Christianity and Judaism
Judaism, Islam and Christianity are collectively known as "Abrahamic religions"
because they trace their history to the covenant God made with Abraham in the
Hebrew Bible.
The Prophet Muhammad met both Jews and Christians during
his lifetime, and Islam has come into frequent contact with both of its fellow
monotheistic faiths throughout most of its history.
Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam are monotheistic religions, namely they believe that there is only one
God. Jews and Muslims greatly stress the oneness and unity of God. The
affirmation of the oneness of God by Christians is sometimes misunderstood,
because Christians believe that the one God is triune (the Holy Trinity).
However, this is not a denial of monotheism but an affirmation of the complexity
of the Divine Being.
All three religions believe that this God is the
origin and source of all that exists. God cares about the entire creation and
desires the well-being of all. God is just and has provided basic rules for our
guidance so that we may be good and righteous, according to God's intention. God
is also merciful; by means of God's grace we are given strength to be more like
what we ought to be.
Jews believe that the messiah will be a human,
non-divine person who will restore the physical kingdom of Israel, rebuild the
temple in Jerusalem and bring earthly peace. This is very different from the
Christian belief that the people of Israel now means all those who follow Jesus
and who by faith are Abraham’s descendants. Christians believe that Jesus has
fulfilled God’s promises and has already ushered in the way to a new
relationship with God by grace. We acknowledge our own inability to live by
God’s standards, we trust in Jesus to have paid the price our sin deserves and
we find a new path to eternal life through him.
The other key difference
between the two faiths is about sin and atonement meaning man’s disobedience to
God and the means of achieving forgiveness. In the past, in order to receive
forgiveness from their sins, the people of Israel had to offer sincere prayers
of repentance, turn away from their sin and offer appropriate sacrifices in the
temple in Jerusalem. Since the temple was destroyed in AD70 by the Romans, the
sacrificial part of this is no longer possible. Jews today believe that the
sincere prayers of repentance and turning away from sin are sufficient and would
quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 as support of this:
because they trace their history to the covenant God made with Abraham in the
Hebrew Bible.
The Prophet Muhammad met both Jews and Christians during
his lifetime, and Islam has come into frequent contact with both of its fellow
monotheistic faiths throughout most of its history.
Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam are monotheistic religions, namely they believe that there is only one
God. Jews and Muslims greatly stress the oneness and unity of God. The
affirmation of the oneness of God by Christians is sometimes misunderstood,
because Christians believe that the one God is triune (the Holy Trinity).
However, this is not a denial of monotheism but an affirmation of the complexity
of the Divine Being.
All three religions believe that this God is the
origin and source of all that exists. God cares about the entire creation and
desires the well-being of all. God is just and has provided basic rules for our
guidance so that we may be good and righteous, according to God's intention. God
is also merciful; by means of God's grace we are given strength to be more like
what we ought to be.
Jews believe that the messiah will be a human,
non-divine person who will restore the physical kingdom of Israel, rebuild the
temple in Jerusalem and bring earthly peace. This is very different from the
Christian belief that the people of Israel now means all those who follow Jesus
and who by faith are Abraham’s descendants. Christians believe that Jesus has
fulfilled God’s promises and has already ushered in the way to a new
relationship with God by grace. We acknowledge our own inability to live by
God’s standards, we trust in Jesus to have paid the price our sin deserves and
we find a new path to eternal life through him.
The other key difference
between the two faiths is about sin and atonement meaning man’s disobedience to
God and the means of achieving forgiveness. In the past, in order to receive
forgiveness from their sins, the people of Israel had to offer sincere prayers
of repentance, turn away from their sin and offer appropriate sacrifices in the
temple in Jerusalem. Since the temple was destroyed in AD70 by the Romans, the
sacrificial part of this is no longer possible. Jews today believe that the
sincere prayers of repentance and turning away from sin are sufficient and would
quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 as support of this: