Christianity and Judaism
Part of a series on |
Christianity |
---|
Part of a series on |
Judaism |
---|
Christianity
The relative importance of belief and practice constitute an important area of difference. Most forms of
Jewish self-identification
This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (June 2018) |
Judaism's purpose is to carry out what it holds to be the
Since the adoption of the
According to
But some scholars, like
Sacred texts
The
Rabbinic tradition asserts that God revealed two Torahs to Moses, one that was written down, and one that was transmitted orally. Whereas the written Torah has a fixed form, the
Since the transcription of the Talmud, notable rabbis have compiled law codes that are generally held in high regard: the
All contemporary Jewish movements consider the Tanakh, and the Oral Torah in the form of the Mishnah and Talmuds as sacred, although movements are divided as to claims concerning their divine revelation, and also their authority. For Jews, the Torah—written and oral—is the primary guide to the relationship between God and man, a living document that has unfolded and will continue to unfold whole new insights over the generations and millennia. A saying that captures this goes, "Turn it [the Torah's words] over and over again, for everything is in it."
Christians accept the Written Torah and other books of the
- Isaiah 7:14 – "virgin" instead of "young woman"
- Psalm 22:16 – "they have pierced my hands and feet" instead of "like a lion, (they are at) my hands and feet"
Instead of the traditional Jewish order and names for the books, Christians organize and name the books closer to that found in the Septuagint. Some Christian denominations (such as Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox), include a number of books that are not in the Hebrew Bible (the
Covenant theology
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2018) |
Christians believe that God has established a New Covenant with people through Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles, and other books collectively called the New Testament (the word testament attributed to
Christians refer to the biblical books about Jesus as the New Testament, and to the canon of Hebrew books as the
Law
Many Jews view Christians as having quite an ambivalent view of the Torah, or Mosaic law: on one hand Christians speak of it as God's absolute word, but on the other, they apply its commandments with a certain selectivity. Some Jews[who?] contend that Christians cite commandments from the Old Testament to support one point of view but then ignore other commandments of a similar class and of equal weight. Examples of this are certain commandments that God states explicitly be a "lasting covenant."[29] Some translate the Hebrew as a "perpetual covenant."[30]
Christians explain that such selectivity is based on rulings made by early Jewish Christians in the
Some Christians[
A minority view in Christianity, known as
Concepts of God
Traditionally, both Judaism and Christianity believe in the God of
Both religions agree that God shares both transcendent and immanent qualities. How these religions resolve this issue is where the religions differ. Christianity posits that God exists as a
Shituf
A minority Jewish view, which appears in some[
Right action
Faith versus good deeds
Judaism teaches that the purpose of the Torah is to teach us how to act correctly. God's existence is a given in Judaism, and not something that most authorities see as a matter of required belief. Although some authorities[
Thus fundamentally in Judaism, one is enjoined to bring holiness into life (with the guidance of God's laws), rather than removing oneself from life to be holy.
Much of Christianity also teaches that God wants people to perform
Sin
In both religions, offenses against the will of God are called sin. These sins can be thoughts, words, or deeds.
Catholicism categorizes sins into various groups. A wounding of the relationship with God is often called venial sin; a complete rupture of the relationship with God is often called mortal sin. Without salvation from sin (see below), a person's separation from God is permanent, causing such a person to enter Hell in the afterlife. Both the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church define sin more or less as a "macula", a spiritual stain or uncleanliness that constitutes damage to man's image and likeness of God.
Hebrew has several words for sin, each with its own specific meaning. The word pesha, or "trespass", means a sin done out of rebelliousness. The word aveira means "transgression". And the word avone, or "iniquity", means a sin done out of moral failing. The word most commonly translated simply as "sin", het, literally means "to go astray". Just as Jewish law, halakha provides the proper "way" (or path) to live, sin involves straying from that path. Judaism teaches that humans are born with
The rabbis recognize a positive value to the yetzer hara: one tradition identifies it with the observation on the last day of creation that God's accomplishment was "very good" (God's work on the preceding days was just described as "good") and explain that without the yetzer ha'ra there would be no marriage, children, commerce or other fruits of human labor; the implication is that yetzer ha'tov and yetzer ha'ra are best understood not as moral categories of good and evil but as selfless versus selfish orientations, either of which used rightly can serve God's will.
