Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Christianity vs Judaism
Christianity vs Judaism
Christianity and Judaism comparison
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
There are many substantial and vital distinctions between Judaism and Christianity. Of course there are many similarities, primarily because Christianity emerged from Judaism. However, the emergence was not a direct line. Christianity broke from Judaism, forming a new religion, so it is misleading, however comfortable the thought might be, to believe that the two religions are essentially the same, or to see Christianity as the natural continuation of Judaism. Judaism's central belief is that the people of all religions are children of God, and therefore equal before God. All people have God's love, mercy, and help.
In particular, Judaism does not require that a person convert to Judaism in order to achieve salvation. The only requirement for that, as understood by Jewish people, is to be ethical. While Judaism accepts the worth of all people regardless of religion, it also allows people who are not Jewish but who voluntarily wish to join the Jewish people to do so. GodJudaism insists on a notion of monotheism, the idea that there is one God. As Judaism understands this idea, God cannot be made up of parts, even if those parts are mysteriously united.
The Christian notion of trinitarianism is that God is made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Such a view, even if called monotheistic because the three parts are, by divine mystery, only one God, is incompatible with the Jewish view that such a division is not possible. The Jewish revolutionary idea is that God is one. This idea allows for God's unity and uniqueness as a creative force. Thus, for Jewish people, God is the creator of all that we like and all that we don't. There is no evil force with an ability to create equal to God's.
Judaism sees Christianity's trinitarianism as a weakening of the idea of God's oneness. Jewish people don't have a set group of beliefs about the nature of God; therefore, there is considerable, and approved, debate within Judaism about God. However, all mainstream Jewish groups reject the idea of God's having three parts. Indeed, many Jewish people see an attempt to divide God as a partial throwback, or compromise with, the pagan conception of many gods. The Jewish View of JesusTo Christians, the central tenet of their religion is the belief that Jesus is the Son of God, part of the trinity, the savior of souls who is the messiah.
Christians, unlike Muslims and Jews, accept and submit to Jesus as God who came down to earth to save mankind from their sin and eternal consequences. One of the main goals or themes of the book of John is to prove or recounts Jesus’ claim that He is God. The book of John is full of many examples where Jesus following his miracles wishes to make people understand that He is God. He wasn’t just a prophet as many Muslims believe, or some speaker, or radical Galliealiean as many Jews thought. He was God! In (John 10:30), Jesus stated, “I am and the Father are one.” This short verse mentions two members of the trinity, and does not separate them as different entities. Jesus is saying I am a form of who God is, or the Father. We are one! “Whoever has seen the son has seen the father.” For this reason, the Jews almost stoned him on that occasion. Their hardened hearts had chosen not to believe, and so they were insulted that a man standing right in front of them had proclaimed himself to be God. Another time Jesus proclaimed his divine existence comes from (John 8;58). “Before Abraham was born, I am.” Again the religious Jews almost killed Him for daring to state that. This man had the nerve to call himself and identify himself as what God had identified himself to their beloved and sacred leader, “I Am.” Not only that, but he stated that before Moses and Abraham existed, He already existed. Yet scripture always backs itself up, and had (John 8:58)
While Christianity places emphasis on focusing on the New Covenant as told through Jesus Christ, Judaism places its emphasis on right conduct that is recorded in the Torah and Talmud. Christians believe in individual salvation from sin through repentance and receiving Jesus Christ as their God and Savior through faith. Jews believe in individual and collective participation with God through tradition, rituals, prayers and ethical actions. Christianity believes in a triune God, one person of whom became human, whereas Judaism emphasizes the oneness of God and rejects the Christian concept of God in human form. Judaism and Christianity share the belief that there is One, True God, who is the only one worthy to be worshipped. Both Judaism and Christianity believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for Jews the God of the Tanaka and for Christians the God of the Old Testament, the creator of the universe. In both religions, offenses against the will of God are called sin. These sins can be thoughts, words, or
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 ...
In Christianity one of their primary beliefs is the idea of a Triune God, which means the belief of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as one entity not three separate beings. This would result in God being indivisible and could not be divided into three different parts for an ...
“If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: Search after truth through non-violent means. A man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth... Hinduism is the religion of truth. Truth is God.”
