This paper examines the history, beliefs, and practices of Judaism and compares them with those of Christianity. Beginning with the shared foundation of creation and covenant theology, the paper traces the development of Judaism from its biblical origins through Rabbinic tradition, the Talmud, and modern sects such as Hasidic and Rabbinic Judaism. It then explores Christianity's relationship to the Hebrew Bible, the significance of the New Covenant, and the theological divide over the identity of Jesus Christ as Messiah. The paper also addresses contemporary issues such as Israel, Zionism, and the role of religious observance in both traditions, concluding with an analysis of how prophecy and sacrifice themes connect and distinguish the two faiths.
The paper demonstrates effective comparative religious analysis: it first builds a thorough account of one tradition (Judaism) before systematically identifying points of convergence and divergence with a second tradition (Christianity). This sequencing — describe, then compare — prevents confusion and allows the reader to evaluate each claim fairly.
The paper opens with a brief introduction stating the author's perspective and thesis. It then devotes several paragraphs to the history of Judaism, followed by a section on core Jewish tenets and observance. A section on contemporary issues (Israel, Zionism, internal dissent) bridges the purely religious and the political. The comparative section then draws on both traditions simultaneously, and the paper closes with a theological conclusion focused on the figure of Christ and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Citations from Johnson, Jones, Hays, and Sheen support key claims throughout.
The religion of Judaism is one that goes back centuries and includes a description of the creation of the world, as found in the Book of Genesis. According to Judaism, the world was created by God, Who also created man in His own image. Christianity, as a religious tradition, actually builds on the Judaic religious tradition. It refers to the Scriptural books preceding Christ as the Old Testament, and the writings of the Apostles of Christ as the New Testament. Christianity views Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of mankind — the one Whom the Jews were meant to expect, as prophesied in the Old Testament. The Jews, however, do not recognize Christ as the Redeemer or as the Son of God. This paper describes Judaism, its tenets, and its historical developments, and then compares and contrasts it with the Christian religious tradition.
The history of Judaism begins with the first two people created — Adam and Eve. Their fall from grace in the Garden of Paradise resulted in their expulsion, and death and suffering became a reality, whereas before their fall there was to be no death. Judaism developed over the centuries as the history of the Jews and their relationship with God grew in greater detail. God prescribed various laws, traditions, and ways of life, including religious rites that the Jews were expected to follow.
The practice of Judaism depended, however, on the various commentaries and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, which was authored over many centuries and which chronicled the lives of many individuals such as Abraham, Moses, and David. The Hebrew Bible also contained a number of prophetic visions describing the relationship between the Jews and God. The prophets and books of the Hebrew Bible have undergone various interpretations since the Medieval Age, and today these interpretations — such as those based on the Talmudic commentaries — serve as the guide for common religious Judaic practice. There are still many different sects of Judaism, such as Rabbinic Judaism and Hasidic Judaism.
In ancient times, several movements and sects of Judaism proliferated, including the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Zealots. After the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, Judaism suffered a serious blow to its organizational structure. The Pharisees were the only group to survive without the Temple. They believed in both a written Torah and an oral Torah. The Torah is the law given to the Jews by God through Moses, as depicted in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The Bible represents the written law, while the traditions of the Pharisees represented the oral law, which depended on the Rabbis. Thus Rabbinical Judaism is the equivalent of Pharisaic Judaism. In the 9th century, the Karaites challenged Rabbinical Judaism, asserting that there was no Scriptural basis for the oral law. They attracted a significant following, but today they are very few in number (Johnson 149).
Today Judaism looks to the Torah and the Rabbinic oral law for guidance. This oral law was discussed among Rabbinical Jews for many years before finally being written down in the Mishnah, which was then discussed for many more years before those discussions and commentaries were recorded in the Talmud. Therefore, Judaism today is practiced by combining the Torah with the Talmud.
The main tenets of Judaism today hold that God created man to be with Him and gave him laws to follow in order to be good in God's sight — the Torah — as well as the oral law codified in the Talmud, and that this constitutes the whole of the law for Jews. Moreover, God has promised the Jews that a Messiah will come: an anointed one who will rebuild the Temple, reunite the Jews in Israel, establish peace in the world, and bring about the world to come. This promise and expectation is rooted in the Talmudic teachings of the Rabbinic Jews (Jones 18).
The main days of religious observance include the Shabbat, which is the Sabbath, or the Jewish day of rest. It occurs every seventh day of the week, beginning Friday night and ending Saturday night. The accompanying religious ritual of this day of rest includes a reading of the Torah, a musaf service added to the daily prayer ritual, and the refraining from melacha (work). Melacha is also forbidden during Yom Kippur — the Jewish Day of Atonement — which is the holiest day of the year in Judaism, a day of total fasting on which no food or drink is permitted.
These days are not always strictly observed by all Jews, which can complicate any discussion of Judaism, since there are individuals who identify as ethnic Jews yet do not follow or strictly adhere to the religious customs of Judaism. This situation is not easily comparable to any other religious group, as there is no other group that can be simultaneously identified as an ethnicity in the same way Jews can. Thus, while Jews in general may be devoted to the political aims of the Jewish people, their religious beliefs do not necessarily transfer into daily life practices. In other words, Judaism is the religious expression of the Jewish people, yet not all ethnic Jews observe its practices — though many do identify with the aims of political Judaism, also known as Zionism.
In conclusion, the main difference between these two religions is that the Pharisees wanted a political savior — one who would throw off the shackle of Roman domination. Christ was a spiritual Savior, however, and Christians recognized His power to forgive sins. Since religion is fundamentally a spiritual bond, the Christian claim is that Christ is the true Messiah, a position supported by the fact that so many prophets — Isaiah, the Psalmist, Samuel, Daniel, and others — prophesied His birth, life, and death, and that Christ fulfilled every one of these prophecies, as the Apostles demonstrate in the New Testament (Sheen).
Hays, J. D. "Applying the Old Testament Law Today." Bibliotheca Sacra vol. 158, no. 629 (2001): 21–35.
"Jerusalem Special Report — The Building of the Third Temple." Youtube, 2010. Web. 5 Dec 2015.
Johnson, Paul. A History of the Jews. NY: Harper, 1988.
Jones, E. Michael. The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit and Its Impact on World History. South Bend, IN: Fidelity Press, 2008.
Peled, Miko. "The General's Son." Youtube, 2012. Web. 5 Dec 2015.
Sheen, Fulton. Life of Christ. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1990.
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