In contrast to the Jewish view of being morally balanced,
Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and some Protestants[
Love
The Hebrew word for "love", ahavah (אהבה), is used to describe intimate or romantic feelings or relationships, such as the love between parent and child in Genesis 22:2; 25: 28; 37:3; the love between close friends in I Samuel 18:2, 20:17; or the love between a young man and young woman in Song of Songs. Christians will often use the Greek of the Septuagint to make distinctions between the types of love: philia for brotherly, eros for romantic and agape for self-sacrificing love.[39]
Like many Jewish scholars and theologians, literary critic Harold Bloom understands Judaism as fundamentally a religion of love. But he argues that one can understand the Hebrew conception of love only by looking at one of the core commandments of Judaism, Leviticus 19:18, "Love your neighbor as yourself", also called the second Great Commandment. Talmudic sages Hillel and Rabbi Akiva commented that this is a major element of the Jewish religion. Also, this commandment is arguably at the center of the Jewish faith. As the third book of the Torah, Leviticus is literally the central book. Historically, Jews have considered it of central importance: traditionally, children began their study of the Torah with Leviticus, and the midrashic literature on Leviticus is among the longest and most detailed of midrashic literature.[40] Bernard Jacob Bamberger considers Leviticus 19, beginning with God's commandment in verse 3—"You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy"—to be "the climactic chapter of the book, the one most often read and quoted" (1981:889). Leviticus 19:18 is itself the climax of this chapter.
Abortion
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2021) |
The only statements in the Tanakh about the status of a fetus state that killing an unborn infant does not have the same status as killing a born human being, and mandates a much lesser penalty.[41][42] (although this interpretation is disputed,[according to whom?] the passage could refer to an injury to a woman that causes a premature, live birth).[citation needed]
The Talmud states that the fetus is not yet a full human being until it has been born (either the head or the body is mostly outside of the woman), therefore killing a fetus is not murder, and abortion—in restricted circumstances—has always been legal under Jewish law. Rashi, the great 12th century commentator on the Bible and Talmud, states clearly of the fetus lav nefesh hu: "it is not a person". The Talmud contains the expression ubar yerech imo—the fetus is as the thigh of its mother,' i.e., the fetus is deemed to be part and parcel of the pregnant woman's body." The Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 69b states that: "the embryo is considered to be mere water until the fortieth day." Afterwards, it is considered subhuman until it is born. Christians who agree with these views may refer to this idea as abortion before the quickening of the fetus.
Judaism unilaterally supports, in fact mandates, abortion if doctors believe that it is necessary to save the life of the woman. Many rabbinic authorities allow abortions on the grounds of gross genetic imperfections of the fetus. They also allow abortion if the woman were suicidal because of such defects. However, Judaism holds that abortion is impermissible for family planning or convenience reasons. Each case must be decided individually, however, and the decision should lie with the pregnant woman, the man who impregnated her, and their Rabbi.
War, violence and pacifism
Jews and Christians accept as valid and binding many of the same moral principles taught in the Torah. There is a great deal of overlap between the ethical systems of these two faiths. Nonetheless, there are some highly significant doctrinal differences.
Judaism has many teachings about peace and compromise, and its teachings make physical violence the last possible option. Nonetheless, the Talmud teaches that "If someone comes with the intention to murder you, then one is obligated to kill in self-defense [rather than be killed]". The clear implication is that to bare one's throat would be tantamount to suicide (which Jewish law forbids) and it would also be considered helping a murderer kill someone and thus would "place an obstacle in front of a blind man" (i.e., makes it easier for another person to falter in their ways). The tension between the laws dealing with peace, and the obligation to self-defense, has led to a set of Jewish teachings that have been described as tactical-pacifism. This is the avoidance of force and violence whenever possible, but the use of force when necessary to save the lives of one's self and one's people.
Although killing oneself is forbidden under normal Jewish law as being a denial of God's goodness in the world, under extreme circumstances when there has seemed no choice but to either be killed or forced to betray their religion, Jews have committed suicide or mass suicide (see Masada, First French persecution of the Jews, and York Castle for examples). As a grim reminder of those times, there is even a prayer in the Jewish liturgy for "when the knife is at the throat", for those dying "to sanctify God's Name".[43] These acts have received mixed responses by Jewish authorities. Where some Jews regard them as examples of heroic martyrdom, but others saying that while Jews should always be willing to face martyrdom if necessary, it was wrong for them to take their own lives.[44]
Because Judaism focuses on this life, many questions to do with survival and conflict (such as the classic moral dilemma of two people in a desert with only enough water for one to survive) were analysed in great depth by the rabbis within the Talmud, in the attempt to understand the principles a godly person should draw upon in such a circumstance.
