Gentile—can come to God through Jesus. In His death He not only brought harmony between man and God, but also between man and his fellowman. The section after mine relates that they can trust Paul knowing God’s plan, and that he is the minister to the Gentiles, for he in fact was in prison on the charge of bringing a Gentile into the Temple.
What it meant to these people was that they were now included in God’s plan. For so long they were not even allowed to go to the Temple in Jerusalem, and now they are the Temple! It meant putting away centuries of negative feelings towards each other and uniting under Christ.
Step 2
I don’t think there is really that big of a gap here. Racial or cultural division between Jew and Gentile was a major issue in the Ephesian church, and we still live in a divided world today-probably not as expressed. The differences for us I guess would be that there were express laws forbidding such intermingling in worship, but there are many underlying prejudices in our world. We have a history of knowing unity in Christ, but this concept was new to them.
Step 3
All people come to God through Christ, whose death destroyed the old barrier of the Law and commandments by making peace for all humanity with God. All that counts is Christ, for in Him all humankind is united in “one new man.”
In this opening chapter, Paul begins with a formal introduction of himself. He asserts the source from whom he obtained his apostolic call and ministry from- the risen Christ and “God the Father” (v.1). He follows with a stern rebuke of the Galatian Christians who have allowed themselves to be duped into to embracing the heretical teachings promulgated by the Judaizers. A. Salutation 1:1-5
...e his circumcision and explains that the physical act of circumcision is not enough, that faith is more important. He places importance on the word being for the Jews first and the gentiles second; because of the Abrahamic covenant. In conclusion, it is apparent that Paul’s letters (that which were written so long ago) still hold meaning for us as Christians today. We should approach them with the back knowledge that the early Christian suffered greatly to get us where we are today, and we should thank God for these divine works that keep us going on the right path to righteousness.(Romans 1-8)
People are in search of understanding life and the happenings that surround them. When things go wrong, people turn to God for hope and understanding. As we look at the Jewish and the Christian faiths, both of which trace their origins back past Abraham and Moses, to the original stories of the Garden of Eden, we notice basic similarities and major differences between the two religions. The three main differences between Jewish and Christianity is the concept of God, judgment, and salvation. The most eminent difference between both religions is the concept of God. Christianity believes that God is trinity which means three persons in one the father, the son and the holy spirit. However Judaism sees God as a single entity, and viewsTrinitarianism as a violation of the Bible's teaching that ...
When Jesus walked on this earth over 2000 years ago, there was a division among the Jews on wither or not He was the true Messiah that He claimed He was. The Jews believed that He was not the true Messiah because of many substantial and vital distinctions between Judaism and Christianity. It must be remembered that Christianity emerged from Judaism, but not on a straight line. To say that the two religions are completely different would be a complete misstatement. There are similarities that will be discussed as we learn together, along with many differences that separate these two great religions of the world. It is my intention not to judge one over the other, but to explain that everyone has their own beliefs and that belief should be respected
Christ for the third time refuses. Since Christ refused the power presented to him, the church must now attempt at unifying the christian religion. A goal of mankind is to unite the civilizations into a “universal state” (pg. 31). A universal state brings along security in replacement of free will which humans are more than willing to give up especially if the one who unites them is the one that also provides for them. Humanity has suffered because we have had no unity among all civilizations until the church came around. Since christ has died and did not assume the role of a universal leader the church must assume this power for the sole purpose of benefiting man. Along with assuming this role, the church must also correct errors that Christ has caused. The church now has finally been able to convince mankind to submit their freedom in return for happiness, security, and a sense of unity. The last anguish of man is “the craving for universal unity” (pg 31). Now that the church has provided this to mankind we should not mess with or upset the
On the other hand, Christianity traces its origin from Jesus Christ from whom the disciples, at Antioch, were first called Christians due to their manner of living, which was like Jesus Christ’s. Both Christians and Jews believe in one God who is called Jehovah; however, the point of divergence is that while Christians believe in the trinity (that is, God is one substance but three persons in one namely the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the Jews believe in God being just one substance one
Judaism vs. Christianity Judaism and Christianity developed on the basis obeying God, on adherence to his rules and intentions and their faithful fulfillment. Since the fulfillment of God’s will is a duty of a Jewish or Christian person, both religions fall into the rule-deontological category. In Judaism, God is seen as having a contractual relationship with the Jewish people where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. God rewards or punishes Jewish people based on whether they obey or disobey his will. In parts of the Old Testament, however, God does show mercy or forgiveness, and in later interpretations God’s laws such as the Ten Commandments are followed not only out of loyalty to God but also because of their high moral character.
Judaism is one of the main religions in the world today along with Christianity and Islam. The three religious beliefs share similar patriarchs and origins that have roots to Abraham. The differences that exist between Islam and Judaism are apparent, however, these are less distinct when a comparison is made between Christianity and Judaism. Regardless of the similarities that exist in the two religions, Judaism has many interesting and sometimes puzzling features. The paper will illustrate the features that I found interesting in Judaism and those that are more difficult to grasp and understand.
‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28),
Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the “Spirit”; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
... culture of the Romans. The dominant Greco-Roman culture held the Jews in disapproval, they constantly pushed them to lose their Jewishness and assimilate to their culture, and now the new faith, would place the Christians in Rome in a sub minority group then the Jews. This was why it was important for Paul to affirm the honor of Christians through Jesus. By making a bold statement against shame, Paul “insulat[ed] them from the disapproval of Jews and Gentiles alike”.
The earliest recorded text teaching Christianity has its roots buried deep within Judaism. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, created a new ideology of worship. The Messiah is the savior for all people and of all sins. Paul carried the message of the Messiah to the Gentiles. His missionary journeys and establishment of churches enabled the spreading of the message throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity grew in acceptance; those that believed in the Messiah separated and began to worship on their own. This marked the beginning of the split of Judaism and Christianity.
Paul was a Jewish man that was born in Tarus but had dual citizenship as a Roman citizen possibly due to his father’s Roman citizenship (Longenecker & Still, 2014). He was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1) and a devoted Pharisee that had permission to persecute any Jesus followers he came in contact with. It wasn’t until Paul, also known as Saul, had an encounter with Christ that completely changed his perspective on Jesus followers. Although many call this change a conversion from Judaism to Christianity, Paul describes his encounter as a call (Longenecker & Still, 2014). He did not see himself turning away from his God of Israel but having a call to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles (Longenecker & Still, 2014 & Gal. 1:15). Until years after the resurrection Christianity did not exist, it was simply a branch of Judaism. Jesus was the founder or this sect of Judaism but Paul defines the identitly of Christianity (Dunn, 2011).
Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.
There are many similarities and differences between Judaism and Christianity. Some of these are their religious beliefs, Jesus, heaven and hell, original sin, the trinity. This therefore leads the two religions to follow different paths of worship even if they worship the same god.