Jewish vs. Christian god?

Question

As a Jew, I find it rather insulting (and silly) when christians tell me "well, we worship the same god" .

We do NOT worship the same god.

Firstly, our G-d is not physical, nor is he some sort of 3-in-1 god.
Secondly, it would still be different since *your* god acts differently from ours, and since the only way to differentiate the non-physical is through its personalities or actions, then we must conclude that they're different.

for example,
My G-d isn't the type to just take back what He said and replace it with other stuff. If G-d said that jews need to be circumcised, then He meant it! If He said that the sabbath is on saturday, then He isn't pushing it off to sunday. MY G-D wants saturday!
My G-d doesn't desire some guy get killed to magically wipe away my lifetime history of evil. That is not something MY G-d would do. Maybe yours; not mine.

The muslim god is probably closer to us than your god.

Keep responses short.
Athiests need not reply.

p.s. The fact that you may refer to your god by my G-d's name does not mean anything more than it would if I put on a sequin coat and called myself elvis.

Oh, and I have spent countless hours studying the books of scripture (including the prophets, which I give my utmost respect to). I have read through so many missionary tracts from all sorts of groups. And while many have provided cute ideas or things which glisten on the surface, I've yet to find true substance in any of them. So don't give me that "oh, well you're just ignorant" garbage because I probably studied this stuff more than you have! (But I don't want this turning into a "dis/prove christianity" thread. That's not what I want to do (though feel I could). I just want christians to know where we stand.

RESPONSES: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20060713114907AAHtlfW&r=w

Answer 1

The two faiths aren't really similar in any regard. But you must understand most Christians think the only difference is Jesus.

Christianity and Judaism differ on the following:

In the meaning of ONE G-d, Heaven, Hell, the devil, Satan, Messiah, Covenant, Commandments, Judgment, Scriptural translations and interpretations, worship, holidays, etc…


It would be far easier to try and find a similarity.

Answer 2

A response

Answer to question one. there is a reason that the term Judeo-Christian exists. Obviously the a portion of the Torah is the Old Testament of the Bible. There are many others but first
So you sat your God is not Physical?

Then what do you call Moses being in the presence of God and physically receiving then ten commandments on. According to
your Torah they actually physically existed.

B. Christ never commanded the Sabbath to be moved or to be put On Saturday or Sunday. To this day in Arabic the word
"Sabba" means seven. Saturday was merely the seventh
day of the week in ancient tradition. which day it falls on has no
significance in itself.

The some guy (Christ) you refer to is a bridge so that non-Jews have a chance a receiving salvation. So you must believe that only the small percentage of people who are direct descendants of Abraham are allowed into God's presence.

in Jewish tradition sacrifice has always been necessary for atonement of ones sins. What do you think you celebrate passover for anyway?

My guess is that you really haven't done much research into
your own "religion" or your "God" to find out his true nature.
The book of Issac (also the Torah) contains many prophesies in regards to a savior who will come. Read it sometime.

It is ignorant people who try to divide people. I bet other Jews would disagree with you heavily on the statements you just made.

Please why don't you read for yourself the Torah and New Testament and then draw conclusions on the similarities of the
religions.

Answer 3

I am a Christian and my God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the same God that the Muslims worship and He is the same God that the Jews worship. I d on't expect to change your point of view but I would like to express mine. First, I believe we are quite foolish to say what God is or isn't. He's GOD for crying out loud - I think that HE can do whatever HE wants. Is the rule about circumcision a rule made by humans (Jewish law) or is it an actual commandment (like the ten) direct from God? I don't know but I believe that this rule or law sets the Jewish people apart from others and is part of your identity as the chosen people. As for the sabbath, I recall that God said to set aside the seventh day for rest. How do we know which day the seventh day is? The Jewish tradition says that it's Saturday but I think the greater point is that there should be a sabbath. I believe that God sent his son, Jesus to be born as a human and to share the Good News with the world. I believe that Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice to atone for not only the sins of the past but also the sins of the present and of the future. You may beleive the Christians to be misguided and silly - we follow the teachings of a Jewish man executed by the Romans as a common criminal and I understand that. I do not forget that the roots of Christianity are in Judaism and I attempt (in my own humble way) to keep many of the Jewish traditions, like the Seder. Thanks for allowing me to express my opinion!