The Sermon on the Mount records that Jesus taught that if someone comes to harm you, then one must
Capital punishment
Although the
Christianity usually reserved the death penalty for
Taboo food and drink
Orthodox Jews, unlike most Christians, still practice a restrictive diet that has many rules. Most Christians believe that the kosher food laws have been superseded, for example, they cite what Jesus taught in Mark 7: what you eat doesn't make you unclean but what comes out of a man's heart makes him unclean—although Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy have their own set of dietary observances. Eastern Orthodoxy, in particular has very elaborate and strict rules of fasting, and continues to observe the Council of Jerusalem's apostolic decree of Act 15.[45]
Some Christian denominations observe some biblical food laws, for example, the practice of Ital in Rastafari. Jehovah's Witnesses do not eat blood products and are known for their refusal to accept blood transfusions based on not "eating blood".
Salvation
Judaism does not see human beings as inherently flawed or sinful and needful of being saved from it, but rather capable with a free will of being righteous, and unlike Christianity does not closely associate ideas of "salvation" with a New Covenant delivered by a Jewish messiah, although in Judaism Jewish people will have a renewed national commitment of observing God's commandments under the New Covenant, and the
Judaism holds instead that proper living is accomplished through good works and heartfelt prayer, as well as a strong faith in God. Judaism also teaches that gentiles can receive a share in "
The Protestant view is that every human is a sinner, and being saved by God's grace, not simply by the merit of one's own actions, pardons a damnatory sentence to Hell.[47]
Forgiveness
In Judaism, one must go to those he has harmed to be entitled to forgiveness. This means that in Judaism a person cannot obtain forgiveness from God for wrongs the person has done to other people. This also means that, unless the victim forgave the perpetrator before he died, murder is unforgivable in Judaism, and they will answer to God for it, though the victims' family and friends can forgive the murderer for the grief they caused them.
Thus the "reward" for forgiving others is not God's forgiveness for wrongs done to others, but rather help in obtaining forgiveness from the other person.
Sir
Judgment
Both Christianity and Judaism believe in some form of judgment. Most Christians (the exception is
In Jewish liturgy there is significant prayer and talk of a "book of life" that one is written into, indicating that God judges each person each year even after death. This annual judgment process begins on Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur. Additionally, God sits daily in judgment concerning a person's daily activities. Upon the anticipated arrival of the Messiah, God will judge the nations for their persecution of Israel during the exile. Later, God will also judge the Jews over their observance of the Torah.
Heaven and Hell
There is little Jewish literature on heaven or hell as actual places, and there are few references to the afterlife in the Hebrew Bible. One is the ghostly apparition of Samuel, called up by the
Early Hebrew views were more concerned with the fate of the nation of Israel as a whole, rather than with individual immortality.[50] A stronger belief in an afterlife for each person developed during the Second Temple period but was contested by various Jewish sects. Pharisees believed that in death, people rest in their graves until they are physically resurrected with the coming of the Messiah, and within that resurrected body the soul would exist eternally.[51] Maimonides also included the concept of resurrection in his Thirteen Principles of Faith.
Judaism's view is summed up by a biblical observation about the Torah: in the beginning God clothes the naked (Adam), and at the end God buries the dead (Moses). The Children of Israel mourned for 40 days, then got on with their lives.
In Judaism,
Catholics also believe in a
In Christianity, promises of Heaven and Hell as rewards and punishments are often used to motivate good and bad behavior, as threats of disaster were used by prophets like Jeremiah to motivate the Israelites. Modern Judaism generally rejects this form of motivation, instead teaching to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. As Maimonides wrote:
"A man should not say: I shall carry out the precepts of the Torah and study her wisdom in order to receive all the blessings written therein or in order to merit the life of the World to Come and I shall keep away from the sins forbidden by the Torah in order to be spared the curses mentioned in the Torah or in order not to be cut off from the life of the World to Come. It is not proper to serve God in this fashion. For one who serves thus serves out of fear. Such a way is not that of the prophets and sages. Only the ignorant, and the women and children serve God in this way. These are trained to serve out of fear until they obtain sufficient knowledge to serve out of love. One who serves God out of love studies the Torah and practices the precepts and walks in the way of wisdom for no ulterior motive at all, neither out of fear of evil nor in order to acquire the good, but follows the truth because it is true and the good will follow the merit of attaining to it. It is the stage of Abraham our father whom the Holy One, blessed be God, called "My friend" (Isaiah 41:8 – ohavi = the one who loves me) because he served out of love alone. It is regarding this stage that the Holy One, Blessed be God, commanded us through Moses, as it is said: "You shall love the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 6:5). When man loves God with a love that is fitting he automatically carries out all the precepts of love.
(Maimonides Yad Chapter 10, quoted in Jacobs 1973: 159)
The Messiah
Jews believe that a descendant of
- All of the people Israel will come back to Torah; The people of Israel will be gathered back to the land of Israel; The Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt; Israel will live among the nations as an equal, and will be strong enough to defend herself; Eventually, war, hatred and famine will end, and an era of peace and prosperity will come upon the Earth.
