what's the difference between Judaism and Christianity?

Question

and, if you like, which one is better.

Answer 1

Contrary to popular belief, there are actually MANY differences between Xianity and Judaism--Xians will say the only difference is J*sus because they don't know much about Judaism at all. I'm Jewish, so here is my answer:

Judaism believes that only you can be responsible for your sins. Nobody else can take them on or ask forgiveness on your behalf. Yes, we used to do animal sacrifices SOMETIMES, but most sacrifices were a mix of flour and oil. Still, sacrifice alone cannot atone for sin (and human sacrifice is ABHORRED by G-d). To atone for sins, a person must do teshuva, which includes: 1. recognizing the sin [knowing you did wrong] and feeling remorse for it 2. asking forgiveness of the wrong by the person you wronged (example: if you broke a Jewish law, you apologize to G-d, but if you broke your neighbor's favorite flowerpot, you must apologize to your neighbor for no one else can forgive you) 3. try to right the wrong you did--if you broke the flowerpot, either buy a new one or try to repair the old one sufficiently 4. actively resolve and try not to commit the wrong again--if you broke a law, create a reminder for yourself so that next time the opportunity comes up, you will remember.

Xianity believes to get forgiveness from your sins, you need to ask J*sus because he sacrificed himself for the sins of the world. Judaism thinks that this is crazy.

We do not believe in proselytizing because we believe that nobody has to be Jewish to warrant a place in heaven. A non-Jew has as much right to the World to Come as a Jew does--a Jew just has more rules to follow to get there. We do accept converts (we are NOT a race!!) although it is a hard road because Judaism is a hard life to live. [notice I say life, not religion. Judaism is a way of life, not just a religion.] It takes years of study to convert and the rabbi wants to make sure the convert is sincere because nobody wants to waste at least a year of the rabbi's life (or the convert's life, for that matter). Once you are Jewish you can never be a non-Jew again UNLESS you take on another believe system directly contrary to Judaism's. For example, you can be an atheist but still be Jewish because your believe system does not contradict with Judaism--you do not believe in G-d, but you don't believe in another false god either. But you cannot be a Jewish Xtian because Xtianity is contrary to Judaism. If you are a Jew and suddenly start to believe in Xtianity, you are an apostate and not Jewish unless you repent and come home to Judaism.

Xianity believes that you have to be Xian and accept J*sus as your savior to get into heaven.

(I'm sorry my sentences on Xianity are so short--the Judaism ones just require more explanation, I think)

Of course, Judaism does not believe in the trinity. The belief that G-d can be three gods while still being one doesn't make sense. Xians believe in the trinity.

Oh, and Judaism does not always take the Bible literally. For instance, the creation account. Most of us realize it is not to be taken literally. But in the writings of the prophets, however, they are to be taken literally in most places (unless the scripture says otherwise) because the writings of the prophets are what the prophets actually saw. Xianity does the opposite: takes the creation account literally and the prophets metaphorically (for example, it says that the messiah must re-build the Temple. Obviously, this has not physically happened yet. But Xianity says J*sus rebuilt the Temple in heaven.)

There are much more.

Peace

Answer 2

the main thing is about jesus.

but really its not JUST that. Christianity at the very beginning was a fringe group of Judaism, that eventually changed into something thats more different than similar.

if a person is to claim that christianity is the "fulfillment" of Judaism, then they must accept that Islam is the "completion" of Christianity. its the same thing.

Judaism's concept of the Messiah is a leader. not a sacrifice. Judaism's concept of God is absolutely singular and beyond the distinctions we have as humans. ... not a trinity or anything like that.

theres also no eternal hell in Judaism, No Devil, (a "Satan" but its a entirely different concept in Judaism) and no concept of original sin(we are born innocent)

heres a page with some general information, the second link is from a site specifically designed to help combat christian mercenarys from being able to effectively lie to isolated, less-educated jewish people.
third link is a specific page on the second, as to why Jesus could not be the Messiah of Judaism.

Answer 3

To me Judaism accepts responsibility for doing the Torah. There is no such thing as "being Jewish." You have to be "doing Jewish." We understand that it is a loving relationship with Hashem in which Hashem teaches us how to lead a pleasant life. We also understand that if we don't follow the Torah we will experience affliction therapy.

Christians teach they have broken the covenant the Children of Israel have with Hashem and they no longer have to follow the Torah. Actually, there is nothing wrong with breaking the covenant. You miss out on many of the blessings, but on the other side you also miss out on a lot of the affliction therapy.

You cannot do Jewish and Christian at the same time. This would be the same as saying you are following a contract and breaking a contract at the same time.

Which one is better? It depends on the person. If it creates transformation in a person's life and they lead a good life, then that one is better.

May you be blessed in your spiritual path.

Gershon

Answer 4

Jews believe in one God. Christians believe in one God as well, but they believe that God has three forms, a trinity, The father, the spirit, and Jesus, the son (whom they believe is the messiah). Jews think that the trinity is polytheistic, it is three gods not one, and that the One True God has so much oneness that he cannot be divided. Furthermore, Jews do not believe that Jesus was the messiah. Judaism is based on the Hebrew bible, the part of the bible that Christians call the Old Testament, and the collections of oral traditions, and commentaries on biblical stories. Christianity is based on the new testament, the story of Jesus and his followers, written in Greek, and on the Old Testament, though not as heavily as judaism.

Answer 5

There are many, many differences.

Jews believe that everyone reaches heaven if they lead a moral life here on earth - it doesn't matter which religion they are.

Christians believe that only those who embrace Jesus reach heaven; everyone else, no matter how good, burns in hell.

Jews have detailed information on how to recognise the real messiah: he will bring peace on earth, among other things. That's how Jews know that Jesus was not the messiah.

Christians insist that Jesus was not just the messiah but also the son of G-d. They follow the word of Paul and others who never actually met Jesus. Many Christians also insist that Jesus is mentioned in the Tanakh (old testament) but Jews know he isn't: Christians are relying on wrongly translated Hebrew.

Jews do not have to go via any other person to communicate with G-d. We speak directly to G-d and we repent directly to him and to anyone we have wronged.
Christians have to get absolution from a priest.

Jews do not believe that one person can die for another person's sins.
Christians believe that Jesus died for everyone's sins.

Jews never had to make a blood sacrifice in order to repent; blood sacrifice has never been an integral part of Judaism.
Christianity does believe that a blood sacrifice is necessary for repentance.

Jews do not believe in the devil. The figure of 'Ha Satan' which is mentioned in the Tanakh is not the devil; he is an 'adversary' which is what 'satan' means in Hebrew. Ha Satan is analogous to an attourney prosecuting a case. He takes orders directly from the judge - G-d.

Christians believe in the devil.

Jews do not believe in hell and eternal damnation.
Christians do.

And one final and significant difference:

Jews are not allowed to try and convert others. It is forbidden. We do not teach nor believe that our way is the 'only' way.

Christians are allowed to try and convert others and they frequently have and do.

For more detailed info on the differences between these two religions, check out http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/

As for which one is better: Judaism was the first monotheistic religion. Judaism was good enough for Jesus; he lived and died a practising Jew. Jews do not try and constantly prove that our way is superior - Christians seem to do this rather a lot, at least judging from this website they do!

EDIT TO MUSTARDS

Please get your facts straight. Jews did not 'reject' Jesus because there was nothing for us TO reject. Jesus was known as just one more young radical. It was only AFTER his death that he was elevated to being a divinity etc.

As for your totally wrong comments on so-called 'messianic jews' - these are Christians. They follow Christianity and they are not Jewish. The only Jews that join this group do so because of the billions of pounds that these messianic groups spend every year, their goal specifically to fool people into believing that one can be Jewish AND embrace Jesus. One can't. A person is either Jewish or Christian - one can't be both.

As for your arrogance in stating that Jews 'will' recognise Jesus as messiah - no, actually, we won't. Deal with it.

