Why are there differences between Judaism and Christianity?

Answer 1

One answer by a Christian

There are many differences. I will try to briefly outline the most fundamental ones.

1. The Jews rejected Christ's claim that he was the Son of God. They believed His claim was blasphemous (Luke 22v70-71).
2. The Jews reject the New Testament and read only Hebrew Bible which is called the Tanach. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible contain God's guidelines for how Jews are meant to live. Paul wrote (Galatians 3v10) that anyone who wants to live under the law is under a curse. According to the N.T. we are released from the curse of the law by faith in Christ.

One answer by a Jew

Judaism was already a complex and complete religion for thousands of years before Christianity even began evolving. Christianity represents, if anything, the rejection of Judaism - as it contradicts some core Jewish tenets.

Now, this is not to imply that one faith is better than the other: it is merely to clarify how profoundly different these two religions are.

It is, of course, true that Christianity began life as a tiny fringe sect within Judaism. But the original followers of Jesus were not called 'Christians'. They called themselves followers of "The Way", "ebionim/ThePoor" and "Notzrim/HolySeparatedOnes".

Most of the Christian doctrines did not develop until Saint Paul (after Jesus' death) and much later with the Church fathers and Constantine, by which time Christianity was already an entirely non Jewish faith.

The final and irrevocable parting of the ways between the faiths came when Christians deified Jesus (formalized by Constantine in 325CE). At this point, Christianity was endorsing a belief that is blasphemy for any Jew, because in Judaism, no human can ever be 'divine' or on a par with G-d.

Judaism was already a complex and complete religion for approximately 1500 years before Christianity even began evolving see discussion page. Christianity contradicts core Jewish tenets.

Here are just some of the differences in key beliefs between Judaism and Christianity:

1. Judaism:

- says that no human can ever die or atone for the sins of others and sins can only be atoned for by animal sacrifice or prayer and restitution

Christianity:

- says that Jesus died for the sins of mankind

2. Judaism:

- says that all humans are born pure, and innocent

Christianity:

- says that all humans are born with 'original sin'.

3. Judaism:

- says that no man gets a 'second coming' and the Messiah will not need one

Christianity:

- says that Jesus will have a 'second coming'

4. Judaism:

- says that every human should speak directly to G-d (without intermediaries)

Christianity:

- Jesus claims in the 'new testament' that the 'only way' to G-d is via him*

5. Judaism:

- says G-d is one, indivisible, cannot be separated into three aspects/incarnations

Christianity:

- speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

6. Judaism:

- says that we are all equally G-d's children

Christianity:

- says that Jesus was 'God's son' above all others, and any who accept him will become children of God

7. Judaism:

- has no 'devil', the Jewish 'Satan' is just an ordinary angel, under G-d's control

Christianity:

- describes 'Satan' as a devil and 'fallen' angel

8. Judaism:

- the 'messiah' will be a normal, mortal man who must fulfill all the Jewish messianic prophecies in one normal, mortal lifetime

Christianity:

- Jesus was the 'messiah' and will fulfill the Christian messianic prophecies when he 'returns'

9. Judaism:

- says that the righteous of all faiths will reach 'gan eden' or 'garden of Eden.

Christianity:

-Christians insist that only those who 'know Christ' can reach heaven

10. Judaism:

- forbids Jews from trying to convert anyone to Judaism

Christianity:

- believes in actively 'witnessing' and encouraging people to convert to Christianity

Clearly the two religions differ on many core beliefs. Again, remember there are many other differences; this is only a partial list.

It is, of course, true that Christianity began life as a tiny fringe sect within Judaism. But the followers of Jesus were not 'Christians' in the sense that we use that word today. Many of the Christian doctrines did not develop until much, much later, by which time Christianity was already an entirely non Jewish faith.

Answer 3

Christians believe that Jesus has come to earth. [gospel accounts of Matthew, mark, Luke & john in the new testament]

Jews believe that the messiah is still to come, after Elijah.

there are many differences between Jews & Christians, the above being the more theological one.