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
The conception of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam is monotheism, the belief in the existence of a single indivisible God. The three of religions maintains that there is only one God, who is active in and concerned about the world. These religions are also patriarchal, male-dominated, which has resulted in God being described as “He.” However, how Christians, Judaism and Islam conceptualize God in their respective theologies is actually quite different. In Christianity, God is the supreme creator and ruler of the universe. Christians believe God is infinite, omnipotent, all-powerful, perfect, personal, eternal, unchanging, holy, all-knowing, and all-loving. Their idea of God is shown in the belief of the Trinity. God is one, but with three aspects: God is Father, the creator, ruler, and sustainer of all life, and divine judge; God is the Son, who is Jesus, God made incarnate and savior of humanity; and the Holy Spirit, who is God working in the world. Both Muslims and Christians love and respect Jesus, however, the major difference between Islam and Christianity is the Christians insistence on the supposed divinity of Christ. In Christian scriptures, God never claimed divinity while the emphasis in the Islamic theology of God is “absolute unity;” God is sublimely one. Muslims think that by believing in the Trinity, Christians believe in three Gods. For them, God is One God. Judaism views the existence of God as a necessary prerequisite for the existence of the universe, and the existence of the universe is sufficient proof of the existence of God.
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's view is that the Christian view of the trinity is a weakening of God'spower. God can not be made up of three parts, even is those three parts are mysteriously united. One point isfor sure that no born Jewish person can believe that Jesus was the literal Son of God.
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one God. There are three of the most influential monotheistic religions in world history today known as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three religions share both vast similarities and differences. One significant similarity they share is the belief in one deity. The belief of one God gave many people guidance and purpose in their lives. For this reason, these three religions gained many followers and believers who had faith in God. Through faithfulness in God, many were promised eternal paradise. In the following paragraphs, I will explain the similarities and differences between the rituals, holy scripts, and salvation that these religions shared.
Christianity borrows many aspects from Judaism. The Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures were used in the early teachings, however the Christian believers interpreted the scriptures in a different manner. This interpretation leads to a fundamental shift in ideology between Jews and Christians. In addition to scripture, Christianity adopted many worship rituals practiced within the Jewish synagogue; such as prayers, baptisms, and communion. Christianity of today still practices these sacred ritu...
Both Christians and Islam believe in one Supreme Being but according to Christian they call Him God while Muslims call him Allah. The two religions conceptualize God in different ways. Muslims view Allah as one God, this is emphasized through the word ‘tawhid’ which in Islam means “absolute unity”. Christians on the other hand view God as three holy beings, God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. According to theology this is known as the holy trinity. Early Christians did not understand the meaning of the word trinity which led to the thought that they worship three gods. However, through Christian teachings the meaning of trinity is brought out through the concept of love. Love cannot exist in seclusion ’God is Love’; hence God cannot exist in one form. This is considered blas...
Similarities and Differences between Christianity, Judaism and Islam. There are many similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There are also many differences that separate the three major religions of the world. This paper will delve into all three of these.
One of the many decisions that has to made in life is what, if any, religion they will practice. Christianity, the belief in God, and Jesus as his son, or Judaism, to follow the direction of the Torah are some of the major religions that a person may choose. This decision may be one of the biggest decisions of a person’s life, and each religion has similarities and differences, and pro’s and cons. Two of the major religions, Judaism and Christianity, are alike in their inspiration of sacred texts, but are different in their identity of Jesus, and practice of worship.
that exists and this can be read in the sacred texts, the Koran and the Bible. For all three monotheistic religions, God is the only one that can be considered as the Creator of the Universe, the All-Powerful and the venerable divine being that is gracious and merciful. They also accept the fact that this god is the same God that Abraham worships as stated in the Old Testament. This particular similarity between these three religions has given them the name “the Abrahamic religions” by some experts. Despite the varying names these three religions have for this particular god, in essence, they are one at the same. Abraham is also considered the father to the children of God, which are often referred to as the people of Israel. (Lin) What differs in the three religion’s concept of God is how they advocate them. One can see that Christianity and Judaism are close to their belief of God. They noted that Je...