He adds:
- "And if a king shall stand up from among the House of David, studying Torah and indulging in commandments like his father David, according to the written and oral Torah, and he will coerce all Israel to follow it and to strengthen its weak points, and will fight The Lord's wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. If he succeeded [and won all nations surrounding him. Old prints and mss.] and built a Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the strayed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together ... But if he did not succeed until now, or if he was killed, it becomes known that he is not this one of whom the Torah had promised us, and he is indeed like all [other] proper and wholesome kings of the House of David who died."
He also clarified the nature of the Messiah:
- "Do not imagine that the anointed King must perform miracles and signs and create new things in the world or resurrect the dead and so on. The matter is not so: For Rabbi Akiba was a great scholar of the sages of the Mishnah, and he was the assistant-warrior of the king Ben Coziba Simon bar Kokhba... He and all the Sages of his generation deemed him the anointed king, until he was killed by sins; only since he was killed, they knew that he was not. The Sages asked him neither a miracle nor a sign..."
The Christian view of Jesus as Messiah goes beyond such claims and is the fulfillment and union of three anointed offices; a prophet like Moses who delivers God's commands and covenant and frees people from bondage, a High Priest in the order of
For Christians, Jesus is also
Christian readings of the Hebrew Bible find many references to Jesus. This can take the form of specific prophesy, and in other cases of foreshadowing by types or forerunners. Traditionally, most Christian readings of the Bible maintained that almost every prophecy was actually about the coming of Jesus, and that the entire Old Testament of the Bible is a prophecy about the coming of Jesus.
Catholic views
Catholicism teaches
Pope John Paul II on 2 October 2000 emphasized that this document did not say that non-Christians were actively denied salvation: "...this confession does not deny salvation to non-Christians, but points to its ultimate source in Christ, in whom man and God are united". On 6 December the Pope issued a statement to further emphasize that the Church continued to support its traditional stance that salvation was available to believers of other faiths: "The gospel teaches us that those who live in accordance with the Beatitudes—the poor in spirit, the pure of heart, those who bear lovingly the sufferings of life—will enter God's kingdom." He further added, "All who seek God with a sincere heart, including those who do not know Christ and his church, contribute under the influence of Grace to the building of this Kingdom." On 13 August 2002 American Catholic bishops issued a joint statement with leaders of Reform and Conservative Judaism, called "Reflections on Covenant and Mission", which affirmed that Christians should not target Jews for conversion. The document stated: "Jews already dwell in a saving covenant with God" and "Jews are also called by God to prepare the world for God's Kingdom." However, many Christian denominations still believe it is their duty to reach out to "unbelieving" Jews.
In December 2015, the Vatican released a 10,000-word document that, among other things, stated that Jews do not need to be converted to find salvation, and that Catholics should work with Jews to fight antisemitism.[53][54][55]
Eastern Orthodox views
Eastern Orthodox Christianity emphasizes a continuing life of repentance or metanoia, which includes an increasing improvement in thought, belief and action. Regarding the salvation of Jews, Muslims, and other non-Christians, the Orthodox have traditionally taught that there is no salvation outside the church. Orthodoxy recognizes that other religions may contain truth, to the extent that they are in agreement with Christianity.
God is thought to be good, just, and merciful; it would not seem just to condemn someone because they never heard the Gospel message, or were taught a distorted version of the Gospel by heretics. Therefore, the reasoning goes, they must at some point have an opportunity to make a genuine informed decision.[citation needed] Ultimately, those who persist in rejecting God condemn themselves, by cutting themselves off from the ultimate source of all Life, and from the God who is Love embodied. Jews, Muslims, and members of other faiths, then, are expected to convert to Christianity in the afterlife.
Proselytizing
Judaism is not a
In the past, scholars understood Judaism to have an evangelistic drive,[56] but today's scholars are inclined to the view that it was often more akin just to "greater openness to converts" rather than active soliciting of conversions. Since Jews believe that one need not be a Jew to approach God, there is no religious pressure to convert non-Jews to their faith. Indeed, Scholars have revisited the traditional claims about Jewish proselytizing and have brought forward a variety of new insights. McKnight and Goodman have argued persuasively that a distinction ought to be made between the passive reception of converts or interested Pagans, and an active desire or intent to convert the non-Jewish world to Judaism.[57]
The
By contrast, Christianity is an explicitly evangelistic religion. Christians are commanded by Jesus to "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations". Historically, evangelism has on rare occasions led to forced conversion under threat of death or mass expulsion.
Mutual views
Common Jewish views of Christianity
Many Jews view Jesus as one in a long list of failed
Judaism does not believe that God requires the sacrifice of any human. This is emphasized in Jewish traditions concerning the story of the
Judaism views the worship of Jesus as inherently polytheistic, and rejects the Christian attempts to explain the Trinity as a complex monotheism.[62] Christian festivals have no religious significance in Judaism and are not celebrated, but some secular Jews in the West treat Christmas as a secular holiday.
Common Christian views of Judaism
Christians believe that Christianity is the fulfillment and successor of Judaism, retaining much of its doctrine and many of its practices including
Some Christians[
Some Christians[
Messianic Judaism
Jewish Christians
Some scholars have found evidence of continuous interactions between Jewish-Christian and rabbinic movements from the mid- to late second century CE to the fourth century CE. Of particular importance is the figure of James the brother of Jesus, the leader of the Christian Church in Jerusalem until he was killed in the year 62, who was known for his righteous behavior as a Jew, and set the terms of the relationship between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians in dialogue with Paul. To him is attributed a letter which emphasizes the view that faith must be expressed in works. The neglect of this mediating figure has often damaged Christian-Jewish relations. Modern scholarship is engaged in an ongoing debate over which term should be used as the proper designation for Jesus' first followers. Many scholars believe that the term Jewish Christians is anachronistic given the fact that there is no consensus on the date of the birth of Christianity. The very concepts of Christianity and Judaism can be seen as essentializing, since these are changing and plural traditions. Clearly, the first Christians would not have believed that they were exchanging one religion for another, because they believed that the resurrection of Jesus was the fulfillment of Jewish prophecies, and they believed that the mission to the gentiles which was initiated by Saul (Paul of Tarsus) was a secondary activity. Some modern scholars have suggested that the designations "Jewish believers in Jesus" and "Jewish followers of Jesus" better reflect the original context.
Inter-faith relationship
In addition to Christianity and Judaism's varying views on each other as religions, there has also been a long and often painful
Since the
We decree that no Christian shall use violence to force them to be baptized, so long as they are unwilling and refuse. ... Without the judgment of the political authority of the land, no Christian shall presume to wound them or kill them or rob them of their money or change the good customs that they have thus far enjoyed in the place where they live."[75]
Persecution,
There have also been non-coercive outreach and missionary efforts such as the Church of England's Ministry Among Jewish People, founded in 1809.
For Martin Buber, Judaism and Christianity were variations on the same theme of messianism. Buber made this theme the basis of a famous definition of the tension between Judaism and Christianity:
Pre-messianically, our destinies are divided. Now to the Christian, the Jew is the incomprehensibly obdurate man who declines to see what has happened; and to the Jew, the Christian is the incomprehensibly daring man who affirms in an unredeemed world that its redemption has been accomplished. This is a gulf which no human power can bridge.[78]
The Nazi Party was known for its persecution of Christian Churches; many of them, such as the Protestant Confessing Church and the Catholic Church,[79] as well as Quakers and Jehovah's Witnesses, aided and rescued Jews who were being targeted by the régime.[80]
Following the
Pope
Orthodox Rabbinic Statement on Christianity
In 2012, the book
On 3 December 2015, the
Between Jerusalem and Rome
On 31 August 2017, representatives of the
See also
- Anabaptist–Jewish relations
- Antisemitism in Christianity
- Christianity and other religions
- Christian–Jewish reconciliation
- Christian Zionism
- Jesus in Christianity
- Roman Catholicism and Judaism
- Judaism and Mormonism
- Protestantism and Judaism
Notes
- ^ a b Hebrews 8:6
- ISBN 978-81-89093-26-6.
- ISBN 978-1-58297-356-2.
- ISBN 978-0-664-25511-4.
- ISBN 978-0-88344-197-8.
- ISBN 978-1-57910812-0), p. 67
- ^ "Mission among Other Faiths: An Orthodox Perspective". Archived from the original on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- Immanuel Jakobovitsin the Forward to, Schimmel, H. Chaim, The Oral Law: A study of the rabbinic contribution to Torah she-be-al-peh, 2nd rev.ed., Feldheim Publishers, New York, 1996
- ^ Jacobs, Louis, God, in Arthur A. Cohen, Paul Mendes-Flohr, 20th Century Jewish Religious Thought: Original Essays on Critical Concepts, Jewish Publication Society, 2009, p. 394 cited in Elie Munk. The World of Prayer 1 (1961), p. 182.
