Christianity and Judaism: Difference between revisions

Christianity [[Jewish Christian|began as a movement]] within [[Second Temple Judaism]], but the two religions gradually [[Split of early Christianity and Judaism|diverged over the first few centuries]] of the [[Christian Eraera]]. Today, differences of opinion vary between denominations in both religions, but the most important distinction is Christian acceptance and Jewish non-acceptance of [[Jesus]] as the [[Messiah]] prophesied in the [[Hebrew Bible]] and Jewish tradition. [[Early Christianity]] distinguished itself by determining that observance of [[halakha]] (Jewish law) was not necessary for non-Jewish converts to Christianity (Seesee [[Pauline Christianity]]). Another major difference is the two religions' conceptions of God. TheDepending on the denomination followed, the Christian God is either believed to [[Trinity|consistsconsist of three persons of one essence]] (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), with the doctrine of the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation]] of the Son in Jesus being of special importance., or like Judaism, believes in and emphasizes the [[Shema Yisrael|Oneness of God]]. and Judaism, however, rejects the Christian concept of [[God the Son|God in human form]]. While Christianity recognizes the [[Hebrew Bible]] (called the [[Old Testament]] by Christians) as part of its scriptural canon, Judaism does not recognize the Christian [[New Testament]].

The relative importance of belief and practice constitute an important area of difference. Most forms of [[Protestantism|Protestant Christianity]] emphasize correct belief (or [[orthodoxy]]), focusing on the [[New Covenant]] as [[Mediator (Christ as Mediator)|mediated]] through [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus]] [[Christ (title)|Christ]],<ref name="bibleverse||Hebrews|8:6|NIV">{{bibleverse||Hebrews|8:6|NIV}}</ref> as recorded in the [[New Testament]]. Judaism places emphasis on correct conduct (or [[Orthopraxy#Judaism|orthopraxy]]),<ref>{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Elizabeth |title=The Illustrated Dictionary of Culture |publisher=Lotus Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-81-89093-26-6 |pages= 147}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Westley |first=Miles |title=The Bibliophile's Dictionary |publisher=Writer's Digest Books |year=2005 |pages=91 |isbn=978-1-58297-356-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McKim |first=Donald K. |title=Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1996 |pages=197 |isbn=978-0-664-25511-4}}</ref> focusing on the [[Mosaic covenant]], as recorded in the [[Torah]] and [[Talmud]]. Mainstream [[Roman Catholicism]] occupies a middle position, stating thethat both faith and works are factors in a person's salvation. Some schools of thought within Catholicism, such as [[Franciscanism]] and [[liberation theology]], explicitly favor orthopraxy over orthodoxy. [[Praxis (Byzantine Rite)|Praxis]] is of central importance to [[Eastern Christianity]] as well, with Saint [[Maximus the Confessor]] going as far as to say that "theology without action is the theology of demons."<ref>{{cite book|author=Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians. International Conference|editor=Virginia Fabella|editor2= Sergio Torres|title=Doing Theology in a Divided World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kF4cAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Theology+without+action+is+the+theology+of+demons%22|year=1985|publisher=Orbis Books|isbn=978-0-88344-197-8|page=15}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_7VKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 Paul W. Chilcote, ''Wesley Speaks on Christian Vocation''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215172955/https://books.google.com/books?id=_7VKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 |date=2017-02-15 }} (Wipf and Stock 2001 {{ISBN|978-1-57910812-0}}), p. 67</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.edinburgh2010.org/fileadmin/files/edinburgh2010/files/docs/Mission%20among%20Other%20Faiths_Orthodox%20Perspective%20090820.doc|title=Mission among Other Faiths: An Orthodox Perspective|access-date=2010-12-03|archive-date=2010-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705205510/http://www.edinburgh2010.org/fileadmin/files/edinburgh2010/files/docs/Mission%20among%20Other%20Faiths_Orthodox%20Perspective%20090820.doc|url-status=live}}</ref> Christian conceptions of right practice vary (e.g., [[Catholic social teaching]] and its [[preferential option for the poor]]; the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]'s practices of [[fasting]], [[hesychasm]], and [[asceticism]]; the [[Protestant work ethic]] of [[Calvinism|Calvinists]] and others), but differ from Judaism in that they are not based on following halakha or any other interpretation of the Mosaic covenant. While more [[World Union for Progressive Judaism|liberal Jewish denominations]] may not require observance of halakha, Jewish life remains centred on individual and collective participation in an eternal dialogue with God through tradition, rituals, [[Jewish prayer|prayers]] and [[Jewish ethics|ethical actions]].

