what are the similarities and differences in judaism and christianity??

Question

homework question.. please answer!! thnx... mwaahz!!

Answer 1

Similarity - both use the Old Testament as "scripture" (Jews call it the "Torah")
Difference - Christians have the New Testament; Jews don't
Difference -Christians believe Jesus was the Messiah, and
Jews think Jesus was a nice Jewish boy who did well as a prophet
Difference - Jewish ceremonies are more ritualized than most Christian denominations AND Jews have foods that are forbidden (Catholicism, though, has ritual and "banned" food, too)
Difference - Jewish scriptures came "first" in the chronology of things, and the Christians adopted and adapted it to their own needs at the time.

Answer 2

Your question is a broad one and an entire semester at any school could be devoted to studying the history of the Jewish-Christian relationship. However I give a very brief summation.

From a Christian standpoint they have the same history up until Jesus Christ. At that point there was a split; mainstream Judaism rejected Christ stating that he was not the messiah while Jesus developed a fallowing amongst some Jews and Gentiles. Christ was a Jew and the first Christians where Jewish by heritage. The anti-Semitism amongst Christian faiths today basically stems to the rejection of Christ. For some reason anti-Semitism seems to be prominent amongst Catholics more so than Protestants. This may be because of the fact that Romans, which have a jaded history with the Jews, founded the Catholic Church. The bible is clear on the fact that the Jews are Gods chosen people and are not to be persecuted. Most Protestants denominations tend to be excepting of Jews believing that they are simply misguided and they will one day realize that the messiah they are waiting on has already come and gone.

Answer 3

The only real similarity is that they use some of the same scriptures. However, the interpretations are very different.

Some major difference are:

The path to heaven - Jews believe that the path to G-d comes throught good works and proper behavior. Christians beleive that faith will bring them to heaven.

Vision of G-d - Jews beleive in one Creator who does not take physical form. Christians believe in three manifestations of G-d, one of whom was a man. To Jews, this makes Christians look like they are not monotheists.

This life and the next - Jews are much more concerned with making this life the best one possible, without being too concerned about the afterlife. There is very little Jewish dogma about the afterlife, and little agreement about what it might be like. Christians, on the other hand, are very concerned with the Kingdom of Heaven and where one goes after death.

Prayer - Because Jews believe in only one G-d with no intermediaries, they pray directly to Him. Christians may use intercessors like Jesus in their prayers.

Religious exclusivity - Jews actaully do not believe that one has to be a Jew to go to heaven, win G-d's favor, or be a good person. They do not beleive that theirs is the only valid religion. Most Christians believe that their path is the only one to G-d.