- ^ Scherman Nosson & Zlotowitz, Meir, eds., TANACH: The Torah, Prophets, Writings, The Twenty-Four Books of the Bible Newly Translated and Annotated, Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, 1996, p. 963
- ^ Jacobs, Louis, God, in Arthur A. Cohen, Paul Mendes-Flohr, 20th Century Jewish Religious Thought: Original Essays on Critical Concepts, Jewish Publication Society, 2009, p. 394
- ^ Isa 42:6
- ISBN 1-4051-0899-1. p. 174: "In effect, they [Jewish Christians] seemed to regard Christianity as an affirmation of every aspect of contemporary Judaism, with the addition of one extra belief—that Jesus is the Messiah. Unless males were circumcised, they could not be savedActs 15:1.";see also Paleo-orthodoxy
- ^ Beale, Gregory K., Other Religions in New Testament Theology, in David Weston Baker, ed., Biblical faith and other religions: an evangelical assessment, Kregel Academic, 2004, p. 85
- ^ McKeehan, James, An Overview of the Old Testament and How It Relates to the New Testament, iUniverse, 2002, p. 265
- ^ Philippe Bobichon, "L'enseignement juif, païen, hérétique et chrétien dans l'œuvre de Justin Martyr", Revue des Études Augustiniennes 45/2 (1999), pp. 233-259 online
- ^ Romans 3:23
- ^ John 1:1, John 1:14, John 1:29
- ^ John 5:24
- ^ John 3:16
- Antithesis of the Law
- BYU Studies45:2 (May 2006).
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Twigg 2012
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Turner, John G. (8 January 2015). "Why Mormons Love Margaret Barker". Anxious Bench. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Schäfer, Peter (2020). Two Gods in Heaven: Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity. Princeton University Press. pp. 143, n. 17.
- Halakah was at this period just becoming crystallized, and that much variation existed as to its definite form; the disputes of the Bet Hillel and Bet Shammaiwere occurring about the time of his maturity."
- ^ "Sermon on the Mount." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- KJV) translation. This usage reflects the Vulgate, in which the word "covenant" was translated testamentum. Biblical scholars, such as O. Palmer Robertson, have argued against this translation, however, since the word testamentum, in Latin, expresses the concept of a "last will", not an agreement between two parties sealed with a self-maledictory oath. See also Theopedia: "Covenant" and Jewish Encyclopedia: "Covenant: The Old and the New Covenant".
- NIV Exodus 31:16–17
- ^ Exodus 31:16–17
- ^ Acts 15:28–29, Acts 21:25
- laws of Moses and the Sabbath.
- ^ Matthew 5:19
- ^
- Orthodox
- Simmons, Shraga (9 May 2009). "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus". Aish HaTorah. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because: #Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies. #Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah. #Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations. #Jewish belief is based on national revelation.
- Conservative
- Waxman, Jonathan (2006). "Messianic Jews Are Not Jews". United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Archived from the original on 28 June 2006. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
Hebrew Christian, Jewish Christian, Jew for Jesus, Messianic Jew, Fulfilled Jew. The name may have changed over the course of time, but all of the names reflect the same phenomenon: one who asserts that s/he is straddling the theological fence between Christianity and Judaism, but in truth is firmly on the Christian side.…we must affirm as did the Israeli Supreme Court in the well-known Brother Daniel case that to adopt Christianity is to have crossed the line out of the Jewish community.
- Reform
- "Missionary Impossible". Hebrew Union College. 9 August 1999. Archived from the originalon 28 September 2006. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
Missionary Impossible, an imaginative video and curriculum guide for teachers, educators, and rabbis to teach Jewish youth how to recognize and respond to "Jews-for-Jesus", "Messianic Jews", and other Christian proselytizers, has been produced by six rabbinic students at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Cincinnati School. The students created the video as a tool for teaching why Jewish college and high school youth and Jews in intermarried couples are primary targets of Christian missionaries.
- Reconstructionist/Renewal
- "FAQ's About Jewish Renewal". Aleph.org. 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
What is ALEPH's position on so called messianic Judaism? ALEPH has a policy of respect for other spiritual traditions, but objects to deceptive practices and will not collaborate with denominations which actively target Jews for recruitment. Our position on so-called "Messianic Judaism" is that it is Christianity and its proponents would be more honest to call it that.
- ^ Berman, Daphna (10 June 2006). "Aliyah with a cat, a dog and Jesus". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
In rejecting their petition, Supreme Court Justice Menachem Elon cited their belief in Jesus. 'In the last two thousand years of history...the Jewish people have decided that messianic Jews do not belong to the Jewish nation...and have no right to force themselves on it,' he wrote, concluding that 'those who believe in Jesus, are, in fact Christians.'
- ^
- LCCN 2003273342.
Thirdly, there is Jews for Jesus or, more generally, Messianic Judaism. This is a movement of people often of Jewish background who have come to believe Jesus is the expected Jewish messiah....They often have congregations independent of other churches and specifically target Jews for conversion to their form of Christianity.
