Judaism Vs. Christianity, Essay Example

People always tend to address some supreme power when facing some difficulties or losing sense of life. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are three main religions that unite millions of people all over the world. Despite all of them are based on the idea that there is God in Heaven, who has created the Earth and all living creatures, there are lots of contradictions that make every religion unique. Moreover, trying to protect their beliefs sometimes people are engaged in conflicts and even wars. For instance, struggle between Palestinians and Israeli has religious background as people are fighting for their faith. Though Judaism and Christianity have the same roots, there are a lot of differences that make them special. Analyzing representation of God himself, Jesus, teachings and commandments written in the Bible one can easily find a lot of facts that support either Judaists’ or Christians’ points of view. In fact, one can be amazed with the number of details written in one single book that can be interpreted differently and used as milestones of two religions. (Religion Facts 2004)

The first characteristic that I would like to discuss is the idea of God being a single matter of worship in Judaism, as opposed to God being recognized as a trinity in Christianity. It is argued that Christianity has three different gods, united in the Holy Trinity, and considered one of the most important doctrines in this religion. The deity of God is explained not only by looking at God as a Father and Creator, as in Judaism, but also as Jesus and the Holy Spirit being God too. In other words, at once instance, Christianity faced a problem of being a polytheistic creed, which vividly opposed the Bible: “The LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other” (Deuteronomy 4:39). However, the supporters of the religion in question came up with a new definition for the three different and separate identifications of God, calling it the Holy Trinity, and stating that God actually consists of three components, or three persons, to cushion the tensions aroused by the opponents of Christianity becoming a polytheistic belief. The Trinitarian formula is still creating debates and has many opponents, due to the fact that it is clearly seen in the Bible that the three identities have different powers, characteristics, and greatness, which confronts the idea of one single creator: “Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be any after me” (Isaiah 43:10). There is sound evidence that the creation of the doctrine was not based on Biblical evidence, as far as the Bible itself does not provide any direct proof of there being a God, which incorporates other identities except of being the Creator and Father. Judaism rejects the whole possibility of God not being one and supports the idea of the oneness of God. It builds the argument upon the Old Testament of the Bible, as far as Judaism does not accept the New Testament for a number of reasons. Judaists accept and believe in the fact that God is one and has to be worshipped as a singular entity, as far as worshipping any other god or spirit, will, consequently, lead to the failure of being a true servant of God. The passage in Deuteronomy 6:4 is a key stone of the Judaist standpoint: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord…” On the other hand, Christians provide the evidence of the existence of the Holy Trinity through New Testament, which indirectly (supposedly directly for the Christian believers who accept the Trinitarian formula) shows the presence of the three parts of God: the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and Father. The main argument for the trinity may be found in Mathew 28:19, where it says: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Not only do Christian believers and supporters use New Testament   to support the doctrine in question, but they also refer to Jesus as both a human being and a son of God, which is not accepted by the Jews.  Today, thousands of debates occur all over the world to both oppose and support the oneness of God, most of the debates being friendly and wide open to the public. However, the representatives of both religious movements clearly state that their beliefs and standpoints cannot be altered, disregarding the outcome of the debates, which proves that both Christianity and Judaism have strong confidence in their arguments. Christianity can no longer exist without the idea of the Trinity, making the doctrine an important part of the commitment to the faith, while Judaism confronts the idea of the Trinity and tries to proved the oneness of God through the scriptures of Old Testament.

Both Judaism and Christianity have practically the same view on who Lord is. However, the role of Jesus, Son of God, is perceived differently. None of two religions denies that Jesus was a messiah and that he died on the cross. However, questions of his origin and resurrection are usually raised, thus affecting the very basic idea of his goals, teachings and message he has brought.

In Judaism Jesus is perceived as a man. Like other people he was born by the woman, was educated, had a job. Moreover, he perfectly knew Jewish law and offered his own teaching about the way person can find his/her place in the Kingdom of Heaven. He was not the only one prophet, who contradicted Roman law. In fact, Jesus was arrested and executed during the Passover. Judaism rejects the idea that he is a Son of God. In fact, strong opposition of Holy origin of Jesus can be found in John. The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” (John 19:7). This direct evidence is used to show his real roots. Secondly, recently Jews believe that Jesus never claimed to have some relation to the Lord. Judaism tend to refer John 10:34-36 as “what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why do you accuse me blasphemy because I said: I am God’s son?”. According to beliefs of this religion, the idea of Jesus’ Holy origin was an interpretation of his words as he used figurative language a lot. There is another explanation of why Jewish religion rejects Jesus as a messiah and, thus identifies him to be a common man. According to Judaism, there are certain events, which must be fulfilled, so that messiah could come on the Earth. Some of them are Jews return back to their homeland, restoration of God’s temple and global peace. It is known that these events have not yet occurred. For instance, God’s temple is not restored because it is situated on the Palestinian territory. Therefore, Jesus could not be messiah and was ordinary human. As there is no proof he was Holy, Jesus could not resurrect.

Unlike Judaism, Christian religion support the idea that Jesus Christ was a messiah, who had miraculous birth and resurrected after his death. “The central belief of Christianity is that by faith in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, individuals are saved from death – both spiritual and physical – by redemption from their sins” (Howie 1997). In fact, Christianity as a religion is based on Jesus’ life and supported by the New Testament gospels. If Judaism uses evidence written in Talmud only, Christian faith is centered on Matthew, Mark, Luce, and John. All these authors use to emphasize miraculous birth of Jesus and his direct relationship with the Lord. In fact, in gospel Jesus himself and other people state he is the Son of God. “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, Peter states (Matthew 16:16). Christians use that same quote from the gospel of John in the Bible as Judaists. However, referring to “Why you accuse me blasphemy because I said: I am God’s son?” (John 10:36)  they tend to support absolutely opposite idea. Secondly, description of the star in the sky, completed prophesy, and apostles also support Christian beliefs that Jesus was not a common man. Resurrection of Jesus is another fact, which is used to support Christian religion. “Viewed as the ultimate victory over the powers of sin and death, the resurrection of the Lord [Jesus] is not only an historical event but also the sign of God’s power over all the forces which can keep us from his love and goodness” (Towards a common Easter 2001).

In conclusion, I would like to state that though Judaism and Christianity are different religions with their own history, traditions, and beliefs, one is able to find certain similarities in their characteristics. The Trinity model and the Oneness perspective clear show how Christianity and Judaism interpret the same Biblical texts differently, each side believing their model to be the only truthful one. The difference in the understanding and approaches leads to debates, arguments, and sometimes even religious conflicts while, both religions accept and worship the same God, though through different channels and having different ideas in their minds. Secondly, I would like to clear the fact, which I think is essential, when analyzing Judaism and Christianity. Both description of God and the role of Jesus are perceived differently simply because of the difference in what is considered to be Holy Bible. In fact, Jews use the Talmud only because they suppose that God wrote this part himself. New Testament is considered to be written by people, who could make lots of mistakes as they are human beings. Jews do not rely on the New Testament and, thus often oppose the idea of Jesus’ Holy birth and refer to him as to the false prophet. Christians consider that four gospels were written under God’s authority. Therefore, Christians use to rely on them and believe they are credible sources. As some information written in the New Testament contradicts the one written in the Old Testament, two ideas are formed. This is probably one of the reasons that explain the difference between Christianity and Judaism.

Works Cited

Arye, Forta. Judaism. Heinemann, 1995. Comparison of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Religion Facts. 2004. March 23, 2009. <http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islam_judaism_christianity.htm>.

Hovie, Karene. Christianity/Jesus Christ: History and Beliefs of Christian Religion. Life and Death of Jesus Christ. 1997. March 23, 2009. <http://www.spaceandmotion.com/christianity-christian-jesus-christ.htm>.

Letham, Robert. The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship. P & R Pub., 2004.

Towards a Common Date of Easter. 2001. Match 23, 2009. <http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-commissions/faith-and-order-commission/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/towards-a-common-date-for-easter/towards-a-common-date-for-easter.html>.