Christianity is considered a sectarian movement that comes from Judaism. What are some elements that distinguish Christianity from its Jewish roots?

Christianity and Judaism are closely related; in fact, Christianity has evolved from Judaism. As Christians, we share the same foundation in Genesis as the Jews do and draw from the patriarchal roots up to the Old Testament’s final prophets. We both believe in one God, hold to marriage as defined by God in the Garden of Eden, and have a basis for logic, knowledge, and the truth since we are made in the image of a logical, truthful God. We both understand that we live in a sin-cursed and broken world, require a Messiah and an everlasting covenant.

Although both Judaism and Christianity have the same Old Testament, Christians use different names for it, and Judaism has additional writings. The essential difference is that Christians accept Jesus as the Messiah and their personal Saviour while Jews do not. Christians believe this because we believe God established a new covenant through Jesus. This new covenant unfolds in the New Testament, which we believe is God’s Word, and is the consummation of the covenant expressed in the Old Testament. Christians believe Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and types of the Messiah in the Old Testament. Judaism rejects all of this and is still watching for the Messiah.

Furthermore, Christianity and Judaism are monotheistic religions; they believe in one God and further that God is the universe’s creator. However, there is also a difference in belief between both religions in this respect: Judaism believes in strictly one God only. In contrast, a central tenet of Christianity is the belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, which sees God as three persons in one substance. According to Patridge (2018), God’s Christian concept had to recognize a fundamental ‘three-ness’ or ‘Trinity’ in the nature of God as one being who exists in three persons, known as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Part VII, 36). Conversely, the concept of Trinity is rejected by Judaism, as it is incompatible with Jewish theology.

Reference

Partridge, C. (2018). A short introduction to world religions. Fortress Press.

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Question Two

“What are some important commonalities between Christianity and Judaism?”

Both Christianity and Judaism are considered to possess a close relationship, and it is often believed that the religion of Christianity evolved from the religion of Judaism. As compared to the other religions, Judaism and Christianity religions are typically considered to possess various elements that make them similar. 

The first commonality is that both Judaism and Christianity are considered Abrahamic religions.  Abrahamic religion is considered the Semitic origin’s religious communities, and they descended from Judaism of the earliest Israelites. In Christianity, Abraham is considered the father of all nations while in Judaism; he is considered the initiator/ founding father of the covenant. Thus both religions are considered to be universal religions (Vitkovic n.d.).

The other commonality between these two religions is that Christianity and Judaism wholeheartedly accept the Old Testament of the bible. However, Judaism does not accept the New Testament of the bible. The religion of Christianity accepts both as the word of God.

Worship is another commonality between Christianity and Judaism. Both the Christians and the Jews usually carry out worship, and they usually pray to the one and only God who is the creator of heavens and earth, who reveals his words to man, and who answers their prayers (White,2017). Both the Christians and the Jews make positive affirmations of the world as God’s actions and as the place where its residents have to act in a certain acceptable standard. Both the Jews and the Christians also believe that there are a future life and life after death and resurrection.

Both Judaism and Christianity possess physical places where they worship God. In Christianity, it is referred to as a Church, while in Judaism, it is referred to as synagogues. As such, both religions have their religious leaders; in Christianity, they are referred to as Pope, Priests, and Bishops, while in Judaism, the leaders are referred to as rabbis.

Conclusively, both Christianity and Judaism share a lot in common, mostly related to their acceptance of the Old Testament.

References

Vitkovic, S. (n.d.). The Similarities and Differences Between Abrahamic Religions. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327314597_THE_SIMILARITIES_AND_DIFFERENCES_BETWEEN_ABRAHAMIC_RELIGIONS

White, J. (2017). Jewish Culture in the Christian World. Retrieved from https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1194&context=hist_etds

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