A minority Jewish view, which appears in some{{which|date= November 2018}} codes of [[halakha|Jewish law]], ismaintains that while Christian worship is polytheistic (due to the multiplicity of the Trinity), it is permissible for them to swear in God's name, since they are referring to the one God. This theology is referred to in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] as [[Shituf]] (literally "partnership" or "association"). Although worship of a trinity is considered to be not different from any other form of idolatry for Jews, it may be an acceptable belief for non-Jews (according to the ruling of some Rabbinic authorities).<ref>{{whoCite journal|dateurl=https://hcommons.org/deposits/download/hc:50798/CONTENT/shituf-article.pdf November|title=World 2018Religions and the Noahide Prohibition of Idolatry |author=Klein, Reuven Chaim|year=2022|journal=Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society|volume=79|pages=109-167|DOI=10.17613/h2nz-ep07}}).</ref>

The only statements in the Tanakh about the status of a fetus state that killing an unborn infant does not have the same status as killing a born human being, and mandates a much lesser penalty.<ref>Exodus 21: 22–25</ref><ref>Daniel Schiff, 2002, ''Abortion in Judaism'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 9–11</ref> (althoughAlthough this interpretation is disputed,{{according to whom|date=October 2021}} the passage could refer to an injury to a woman that causes a premature, live birth).{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Orthodox Jews, unlike most Christians, still practice a restrictive diet that has many rules. Most Christians believe that the kosher food laws have been [[Supersessionism|superseded]],. forFor example, they cite what Jesus taught in [[Mark 7]]: what you eat doesn't make you unclean but what comes out of a man's heart makes him unclean—although Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy have their own set of dietary observances. [[Eastern Orthodoxy#Fasting|Eastern Orthodoxy, in particular has very elaborate and strict rules of fasting]], and continues to observe the [[Council of Jerusalem]]'s apostolic decree of Act 15.<ref>[[Karl Josef von Hefele]]'s [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.viii.v.iv.ii.html commentary on canon II of Gangra] notes: "We further see that, at the time of the Synod of [[Gangra]], the rule of the Apostolic Synod with regard to blood and things strangled was still in force. With the Greeks, indeed, it continued always in force as their Euchologies still show. [[Balsamon]] also, the well-known commentator on the canons of the Middle Ages, in his commentary on the sixty-third [[Canons of the Apostles|Apostolic Canon]], expressly blames the Latins because they had ceased to observe this command. What the Latin Church, however, thought on this subject about the year 400, is shown by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] in his work [[Contra Faustum]], where he states that the Apostles had given this command to unite the heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed by few. But still, as late as the eighth century, [[Pope Gregory III|Pope Gregory the Third]] (731) forbade the eating of blood or things strangled under threat of a penance of forty days. No one will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed [[Ecumenical council|Ecumenical Synods]], can be of greater and more unchanging force than the decree of that first council, held by the Holy Apostles at Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even Ecumenical canons may be of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuse, like other laws."</ref>

On 3 December 2015, the [[Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation]] (CJCUC) spearheaded a petition of Orthodox rabbis from around the world calling for increased partnership between Jews and Christians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/55561/groundbreaking-petition-signed-leading-rabbis-calls-increased-partnership-between-jews-christians-biblical-zionism/|title=Groundbreaking Petition Signed by Leading Rabbis Calls for Increased Partnership Between Jews and Christians|first=Adam Eliyahu|last=Berkowitz|publisher=Breaking Israel News|date=7 December 2015|access-date=29 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420062605/https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/55561/groundbreaking-petition-signed-leading-rabbis-calls-increased-partnership-between-jews-christians-biblical-zionism/|archive-date=20 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/national/modern-orthodox-leaders-bless-interfaith-dialogue|title=Modern Orthodox Leaders Bless Interfaith Dialogue|first=Steve|last=Lipman|work=[[The Jewish Week]]|date=8 December 2015|access-date=29 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620040507/http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/national/modern-orthodox-leaders-bless-interfaith-dialogue|archive-date=20 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2015/12/11/Vatican-Orthodox-rabbis-issue-interfaith-statements-affirming-each-other-s-faith/stories/201512110164|title=Vatican, Orthodox rabbis issue interfaith statements affirming each other's faith|first=Peter|last=Smith|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=11 December 2015|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/towards-jewish-christian-reconciliation_b_9133926 |title=Towards Jewish-Christian Reconciliation & Partnership | first=Rabbi Shmuly | last=Yanklowitz| work=[[HuffPost]] |date=3 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Blogs/Intellectual-Judaism/Mutual-Judeo-Christian-spiritual-foundation-of-Judaism-and-Christianity-444183|title=Mutual Judeo-Christian spiritual foundation of Judaism and Christianity|first=Vladimir|last=Minkov|newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=7 February 2016|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="vaticanradio">{{cite web |url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/12/10/orthodox_rabbis_issue_groundbreaking_statement_on_christians/1193458|title=Orthodox Rabbis issue groundbreaking statement on Christianity|publisher=[[Vatican Radio]]|date=10 December 2015|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref>{{overciteexcessive citations inline|date=April 2023}}