Answer 4

The only thing God changed in the New Testament is that there is no longer any need for blood sacrifices, as are listed in the Old Testament. Do you still do those blood sacrifices, kill an animal here or there to be forgiven? I haven't heard of any Jews doing that for a long time, and can't figure out why. I know why we don't, Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, so we have no need for blood sacrifices. As for the sabbath, you're absolutely right on that one, I just wish more christians figured that out. We were raised to believe the sabbath is on Sunday, at least in the US, but if we actually read the bible we'd see that's not true, never has been. Constantine changed the sabbath to Sunday to convert pagans, who celebrated their fake gods on Sunday. It's not right, he did not have the right. Remember the sabbath and keep it holy, does not mean its okay to change it to Sunday.

The muslim god closer to the true God? I think that's a bit far fetched, do you get a bunch of virgin sex slaves for mass murder?

Answer 5

Jews don't need Christianity to explain our existence or origin, but Christians cannot explain their existence without Judaism. Very exasperating for Christians and annoying for Jews. I cringe every time I see the word "JudeoChristian." Christians know diddly squat about Judaism!

To paraphrase what I'm hearing from Christians, "Jews are so evil, God had to renege on His covenants with them." That still doesn't explain why He changed His mind about those 613 laws.

Jews do not believe that Jesus was the moshiach. Assuming that he existed, and assuming that the Christian scriptures are accurate in describing him (both matters that are debatable), he simply did not fulfill the mission of the moshiach. Jesus did not do any of the things that the scriptures said the messiah would do.

On the contrary, another Jew born about a century later came far closer to fulfilling the messianic ideal than Jesus did. His name was Shimeon ben Kosiba, known as Bar Kochba (son of a star), and he was a charismatic, brilliant, but brutal warlord. Rabbi Akiba, one of the greatest scholars in Jewish history, believed that Bar Kochba was the moshiach. Bar Kochba fought a war against the Roman Empire, catching the Tenth Legion by surprise and retaking Jerusalem. He resumed sacrifices at the site of the Temple and made plans to rebuild the Temple. He established a provisional government and began to issue coins in its name. This is what the Jewish people were looking for in a moshiach; Jesus clearly does not fit into this mold. Ultimately, however, the Roman Empire crushed his revolt and killed Bar Kochba. After his death, all acknowledged that he was not the moshiach.

Throughout Jewish history, there have been many people who have claimed to be the moshiach, or whose followers have claimed that they were the moshiach: Shimeon Bar Kochba, Shabbatai Tzvi, Jesus, and many others too numerous to name. Leo Rosten reports some very entertaining accounts under the heading False Messiahs in his book, The Joys of Yiddish. But all of these people died without fulfilling the mission of the moshiach; therefore, none of them were the moshiach. The moshiach and the Olam Ha-Ba lie in the future, not in the past.

Biblical Passages Referring to the Moshiach
The following passages in the Jewish scriptures are the ones that Jews consider to be messianic in nature or relating to the end of days. These are the ones that we rely upon in developing our messianic concept:

Isaiah 2, 11, 42; 59:20
Jeremiah 23, 30, 33; 48:47; 49:39
Ezekiel 38:16
Hosea 3:4-3:5
Micah 4
Zephaniah 3:9
Zechariah 14:9
Daniel 10:14
If you want to know how Jews interpret the passages that Christians consider to be messianic, see the Jews for Judaism website, especially the Knowledge Base under Resources. The Knowledge Base addresses more than 130 of the most common arguments that evangelists make to Jews.

Answer 6

I understand why you feel insulted, but please consider our position (you don't have to agree with it).

In Hebrew, is "Elohim" pleural or singular? (Answer: it is pleural. We do not take this to mean there is more than one God -- because there isn't. We believe God has three distinct personalities, one of which was incarnated into the Messiah.)

