On one hand, much of the prayers and the Torah reading have a musical component much the same as in Catholic churches. On the other hand, there are no hymns in Jewish services at all, only actual prayers. In Catholic (and other Christian) services, there are hymns that are sung by the choir and by the congregation in addition to the actual prayers. It seemed to me that something in that respect was "missing" in the Jewish services and it seemed that it was less of a communal feeling once the actual services started than I am accustomed to with Catholic Services.
Philosophical Differences
From my understanding, Jews do not believe in Heaven and Hell per se, although they do believe that their actions on earth are judged by God. I was surprised to learn that some Jews do believe in Heaven and Hell while others do not. Their teachings about human morality focus more on the quality of actions in life than on their effect on the individual afterwards. In general, Jews believe that God does reward and punish but in a much more general and undefined sense than those concepts are taught in the Christian traditions. Some Jews believe only that God will reward those who deserve reward in the afterlife with resurrection by the Messiah when he arrives in the future.
Jews do not believe in the concept of Original Sin and believe that the moral quality of their lives is determined by their actions on earth. In that regard, the Bar Mitzvah ceremony actually marks the transition from the pre-moral responsibility period of life to the stage of moral responsibility. According to Jewish teachings, children younger that twelve years of age (for women) or thirteen years of age (for men) are not responsible for their sins. Their parents are responsible until the Bat Mitzvah at twelve (for girls)...
The Torah details 613 commandments of which 365 are negative restrictions and 248 are positive deeds.
Jewish religious tradition and law greatly emphasize the value of human life; they believe that any person who saves a single human life has accomplished the equivalent of saving the entire world. Orthodox Jews in particular believe that procreation is their most important function and that any parents who have ten children automatically qualify for the highest regard in the eyes of God with respect to the afterlife. In fact, that is precisely why very orthodox Jews typically have such large families. I must admit that the concept of focusing more on good deeds and the moral value of our actions on earth does have an intellectual appeal to me that is more rational than the idea of human beings being inherently flawed before they have any chance to live their lives at all.
I was unable to follow along any of the prayers because they were all in Hebrew; I did not realize that I could have requested a prayer book with English translations and phonetic spelling until after the ceremony when I reunited with my girlfriend. To me, the overall tone of the Jewish service seemed somewhat less joyous than the tone of religious ceremonies of my faith. I would characterize the experience of Catholic worship as more uplifting whereas the Jewish services seemed more austere and solemn, at least from my perspective. Nevertheless, I would have to say that there was also a commonality to the overall experience that left me with a greater appreciation for the role of religion and tradition in Judaism. It seems that to a great degree, religious worship serves very similar functions and roles in the lives of worshippers even in very different religious traditions.
Again, his initial attempt in forming this belief was to limit the role that man would play in determining the salvation of believers. It was important for him that the Sacrament only be received in faith of God and not through the grace of man, as it were. This is a chief distinction between Lutherans and Methodists; the latter regard the Holy Communion as symbolic of God's grace. Therefore,
" Owen maintains that it is not important that people engage in the particular actions Jesus engaged in, like washing another's feet, but instead that people strive to express their moral duty of brotherly love, in condescension and mutual helpfulness. The fourteenth question posed by Owen is, "May not the church find out, and appoint to be observed, such religious rites as being adjoined unto the celebration of God's instituted worship,
Rick Cole of Capital Christian believes that the door cannot stay closed forever, and feels that by offering different services based on music preference is an opportunity for the entire congregation to unite (Garza). Contemporary worship music began with the Jesus movement of the early 1970's and the rise of charismatic churches, and although it paralleled the growth in contemporary Christian rock and pop music, it remained separate until a
Worship is universal. It allows people of various races and ethnicities, backgrounds to come together and pray. However every church and every religion have their key differences. Even in the Christian religion, there are variations existent all throughout Christianity. Some differences are small, while others are fundamental. While attending an African-American Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Church, I was able to see fundamental differences in practice. For instance, the Church
Corporate Worship vs. Private Worship Today, some Christians may be confused about their personal style of worshiping or will question the need for formal worship in an age where everyone's time is valuable and busy schedules are packed. To gain some fresh insights into these issues, this paper sought to answer the question, "Is worshipping together with other believers in formal worship services necessary to a healthy spiritual life?" In this
Commission to Worship by Wheeler and Whaley As a North American Mission Board national missionary and associate director of the Center for Church Planting at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, David Wheeler is eminently qualified to speak on matters of spiritual study, and his jointly authored book The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism demonstrates an extreme aptitude for biblical interpretation and modern empirical inquiry. His co-author Vernon