Jewish people don't believe Jesus was the son of God

Answer 4

The difference between Jews and Christians are that Jews are still waiting for the promised messiah (there then not believing that Jesus is the Messiah). Christians on the other hand believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah. However, the Christian concept of messiah does not exist anywhere in the teachings of Judaism. Also, Christians have the Old Testament and the New Testament (Jesus Ministry) where as the Jews only have the Hebrew Bible.

Answer 5

The Christian concept of 'messiah' does not exist in Judaism. The Christian Old Testament is based on the Tanach (Jewish Bible) but was largely altered to support the teachings of Christianity. Christianity is different from Judaism because at the core, it was created around a messiah. The Talmud and Zohar are not holy texts although play important roles in Judaism.

Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah; the Messiah is one who brings peace to the earth (this has not happened yet!). Jews have different holy books, in addition to the Tanakh (the Christians call this the Old Testament), they have the Talmud and the Zohar (and possibly more).

Answer 6

Christianity grew out of Judaism - Jesus and the first disciples were all Jewish, as was Paul, the main missionary to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). Therefore, they share a lot of common heritage such as the Old Testament, the 10 Commandments, the belief in prophecy, etc.

The major difference is centered around the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that the prophecies of the Old Testament about the coming Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus and that he ushered in a new way of relating to God, by dependence on God's grace rather than by obedience to the Law. Jews respectfully but firmly disagree. Christians also believe that Jesus was and is God. He is held to be co-eternal with God, uncreated, and partakes of the very essence of God. At the same time, Christians will also assert that God is one (see the doctrine of the Trinity). Jews strongly object to this and see Christians as polytheists, worshipers of many Gods, who worship Jesus Christ as a separate deity in addition to God.

Answer 7

Christianity disregards the "old testament" and says that as long as you have faith in Jesus Christ you will be saved... Jews believe you have to live and enjoy your life but employ restrictions so that the whole society improves.

Answer 8

Both Christianity and Judaism come from the same roots. Both religions are a development from the teachings of the Tanakh/ Old Testament. The translation of the Old Testament into English follows the Hebrew text of the Tanakh (rather than the text of the Septuagint - a very early Greek translation of the Hebrew), so it can be said that Jews and Christians are dealing with the same texts here.

We can see from Acts of the Apostles that, from the beginnings of the Church, Christians had a very high view of Jesus. Peter's message about Jesus was that Jesus is God's Messiah. He went on to say that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that there is no other name under heaven by which men and women can be saved.

In another way of looking at it, Jesus can be considered to be a Jewish rabbi, whose teachings were so radical that they divided the Israelite nation. This division became firmly fixed soon after the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in AD 70.

At that point, those who accepted Jesus implicit claim to be the Messiah (the Christ), a claim explicitly made by Peter and the other Apostles, came to be definitively separated from those who rejected this claim.

As a result, Christians went their own way, and Judaism, which was not a unitary system at that point, become united under the leadership of those who belonged to the Jewish party of the Pharisees.

So Christianity differs from Judaism on the ground of their respective attitudes to Jesus. Those who follow Judaism do not explicitly follow Jesus' teachings, although on many issues Jews and Christians agree, reflecting their shared holy texts.

Both Jews and Christians put great emphasis on right behaviour, and the role of the individual conscience in guiding behaviour. However, they differ in that the Christian conscience is primarily shaped the works of the New Testament, whereas Jews do not treat the New Testament as authoritative.

Answer 9

• The Torah is Judaism's Holy Book; the Bible is Christian's Holy Book.
• Christian's Holy Day is on Sundays; Jew's Holy Day is on Friday evenings.
• Hebrew (the Jewish holy language) is written right to left whereas Greek, Latin, and English (Christian languages) are written left to right.

Answer 10

As Christianity was essentially based on the rejection of Judaism, the two religions hold virtually nothing in common. From the Jewish perspective, the concept of the Trinity is not true monotheism. Aside from this, the majority of key tenets held by Christianity directly violate the teachings of Judaism.