Circumcision is a sign of God's covenant with Abraham. Moses explained that Abraham was considered to be righteous BEFORE he was circumsized; it was not the act that justified him in God's eyes, it was his faith. Under the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31), circumcision for Gentiles is not necessary, since we are made righteous by circumcising our hearts and following the Messiah. If a Messianic Jew wishes to circumsize his son, that's great -- but it is not required for salvation. This New Covenant and "inward circumcision" is referenced in Jeremiah 31:31-36. There is much more to it than this, though.

You are correct about the Sabbath. Under the New Covenant, gentile Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, since this is the day Messiah was resurrected. Messianic congregations usually have their services on Saturday.

The sacrifice of animals cannot permanently take sin away from mankind. Read Isaiah 53 with an open heart. Christians and Messianic Jews understand it to reference the Messiah as our ultimate sacrifice.

I don't know if you've read the Koran, but that's definately NOT the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Koran preaches hatred toward God's chosen people, the Jews.

Answer 7

Okay. My questions for you are these:

1) What has God said and then taken back and replaced it with something else? Nothing as far as I know

2) Who said the Sabbath is on Saturday? Just as long as there is one day that is spent entirely on worshipping God, that is what God commanded (though he wants us to worship him constantly)

3) How do you know God wants Saturday?

4)If God doesn't want someone to die, than why did your people make sacrifices and do they still do that? I don't think so, and if so why? He did it to save humaity from their sins so that I don't have to sacrifice lambs every time I sin.

5) You want to talk about killing innocent people, how come your people killed one of their own (the Jews sent Jesus (who happened to be a Jew) to die on the cross)? Jesus was the prophecied Messiah that the prophets predicted would come about, yet you didn't believe him to be the Messiah because you followed the laws passed on by Moses.

So it looks like you are gravely mistaken about our Gods. Perhaps you need to get your facts straight before you make silly accusations like that.

Answer 8

Historically speaking, Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the "same God." I agree with you, however, when you assert that the Christian God is substantially different from the Jewish God. How is this so?

In addition to the Hebrew Bible, Christians have an additional set of Scripture that they believe reveals more about the true nature of God. It is in this New Testament, for example, that the true nature of God (so Christians believe) is revealed to be triune: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

To keep it short, I'll end with one last point: I don't presume to know enough about the nature of God to assume that God is incapable of changing his mind or of offering another opportunity for his people to come to him. I doubt that anyone or any religion has a perfect description of God - but I also doubt that anyone or any religion has got it all wrong, either. I imagine that God is willing to accept those who are sincerely seeking him.

Answer 9

Genesis calls God Elohim which means "gods" doesn't it? yes, it does. But you worship the one true god,right? right. So why is it plural, you can't anser that can you? I can. You have no redemption of sin since the temple was destroyed. Your sins were forgiven though animal sacrifice, which only really covered them(like Adam & Eve when God covered them in animal skins He sacrificed for them) The only way we could really be forgiven was for God to become us and sacrifice His own blood. You can't forgive someone by making them do something for you. You have to do it yourself. If I broke your lamp you couldn't truly forgive me if you told me to pay for it.No, you would replace it and forgive me.That's true forgiveness.
Read the prophecies and the New Testament,God's plan is worked out through them, you'll see it, if you read it unbiased.
About the sabbath day...Genesis says God worked for six days and rested from ALL His work on the seventh.Well, God is still working, so ALL His work is not done. He set apart the Actual seventh day of the week for us to use as a day of rest and worship. It never really says "saturday" anywhere. It's saturday because it became saturday when calendars were created. We worship on sunday because it was the day after the sabbath,which was the day Jesus rose.(Saturday is english for sabbath day.) The sabbath is the sabbath, we did not change that.
Sorry, not short, but you can't give proper explanation in short responses, and your question was not short either.

Answer 10

You are right in a certain sense. I must add that you must still be looking and waiting for the Messiah. Any clues what you should be looking out for? When he comes, he will ... what is that again that he will do? Also, you must be killing quite a bit of sheep and pigeons on a regular basis. How do you think that would happen if the Jew is not in Israel? If the "I am that I am" does not take back what he says like sacrifices for example, we are sure to be in a lot of problems, yeah? I believe that you must have read Daniel and Issiah about the coming about the Messiah. Which part or how much of their prophecy is still left unanswered? It's been 2000 years already, any progress on that? Appreciate your update on this. Thanks