- Kessler, Edward (2005). "Messianic Jews". In Edward Kessler; Neil Wenborn (eds.). A dictionary of Jewish-Christian relations. OCLC 60340826.
Messianic Judaism is proactive in seeking Jewish converts and is condemned by the vast majority of the Jewish community. Although a Jewish convert to Christianity may still be categorised a Jew according to a strict interpretation of the halakhah (Jewish law), most Jews are adamantly opposed to the idea that one can convert to Christianity and still remoan a Jew or be considered part of Jewish life. From a mainstream Christian perspective Messianic Judaisms can also provoke hostility for misrepresenting Christianity.
- OCLC 45729039.
And while many evangelical Churches are openly supportive of Messianic Judaism, they treat it as an ethnic church squarely within evangelical Christianity, rather than as a separate entity.
- Stetzer, Ed (13 October 2005). "A Missional Church" Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Christian Index. "Missional churches are indigenous. Churches that are indigenous have taken root in the soil and reflect, to some degree, the culture of their community... The messianic congregation (is)... in this case indigenous to Jewish culture."
- ^ Psalm 119:152, Psalm 119:160; Exodus 12:24, Exodus 29:9; Leviticus 16:29
- ^ Nehemiah 9:13; Psalm 119:39; Romans 7:7–12
- ^ "James K.A. Smith" (PDF). Calvin College.[permanent dead link]
- ^ See Bamberger 1981: 737
- ^ Exodus 21: 22–25
- ^ Daniel Schiff, 2002, Abortion in Judaism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 9–11
- Martyrdom
- ^ "Judaism and Euthanasia". Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
- Contra Faustum, where he states that the Apostles had given this command to unite the heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed by few. But still, as late as the eighth century, Pope Gregory the Third (731) forbade the eating of blood or things strangled under threat of a penance of forty days. No one will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed Ecumenical Synods, can be of greater and more unchanging force than the decree of that first council, held by the Holy Apostles at Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even Ecumenical canons may be of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuse, like other laws."
- ^ "JfJ Messiah : The Criteria". Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1446. The Vatican.
- ^ "Covenant and Conversation" (PDF). 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
- ^ Daniel 12:2
- ^ "RESURRECTION - JewishEncyclopedia.com". jewishencyclopedia.com.
- ^ "PHARISEES - JewishEncyclopedia.com". jewishencyclopedia.com.
- ^ Book of Revelation 20–22
- ^ a b "Catholics Should Not Try To Convert Jews, Vatican Commission Says". NPR. 10 December 2015.
- ^ a b Philip Pullella (10 December 2015). "Vatican says Catholics should not try to convert Jews, should fight anti-semitism". Reuters.
- ^ a b "News from the Vatican - News about the Church - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va.
- ISBN 0-674-39731-2, p. 288: "Explicit evidence of a systematic attempt to propagate the Jewish faith in the city of Rome is found as early as 139 BCE. With the increase of the Jewish population of Rome, the Jews intensified their efforts to make converts among the Romans. Although the activity of Jewish missionaries in Roman society caused Tiberius to expel them from that city in 1 9 CE, they soon returned, and Jewish religious propaganda was resumed and maintained even after the destruction of the Temple. Tacitus mentions it regretfully (Histories 5.5), and Juvenal, in his Fourteenth Satire (11. 96ff.), describes how Roman families 'degenerated' into Judaism: the fathers permitted themselves to adopt some of its customs and the sons became Jews in every respect. ... the Bible provided the apostles of Judaism with a literature unparalleled in any other religion."
- ^ Martin Goodman (The Jews among Pagans and Christians: In the Roman Empire, 1992, 53, 55, 70–71), McKnight, Scot (A Light Among the Gentiles: Jewish Missionary Activity in the Second Temple Period 1991).
- ^ "The Seven Laws of Noah and the Non-Jews who Follow Them ". Archived from the original on 28 November 2007.
- ^ [1] Archived 31 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, 102nd Congress of the United States of America, 5 March 1991.
- ^ M. Steinberg, 1975 Basic Judaism p. 108, New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich
- ^ Spiegel, 1993
- ^ "Trinity > Judaic and Islamic Objections (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)". plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Hebrews 7:11–28 – New International Version". Bible Gateway.
- ^ Pettigrew, LD. "THE NEW COVENANT AND NEW COVENANT THEOLOGY" (PDF). The Master's Seminary. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "FOR SOME BELIEVERS TRYING TO CONNECT WITH JESUS, THE ANSWER IS TO LIVE LIKE A JEW". Tablet. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ ISBN 979-8-65-292851-3.
- ^ "Romans 11:2 God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel". biblehub.com.
