Comparison and Contrast of Judaism and Christianity - Essay Example

Comparison and Contrast of Judaism and Christianity of Comparison and Contrast of Judaism and Christianity Religion is based on the beliefs of a people. The relationship between religions is based on the dogma that its believers have in place and expect that everyone who believes in that faith will agree upon. Unfortunately, most people do not share one set of beliefs and this is one of the reasons there are so many religions in the world today. In the very beginning of religion, much was known about paganism and how nature was worshipped. In each religion, someone thought they understood something better than someone else. In contrasting Judaism and Christianity, it is clear to see that both religions have similarities and that one grew out of another. These two religions provide a classic understanding of how sacred thought evolved and how these two religions came to be believed by millions of people world-wide. Historical Development Judaism Between the two religions, Judaism is the oldest. It has as its origins thousands of years before Jesus and traces its roots to the beginnings of mankind (Religionfacts, 2013). Abraham is said to be the creator of Judaism as it was told in the Torah. As the second oldest world religion, Judaism began many thousands of years before Christianity (Spatz,2008). According to historical accounts, God created a covenant with Abraham to form a new nation. He was to leave the place where he was living and move to a different area. It is not known exactly when this happened because it happened before history was recorded; the estimated time period for this is “around 2000 B.C.E” (Spatz, 2008, para. 3). Both Jews and Christians believe that Moses was instrumental in the early years of their faith. It was Moses that was asked by God to go to the pharaoh and ask for the release of the Israelites (Jews) (Spatz, 2008). When Abraham died, the covenant was made with his son Isaac, then another covenant was done with Isaac’s son Jacob. Jacob wrestles with God (according to the Jews) or an angel (according to the Christians). God change’s Jacob’s name to Israel and he begins the 12 tribes of Israel (Spatz, 2008). Jacob moved his family to Egypt and as time went on, the ruler in Egypt feared the insurgence of Israelites in Egypt and ordered all Israelite male children to be killed. One Israelite child was put in a basket and placed on a river to escape; he was later found by the pharaoh’s daughter who named him Moses (Spatz, 2008). Moses would eventually move the Israelites out of Egypt and he would eventually receive the 10 commandments from God (Spatz, 2008). Christianity Christianity began approximately 2000 years after Judaism and is said to have started with Jesus and the Disciples. When Jesus and the Disciples began to move through Judea, many Jewish people left the area to study the Jewish laws in other areas while others continued to practice a more pagan faith. Some Jewish people were referred to as zealots because they were fighting against Roman rule (“History of Christianity”, 2013). As Jesus and his Disciples continued to teach people in Judea, he drew the attention of the Romans and the Jews at that time because he appeared to talk against them (“A One Page”, 2013). The Romans eventually would crucify Jesus and the Disciples would disappear, because they were not sure of their fate (“A one page,” 2013). Paul, one of the Disciples, later converted to Christianity, the religion that was begun after Jesus was crucified. He would go throughout the Roman Empire and build churches, preaching Christianity as he knew it. But Christianity would be persecuted by the Romans during the third and fourth centuries AD, because they were accused of creating false teachings and they were still going against the beliefs of the Romans. In the fourth century AD, Constantine converted to Christianity and the Christian persecution was stopped (“A one page”, 2013). Christianity and the Roman Empire joined forces and Christendom was the outcome. Many political situations happened to bring Christianity to where it is today (“A one page,” 2013). Judaism and Christianity Today Persecution has been a part of both religions. The Christians were persecuted in the first and third centuries, but the Jews were persecuted in the Holocaust. Jews and Christians have also had conversations throughout the years about various aspects of their beliefs. As an example, in the Middle Ages, Christians and Jews met and this allowed new Bible commentary (Baskin, 2011). After the Holocaust, Jews were able to proclaim the State of Israel (Baskin, 2011). Jewish people have withstood various challenges that they have been faced with throughout history. Brown (2011) adds that Jewish people have a book of tears called the kinot, which is used to put all terrible things that have happened to Jewish people. This kinot is studied during three weeks that the Jews have for thinking on these types of things (Brown, 2011). Christians do not seem to have this type of fasting and thinking of the past atrocities. Prayer Jews are to pray three times a day which includes morning, afternoon and evening. Daily prayers are kept in a special book called the siddur and there are many readings from their holy book called the Torah (Rich, 2011). It is somewhat difficult to say how Christians pray because there are so many different religions that call themselves Christian. As an example, Zavada (2013) states that there is no special daily prayers or specific ways to pray, but that the Bible gives an understanding of when prayer should be done. Zavada also suggests that Christians can look through the Bible for different people who have prayed and get an idea of how to do it; he also provides several Bible verses to assist. Holy Days Both Christianity and Judaism have holy days. Most people recognize Christmas and Easter as Christian holy days, and if one is Catholic, there are other holy days like Lent or Trinity Sunday. Judaism has Hanukah, and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Barooah, 2013). Both religions have holidays that are significant to their religion. As an example, in Christianity, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent that marks the days leading up to Easter Sunday. Although Judaism does not have something called Lent, they do have many fast days such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur (“Listing”, 2013). Coming of Age Ceremony In Judaism, there is a coming of age ceremony when a child turns twelve (girls) or 13 (boys). This ceremony is called a Bar Mitzvah (boys) and Bat Mitzvah (girls). These ceremonies are based on Judaism. Up until the age of 12 or 13 children are not pressed to follow the commandments of Judaism because they are considered too young to understand (Rich, “Bar Mitzvah”, 2013). When children have come of age (12 or 13) they are now expected to observe the commandments. This gives them more adult responsibilities. As an example, many children are eligible for marriage at this time (though the Talmud considers that 18 is the better time for marriage) and they are able to lead in religious ceremonies or testify in religious courts. Children at this stage have learned to recite portions of the Torah in religious ceremonies. In the Christian faith, a coming of age ceremony depends on the faith of Christianity that someone believes. As an example, this ceremony in Catholicism is the Confirmation. Confirmation is actually done for most churches after the child had had several communions. The first communion is considered the coming of age for some Catholics because it happens when the child is a teenager. This corresponds to the age of the Bar Mitzvah for boys. Judaism has a Confirmation in some Reform practices instead of the Mitzvah ceremonies (Rich, “Bar Mitzvah”, 2013). Some Christians believe that children come of age between the ages of 13 and 15, as they reach puberty (Chianese, 2006) and some families have some type of ceremony, others do not. Dress In Christianity, there is no official way to dress. Most people dress up on Sundays when they attend church, but others do not. In many cases, this really depends on the church and their protocol. In Judaism, how someone dresses depends on whether they are Orthodox or Hasidic. Judaism also wears clothing according to what the Bible says. As an example, Orthodox Jewish women will wear clothing that is dark colored, cover their hair and dress modestly. The reason this is done is because women are supposed to dress in a way that will not attract men (especially when she is not married). Men will wear a skullcap, wear a beard and a prayer belt (Falk, n.d.). Other people practicing Judaism may dress differently because again, dress depends on how people believe. Houses of Worship In Christianity, where someone officially worships will be called a church or a ___. In Judaism, the church is called a Synagogue by some Jews but it is called a Shul or a Temple by other Jews. The purpose of the house of worship is prayer. In most cases, Jewish people can pray anywhere, but there are certain prayers that are only supposed to be done in a temple or in the presence of at least 10 men (Rich, “Synagogues”, 2013). In Catholicism the house of worship is called a Cathedral, while in other types of Christian churches the house of worship is called a church. Some churches may be called a Chapel, as in the smaller place of worship that may be seen in some hospitals. In each of these cases, just like in Judaism, the house of worship is for prayer. In Christianity, some churches may be called the House of God, but essentially, they are all places for a gathering of people for prayer. The difference is also in when worship is done. Judaism follows the Sabbath that the Bible talks about that is from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. Jewish people who believe in the Sabbath will not do chores or other worldly things during this time. Instead, they will spend the time in prayer and reverence to God. Orthodox Jews may go to the synagogue three times a day, every day. This just depends on the way that the Jewish person believes. Christians go to church on Sundays. There does not seem to be an observance of a particular Sabbath time, and there does not seem to be a specific time during the week for all church goers. Some churches have Wednesday night services in addition to Sundays, but this does not happen in every church (Fairchild, 2013). General Belief Both Christianity and Judaism believe in one God who is loving and caring. They both believe that God will save them and that they will go to heaven when they die. Both religions believe in the old testament of the Bible and that it is the word of God. Both believe in sin, and that they should follow God’s word. They also believe that there will be a Messiah who will come back to save them (Viner, 2011). Where Christians believe that Jesus will be the Messiah who comes back to save them, Jewish people do not believe that Jesus will be their savior. Jewish people believe that this person will be human and that they will help to rebuild Israel. Jewish people believe that all they need to do to atone for their sins is pray for repentance. However, Christians believe that they can never atone from their sins because they are human beings. Therefore, Jesus is the only person capable of saving Christians and he did this when he died (Viner, 2011). Conclusion Judaism and Christianity have many different ideas that are the same and many that are different. The major differences between the two religions are how they believe and what they believe. Also, the days that they worship are different, but each religion relies on the Bible or the Torah to tell them what do. Judaism is different in the way that Jewish people dress, in the way that they worship, and the fact that Judaism believes that Jesus is not the savior. Christianity worships on Sunday and believes that Jesus will be the Messiah who saves them in the end. In both religions the faith is kept alive by the believers and by what the individual church or synagogue believes. In both cases, some are very open in belief while others are very orthodox in their belief. References A one-page overview of Christian History. (2013). Religion Facts. Retrieved from http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/history/overview.htm Baskin, B. (2011). Judaism today and tomorrow. Canadian Jewish News, 16. Retrieved from ProQuest database. document ID: 898606225 Barooah, J. (2013, January 01). Religious Holidays 2013: An interfaith calendar (Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim And More), The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/01/religious-holidays-2013_n_2372650.html Brown, E. (2011, July). Mourning the narrowness of todays Judaism. Jewish Exponent, (Philadelphia), 17. Retrieved from Proquest database, Document ID: 881257586. Chianese, E. (2006). Coming of age. The Link: Homeschool News Network. http://www.homeschoolnewslink.com/homeschool/columnists/chianese/vol6iss5_ComingOfAge.shtml Christianity and its relationship to Judaism.(2011). 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Judaism 101. Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/shul.htm Richert, S. P. (2013). The sacrament of confirmation. About.com. Retrieved from http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/p/Confirmation.htm Ryan, S. (2011). Early Christianity: A brief history (Joseph H. Lynch), Irish Theological Quarterly, 76(298). DOI: 10.1177/00211400114057432 Spatz, V. A. (2008). Judaism-in the beginning. Calliope, 19(3), 12. Viner, J. (2011). Whats the difference between Christianity and Judaism? Christ Church Central Sheffield. Retrieved from http://www.christchurchcentralsheffield.co.uk/toughquestions/judaism Zavada, J. (2013). Christianity: How to pray. About.com. Retrieved from http://christianity.about.com/od/prayersverses/a/howtopray.htm Read More