FINALLY - MUSTARDS states that Jews are a 'race'. Rubbish. We are not. We are a religion, a people, a nation, and a family. We are not a race. If we were, how could people convert to Judaism? People do, remember!

Answer 6

Joe C is right on target. Judaism is the people of a certain race/nationality that KNEW GOD and followed God from the beginning of time (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David-all Jews and Jesus-Jew) when others followed golden gods or idols (Gentiles). Christianity starts out in Judaism, where the Old Testament promises a coming Messiah when He comes (Jesus) most of the practicing Jews rejected Him thus we have Judaism "and" Christianity. But the Bible says they will accept Jesus in the end. Actually there are a growing number of Jews converting to Christianity or what they call themselves "Messianic Jews".

It was important that outsiders of Judaism accept Christ or Jesus could of been just a "Jew thing" but how it stands and how it will end Jesus will be "for all of us thing" the Jews and the Gentiles (us).

Answer 7

I'm not sure how much background you are asking this question with, so I am sticking with the big items that members of the faiths generally point to. Like all religions, there are disagreements, within the same religion, on the finer points of belief.

Both religions are monotheistic. They share belief in one God that they know at YHWH (otherwise referred to as Yahweh). The sacred books for the Jewish faith are collectively known as the Torah. The Torah is known, by Christians, as the Old Testament of the Bible. The Torah (or Old Testament), includes the story of God's covenant with Abraham. Lineage is very important in the Torah and Abraham is focused on as the start of the family tree for both faiths. Within the Jewish faith, the first five books of the Bible (also referred to as the Pentateuch) are considered to be the most sacred texts of the Torah. It is within this portion of Torah that Abraham is found. It is also where the story of the Exodus is recorded. The Exodus is a huge event in Biblical history (too big to go into here). Also included in the Torah is the ancient history of the Jewish people, poetry, and prophetic writings.

Throughout the Torah there are references made to God (or YHWH) sending a messiah. This messiah is to repair and restore God's relationship with all of mankind (as He is considered to be the ultimate creator of all existence). The messiah is also part of God's work to remove sin from God's creation.

Because they share the same sacred text (referring only to the Torah or the Old Testament), both Judaism and Christianity agree, broadly speaking, on all of these points. Both believe that God is the only God and that we have direct access to Him. The difference is that Christians believe that the messiah has come and is currently in the process of completing the work of the restoration of God's creation. The historical accounts and writings for this portion of Christianity are found in the New Testament of the Bible. Judaism does not acknowledge the New Testament as sacred text. Judaism teaches that the messiah has not yet come.

Some finer points - No, not all Jews believe that everyone goes to Heaven if you are good enough. Orthodox Jews believe in a strict adherence to the laws of God. There are some that consider themselves to be Jews that would not go to heaven by their understanding because they have not adhered to the laws of God within the Orthodox understanding.

Similarly, not all Christians believe that access to God is limited to a holy few (as has been asserted in this forum). The Catholic faith teaches that a mediator (such as a priest) is important in serving as bridge to communication between a believer and God. Protestants do not. It was one of the big issues in the Reformation.

I feel that it is important to note that Judaism and Christianity share one thing with other faiths, the adherents want their faith to be clearly and accurately understood. Thank you for asking the question and allowing people to have a voice in making their faith understood.

Answer 8

Believing that Jesus Christ is their lord and savior.

Converting to Judaism is one of the greatest things someone can do. Converting to Christianity is such a goyisha kup thing to do that no Jew has ever done it.

That was an old Yiddish joke in case you didn't get it.

Answer 9

From Wikipedia:

"In the 1st century, Jews interpreted the prophecies of the Tanakh to refer...to someone appointed by God to lead the Jewish people in the face of their tribulations with the Romans. Christians believe that these prophecies actually referred to a spiritual savior, and consider Jesus to be that messiah."

Or to put it another way, Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God and that salvation can only come through accepting him as your personal savior. Adherents to the Jewish faith don't.

Answer 10

Jews believe in ONE G-d, Christians believe in THREE