Comparison Between Judaism And Judaism

Possibly mimicking the Jewish Torah, Christians have their beliefs written down in the Bible. Like the Torah, the bible contains rules to abide, miracles, guidance and history (Biblica, 2013). But in my academic opinion, the main similarity is that both texts contain the Pentateuch/old testament. Yes, Christianity has the added New Testament with stories of Jesus Christ, but it’s important not to forget the Jewish origins of the Bible and that Jesus himself, and even the word messiah, is Hebrew. This has lead Federow (2012, p.130) to say that the “greater burden is on the Christian to prove that the Christian interpretation of the Jewish scriptures are true”. I would agree with this view because despite the popularity of Christianity in western

Whilst the Jews have the Synagogue, Christians have their many variations of the Church. One could argue that this is because Christianity has progressed throughout the years whilst Judaism has remained a religion where tradition dominates and so leaves little room for variation, in which case, this is another area where the two religions differ. However, one could argue instead that there are not as many variations of the Synagogue as the Church because there simply has been no need for variation as “nothing has been added to… the Torah” (Cogan and Weiss, 2002, pp. 351). However Books (1973, introduction) argues that the Synagogue has “assumed different roles and functions as the needs of the community it served have changed”, suggesting that it is still relevant and beneficial to modern worshippers. Ultimately, having a community congregate for worship is another key Christian feature which has been derived from Hebrew

Like Judaism, Christianity also has leaders; people of authority who followers can trust and seek and guidance from. However there are some differences, for example: for Christians, “a priest is a person with special authority to perform certain sacred rituals”, whilst a Rabbi “has no more authority to perform rituals than any other adult male member of the Jewish community” (Rich, 2011). Whilst one could argue that this separates them, both Rabbis and Priests will act as teachers of their sacred text and provide guidance in times of both grief and celebration for their congregation. But of course one paramount figure to remember is Abraham who is “recognized as the founder of their faith by all three religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity” (Khan, 1992). As the founder of Judaism which is also recognised by Christianity, both religions follow his beliefs. Such examples show Christian beliefs which have clearly been derived from Hebrew beliefs which are still alive today in the 21st