What is the history of the religion Judaism?

Answer 1

Okay, I'll try to start this off, but I know that there are some people out there who are much more learned about this than I am. The Jewish religion starts off thousands of years ago with the patriarch Abraham. Abraham is recorded in The Bible as one who trusted God and obeyed God's command. Because of his faithfulness in his relationship with God, God promised Abraham that he would make him the father of many nations. In a very interesting story, Abraham eventually had a promised son, Isaac, who had a son Jacob. These three--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--are generally referred to as the Jewish patriarchs. Judaism was remarkable because of its steadfast commitment to monotheism--the worship of ONE God, when all the other known civilizations at the time were polytheistic, serving many gods. The Bible, or at least what is called the Old Testament--now sometimes called the Jewish Testament--records the relationship of the ancient Jews with their God. Judaism is the root and the foundation of Christianity. Jesus was Jewish and appeared (as his follwers believed) as the fulfillment of promises in the Jewish Testament, which spoke of a virgin-born Messiah Who would open the door for all the world to know the one true God of Judaism. Jesus' disciples were all Jewish, as were the earliest church leaders and members, who were not seeking to branch off from Judaism, but to incorporate their belief in the Messiah Who had come into their Jewish faith. However, these Jews were often ostracized by mainline Jews and were pushed to the fringes of the Jewish faith, and eventually ousted altogether during the first century. Modern-day practicing Jews are yet awaiting their promised Messiah.