Below are a few of the many things Jews believe in that Christians do not:

* Man is born good and innocent, there is no such thing as original sin.

* An individual is responsible for his own mistakes and no one else can atone for those mistakes.

* Man becomes closer to HaShem (The Creator) through his actions, blind faith is meaningless.

* Informed consent is required and we are to question everything.

* A 'moshiach' is a mortal man with no supernatural attributes and there have been hundreds of these men.

* HaShem is without form and will never be man or son of man, nor can He be divided into parts.

* The idea that a man can be the literal son of HaShem is an abomination.

* Man communicates directly to HaShem, intermediaries are not needed.

* Every single person who works to live a good life has a place in the world to come.

* There are different paths for different people, everyone does not have to follow the same religion.

* The covenant between the Jews and HaShem is eternal.

* That prophecy ended approximately 2,200 years ago.

* That sacrifice was only a valid part of atonement for unintended mistakes and even then was meaningless without repentance. Prayer replaces sacrifice when the Temple is not standing.

* That the Torah cannot be added to nor changed.

Answer 11

Jews are a people who descend from Jacob (or non-descendants-of-Jacob who have joined the Jewish people through conversion to Judaism).

The foundational teaching of the Jews is their Torah (literally "Instruction"). The Torah mainly documents the formation saga of the Jewish people, but it also contains the precepts of the covenant between them and the Creator, in which guidelines called 'mitzvot' are laid out for the Jewish people to follow as a path for living a righteous life. These mitzvot are all referenced in the Asseret HaDibrot which are often called the Ten Commandments, however, the correct translation is actually 'The Ten Statements' and a minority opinion in Judaism thinks that there are only nine (given through Moses at mount Sinai). Some key aspects of the mitzvot are:

• Jews are forbidden from attempting to depict the Creator in any way
• Jews are to Love their Neighbor as themselves (Leviticus 19:18)
• Jews are to Love God with all their might (Deuteronomy 6:4)

The complete Jewish Bible is called the Tanach which is an acronym made from the names of its three parts: Torah (Instruction), Nevi'im (Prophets), K'tuvim (Writings).

The Jews also expect that non-Jews need to follow the 7 Commandments given by God to all nations starting with Adam and Eve and being completed with Noach (after the Flood). These Commandments are found in Genesis and are known as the Noachide Laws. The Torah does not teach that non-Jews must follow the mitzvot specific to Jews.

Judaism teaches that all people are born innocent and good but with the ability to do both good and bad with the freewill to choose. Additionally, mistakes (sins) cannot be atoned for by anyone other than the person who makes the mistake, nor can mistakes be atoned for before they happen.

Judaism completely rejects the concept that a man can be the literal child of HaShem. There is no prophecy that a man will be born as a 'saviour' for all of mankind as there is no need for such a concept in Judaism.

Christians are people of any national origin, who not only believe in the the Old Testament (the Jewish Tanach), but they mainly follow a New Testament (or new covenant), which follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The following are some differences between the New Testament and the Old Testament:

1- In the New Testament, the apostle Paul calls the Laws of the Torah a "curse" and preaches that people no longer need to adhere to them in order to fulfill God's expectations because of the new covenant of Grace. By contrast, the Torah teaches that the Noachide Laws (for Gentiles) and the Sinai Covenant (for Jews) are eternal.

2- In the New Testament, the apostle Paul in the book of Hebrews establishes a doctrine that Salvation comes only by confessing Jesus as Messiah. The Torah states that salvation comes by following the guidelines for living righteously as specified in the Torah (according to a person's good deeds, as Commanded in the Torah).

Hosea 13:4 : And I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt, and gods beside Me you should not know, and there is no savior but Me.

3- In the New Testament, the author of John's Gospel equates Jesus to a incarnation of God. According to TorahGod can and does manifest Himself in the physical world (e.g. as a burning bush, or as the angel who appeared before Abraham). However: the Torah tells us not to confuse a manifestation of God with God himself:

Deuteronomy 4:15-19, Since you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, take care and watch yourselves closely, so that you do not act corruptly by making an idol for yourselves, in the form of ANY figure).

Numbers 23:19 : God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind.

Hosea 11:9 : For I am God, and not man

Deuteronomy 4;35-40 : To you it was shown so that you would acknowledge that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him.

So, even if/when God manifests Himself through physical means (e.g. a burning bush, a visitor to Abraham, or as the man Jesus as Christians believe) it is maximum idolatry to praise any physical form as if it were God. The man Jesus can not be praised as God because that is equivalent to describing God as finite or as "two". God tells us that God should be thought of as one alone: Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our is God, The Lord is one.

4- The New Testament establishes that God required a human sacrifice in order to forgive humanity for its sins. The Torah says that God does not want or need sacrifice and that God only gave the option of sacrifice as part of the atonement process for unintended "sin" because the Jews demanded that option .

Micah 6:6-8 " 'With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?' [Micah responds:] He has told you, oh mortal, what is good: and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? ".

Hosea 6:6 " For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. "

Answer 12

Christians believe that the Messiah Has Come.

Jews believe that He Has not.

Jews celebrate Hanukkah and Christians celebrate Christmas

Answer 13

The Christian Old Testament is based on the Tanach (Jewish Bible) but was altered to support the teachings of Christianity.

Judaism and Christianity do not agree concerning the following beliefs and concepts:

- A triune godhead

- Original sin

- A devil

- Eternal damnation

- Salvation and grace

There really isn't that much of a difference between the two religions, except:

1. Judaism= Torah, Christians=Bible

2. Jews believe only in God. Christians believe in the Holy Trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit)

3. Holidays:

a. Jews= Hanukkah. b. Christians= Christmas (of course)

Christians believe that the Messiah had already come and Jews believe the Messiah has not come yet, that's why they celebrate Passover to celebrate the time they were spared when the Egyptians were hit with the deadly disease.

Christians believe in Christ, but Jews believe in only God.

Answer 2

The differences between them are religious. (Jews and Christians are both humans.) As a result, it makes much more sense to see the Related Question which discusses the differences between Judaism and Christianity.

Answer 3

An answer by a Jew

There are differences between Judaism and Christianity because Christianity was actually based on the rejection of Judaism.

The following are just some examples of Christian concepts that Judaism does not accept:

• Heaven and hell
• The concept of damnation
• The need for salvation
• The existence of the devil
• Original sin
• The Christian concept of sin altogether
• The triune Godhead
• The Christian concept of messiah
• The idea that there can be a literal child of God
• The Christian concept of salvation and grace

Once again, these are just some examples, there are far more differences between Judaism and Christianity.

An answer by a Christian

The first reason is because they are different religions (no 2 religions are the same).

Though Christianity basically stems from Judaism, as they share the same origins, Christianity believes there is a new covenant brought by the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Answer 4

The main difference between Judaism and Christianity is that Jews do not believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. The Jews persecuted Him and ultimately they supported the Roman intent to crucify Him.

Additional differences between Judaism and Christianity can be found at the Related Question below.

Answer 5

Here are a few.

• Jews have the Hebrew Scriptures. They do not accept the Christian Testament.

Link: About the Hebrew Bible

• Jews believe that the commands and beliefs contained in the Torah, are forever.
  

Link: the Torah's commands

• Jews believe in One God, to whom we pray directly, with no partner, son, or intermediary. Christianity has a trinity.
  

Link: Jewish beliefs

• Jews have nothing to say about the Jesus of Christianity. He is not mentioned in any context.
  

Link: Why Jews don't accept Jesus

• Judaism has its own festivals, its Code of Law based on the Talmud, and its customs.
  

Link: About the Talmud

(Note that the Question was asked in the present tense. Therefore, all of the Community-answers' discussion of how each religion began, is beside the point.)

Answer 6

Christians believe the new Testament is Sacred,smething like that