Why is Judaism mentioned so often when discussing religions?

Question

I was surprised to learn of how little Jews there actually are in the world, only 15 million?? I am speaking of Jews as in the faith not the race, as i know the two boundaries blur from time to time.
So why is it when religious people debate with atheists and the like, they always bring up Judaism and not one of the many other prevalent faiths in the world? Is it solely because the origins of this religion come from the same stories and myth’s as Christianity?
I know that it is similar due to it being an Abrahamic religion and monotheistic. But also would it not take away some of the validity of Christianity as it shows how religion is like any other social construct, susceptible to constant change as it is only a human construct?

Answer 1

because both Christianity and Islam have their roots in Judaism. Judaism came first, then Christianity and THEN Islam.

Answer 2

Judaism is the spiritual basis of christianity. From there came Jesus, a Jews by birth. The two faiths are intimately connected. The low number of Jews at this time is due to 2 things: early conversions to christianity and over time, and holocaust like situations in their history. The arabs have been their enemies for thousands of years. It has nothing to do with land. It has to do with religious hatred.

Jews and Christians share the same holy scriptures: the Tenach. Only the new testament separates them. All the prophets and minsters they had in common were all Jewish. But neither is a social contruct, although it may seem like that now, since man tends to interfere and put his own influence on anything God does. Each was intiated by God himself, and the evidence was apparent at the time that God was involved.

Each religion, then, did not start out as a "social construct, but as an act of God, and each one started out as a relationship with God, not a religion. Man, as he turns away from God, turns a relationship into a religion, so he can pursue his own interests. If people would go back to the pure origins, they would find God again and the purity and holiness that was there orginally.

Answer 3

Although fundamentally different from Judaism, both Christianity and Islam "derive" so to speak, from Judaism. Since a combination of the number of Christians and Muslims in the world comprise about 1/3 of the world's population, it is perhaps not suprising that Judaism comes up in discussions about religion. This would apply even more so when Christianity is a dominant religion in many Western countries.

Answer 4

You are right- Christianity and Islam do lose credence, by very virtue of the fact that they are basing themselves upon Judaism and cannot stand without Judaism.

Answer 5

one in all my widespread prices is going something like this: '"Mythology" is what we call some different person's faith' - Joseph Campbell. many human beings experience that what they have is the right one and anybody else is incorrect or in basic terms partly excellent. there is no longer something incorrect with having myths to stay by, see you later as you recognize that is what they're, in simple terms that, myths. anybody is particular, anybody benefits to stay and do solid for themselves and others. regrettably we are not there, once you've a toddler die each and every 5 seconds from starvation in this international, this is obscure what god ought to decide them because they did not get the "word" in time.

Answer 6

B/c we're awesome :-P