Can someone please explain the difference between the Jewish faith and Catholic faith?

Question

I have always been interested in the Jewish religion but I was raised Catholic. I am also Latina and my mother is taking it very personal that I am not following what I was brought up as. Can someone please explain the difference between the Jewish faith and Catholic faith in laymans terms because I am still learning and I would like to be able to relay the answer to my family as well.

Answer 1

IAs a Jew who admires Jesus but does not accept Him as the Messiah I can answer. Our main prayer is, "Hear Oh Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one. Catholics believe in the Trinity which means 3. {Father, Son and Holy Ghost} Thre minus one is two, which is two too many for us Jews. Thank you for your interest in Judiasm

Answer 2

Well, Judaism is the religion from which Christianity was born. The Jewish system of belief predicts the coming of a Messiah. Jesus Christ was claimed to be that Messiah. Those who believed in him broke off from Judaism and formed Christianity whereas those who didn't believe he was the Messiah (a smart guy, perhaps, a little misguided, maybe, even, possibly, a prophet, but not Messiah) stuck with the old religion.

There are many other differences (and exceptions), of course, but, like all theological questions there can be so many shades of grey.

I think a good way to help you to begin to understand Judaism a little more is to understand that the Old Testament comes to Christianity directly from Judaism.

If there is a Jewish temple near you, you should go and ask to speak with the rabbi. He or she will be very much open to helping you find answers for your questions and will welcome you with open arms even if you ultimately choose not to change faith.

I was raised Christian and have since chosen the path of agnosticism (I believe I cannot know). My mother supports and respects my decision but still keeps trying, subtly, to bring me back into the fold. I respect her faith as I believe that a person's faith is beyond reproach. It is what he or she believes and belief is a good thing.

Your mother sounds a bit more judgmental than mine. Your path in this will be more difficult where she is concerned. I suggest that, for the time being, you help her to understand that you have not abandoned Catholicism. You simply need some time to explore not only the religion you were raised with but others as well. Don't lie, don't say you will definitely come back to Catholicism, but knowing that you haven't completely abandoned it yet and may not at all may help to make this time easier for her to understand. Should you choose to convert to Judaism your rabbi will be able to help you to make this transition easier for your family.

I wish you the best of luck in this search and in life.

Answer 3

The Catholic Bible has the same 27 New Testament books but has 7 more Old Testament books that were dropped from the Protestant Bible at the time of the Reformation: Tobias, Judith, Baruch, Sirach, Wisdom, 1 Maccabees & 2 Maccabees. The books of Daniel & Esther also have additionalwriting in teh Catholic version. The Catholic version of the Bible was approved by various papal councils fromas early as the 4th Century & was ultimately accepted as infallible by teh Ecumenical Coucil of Trent in the 16th Century. I was raised Catholic but left that church at the age of 16 & wandered until I accepted Christ for myself at the age of 39. While Catholicism was undoubtedly the first extension and growth of the original church, it was corrupted for nearly 1000 years by goverments who placed political leaders in power instead of godly men. Many of these men abused this power and used the papal office to their own benefit & to curry favor with others by granting indulgences in exchange for money or political promises. Because of the changes made the the popes, including some who had good intentions, the Catholic church today resembles the original 1st Century church very little. And because of that, it has hurt its own credibility to the point that Christians must quesiton whether Catholicism is truly a Christian denomination or whether it became a quasi-Christian cult at some point. Having said that, let me explain that I am not trying to shake your faith any more - the fact that you have these questions is a good sign. There's no point in being bitter against the Catholic church. It jsut is what it is, and ove the past 100 years there has been great reform within Catholicism to the point that I see the potential for it to return to its 1st Century roots and reestabish itself. If you'd care to discuss this further, feel free to email me.

Answer 4

The Jewish faith does not accept Christ, plain and simple. They deny Him as our Savior, and according to Jewish belief, they are still waiting for the "savior" to come.

From a historical prospective, our Christian faith is rooted in Judaism. This does not mean the Judaism is the root, or pure faith, and that Christianity is an off-shoot. Jesus was Jewish; He was born under the Old Law. However, He freed us from that Law and gave all mankind a new covenant, the full and complete faith - Christianity.

Here's a great website for more answers: www.catholic.com

God bless.

Answer 5

As a Catholic, you SHOULD be interested in Judaism, because Catholicism is Judaism fulfilled. The earliest Christians were practicing Jews who recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah. These sites may be of interest:

http://hebrewcatholic.org/
http://www.remnantofisrael.net/
http://salvationisfromthejews.com/
http://www.secondexodus.com/

Answer 6

Jews believe in the Old testament (Bible) and Catholic believe in the Old testament and the New Testament too ( all Bible).During the Old Testament, the Heaven was closed for the soul of men(because the sin of Adam and Eve). In the OT men pray to God for forgive their sins, including the sin of A&E.
In OT many prophets are inspirated by God and speak about the coming of Jesus Christ the Savior of men from the slavery of sins. Jesus Christ God Son was comming , but in an very simple way for a King of The Universe, and men don't reconize Him as their Savior. But Jesus on Cross ask God Father to forgive them because they don't know what they do. In the New Testament is written the teaching of Jesus Christ The Son of God, Jesus brings the law of love,love God for all your heart and men like your self.Don't do to other men what you don't whant they do with you. For jews the Savior was comming or they are still wayting ?
God Bless we all.

Answer 7

Jewish faith followed old testament Moses teaching while catholic followed New Testament Jesus Christ teaching

Answer 8

Catholic faith believes that Jesus was the Son of God, the prophesied Messiah, who came and died for our sins. Jews don't. They still believe and are waiting for the Messiah to come.

Answer 9

well of course you probably already know that we don't believe in jesus. we believe a messiah will come, but we don't believe he will be divine or that he is coming to atone for our sins. as a catholic you probably see statues of jesus and mary and pictures of G-d even, but in judaism all of that is forbidden. we don't believe in the devil, original sin, or the christian heaven and hell. also our language is hebrew, not latin.

here is what i consider the best article i have seen that explains the differences between judaism and christianity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism_and_christianity

Answer 10

Jews,in general,do not believe in Jesus,except for the Messianic Jews.