Theologically speaking what are the similarities between Christianity and Judaism?

Question

Whenever I try and compile a list I cannot get past 1) Christianity is loosely based on the Hebrew Scriptures.

Nope we have 613 commandments

Nope the concept of Messiah is radically different

Nope we worship one G-d and you worship a Trinity

Jews DO NOT consider Jesus a Prophet

James you are 100% wrong we have different beliefs on everything you stated.

Gods child again everything you mentioned is wrong in terms of commonality. We disagree on every point you mentioned.

Suzzane you did not answer (and i thank for it) because you do not have the slightest idea what Judaism is.

Messianic Jews are Christians.

Answer 1

Writers in the early days of the Christian church describe the reception Jewish followers of the resurrected Christ got when they attended synagogue on the Sabbath. Everything was fine until they got up to explain how the ancient prophecies were fulfilled in the person of their ascended master, Jesus. Eventually, after enough notoriety, they weren't even allowed in and stopped going. They just went to their own fellowship meal the next day. For some reason, those closed minded Jews just didn't buy into the "new" interpretations of scripture.

The gospel writers would quote scripture, but it would usually be from the Septuagint, a good Greek translation, but slightly different in rendering at certain critical passages from the Hebrew original. Christian apologists found it easy to comb through the Prophets for vague predictions and unassigned references that made perfect sense when applied to Jesus. Of course they found it necessary to refine the concept of monotheism just a bit to get everything to fit. (They even had THEMSELVES confused about the precise relationship of Jesus to God for a few centuries.) Depending on one's point of view, it was either a breakthrough or an abuse of scripture. But it was clear from the beginning that those Jews who saw the connections were already Christian. The majority did not.

Christianity was regarded by the Romans as a peculiar sub-sect of Judaism until the revolt of 67-70. At that time, Christian literature, such as the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, took pains to point out what good citizens Christians were (unlike some OTHER people they could point to). This ploy may have helped aleviate some of the persecution Christians later suffered, but it sure didn't mend any relationship between them and their spiritual "parents".

Since then, Christians have always looked upon Jews as "stubborn", while Jews have maintained that they are preserving their true faith in the face of enormous social pressure. "God's chosen people" is a heady concept and any population would love to be so regarded. The idea of God rejecting and reassigning the designation is a tempting one. However, history has not managed to entirely wrest the title away (and in light of subsequent Western history, Christians may be grateful for that fact).

Answer 2

Christianity came out of Judaism, the difference is that the Christians (a name coined in Antioch as a slur towards Christ followers) believe that the Jews long awaited Messiah has come, and the Jewish prophesies concerning the Messiah have been fulfilled by a man named Yeshua (Jesus, in Greek). A study of the Jewish scriptures (old testament) and the christian gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and the Epistles of Paul (Romans, Corinthians, etc) with show how the prophesies have been fulfilled according to Christians. Orthodox Jews believe that the Messiah has yet to come, Messianic Jews are Jews who believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

Answer 3

I think the root difference is whether or not Jesus Christ is the Messiah prophecied in the old testament of the Bible.

The Jews believe the Messiah still has not come. Because of this, they live by the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible).

Christians, on the other hand, take the entire Bible, which includes the "Torah", the rest of the old testament, and the new testament, which is made up of the gospels (the story of Jesus Christ) and the teachings based on Christ's teachings by authors like the apostle Paul.

The only difference is Jesus Christ. Everything else about God and creation and sin nature is similar.

Answer 4

Use of the Hebrew scriptures, belief in one God (depending on the doctrine of Christianity), and both originate from about the same area. Remember that Christianity isn't necessarily belief in Jesus as God. Most doctrines still call him God's son, not God. Anyway, I think the New Testament mentions restoration of Jerusalem, which of course is figurative. So, then there is another similarity between Christianity and Judaism.

Answer 5

The primary similarity is that they both worship the same God... Jehovah. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They both believe that the first five books of the Bible otherwise known as the Pentateuch are inspired by God. The Torah which comprises of the these same books and others of the Old Testament are also inspired by God. Jews and Christians believe in a Messiah but differ on who that Messiah is.

Please understand that the triune Godhead is ONE. No different than H2O existing as three elements: water (liquid), steam (gas) and ice (solid). Same element but existing in three different states of being. Hard concept to grasp... but is the truth. The Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Old Testament. If you reject the doctrine of the Trinity then please explain the use of "us" in Genesis 1:26?

Answer 6

While there are many world religions, there are only three that call for worship of one God: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. All of the other major religions, from Hinduism to Buddhism to Shintoism, don't really deal with the issues of salvation as we understand it, of heaven and hell.
As for Judaism, we as Christians believe in the same God and the same revelation they do, plus the New Testament. As the Holy Father has pointed out, Christians are all "spiritual Semites" (spiritually united with the Jews and the faith of Abraham). Basically, Christians are what you could call “Messianic Jews,” that is, we are "adopted" Jews who believe Jesus was the long awaited Jewish Messiah;..the Savior. We have been grafted into the family tree. Of course, our faith has grown considerably from there as well. While we have significant theological differences with traditional Judaism (primarily revolving around Christ), our understanding of morality is of the same basic cloth.

We should never forget our roots. We should never forget that Jesus was a Jew (who attended synagogue), as were his mother and adoptive father, all the apostles and even the first pope (Peter). Almost all of the first "believers" were Jews, and they all attended synagogue as well. While it is true that some Jews called for His execution (particularly those threatened by Jesus as a potential leader who threatened their hold on power), the Catechism reminds us that every human who has ever lived bears responsibility for his crucifixion. We are all responsible.

As Christians, we believe that, in rejecting Jesus, most of the Jews rejected their own Messiah, as prophecy foretold (Isaiah 53:3-4, Hosea 11:4). As the apostle Paul points out in Romans 11, this is part of a mystery, wherein God used their lack of faith-response in order to bring the Gentiles (non-Jews) into His family. While there continue to be Jews who come to accept Jesus as the Jewish Messiah throughout history, we prayerfully hope for the day when the Jews will most fully come to accept Jesus and be "grafted back into the tree" (which St. Paul also writes about in Romans 11).

Answer 7

Christianity is based on Judaism. It is my understanding that the "Old Testament" is a common denominator. The big difference is that the Jewish faith does not recognize Jesus as the messiah, son of god, or savior.

Answer 8

Christianity New & Old Testament
Jesus is Messiah
Judaism Old Testament
The Messiah has not yet come

Answer 9

If I really thought you wanted to know, I'd be happy to answer. But I suspect this is your way of directing additional ridicule at us.

(I almost didn't answer this and decided to give you a chance to prove my impression was wrong. I can see from your comments that I wasn't.)

Answer 10

Umm. The god of their Old Testament is called Yahweh.