A Comparison of
Judaism and
Christianity
Judaism and
Christianity
by Bryan Ellison (link)
Judaism is G-d-centered, selfless
Christianity is Man-centered, selfish
Bible (5 books of Moses) written by G-d, with Moses as secretary
New Testament written by man
G-d creates man in His image; thus man has a soul and free will
Man creates G-d in his image; thus Jesus is declared to be a deity
Bible (Hebrew Scriptures) quotes G-d directly, in His own words, over 3800 times
New Testament never quotes G-d a single time, other than quotes from the "Old Testament"
Man's purpose is to serve G-d through His Law—the commandments
G-d's purpose is to serve man by providing salvation—for free
G-d's commandments are binding obligations
G-d's Law is a nice idea, but it is only "fruits of the spirit," not a duty
Jews believe in the Bible because G-d said so (orally)
Christians believe in G-d because the Bible tells them to
Jews study the Bible only according to the oral tradition received from G-d
Christians interpret the Bible according to their own ideas and opinions
Jews believe in Moses because G-d gave him authority
Christians believe in Jesus because he gave himself authority
G-d controls evil, using it to punish sinners and for other purposes
The devil controls evil, using it to rebel against G-d
By doing G-d's commandments, man brings G-d closer
Christians wait until G-d brings Himself closer to man before agreeing to do any good works
Man follows G-d's commandments according to G-d's own detailed instructions, whether or not it makes sense to man
Man uses his own reasoning and interpretation to decide what are "good works" and what are not
Man transforms the world to reveal its Creator -- to bring G-d's eternal kingdom here on earth
Man leaves the world behind, escaping earth to enjoy heaven
G-d creates and runs the world to serve Him
Evil controls the world, which will ultimately be destroyed
Man has direct access to G-d through prayer and repentance; any mediator only gets in the way and blocks the relationship
Man has no access to G-d except through a man (Jesus)
Doing G-d's commandments is a privilege an opportunity that provides true freedom
G-d's law is a burden and a curse that enslaves and condemns man
G-d made eternal covenants—1 with Jews, 1 with gentiles—and He keeps His promises
G-d "changed His mind," throwing away the old covenant for a new one
2 comments:
I've read various Jewish opinions on Xianity that range from Yeshu being the reincarnation of Esav to his father being a Roman Centurion.
Though I am not sure how accurate or aligned it is to Jewish thought, recently I've read something interesting that posits the following idea, that the Anti-Roman Zealot leader Judas the Galilean from Josephus is the real-life basis behind the literary figure of the Xian messiah that the Herodians/Romans invented sometime after the first Roman-Jewish war to trick the Jewish people into into worshipping the Roman Emperor 'in disguise'.
Only a handful of wussy or disgruntled Jews went along with some miracle-worker who proclaimed himself as Messiah. Most Jews knew the law that miracles prove nothing. The main, telling feature of Moshiach is that he remains true to the holy Torah that Moses transcribed for the Jewish people.
As for theories outside of what our sages told us to be factual - who cares; Don't waste your time.
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