- ^ Acts 7:38
- ^ Eph. 2:12
- ^ Rom. 11:26
- ^ Eph. 2:15
- ^ see Ezekiel Ch. 37
- ISBN 978-1513616483.
- ^ Schneiders, Sandra M. (1988). Living Word or Dead(ly) Letter in Crowley Paul ed. (Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America 47 ). Toronto, Ontario. p. 97.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 9780521869607.
- ISBN 9004101861.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 978-1513616483.
- ^ Martin Buber, "The Two Foci of the Jewish Soul", cited in The Writings of Martin Buber, Will Herberg (editor), New York: Meridian Books, 1956, p. 276.
- ISBN 978-0-434-29276-9; p. 57
- ISBN 9780761317173. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
Some groups that are known to have helped Jews were religious in nature. One of these was the Confessing Church, a Protestant denomination formed in May 1934, the year after Hitler became chancellor of Germany. One of its goals was to repeal the Nazi law "which required that the civil service would be purged of all those who were either Jewish or of partly Jewish descent." Another was to help those "who suffered through repressive laws, or violence." About 7,000 of the 17,000 Protestant clergy in Germany joined the Confessing Church. Much of their work has one unrecognized, but two who will never forget them are Max Krakauer and his wife. Sheltered in sixty-six houses and helped by more than eighty individuals who belonged to the Confessing Church, they owe them their lives. German Catholic churches went out of their way to protect Catholics of Jewish ancestry. More inclusive was the principled stand taken by Catholic Bishop Clemens Count von Galen of Munster. He publicly denounced the Nazi slaughter of Jews and actually succeeded in having the problem halted for a short time. ... Members of the Society of Friends—German Quakers working with organizations of Friends from other countries—were particularly successful in rescuing Jews. ... Jehovah's Witnesses, themselves targeted for concentration camps, also provided help to Jews.
- ^ "Home". Iccj.org. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 9780719026393. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Richard Allen Greene (5 April 2012). "Jews reclaim Jesus as one of their own". CNN. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- Christian Post.
- ^ Berkowitz, Adam Eliyahu (7 December 2015). "Groundbreaking Petition Signed by Leading Rabbis Calls for Increased Partnership Between Jews and Christians". Breaking Israel News. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- The Jewish Week. Archived from the originalon 20 June 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ Smith, Peter (11 December 2015). "Vatican, Orthodox rabbis issue interfaith statements affirming each other's faith". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ Yanklowitz, Rabbi Shmuly (3 February 2016). "Towards Jewish-Christian Reconciliation & Partnership". HuffPost.
- ^ Minkov, Vladimir (7 February 2016). "Mutual Judeo-Christian spiritual foundation of Judaism and Christianity". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Orthodox Rabbis issue groundbreaking statement on Christianity". Vatican Radio. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Orthodox Rabbinic Statement on Christianity – To Do the Will of Our Father in Heaven – Toward a Partnership between Jews and Christians". CJCUC. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Delegation of Rabbis for the Presenration of the Statement "Between Jerusalem and Rome"". The Vatican. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ^ "Between Jerusalem and Rome – כלל ופרט בין ירושלים לרומי". Jewish-Christian Relations. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
Further reading
- Bamberger, Bernard (1981). "Commentary to Leviticus" in The Torah: A Modern Commentary, edited by W. Gunther Plaut, New York: ISBN 0-8074-0055-6
- Bloom, Harold (2005). Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine, Riverhead. ISBN 1-57322-322-0
- Herberg, Will (1951). Judaism and Modern Man: An Interpretation of Jewish religion, Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 0-689-70232-9
- Jacobs, Louis (1973). A Jewish Theology, Behrman House. ISBN 0-87441-226-9
- Rosenzweig, Franz (2005). The Star of Redemption, ISBN 0-299-20724-2
- Rouvière, Jean-Marc (2006). Brèves méditations sur la création du monde, L'Harmattan Paris.
- Spiegel, Shalom (1993). The Last Trial: On the Legends and Lore of the Command to Abraham to Offer Isaac As a Sacrifice: The Akedah, Jewish Lights Publishing; Reprint edition. ISBN 1-879045-29-X
- Welker, Carmen (2007). Should Christians be Torah Observant?, Netzari Press. ISBN 978-1-934916-00-1
- Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2006). "'ISBN 90-272-2710-1
External links
- Roman Catholic Church's views on other faiths Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Jewish Studies for Christians Online Study Group by Dr. Eli Archived 9 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Christianity in its Relation to Judaism
- Jewish Encyclopedia: New Testament: For and Against the Law
- A Rival, a Relative, or Both? Differing Christian Stances Toward Judaism Over Two Millennia by Dr. Graham Keith (Middle East Resources)
- The Pontifical Biblical Commission: The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible