This article discusses the traditional views of the two religions and may not be applicable all adherents of each. For more on the importance some Jewish and Christian groups give to these views, as well as further variants within each religion itself, see Judaism and Christianity.

Although Christianity and Judaism share historical roots, these two religions diverge in fundamental ways. Judaism places emphasis on actions, focusing primary questions on how to respond to the "eternal" Covenant their nation received at Mount Sinai. Christianity places emphasis on belief and practice, focusing questions on how each person receives the Covenant offered by Jesus. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1993x1300, 432 KB) A Bible handwritten in Latin, on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... A biblical canon is a list of Biblical books which establishes the set of books which are considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular Jewish or Christian community. ... The canonical list of the Books of the Bible differs among Jews, and Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox Christians, even though there is a great deal of overlap. ... For the musical collective, see Tanakh (band). ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Neviim [נביאים] (Heb: Prophets) is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), following the Torah and preceding Ketuvim (writings). ... Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... This article is about the term Hebrew Bible. For the Jewish scriptures see Tanakh. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... Deuterocanonical books is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages of the Christian Bible, in contrast to the protocanonical books which are contained in the Hebrew Bible. ... Antilegomena (from Greek , contradicted or disputed, literally spoken against[1]), an epithet used by the Church Fathers to denote those books of the New Testament which, although sometimes publicly read in the churches, were not for a considerable amount of time considered to be genuine, or received into the canon... The Bible comprises 24 books for Jews, 66 for Protestants, 73 for Catholics, and 78 for most Orthodox Christians. ... Apocrypha (from the Greek word , meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... This article on Jewish apocrypha includes a survey of books written in the Jewish religious tradition either in the late pre-Christian era or in the early Christian era, but outside the Christian tradition. ... The biblical apocrypha includes texts written in the Jewish and Christian religious traditions that either were accepted into the biblical canon by some, but not all, Christian faiths, or are frequently printed in Bibles despite their non-canonical status. ... In the process of determining the Biblical canon, a large number of works were excluded from the New Testament. ... Authors of the Bible are listed by book of the Bible, comparing the writer according to Christian tradition with what current scholarship proposes. ... This article is about the selection of the books which make up the Tanakh. ... For the Jewish canon, see Development of the Jewish Bible canon. ... A folio from P46, an early 3rd century collection of Pauline epistles. ... Mosaic authorship is the traditional ascription to Moses of the authorship of the five books of the Torah or Pentateuch - Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. ... A nineteenth century picture of Paul of Tarsus The Pauline epistles are the fourteen books in the New Testament traditionally attributed to Paul of Tarsus, thirteen of which are explicitly ascribed to Paul, and one, Hebrews, is anonymous. ... El Grecos rendition of John the Apostle shows the traditional author of the Johannine works as a young man. ... The Bible has been translated into many languages. ... Fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls on display at the Archeological Museum, Amman A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. ... The Septuagint: A column of uncial text from 1 Esdras in the Codex Vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brentons Greek edition and English translation. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... The Dead Sea scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1979 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in the West... A targum (plural: targumim) is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) written or compiled in the Land of Israel or in Babylonia from the Second Temple period until the early Middle Ages (late first millennium). ... The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible in the Syriac language. ... Vetus Latina is a collective name given to the Biblical texts in Latin that were translated before St Jeromes Vulgate bible became the standard Bible for Latin-speaking Western Christians. ... The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century version in Latin, partly revised and partly translated by Jerome on the orders of Pope Damasus I in 382. ... The Masoretic Text (MT) is the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh). ... Luthers 1534 bible The Luther Bible is a German Bible translation by Martin Luther, first printed with both testaments in 1534. ... The efforts of translating the Bible from its original languages into over 2,000 others have spanned more than two millennia. ... Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. ... The Bible is a compilation of various texts or books of different age. ... This article is about the academic treatment of the bible as a historical document. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ... Novum Testamentum Graece is the name (in the Latin language) of the Greek language version of the New Testament. ... New Testament manuscripts are categorized into five groups. ... A relational diagram describing the various versions postulated by the biblical documentary hypothesis. ... The synoptic problem concerns the literary relationship between and among the first three canonical gospels (the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke), known as the synoptic gospels. ... The article concerns the historicity of the Bible. ... Biblical archaeology involves the recovery and scientific investigation of the material remains of past cultures that can illuminate the periods and descriptions in the Bible. ... Biblical Hermeneutics, part of the broader hermeneutical question, relates to the problem of how one is to understand Holy Scripture. ... Pesher is a Hebrew word meaning interpretation in the sense of solution. It became known from one group of the Dead Sea Scrolls. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... The Pardes system is a method of systematic exegesis in Judaism. ... Allegorical interpretation in Biblical studies is the approach which assigns a higher-than-literal interpretation to contents of the Bible. ... Biblical literalism is the supposed adherence to the explicit and literal sense of the Bible. ... Bible prophecy is the concept held by various people that many Bible verses contain prophecies. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Biblical... Biblical infallibility is the theological term to describe the belief that the Bible is free from errors on issues of faith and practice. ... when thousands of people call a person as thief, he becomes thief. ... This article is in need of attention. ... The Quran, the central religious text of Islam, contains references to over fifty people also found in the Bible, typically in the same or similar narratives. ... This article discusses the relationship between Gnosticism and the New Testament. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In Christianity... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article... Moses with the Ten Commandments by Rembrandt (1659) Biblical Mount Sinai refers to the place where, according to the Hebrew Bible (Exod. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

The article on Judeo-Christian tradition emphasizes continuities and convergences between the two religions, this article emphasizes the widely diverging views held by Christianity and Judaism. This article only considers the mainstream Jewish views rooted in Rabbinic Judaism (in contrast to Karaite Judaism). Jacob wrestling an angel, by Gustave Doré (1832-1883), a shared Judeo-Christian story. ... Rabbinic Judaism (or in Hebrew Yahadut Rabanit - יהדות רבנית) is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the written Torah as well as the Oral Law (the Mishnah, Talmuds and subsequent rabbinic decisions) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the sole reliance on the Tanakh as scripture, and the rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ...

Self-identification

Each religion has an ethos, that is, an internal description of its raison d'être (self-described purpose). Ethos (ἦθος) (plurals: ethe, ethea) is a Greek word originally meaning the place of living that can be translated into English in different ways. ...

The ethos of Christianity is to provide people with what it holds to be the only valid path to salvation (John 14:6, Great Commission, Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, Solus Christus)as announced by the apostles of what the book of Acts describes as, The Way (Acts 9:2). Only in Gentile (non-Jewish) settings is The Way referred to as Christian (Acts 11:26). What many now regard as a distinct religion was considered by all of the 1st century church to be Judaism of the fulfilled covenant. Nevertheless, the Bible teaches that people are, in their current state, sinful, and the New Testament reveals that Jesus is both the man and God, God made incarnate; that Jesus' death by crucifixion was a sacrifice to atone for all humanity's sins, and that acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Lord saves one from Divine Judgment (John 5:24), giving Eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). His famous Sermon on the Mount representing is considered by some Christian scholars^[1] to be the the proclamation of the New Covenant ethics, in contrast to the Mosaic Covenant of Moses from Mount Sinai. See also the Good news (Christianity) Ethos (ἦθος) (plurals: ethe, ethea) is a Greek word originally meaning the place of living that can be translated into English in different ways. ... For other uses, see Salvation (disambiguation). ... In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread the faith to all the world. ... The Latin phrase Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, meaning: Outside the Church there is no salvation, is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. ... From the Five Solas, the statement that Christ alone (Solus Christus, or Solo Christo) was necessary for salvation. ... The Way may mean: The Way International, a religious organization which describes itself as a biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry and which at least some sources consider to be a cult. ... The word gentile is an anglicised version of the Latin word gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe. ... The Way may mean: The Way International, a religious organization which describes itself as a biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry and which at least some sources consider to be a cult. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A covenant, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to do or not do something specified. ... For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Incarnation, which literally means enfleshment, refers to the DNA-encoding, conception, and live birth of a sentient creature (generally human) who is the material manifestation of an entity or force whose original nature is immaterial. ... For other uses, see Crucifixion (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Atonement (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Salvation (disambiguation). ... Holy name redirects here. ... Divine Judgment means the judgment of God, notably in the Judeo-Christian tradition. ... Immortality is the concept of existing for a potentially infinite or indeterminate length of time. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ... The Ascension from a Speculum Humanae Salvationis ca 1430, see below Typology is a theological doctrine of theory of types and their antitypes found in Scripture. ... Covenant, meaning a solemn contract, is the customary word used to translate the Hebrew word berith (ברית, Tiberian Hebrew bərîṯ, Standard Hebrew bərit) as it is used in the Hebrew Bible. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... Moses with the Ten Commandments by Rembrandt (1659) Biblical Mount Sinai refers to the place where, according to the Hebrew Bible (Exod. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Judaism's raison d'être is to carry out what it holds to be the only Covenant between God and the Jewish people. The Torah (lit. "teaching"), both written and oral, both tells the story of this covenant, and provides Jews with the terms of the covenant. The Torah thus guides Jews to walk in God's ways (Deut 30:16), to help them learn how to live a holy life on earth, and to bring holiness into the world and into every part of life, so that life may be elevated to a high level of sanctity (Lev 19:2, Imitatio dei). This will allow the Jewish people as a community to be a "light unto the nations" (Isa 42:6, 49:6, 60:3) (i.e., a role model) over the course of history and a part of the divine intent of bringing about an age of peace and sanctity where ideally a faithful life and good deeds should be ends in themselves, not means. See also Jewish principles of faith. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or a member of the Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... When Moses received all of the laws that would define the Jewish tradition, he also received the explanation of these laws. ... Imitatio dei (Latin, imitating god) is a religious concept according to which virtue among man is found by resembling God, to which man should aspire. ... Don Imus, The term role model was introduced by Robert K. Merton[1]. Merton says that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires. ... Kingdom of Heaven redirects here. ... There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ...

The nature of religion: national versus universal

The subject of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) is the history of the Children of Israel (also called Hebrews), especially in terms of their relationship with God. Thus, Judaism has also been characterized as a culture or as a civilization. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan defines Judaism as an evolving religious civilization. One crucial sign of this is that one need not believe, or even do, anything to be Jewish; the historic definition of 'Jewishness' requires only that one be born of a Jewish mother, or that one convert to Judaism in accord with Jewish law. (Today, Reform and Reconstructionist Jews also include those born of Jewish fathers and Gentile mothers if the children are raised as Jews.) For the musical collective, see Tanakh (band). ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy. ... Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (June 11, 1881–November 8, 1983) was a rabbi and the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה ; alternate transliterations include Halocho and Halacha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of American Jews and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th-century Germany. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement, based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan, that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. ...

To religious Jews, Jewish peoplehood is closely tied to their relationship with God, and thus has a strong theological component. This relationship is encapsulated in the notion that Jews are a chosen people. Although many non-Jews have taken this as a sign of arrogance or exclusivity, Jewish scholars and theologians have emphasized that a special relationship between Jews and God does not in any way preclude other nations having their own relationship with God, and does not mean Jews are superior to members of other nations. In this sense, "chosen" means chosen to undertake a duty, a responsibility or a role, rather than chosen as higher status or more deserving. For strictly observant Jews, being "chosen" fundamentally means that it was God's wish that a group of people would exist in a covenant with Him, and would be bound to obey a certain set of laws (see Torah and halakha) as a duty of their covenant. They view their divine purpose as being ideally a "light upon the nations" and a "holy people" (ie, a people who live their lives fully in accordance with Divine will), not "the one path to God". Various groups have considered themselves chosen by God for some purpose such as to act as Gods agent on earth. ... A covenant, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to do or not do something specified. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה ; alternate transliterations include Halocho and Halacha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. ...

Jews hold that other nations and peoples are not required (or expected) to obey Jewish law. The only laws Judaism believes are automatically binding on other nations are known as the Seven Laws of Noah (which are mainly humanitarian). Thus, as a national religion, Judaism holds that others may have their own, different, paths to God (or holiness, or "salvation"). Nevertheless, all people must recognize God's existence. Authorities disagree as to whether non-Jews must also recognize God's unity. The Rainbow is the ancient symbol of the Noahide Movement reminiscing the seven coloured rainbow that appeared after the Great Flood of the Bible. ...

Christianity, on the other hand, is characterized by its claim to universality, which marks a significant break from Jewish identity and thought. Christians believe that Christianity represents the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and the nation of Israel, that Israel would be a blessing to all nations. Although Christians generally believe their religion to be very inclusive (since not only Jews but all gentiles can be Christian), Jews see Christianity as highly exclusive, because it views non-Christians (such as Jews) as having an incomplete or imperfect relationship with God, and therefore excluded from grace, salvation, or heaven.

This crucial difference between the two religions has other implications. For example, while in a conversion to Judaism a convert must accept Jewish principles of faith, the process is more like a form of adoption, or changing national citizenship (i.e. becoming a formal member of the people, or tribe); also Judaism does not encourage its members to convert others and in fact would require the initiative from the person who would like to convert, whereas conversion to Christianity is generally a declaration of faith (although some denominations view it specifically as adoption into a community of Christ, and orthodox Christian tradition views it as being a literal joining together of the members of Christ's body). Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. ... Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. ...

Both Christianity and Judaism have been affected by the diverse cultures of their respective members. For example, what Jews from Eastern Europe and from North Africa consider "Jewish food" has more in common with the cuisines of non-Jewish Eastern Europeans and North Africans than with each other, although for religious Jews all food-preparation must conform to the same laws of Kashrut. According to non-Orthodox Jews and critical historians, Jewish law too has been affected by surrounding cultures (for example, some scholars argue that the establishment of absolute monotheism in Judaism was a reaction against the dualism of Zoroastrianism that Jews encountered when living under Persian rule; Jews rejected polygamy during the Middle Ages, influenced by their Christian neighbors). According to Orthodox Jews too there are variations in Jewish custom from one part of the world to another. It was for this reason that Joseph Karo's Shulchan Aruch did not become established as the authoritative code of Jewish law until after Moshe Isserlis added his commentary, which documented variations in local custom. The circled U indicates that this product is certified as kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU). ... For the Celtic Frost album, see Monotheist (album) In theology, monotheism (from Greek one and god) is the belief in the existence of one deity, or in the oneness of God. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... Polygamy has been a feature of human culture since earliest history. ... Rabbi Yosef (Joseph) Karo is one of the most important leaders in the history of halakha (Jewish law). ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... Moses Isserles (or Moshe Isserlis) (1530 - 1572), was a Rabbi and Talmudist, renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha (Jewish law), titled the Mapah (HaMapah), a component of the Shulkhan Arukh. ...

Understanding of the Bible

Jews and Christians seek authority from many of the same basic books, but they conceive of these books in significantly different ways.

The Hebrew Bible comprises three parts: For the musical collective, see Tanakh (band). ...

• Torah - the five books of Moses
• Nevi'im - the writings of the Prophets, and
• Ketuvim - other writings canonised over time, such as the Books of Esther, Ruth or Job.

Collectively, these are known as the Tanakh, a Hebrew acronym for the first letters of each. Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Neviim [נביאים] (Heb: Prophets) is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), following the Torah and preceding Ketuvim (writings). ... Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ... For the musical collective, see Tanakh (band). ...

According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Torah was revealed by God to Moses; within it, Jews find 613 Mitzvot (commandments), of which some are prescriptive and others of which are proscriptive. Moreover, Rabbinic tradition asserts that God revealed two Torahs to Moses, one that was written down, and one that was transmitted orally. Whereas the Written Torah has a fixed form, the Oral Torah is a living tradition which includes not only specific supplements to the Written Torah (for instance, what is the proper manner of shechita and what is meant by "Frontlets" in the Shema), but also procedures for understanding and talking about the Written Torah (thus, the Oral Torah revealed at Sinai includes debates among rabbis who lived long after Moses). The Oral Law elaborations of narratives in the Bible and stories about the rabbis referred to as aggadah ("lore"). It also includes elaboration of the 613 commandments in the form of laws referred to as halakha ("the way"). Elements of the Oral Torah were committed to writing and edited by Judah HaNasi in the Mishnah in 200 C.E.; much more of the Oral Torah were committed to writing in the Babylonian and a Jerusalem Talmuds, which were edited around 600 C.E. and 450 C.E., respectively. The Talmuds are notable for the way they combine law and lore, for their explication of the midrashic method of interpreting tests, and for their accounts of debates among rabbis, which preserve divergent and conflicting interpretations of the Bible and legal rulings. Main article: Mitzvah 613 Mitzvot or 613 Commandments (Hebrew: ‎ transliterated as Taryag mitzvot; TaRYaG is the acronym for the numeric value of 613) are a list of commandments from God in the Torah. ... Shechita Shechita (Hebrew:שחיטה) is the ritual slaughter of animals, as prescribed for slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws. ... Shema Yisrael (שמע ישראל) are the first two words of a section of the Hebrew Bible that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ... Aggadah (Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה ; alternate transliterations include Halocho and Halacha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. ... Judah haNasi, or more accurately in Hebrew, Yehudah HaNasi, was a key leader of the Jewish community of Judea under the Roman empire, toward the end of the 2nd century CE. He was reputedly from the Davidic line of the royal line from King David, hence his title Prince (Nasi... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...

Since the transcription of the Talmud, notable rabbis have compiled law codes that are generally held in high regard: the Mishnah Torah, the Tur, and the Shulchan Aruch. The latter, which was based on earlier codes and supplemented by a commentary that notes other practices and customs practiced by Jews in different communities, is generally held to be authoritative by Orthodox Jews. The Zohar, which was written in the thirteenth century, is generally held as the most important mystical treatise of the Jews. The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... Tur or TUR can stand for: Arbaah Turim, a work of Jewish law Tur (bean) Turkish language (ISO 639-2 language code) West Caucasian Tur, a species of goat Trans-urethral resection, a surgical procedure Tur, Egypt Tur, Iran Tur (son of Fereydun), son of Fereydun and predecessor of... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... The Zohar (Hebrew: זהר Splendor, radiance) is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. ...

All contemporary Jewish movements consider the Tanakh, including the Written Torah, and the Oral Torah in the form of the Mishnah and Talmuds as sacred, although movements are divided as to claims concerning their divine revelation, and also their authority. For Jews, the Torah - written and oral - is one's primary guide to the relationship between God and man, a living document that has unfolded and will continue to unfold whole new insights over the generations and millennia. A saying that captures this goes, "Turn it [the Torah's words] over and over again, for everything is in it."

Christians accept the Written Torah and other books of the Hebrew Bible, although they occasionally give readings from the Koine Greek Septuagint translation or the Dead Sea Scrolls instead of the Biblical Hebrew/Biblical Aramaic Masoretic Text. Two notable examples are: This article is about the term Hebrew Bible. For the Jewish scriptures see Tanakh. ... Koine redirects here. ... The Septuagint: A column of uncial text from 1 Esdras in the Codex Vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brentons Greek edition and English translation. ... The Dead Sea scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1979 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in the West... Categories: Language stubs | Judaism-related stubs | Canaanite languages | Hebrew language ... Biblical Aramaic is the form of the Aramaic language that is used in the books of Daniel, Ezra and a few other places in the Hebrew Bible. ... The Masoretic Text (MT) is the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh). ...

• Isaiah 7:14 -- "virgin" instead of "young woman"
• Psalm 22 -- "they have pierced my hands and feet" instead of "like a lion, (they are at) my hands and feet"

In the second example, the Dead Sea Scrolls may support the reading of the Masoretic Hebrew text.^{[2] [3]} The Dead Sea scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1979 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in the West...

Also, instead of the traditional Jewish order and names for the books, Christians organize and name the books closer to that found in the Septuagint. Some Christian denominations (such as Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox), include a number of books that are not in the Hebrew Bible – called the biblical apocrypha or deuterocanonical books – in their canon that are not in today's Jewish canon, although they were included in the Septuagint (see biblical canon and table of books of Judeo-Christian Scripture). However, Christians reject the Jewish Oral Torah (Matt 15:6), which was still in oral, and therefore unwritten, form in the time of Jesus.^[4] The biblical apocrypha includes texts written in the Jewish and Christian religious traditions that either were accepted into the biblical canon by some, but not all, Christian faiths, or are frequently printed in Bibles despite their non-canonical status. ... Deuterocanonical books is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages of the Christian Bible, in contrast to the protocanonical books which are contained in the Hebrew Bible. ... A biblical canon is a list of Biblical books which establishes the set of books which are considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular Jewish or Christian community. ... Below is a table of books of Jewish TaNaKh and Christian Scripture, organized by the Jewish use and Christian churches who hold these books to be sacred. ...

Christians believe that God has established a New Covenant with people through Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles, and other books collectively called the New Testament (the word testament attributed to Tertullian is commonly confused with the word covenant).^[5] For some Christians, such as Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, this New Covenant includes authoritative Sacred Traditions and Canon law. Others, especially Protestants, reject the authority of such traditions and instead hold to the principle of sola scriptura which accepts only the Bible itself as the final rule of faith and practice. Additionally, some denominations include the oral teachings of Jesus to the Apostles which have been handed down to this day, such as by Apostolic Succession. Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, (ca. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ... The Catholic Church bases all of its teachings on Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture (The Bible). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Canon law is the term used for... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about theological concept. ... In Christianity, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (or the belief that the Church is apostolic) maintains that the Christian Church today is the spiritual successor to the original body of believers in Christ, composed of the Apostles. ...

Since Christians refer to the Biblical books about Jesus as the New Testament, they also refer to the canon of Hebrew books as the Old Testament, where old is a reference to time not obsolescence (see Meaning of old in Old Testament). Judaism, however, does not accept the retronymic labeling of its sacred texts as the "Old Testament," and likewise some Jews refer to the New Testament as the Christian Testament or Christian Bible. Judaism rejects all claims that Christian New Covenant ideas supersedes, fulfills, or is the unfolding or consummation of the covenant expressed in the Written and Oral Torahs. It therefore does not accept that the New Testament has any religious authority over Jews. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... This article is about the term Hebrew Bible. For the Jewish scriptures see Tanakh. ... Supersessionism (sometimes referred to as replacement theology by its critics) is a belief that Christianity is the fulfillment and continuation of the Old Testament, and that Jews who deny that Jesus is the Messiah are not being faithful to the revelation that God has given them, and they therefore fall... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ...

Many Jews view Christians as having quite an ambivalent view of the Torah, or Mosaic law: on one hand Christians treat it as God's absolute word, but on the other, they apply its commandments with an alleged selectively (compare Biblical law in Christianity). As it seems to some Jews, Christians cite commandments from the Old Testament to support one point of view but then ignore other commandments of a similar class which are also of equal weight. Examples of this are certain commandments where God states explicitly they shall abide "for ever" (for example Exo 31:16-17, Exo 12:14-15), or where God states a particular thing is an "abomination", but which are not undertaken by most Christians. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In Christianity...

Christians explain that such selectivity is based on rulings made by early Jewish Christians in the Book of Acts, at the Council of Jerusalem, in that while believing Gentiles did not need to fully convert to Judaism, they should follow some aspects of Torah like avoiding idolatry and fornication including, according to some interpretations, of particular note in modern times, homosexuality.^[6] This view is also reflected by modern Judaism, in that Righteous Gentiles needn't convert to Judaism and observe all of Torah, but only the Noahide Laws which also contain prohibitions against idolatry and fornication.^[7] This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... This article is about the 1st century Council of Jerusalem in Christianity. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... After the World War II, the term Righteous Among the Nations (Transliterated חסידי עומות עולם Hebrew language: Khasiday Umot Olam) has been used to describe non-Jews who behaved heroically during the Holocaust (ha-Shoah) in order to save Jews from the Nazi-inspired genocide. ... The Rainbow is the ancient symbol of the Noahide Movement reminiscing the seven coloured rainbow that appeared after the Great Flood of the Bible. ...

Some Christians (Dual-covenant theology) agree that Jews who accept Jesus should still observe all of Torah, based on warnings by Jesus to Jews not to use him as an excuse to disregard it,^[8] and they support efforts of those like Messianic Jews to do that, but other forms of Christianity oppose all observance to the Mosaic law, even by Jews, which is sometimes known as Antinomianism. A minority view in Christianity, known as Christian Torah-submission, holds that the Mosaic law as it is written is binding on all followers of God under the New Covenant, even for Gentiles, because it views God’s commands as "everlasting" (Ps 119:152, 119:160; Ex 12:24, 29:9; Lev 16:29) and "good" (Neh 9:13; Ps 119:39; Rom 7:7-12). Dual-covenant theology is a belief which teaches that Jews will go to Heaven automatically, because of the covenant between Abraham and God expressed in the Old Testament, whereas Gentiles of all ethnicities must convert to Christianity. ... Messianic Judaism is any of a group of loosely related religious movements, all claiming a connection with Judaism but predominantly evangelical Christian in their beliefs, believing Jesus to be the Messiah, and using the New Testament as scripture. ... Antinomianism (from the Greek αντι, against + νομος, law), or lawlessness (in the Greek Bible: ανομια,[1] which is unlawful), in theology, is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Ten Commandments on...

Concepts of God

Traditionally, both Judaism and Christianity believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for Jews the God of the Tanakh, for Christians the God of the Old Testament, the creator of the universe. Both religions reject the view that God is entirely immanent, and within the world as a physical presence, (although Christians believe in the incarnation of God). Both religions reject the view that God is entirely transcendent, and thus separate from the world, as the pre-Christian Greek Unknown God. Both religions reject atheism on one hand and polytheism on the other. This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Ώ // ---- Insert non-formatted text here]] For other uses, see Abraham (name) and Abram (disambiguation). ... Sacrifice of Isaac, a detail from the sarcophagus of the Roman consul Junius Bassus, ca. ... This article is about Jacob in the Hebrew Bible. ... For the musical collective, see Tanakh (band). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... God is the divine being that created the omniverse. ... Immanence, derived from the Latin in manere to remain within, refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of the divine as existing and acting within the mind or the world. ... Look up incarnation, incarnate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses, and is independent of, physical existence. ... In addition to the twelve main Gods and the innumerable lesser deities, ancient Greeks used to worship an Unknown God (spelled Agnostos Theos in Greek). ... Atheist redirects here. ... Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple gods or deities. ...

Both religions agree that God shares both transcendent and immanent qualities. How these religions resolve this issue is where the religions differ. Christianity posits that God exists as a Trinity; in this view God exists as three distinct persons who share a single divine essence, or substance. In those three there is one, and in that one there are three; the one God is indivisible, while the three persons are distinct and unconfused, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It teaches that God became especially immanent in physical form through the Incarnation of God the Son who was born as Jesus of Nazareth, who is believed to be at once fully God and fully human. There are "Christian" sects that deny one or more of these doctrines, however. See also Nontrinitarianism. By contrast, Judaism sees God as a single entity, and views trinitarianism as both incomprehensible and a violation of the Bible's teaching that God is one. It rejects the notion that Jesus or any other object or living being could be 'God', that God could have a literal 'son' in physical form or is divisible in any way, or that God could be made to be joined to the material world in such fashion. Although Judaism provides Jews with a word to label God's transcendence (Ein Sof, without end) and immanence (Shekhinah, in-dwelling), these are merely human words to describe two ways of experiencing God; God is one and indivisible. This article is about the Christian Trinity. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Consubstantiality is a term used in Latin Christian christology, coined by Tertullian in Against Hermogenes 44, used to translate the Greek term homoousios, it describes the relationship between the three Divine Persons of the Christian Trinity and conotes that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ... This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (also called the Holy Ghost; in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh) is the third Person of the Holy Trinity. ... Christ en majesté, Matthias Grünewald, 16th c. ... This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... The hypostatic union (also known as the mystical union), in Christian theology, refers to the dual nature of Jesus Christ as being simultaneously God and Man. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Nontrinitarianism refers to Christian... In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. ... This article is about the physical universe. ... In the Jewish Kabbalah tradition, Ayn Sof (Ain Sof, Hebrew boundlessness or without end), also known referred to as Divine Being, is the name for God as he is unknown, or the mysterious and ultimate source of all existence. ... Shekhinah (- alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah, שכינה) is the English spelling of a feminine Hebrew language word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem. ...

Some Jewish and Christian philosophers hold that due to these differences, it may well be that Jews and Christians don't believe in the same god at all.

Shituf

The majority Jewish view, codified in Jewish law, is that Christians do worship the same God that Jews, along with "extra" gods (i.e., the other two sections of the trinity). This theology is referred to in Hebrew as 'Shituf' (literally "partnership"; in this context, that both the other gods and God work together). Although this theology is considered to be no different than any other form of idolatry for Jews, it may be an acceptable belief for non-Jews (according to the ruling of some Rabbinic authorities). Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה ; alternate transliterations include Halocho and Halacha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. ... Hebrew redirects here. ...

Accordingly, some Messianic congregations uphold a similar view with the description of God as a "compound unity."

Christian theology, however, describes such a concept as Tri-theism, and holds that any partnership of extra "gods" is strictly heretical. Thus, the very concept that Jewish theology describes as allowable for Christianity, Christians forbid as a denial of monotheism.^[9]. Interpretation or exegesis of the Scriptures is a major cause of this divergence in understanding as the same passages viewed by different schools of thought view the other as illegitimate, or heretical. Anthropomorphisms, for example, Moses meeting with God face-to-face on Mount Sinai, prophets speaking by the "Spirit of God", or the Witch of Endor bringing up Samuel from the dead to King Saul require us to do a reality check of what is really happening in those stories and in our Synagogues and Churches.

Right action

Faith versus good deeds

Judaism teaches that the purpose of the Torah is to teach us how to act correctly. God's existence is a given in Judaism, and not something that most authorities see as a matter of required belief. Although some authorities see the Torah as commanding Jews to believe in God, Jews see belief in God as a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for a Jewish life. The quintessential verbal expression of Judaism is the Shema Yisrael, the statement that the God of the Bible is their God, and that this God is unique and one. The quintessential physical expression of Judaism is behaving in accordance with the 613 Mitzvot (the commandments specified in the Torah), and thus live one's life in God's ways. Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Shema Yisrael (or Shma Yisroel or just Shema) (Hebrew: שמע ישראל; Hear, [O] Israel) are the first two words of a section of the Torah (Hebrew Bible) that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ... Main article: Mitzvah 613 Mitzvot or 613 Commandments (Hebrew: ‎ transliterated as Taryag mitzvot; TaRYaG is the acronym for the numeric value of 613) are a list of commandments from God in the Torah. ...

Thus fundamentally in Judaism, one is enjoined to bring holiness into life (with the guidance of Gods laws), rather than removing oneself from life to be holy.

Much of Christianity also teaches that God wants people to perform good works, but all branches hold that good works alone will not lead to salvation, which is called Legalism. The exception is Dual-covenant theology. Some Christian denominations hold that salvation depends upon transformational faith in Jesus which expresses itself in good works as a testament (or witness) to ones faith for others to see (primarily Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism), while others (including most Protestants) hold that faith alone is necessary for salvation. However, the difference is not as great as it seems, because it really hinges on the definition of "faith" used. The first group generally uses the term "faith" to mean "intellectual and heartfelt assent and submission." Such a faith will not be salvific until a person has allowed it to effect a life transforming conversion (turning towards God) in their being (see ontological faith). The Christians that hold to "salvation by faith alone" (also called by its Latin name "sola fide") define faith as being implicitly ontological—mere intellectual assent is not termed "faith" by these groups. Faith, then, is life-transforming by definition. See also Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and Christian View of the Law. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Legalism, in Christian theology, is a term referring to an improper fixation on law or codes of conduct, or legal ideas, usually implying an allegation of pride and the neglect of mercy, and ignorance of the grace of God. ... Dual-covenant theology is a belief which teaches that Jews will go to Heaven automatically, because of the covenant between Abraham and God expressed in the Old Testament, whereas Gentiles of all ethnicities must convert to Christianity. ... ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Sola fide (Latin: by faith alone), also historically known as the justification of faith, is a doctrine that distinguishes most Protestant denominations from Catholicism, Eastern Christianity, and Restorationism in Christianity. ... This article is about the philosophical meaning of ontology. ... The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification [1] is a document created by and agreed to by clerical representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation as a result of extensive ecumenical dialogue, apparently resolving the conflict over the nature of Justification which was at the... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism...

Sin and Original Sin

In both religions, one's offenses against the will of God are called sin. These sins can be thoughts, words, or deeds. For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation). ...

Catholicism categorizes sins into various groups. A wounding of the relationship with God is often called venial sin; a complete rupture of the relationship with God is often called mortal sin. Without salvation from sin (see below), a person's separation from God is permanent, causing such a person to enter Hell in the afterlife. Both the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church define sin more or less as a "macula," a spiritual stain or uncleanliness which constitutes damage to man's image and likeness of God. According to Catholicism, a venial sin is a sin which meets at least one of the following critera: it does not concern a grave matter, it is not committed with full knowledge, or it is not committed with both deliberate and complete consent. ... According to the beliefs of Roman Catholicism, a mortal sin is a sin that, unless confessed and absolved (or at least sacramental confession is willed if not available), condemns a persons soul to Hell after death. ... This article is about the theological or philosophical afterlife. ...

Original Sin refers to the idea that the sin of Adam and Eve's disobedience (sin "at the origin") has passed on a spiritual heritage, so to speak. Christians teach that human beings inherit a corrupted or damaged human nature in which the tendency to do bad is greater than it would have been otherwise, so much so that human nature would not be capable now of participating in the afterlife with God. This is not a matter of being "guilty" of anything; each person is only personally guilty of their own actual sins. However, this understanding of original sin is what lies behind the Christian emphasis on the need for spiritual salvation from a spiritual Saviour, who can forgive and set aside sin even though humans are not inherently pure and worthy of such salvation. St. Paul in Romans and |I Corinthians placed special emphasis on this doctrine, and stressed that belief in Jesus would allow Christians to overcome death and attain salvation in the hereafter. Original Sin redirects here. ... Michelangelos Creation of Adam, from the Sistine Chapel. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ... The Epistle to the Romans is one of the letters of the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. ... The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ...

Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and some Protestants teach the Sacrament of Baptism is the means by which each person's damaged human nature is healed and Sanctifying Grace (capacity to enjoy and participate in the spiritual life of God) is restored. This is referred to as "being born of water and the Spirit," following the terminology in the Gospel of St. John. Most Protestants believe this salvific grace comes about at the moment of personal decision to follow Jesus, and that Baptism is a symbol of the grace already received. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... ... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... This article is about the Christian religious act of Baptism. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... This article is about the Christian religious act of Baptism. ...

Main article: Sin#Jewish_views_of_sin

Hebrew has several words for sin, each with its own specific meaning. The word pesha, or "trespass", means a sin done out of rebelliousness. The word aveira means "transgression". And the word avone, or "iniquity", means a sin done out of moral failing. The word most commonly translated simply as "sin", het, literally means "to go astray." Just as Jewish law, halakha provides the proper "way" (or path) to live, sin involves straying from that path. Judaism teaches that humans are born with freewill, and morally neutral, with both a yetzer hatov, (literally, "the good inclination", in some views, a tendency towards goodness, in others, a tendency towards having a productive life and a tendency to be concerned with others) and a yetzer hara, (literally "the evil inclination", in some views, a tendency towards evil, and in others, a tendency towards base or animal behavior and a tendency to be selfish). In Judaism all human beings are believed to have free will and can choose the path in life that they will take. It does not teach that choosing good is impossible - only at times more difficult. There is almost always a "way back" if a person wills it. (Although texts mention certain categories for whom the way back will be exceedingly hard, such as the slanderer, the habitual gossip, and the malicious person) For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation). ... Free will is the philosophical doctrine that holds that our choices are ultimately up to us. ... In Judaism, yetzer hara (Hebrew for evil inclination) refers to the inclination to do evil, by violating the will of God. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... Neighborly gossips in the Altstadt in Sindelfingen, Germany Gossip consists of casual or idle talk of any sort, usually slanderous and/or devoted to discussing others. ... The term Malice has several meanings: Malice (legal term), a legal term describing the intent to harm Malice (movie), a 1993 movie starring Nicole Kidman, Alec Baldwin and Bill Pullman Malice (noun), a way to describe the feeling of hatred or disrespect. ...

The rabbis recognize a positive value to the yetzer hara: one tradition identifies it with God's observation on the last day of creation that His accomplishment was "very good" (God's work on the preceding days was just described as "good") and explain that without the yetzer ha'ra there would be no marriage, children, commerce or other fruits of human labor; the implication is that yetzer ha'tov and yetzer ha'ra are best understood not as moral categories of good and evil but as selfless versus selfish orientations, either of which used rightly can serve God's will.

Or as Hillel the Elder famously summarized the Jewish philosophy: Hillel is a Hebrew name that has been held by many famous Jewish rabbis and thinkers. ...

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

"And when I am for myself, what am 'I'?

"And if not now, [then] when?

Another explanation is, without the existence of the yetzer ha'ra, there would be no merit earned in following God's commandments; choice is only meaningful if there has indeed been a choice made. So whereas creation was "good" before, it became "very good" when the evil inclination was added, for then it became possible to truly say that man could make a true choice to obey God's "mitzvot" (wishes or commandments). This is because Judaism views the following of God's ways as a desirable end in and of itself rather than a means to an end.

Jews recognize two kinds of "sin," offenses against other people, and offenses against God. Offenses against God may be understood as violation of a contract (the covenant between God and the Children of Israel). Since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews have believed that right action (as opposed to right belief) is the way for a person to atone for one's sins. Midrash Avot de Rabbi Natan states the following: The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash and meaning literally The Holy House) was located on the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) in the old city of Jerusalem. ... Orthopraxy is a term derived from Greek meaning correct practice. It refers to accepted religious practices and may include both ritual practices as well as interpersonal acts. ... “Orthodox” redirects here. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...

One time, when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was walking in Jerusalem with Rabbi Yehosua, they arrived at where the Temple now stood in ruins. "Woe to us" cried Rabbi Yehosua, "for this house where atonement was made for Israel's sins now lies in ruins!" Answered Rabban Yochanan, "We have another, equally important source of atonement, the practice of gemilut hasadim ("loving kindness"), as it is stated "I desire loving kindness and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6).

The Babylonian Talmud states: For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ...

Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Eleazar both explain that as long as the Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel, but now, one's table atones [when the poor are invited as guests]. (Tractate Berachot, 55a.)

The liturgy of the Days of Awe (the High Holy Days; i.e. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) states that prayer, repentance and tzedakah (the dutiful giving of charity) atone for sin. But prayer cannot atone for wrongs done, without an honest sincere attempt to rectify any wrong done to the best of one's ability, and the sincere intention to avoid repetition. Atonement to Jews means to repent and set aside, and the word "T'shuvah" used for atonement actually means "to return". Judaism is optimistic in that it always sees a way that a determined person may return to what is good, and that God waits for that day too. Look up Rosh Hashanah in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Yom Kippur (Hebrew:יוֹם כִּפּוּר ) is a Jewish holiday, known in English as the Day of Atonement. ... Tzedakah (Hebrew: צדקה) in Judaism, is the Hebrew term most commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning justice .(צדק). Judaism is very tied to the concept of tzedakah, or charity, and the nature of Jewish giving has created a North American Jewish community that is very philanthropic. ...

Love

Although love is central to both Christianity and Judaism, literary critic Harold Bloom (in his Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine) argues that their notions of love are fundamentally different. Specifically, he links the Jewish conception of love to justice, and the Christian conception of love to charity. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Harold Bloom (born July 11, 1930) is an American professor and prominent literary and cultural critic. ... Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck // The word charity entered the English language through the O.Fr word charite which was derived from the Latin caritas.[1] In Christian theology charity, or love (agapē), is the greatest of the three theological virtues...

As in English, the Hebrew word for "love," ahavah אהבה, is used to describe intimate or romantic feelings or relationships, such as the love between parent and child in Genesis 22:2; 25: 28; 37:3; the love between close friends in I Samuel 18:2, 20:17; or the love between a young man and young woman in Song of Songs. Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... The Books of Samuel (Hebrew: Sefer Shmuel ספר שמואל), are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaisms Hebrew Bible) and also of the Old Testament (of Christianity). ... Song of Solomon is also the title of a novel by Toni Morrison. ...

Like many Jewish scholars and theologians, Bloom understands Judaism as fundamentally a religion of love. But he argues that one can understand the Hebrew conception of love only by looking at one of the core commandments of Judaism, Leviticus 19:18, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Talmudic sages Hillel and Rabbi Akiva commented that this is a major element of the Jewish religion. Also, this commandment is arguably at the center of the Jewish faith. As the third book of the Torah, Leviticus is literally the central book. Historically, Jews have considered it of central importance: traditionally, children began their study of the Torah with Leviticus, and the midrashic literature on Leviticus is among the longest and most detailed of midrashic literature (see Bamberger 1981: 737). Bernard Bamberger considers Leviticus 19, beginning with God's commandment in verse 3 – "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy" – to be "the climactic chapter of the book, the one most often read and quoted" (1981:889). Leviticus 19:18 is itself the climax of this chapter. Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ... Hillel is a Hebrew name that has been held by many famous Jewish rabbis and thinkers. ... Akiba ben Joseph (or Rabbi Akiva, Rebbi Akiva, c. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...

As theologian Franz Rosenzweig has pointed out, "love" in this context is remarkably different from the more common examples of love in that it constitutes an impersonal relationship: Franz Rosenzweig (December 25, 1886 – December 10, 1929) was an influential Jewish theologian and philosopher. ...

...the neighbor is only a representative. He is not loved for his own sake, nor for his beautiful eyes, but only because he just happens to be standing there, because he happens to be nighest to me. Another could easily stand in his place — precisely at this place nearest me. The neighbor is the other ...

(This point is underscored by another verse in the same chapter, Leviticus 19: 34, commanding the Children of Israel to love strangers.)

According to Franz Rosenzweig, the commandment to love one's neighbor itself arises out of another unique love: the relationship between God and the Children of Israel. That the relationship between God and the Children of Israel is a romantic relationship and comparable to the marital bond is made clear in Hosea 2:19 (see also Ezekiel 16:8, 60; Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 3:14; 31:32). The centrality of love to the relationship between God and Israel is epitomized in Deuteronomy 6: 4-5: "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." Arguably, this commandment is as central to Judaism as Leviticus 19: 18, as it was recited twice daily in the Temple in Jerusalem, and in the prayers of all observant Jews. Moreover, the Rabbis dictated that all Jews should recite this verse at the moment of their death (this custom contrasts with Mathew 27: 46, "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' — which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" see also Mark 15: 33; Luke 23: 46, however, is closer to the spirit of Jewish practice: "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last.") The Children of Israel, or Bnei Yisrael (בני ישראל) in Hebrew (also Bnai Yisrael, Bnei Yisroel or Bene Israel) is a Biblical term for the Israelites. ... See also Hoshea, who has the same name in Biblical Hebrew. ... Ezekiel, , IPA: , God will strengthen, from , chazaq, [ xazaq ], literally to fasten upon, figuratively strong, and , el, [ el ], literally strength, figuratively Almighty. He is a prophet and priest in the Bible who prophesied for 22 years sometime in the 500s BCE while in the form of visions exiled in... Isaiah the Prophet in Hebrew Scriptures was depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. ... For other uses, see Jeremiah (disambiguation). ... Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomium, second, from to deuteronomium touto, this second law, pronounced ) is the fifth book of the Torah of the Hebrew bible and the Old Testament. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash and meaning literally The Holy House) was located on the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) in the old city of Jerusalem. ...

Apparently by the Hellenistic period these two commandments were understood to be central to Jewish faith (see Mark 12: 28-32). Rosenzweig believes that these two commandments to love are inextricably connected, but in a complex way. He finds it remarkable that throughout the Pentateuch God demands that Israel love Him, yet never professes love for Israel (except in the future; that if Israel loves God He will bless them in return). But he does not see this as evidence that God does not love Israel; on the contrary. Rosenzweig asks, how can someone command love? The only answer, he argues, is that only a lover can do so; only one who loves can demand, "love me!' in return (Rosenzweig 1970: 176-177). The consequences of this demand, according to Rosenzweig, provide the foundation for Judaism. Look up Pentateuch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The first consequence of being loved, according to Rosenzweig, is a feeling of shame:

In the admission of love, the soul bares itself. To admit that one requites love and in the future wants nothing but to be loved — this is sweet. But it is hard to admit that one was without love in the past. And yet — love would not be the moving, the gripping, the searing experience that it is if the moved, gripped, seared soul were not conscious of the fact that up to this moment it had not been moved or gripped. Thus a shock was necessary before the self could become the beloved soul. And the soul is ashamed of its former self, and that it did not, under its own power, break this spell in which it was confined. This is the shame that blocks the beloved mouth that wishes to make acknowledgment. The mouth has to acknowledge its past and still present weakness by wishing to acknowledge its already present and future bliss. (Rosenzweig 1970: 179)

Thus, the immediate response to God's commandment to love is to confess, "I have sinned." For Rosenzweig this confession is not a source of shame; on the contrary, by speaking a truth about the past, it makes love in the present possible and thus "abolishes shame."

Consequently, Rosenzweig does not believe that this confession requires absolution:

It is not God that need cleanse it [the soul of the beloved, i.e. Israel] of its sin. Rather it cleanses itself in the presence of his love. It is certain of God's love in the very moment that shame withdraws from it and it surrenders itself in free, present admission — as certain as if God had spoken into its ear that "I forgive" which is longed for earlier when it confessed to him its sins of the past. It no longer needs this formal absolution. It is freed of its burden at the very moment of daring to assume all of it on its shoulders. So too the beloved no longer needs the acknowledgment of the lover which she longed for before she admitted her love. At the very moment when she herself dares to admit it, she is as certain of his love as if he were whispering his acknowledgment into her ear. (Rosenzweig 1970: 180-181)

In other words, Rosenzweig sees in the Hebrew Bible a "grammar of love" in which God can communicate "I love you" only by demanding "You must love me," and Israel can communicate "I love you" only by confessing "I have sinned." Therefore, this confession does not lead God to offer an unnecessary absolution; it merely expresses Israel's love for God.

But "What then is God's answer to this 'I am thine' by which the beloved soul acknowledges him" if it is not "absolution?" Rosenzweig's answer is: revelation: "He cannot make himself known to the soul before the soul has acknowledged him. But now he must do so. For this it is by which revelation first reaches completion. In its groundless presentness, revelation must now permanently touch the ground." (Rosenzweig 1970: 182) Revelation, epitomized by Sinai, is God's response to Israel's love. Contrary to Paul, who argued that "through the law comes knowledge of sin" (Romans 3: 20), Rosenzweig argues that it is because of and after a confession of sin that God reveals to Israel knowledge of the law.

For Rosenzweig as for the Rabbis, Song of Songs provides a paradigm for understanding the love between God and Israel, a love that "is strong as death" (Song of Songs 8:6; Rosenzweig 1970: 202). God's love is as strong as death because it is love for the People Israel, and it is as a collective that Israel returns God's love. Thus, although one may die, God and Israel, and the love between them, lives on. In other words, Song of Songs is "the focal book of revelation" (Rosenzweig 1970: 202) where the "grammar of love" is most clearly expressed. But, Rosenzweig argues, this love that is as strong as death ultimately transcends itself, as it takes the form of God's law — for it is the law that binds Israel as a people, and through observance of the law that each Jew relives the moment of revelation at Mt. Sinai. Ultimately, Song of Songs points back to Leviticus and the rest of the Torah. Rabbinic Judaism (or in Hebrew Yahadut Rabanit - יהדות רבנית) is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the written Torah as well as the Oral Law (the Mishnah, Talmuds and subsequent rabbinic decisions) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Song of Solomon is also the title of a novel by Toni Morrison. ...

Song of Songs largely describes a clandestine love affair, forbidden by the woman's brothers (Song of Songs 8: 8-9), and scorned by her friends (Song of Songs 5:9). For Rosenzweig, the concealed nature of this romance is emblematic of the way lovers lose themselves in one another. Yet the book itself struggles against this private love. "O that you were like a brother to me," the woman cries, "that nursed at my mother's breast! If I met you outside, I would kiss you, and none would despise me" (Song of Songs 8:1). The point, for Rosenzweig, is that love neither can nor should remain private.

Now she is his. Is she? Does not something ultimate still separate them at the pinnacle of love — beyond even that "Thou art mine" of the lover, beyond even that peace which the beloved found in his eyes, this last word of her overflowing heart? Does there not still remain one last separation? The lover has explained his love for her .... But will this explanation do? Does not life demand more than explanation, more than the calling by name? Does it not demand reality? And a sob escapes the blissfully overflowing heart of the beloved and forms into words, words which haltingly point to something unfulfilled, something which cannot be fulfilled in the immediate revelation of love: "O that you were like a brother to me!" Not enough that the beloved lover calls his bride by the name of sister in the flickering twilight of allusion. The name ought to be the truth. It should be heard in the bright light of "the street," not whispered into the beloved ear in the dusk of intimate duo-solitude, but in the eyes of the multitude, officially — "who would grant" that! Yes, who would grant that? Love no longer grants it. In truth, this "who would grant" is no longer directed to the beloved lover. Love after all always remains between two people; it knows only of I and Thou, not the street. This longing cannot be fulfilled in love ... (Rosenzweig 1970: 203-204)

It cannot be fulfilled in love. For Rosenzweig, as for the Rabbis, it can be fulfilled only in law. This is the meaning of revelation: Israel's love for God provides Him with the means to enter the world, and through His commandments to Israel their love enters "the street." It is through the revelation of God's commandments, according to Rosenzweig, that the love portrayed in Song of Songs becomes the love commanded in Leviticus. Just as God's love for the Children of Israel is one of the ways that he extends Himself into the world, the necessary response by the Jews — the way to love God in return — is to extend their own love out towards their fellow human beings.

This extension of God's love into the world, through the People Israel, is the point of Leviticus 19:18. According to Bloom, however, this love has a different character than the romantic love celebrated in Song of Songs. He argues that to understand the commandment to love one's neighbor one must look at the other commandments that form its context, beginning with verse 9:

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the Lord am your God.

You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another. You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.

You shall not defraud your neighbor. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning. You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly. Do not deal basely with your fellows. Do not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

You shall not hate your kinsman in your heart. Reprove your neighbor, but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

According to Bloom these accompanying commandments reveal that for Israel, love "in the street" takes the form of "just dealing." Similarly, theologian William Herberg argued that "justice" is at the heart of the Jewish notion of love, and the foundation for Jewish law:

The ultimate criterion of justice, as of everything else in human life, is the divine imperative — the law of love .... Justice is the institutionalization of love in society .... This law of love requires that every man be treated as a Thou, a person, an end in himself, never merely as a thing or a means to another's end. When this demand is translated into laws and institutions under the conditions of human life in history, justice arises. (1951: 148)

The arguments of Rosenzweig, Herberg, and Bloom echo the teachings of the the Rabbis, who taught that the written and oral Torahs provide the way to express this love-as-just-dealing. This view is encapsulated in one of the most famous rabbinic stories, that of the time a man once challenged Hillel the Elder, an important Pharisee who lived at the end of the 1st century BCE, to explain the entire law (Torah) while standing on one foot. Hillel replied, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and study it." Rosenzweig suggests that Hillel presented the commandment from Leviticus in the negative form (do not do it) as a way of setting up his own, affirmative, commandment: to go and study the law — in other words, the only way to fulfil Leviticus 19:18 is to observe all the laws of the Torah, the practical embodiment of the commandment to love. Similarly, Maimonides wrote that it should only be out of love for God, rather than fear of punishment or hope for reward, that Jews should obey the law: "When man loves God with a love that is fitting he automatically carries out all the precepts of love" (Maimonides Yad Chapter 10, quoted in Jacobs 1973: 159). Rabbinic Judaism (or in Hebrew Yahadut Rabanit - יהדות רבנית) is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the written Torah as well as the Oral Law (the Mishnah, Talmuds and subsequent rabbinic decisions) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Hillel (הלל) (born Babylon 1st Century BCE - died ?Jerusalem, 1st Century CE) was a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ...

Whereas Jews believe that law is the ultimate fulfillment of love, Christians believe that love is "the fulfillment of the Law" (Romans 13:8-10). Nevertheless, Jesus shared Hillel's — and presumably many Jews' — notion of love and the law, when he echoed the Pharisaic position that

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37-40)

When asked in reference to the latter commandment "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29), Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), in which the answer to the question is ultimately a foreigner (perhaps echoing Leviticus 19: 34).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus extended the commandment to include not only "your neighbor" but "your enemy" as well: The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ...

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your cloak also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the pagans do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48)

Jesus lived out this teaching at the end of his life. During his arrest, trial, scourging, and crucifixion, Jesus offered no resistance, totally submitting to his persecutors, however unjust. During Jesus' arrest, one of his disciples struck with a sword the ear of a man coming to seize Jesus, but Jesus commanded him to put away the sword, and healed the ear. (Luke 22:50-51) Jesus even prayed for his persecutors from the cross, calling out "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

Because of this, Jesus' selfless life of service, and the belief that Jesus died for the salvation of His people, Christian love is personified by Jesus, the supreme example being his martyrdom on the cross. Jesus commanded his disciples to follow his example: "My command is this: Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13) Furthermore, this same love is believed to be shared between the Father, the Son, and all Christians: "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love" (John 15:9-10). Finally, Jesus proclaimed love to be the defining characteristic of all Christians: "By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35).

Still, even more remarkable statements about love are made in the New Testament by the apostle John and by Paul. The most famous, and widely considered one of the earliest and most succinct summaries of the Christian faith, runs "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life" (John 3:16). Adding to this is "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

In the first epistle of John, he makes the bold statement "God is Love" (1 John 4:8,16). So love is not merely a characteristic of God, but the characteristic, which alone sums up God's complete essence.

Bloom argues that the Hebrew word for love, ahavah אהבה , is fundamentally understood as "just dealing." In the classic characterization of Christian love, Paul's discourse in First Epistle to the Corinthians, sometimes called the "love chapter," rather than using either of the two other Greek words that loosely translate to English as "love" (erōs ερως, meaning erotic love, or philos φιλος , meaning familial love), Paul used the word agápē αγαπη, which is probably more literally translated as "charity," and was first translated as "love" by William Tyndale: The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ... Eros ( érōs) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. ... PHILOS (plural PHILOI) is the old Greek word for friend, and sometimes means amateur etc. ... AgapÄ“ (IPA: or IPA: ) (Gk. ... William Tyndale (sometimes spelled Tyndale,Tindall or Tyndall) (ca. ...

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:1-8) ... And now these three remain: Faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Taking all this into account, Christian love can generally be described as: unconditional, self-sacrificing, charitable, altruistic, selfless, service-oriented, obedient, humble, peaceful, and compassionate.

The Corinthians passage is not only remarkable for the quality of love it describes. The intent of the passage is clearly to elevate love above other things traditionally considered good, including wisdom, faith, and charitable giving. It also explicitly makes love more important than the things mentioned in the previous passage: supernatural gifts, spiritual strength and positions of leadership. Many assert that this, combined with Jesus' teachings and John's claims, expands Christian love beyond that in Leviticus. Bloom maintains that the difference is in the character of love.

Abortion

Both Jews and Christians regard pregnancy as a gift from God, and hold children to be miracles.

The only statements in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Christian Old Testament) 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 (a fine); it should be added that the instance cited in the Tanakh contemplates the accidental, rather than the deliberate, causing of an abortion. For the musical collective, see Tanakh (band). ...

The Oral Law states that the fetus is not yet a full human being until it has been born (either the head or the body is mostly outside of the mother), therefore killing a fetus is not murder, and abortion - in restricted circumstances - has always been legal under Jewish law. Rashi, the great 12th century commentator on the Bible and Talmud, states clearly of the fetus 'lav nefesh hu--it is not a person.' The Talmud contains the expression 'ubar yerech imo--the fetus is as the thigh of its mother,' i.e., the fetus is deemed to be part and parcel of the pregnant woman's body." Judaism prefers that such abortions, when necessary, take place before the first 40 days where the Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 69b states that: "the embryo is considered to be mere water until the fortieth day." Afterwards, it is considered subhuman until it is born. Christians who agree with these views may refer to this idea as abortion before the "quickening" of the soul by God in the fetus. The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... A 16th-century depiction of Rashi Note: For the astrological concept, see Rashi - the signs. ...

There are two additional passages in the Talmud which shed some light on the Jewish belief about abortion. They imply that the fetus is considered part of the mother, and not a separate entity:

• One section states that if a man purchases a cow that is found to be pregnant, then he is the owner both of the cow and the fetus.
• Another section states that if a pregnant woman converts to Judaism, that her conversion applies also to her fetus.

Judaism unilaterally supports, in fact mandates, abortion if doctors believe that it is necessary to save the life of the mother. Many rabbinic authorities allow abortions on the grounds of gross genetic imperfections of the fetus, such as Tay-Sachs disease. They also allow abortion if the mother were suicidal because of such defects. However, Judaism holds that abortion is impermissible for family planning or convenience reasons. Each case must be decided individually, however, and the decision should lie with the mother, father, and Rabbi. Tay-Sachs disease (abbreviated TSD, also known as GM2 gangliosidosis, Hexosaminidase A deficiency or Sphingolipidosis) is a genetic disorder, fatal in its most common variant known as Infantile Tay-Sachs disease. ...

Most branches of Christianity have historically held abortion to be generally wrong, referring to Old Testament passages such as Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 1, as well as New Testament passages concerning both Jesus and John the Baptist while they were in utero. Also, the Didache, an early Church document, explicitly forbids abortion along with infanticide, both common practices in the Roman Empire, as murder. The view that abortion is 'equivalent to murder' is not actually widely held outside fundamentalist Protestantism in the United States. The Roman Catholic church, for example, permits medical procedures to be carried out on a mother for the purpose of saving her life, even if doing so would put the foetus at risk. Many Protestant Christians claim that the Ten Commandments prohibit abortion under the heading of "Do not murder". Others reject this view, as they hold that the context of the entire set of Biblical laws includes those laws which restrict them to already born human beings. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... St. ... The Didache (, Koine Greek for Teaching[1]) is the common name of a brief early Christian treatise ( 70–160), containing instructions for Christian communities. ... In sociology and biology, infanticide is the practice of intentionally causing the death of an infant of a given species, by members of the same species - often by the mother. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ten Commandments (disambiguation). ...

War, violence and pacifism

Jews and Christians accept as valid and binding many of the same moral principles taught in the Torah. There is a great deal of overlap between the ethical systems of these two faiths. Nonetheless, there are some highly significant doctrinal differences. Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ...

Judaism has a great many teachings about peace and compromise, and its teachings make physical violence the last possible option. Nonetheless, the Talmud teaches that "If someone comes with the intention to murder you, then one is obligated to kill in self-defense [rather than be killed]". The clear implication is that to bare one's throat would be tantamount to suicide (which Jewish law forbids) and it would also be considered helping a murderer kill someone and thus would "place an obstacle in front of a blind man" (ie, makes it easier for another person to falter in their ways). The tension between the laws dealing with peace, and the obligation to self-defense, has led to a set of Jewish teachings that have been described as tactical-pacifism. This is the avoidance of force and violence whenever possible, but the use of force when necessary to save the lives of one's self and one's people. The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ...

Although killing oneself is forbidden under normal Jewish law as being a denial of God's goodness in the world, under extreme circumstances when there has seemed no choice but to either be killed or forced to betray their religion, Jews have committed suicide or mass suicide (see Masada First French persecution of the Jews, and York Castle for examples). As a grim reminder of those times, there is even a prayer in the Jewish liturgy for "when the knife is at the throat", for those dying "to sanctify God's Name". (See: Martyrdom). These acts have received mixed responses by Jewish authorities. Where some Jews regard them as examples of heroic martyrdom, but others saying that while Jews should always be willing to face martyrdom if necessary, it was wrong for them to take their own lives.^[10] For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ... Combatants Jewish Sicarii Roman Empire Commanders Elazar ben Yair Lucius Flavius Silva Strength 960 15,000 Casualties 953 Unknown Masada (a romanisation of the Hebrew מצדה, Metzada, from מצודה, metzuda, fortress) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of... The current Jewish community in France numbers around 606,561, according to the World Jewish Congress and 500,000 according to the Appel Unifié Juif de France (France Jewish community main organism), and is found mainly in the metropolitan areas of Paris, Marseille and Strasbourg. ... A view from the outside of the tower York Castle is part of the city of York. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ...

Because Judaism focuses on this life, many questions to do with survival and conflict (such as the classic moral dilemma of two people in a desert with only enough water for one to survive) were analysed in great depth by the rabbis within the Talmud, in the attempt to understand the principles a godly person should draw upon in such a circumstance. Morality (from the Latin manner, character, proper behavior) has three principal meanings. ... Look up Dilemma in Wiktionary, the free dictionary For the Nelly song, see Dilemma (song). ...

The Sermon on the Mount records that Jesus taught that if someone comes to harm you, then one must turn the other cheek. This has led four fairly sizable Protestant Christian denominations to develop a theology of pacifism, the avoidance of force and violence at all times. They are known historically as the peace churches, and have incorporated Christ's teachings on nonviolence into their theology so as to apply it to participation in the use of violent force; those denominations are the Quakers, Mennonites, Amish, and the Church of the Brethren. Many other churches have people who hold to the doctrine without making it a part of their doctrines, or who apply it to individuals but not to governments, see also Evangelical counsels. The vast majority of Christian nations and groups have not adopted this theology, nor have they followed it in practice. See also But to bring a sword. The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ... Turn the other cheek is a famous phrase taken from the Sermon on the Mount in the Christian New Testament. ... Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes or gaining advantage. ... Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating pacifism. ... Nonviolent resistance (or nonviolent action) is the practice of achieving socio-political goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. ... Quaker redirects here. ... The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations based on the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ... This article is about Old Order Amish, but also refers to other Amish sects. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Church of the Brethren is... The evangelical counsels or counsels of perfection are poverty, chastity, and obedience. ... I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword is one of the controversial statements reported of Jesus in the Bible. ...

Capital punishment

Although the Hebrew Bible has many references to capital punishment, the Jewish sages used their authority, and the demands for justice emphasized in the Bible, to make it nearly impossible for a Jewish court to impose a death sentence. Even when such a sentence might have been imposed, the Cities of Refuge and other sanctuaries, were at hand for those unintentionally guilty of capital offences. It was said in the Talmud about the death penalty in Judaism, that if a court killed more than one person in seventy years, it was a barbarous (or "bloody") court and should be condemned as such. According to the Bible, these are the offenses which merit the death penalty. ... This article is about the concept of justice. ... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ... The Cities of Refuge were six Biblical towns in Israel that offered asylum to someone who had unintentionally slain another. ... For other uses, see Manslaughter (disambiguation). ...

This subject is discussed in more detail in Jewish views of capital punishment. Most major world religions take an ambiguous position on the morality of capital punishment. ...

Christianity usually reserved the death penalty for heresy, the denial of the orthodox view of God's view, and witchcraft or similar non-Christian practices, which struck at the roots of Christianity as practiced. For example, in Spain, unrepentant Jews were exiled, and it was only those crypto-Jews who had accepted baptism under pressure but retained Jewish customs in private, who were punished in this way. It is presently aknowledged by most of Christianity that these uses of capital punishment were deeply immoral. Heresy, as a blanket term, describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox. ... Witch redirects here. ... Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as crypto-Jews. The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendants of Jews who still (generally secretly) maintain some Jewish traditions, often while adhering... This article is about the Christian religious act of Baptism. ...

This subject is discussed in more detail in Christian views of capital punishment. Most major world religions take an ambiguous position on the morality of capital punishment. ...

Food

Main article: Kashrut

Jews, unlike most Christians, still practice a restrictive diet which has many rules. Most Christians believe that the kosher food laws do not apply to them as they are no longer under the Law of Moses, although Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy have their own set of dietary observances. Eastern Orthodoxy, in particular has very elaborate and strict rules of fasting. In addition, some Christian denominations observe some Biblical food law, for example see Ital. The circled U indicates that this product is certified as kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU). ... I-tal or ital means Vital. ...

Salvation

Judaism does not see human beings as inherently flawed or sinful and needful of being saved from it, but rather capable with a free will of being righteous, and unlike Christianity does not closely associate ideas of "salvation" with a New Covenant delivered by a Jewish Messiah, although in Judaism Jewish people will have a renewed national commitment of observing God's commandments under the New Covenant, and the Jewish Messiah will also be ruling at a time of global peace and acceptance of God by all people.^[11] Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... In Judaism and Jewish eschatology, the Messiah (Hebrew: משיח; Mashiah, Mashiach, or Moshiach, anointed [one]) is a term traditionally referring to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who will be anointed (the meaning of the Hebrew word משיח) with holy anointing oil and inducted to rule the Jewish people during...

Judaism holds instead that proper living is accomplished through good works and heartfelt prayer, as well as a strong faith in God. Judaism also teaches that Gentiles can receive a share in "the world to come". This is codified in the Mishna Avot 4:29, the Babylonian Talmud in tractates Avodah Zarah 10b, and Ketubot 111b, and in Maimonides's 12th century law code, the Mishneh Torah, in Hilkhot Melachim (Laws of Kings) 8.11. For other uses, see Prayer (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ...

The Christian view is that every human is a sinner, and being saved by God's grace, not simply by the merit of ones own actions, pardons a damnatory sentence to Hell.

Judgment

Both Christianity and Judaism believe in some form of judgment.

Most Christians (the exception is Full Preterism) believe in the future Second Coming of Jesus which includes the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment. Those positively judged will be saved and live in God's presence in the Kingdom of Heaven, those who are negatively judged will be cast to eternal Hell or simply annihilated, see for example The Sheep and the Goats. Preterism is a variant of Christian eschatology which holds that some or all of the biblical prophecies concerning the Last Days (or End Times) refer to events which actually happened in the first century after Christs birth. ... For other uses, see Second Coming (disambiguation). ... Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all variously describe a resurrection of the dead, usually a resurrection of all people to face God on Judgment Day. ... Judgment Day redirects here. ... The Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God, Hebrew מלכות השמים, malkhut hashamayim, Greek basileia tou theou) is a key concept detailed in all the three major monotheistic religions of the world — Islam, Judaism and Christianity. ... The Sheep and the Goats or The Judgement of the Nations was a discourse of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. ...

In Jewish liturgy there is significant prayer and talk of a "book of life" that one is written into, indicating that God judges each person each year even after death. This annual judgment occurs on Rosh Hashanah. Additionally, God sits daily in judgment concerning a person's daily activities. Upon the anticipated arrival of the Messiah, God will judge the nations for their persecution of Israel during the exile. Later, He will also judge the Jews over their observance of the Torah. Look up Rosh Hashanah in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian ; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: , ; the Anointed One) at first meant any person who was anointed with oil on rising to a certain position among the ancient Israelites, at first that of High priest, later that of King and also that of a prophet. ...

Heaven and Hell

There is little Jewish literature on heaven or hell as actual places, and there are few references to the afterlife in the Hebrew Bible. One is the ghostly apparition of Samuel, called up by the Witch of Endor at King Saul's command. Another is mention by the Prophet Daniel of those who sleep in the earth rising to either everlasting life or everlasting abhorrence.^[12] The Witch of Endor: from the frontispiece to Sadducismus Triumphatus by Joseph Glanvill In the Hebrew Bible, the Witch of Endor of the First book of Samuel, chapter 28:4–25, was a witch, a woman who possesses a talisman, through which she called up the ghost of the recently... Daniel (Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל; transliterated as Daniyyel in Standard Hebrew and Dāniyyêl in Tiberian Hebrew, Arabic: Danyel, دانيال) is the name of at least three people from the Hebrew Bible: A Jewish exile in Babylon, the subject of the Book of Daniel and the most well-known of the three Daniels. ...

Early Hebrew views were more concerned with the fate of the nation of Israel as a whole, rather than with individual immortality.^[13] A stronger belief in an afterlife for each person developed during the Second Temple period but was contested by various Jewish sects. Pharisees believed that in death, people rest in their graves until they are physically resurrected with the coming of the Messiah, and within that resurrected body the soul would exist eternally.^[14] Maimonides also included the concept of resurrection in his Thirteen Principles of Faith. For the followers of the Vilna Gaon, see Perushim. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ...

Judaism's view is summed up by a biblical observation about the Torah: in the beginning God clothes the naked (Adam), and at the end God buries the dead (Moses). The Children of Israel mourned for 40 days, then got on with their lives. Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ...

In Judaism, "Heaven" is sometimes described as a place where God debates Talmudic laws with the angels, and where Jews spend eternity studying the Written and Oral Torah. "Hell" as Gehenna is a place or condition of purgatory where Jews spend up to twelve months purifying to get into heaven, depending on how sinful they have been, although some suggest that certain types of sinners can never be purified enough to go to heaven and rather than facing eternal torment, simply cease to exist. Therefore, some violations like suicide would be punished by separation from the community, such as not being buried in a Jewish cemetery, rather than with eternal torment. Judaism also does not have a notion of hell as a place ruled by Satan since God's dominion is total and Satan is only one of God's angels. The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Illustration for Dantes Purgatorio (18), by Gustave Doré, an imaginative picturing of Purgatory. ... This article is about the concept of Satan. ...

Catholics also believe in a purgatory for those who are going to heaven, but Christians in general believe that Hell is a fiery place of torment that never ceases, called the Lake of Fire. A small minority believe this is not permanent, and that those who go there will eventually either be saved or cease to exist. Heaven for Christians is depicted in various ways. As the Kingdom of God described in the New Testament and particularly the Book of Revelation, Heaven is a new or restored earth free of sin and death, with a New Jerusalem led by God, Jesus, and the most righteous of believers starting with 144,000 Jews from every tribe, and all others who received salvation living peacefully and making pilgramages to give glory to the city.^[15] This article is about the theological or philosophical afterlife. ... In the Book of Revelation, the beast, the false prophet, the Satan, death, hades, and all those whose names arent written in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire[1]. In some interpretations, the servants of iniquity are tortured forever in the lake. ... Kingdom of Heaven redirects here. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... For other uses, see New Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... 144,000 is a positive whole integer between 100,000 and 200,000. ...

In Christianity, promises of Heaven and Hell as rewards and punishments are often used to motivate good and bad behavior, as threats of disaster were also used by prophets like Jeremiah to motivate Israelites. Modern Judaism generally rejects this form of motivation, instead teaching to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. As Maimonides wrote: For other uses, see Jeremiah (disambiguation). ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ...

A man should not say: I shall carry out the precepts of the Torah and study her wisdom in order to receive all the blessings written therein or in order to merit the life of the World to Come and I shall keep away from the sins forbidden by the Torah in order to be spared the curses mentioned in the Torah or in order not to be cut off from the life of the World to Come. It is not proper to serve God in this fashion. For one who serves thus serves out of fear. Such as way is not that of the prophets and sages. Only the ignorant, and the women and children serve God in this way. These are trained to serve out of fear until they obtain sufficient knowledge to serve out of love. One who serves God out of love studies the Torah and practices the precepts and walks in the way of wisdom for no ulterior motive at all, neither out of fear of evil nor in order to acquire the good, but follows the truth because it is true and the good will follow the merit of attaining to it. It is the stage of Abraham our father whom the Holy One, blessed be He, called "My friend" (Isaiah 41:8 – ohavi = the one who loves me) because he served out of love alone. It is regarding this stage that the Holy One, Blessed be He, commanded us through Moses, as it is said: "You shall love the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 6:5). When man loves God with a love that is fitting he automatically carries out all the precepts of love.

(Maimonides Yad Chapter 10, quoted in Jacobs 1973: 159) Isaiah the Prophet in Hebrew Scriptures was depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. ... Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomium, second, from to deuteronomium touto, this second law, pronounced ) is the fifth book of the Torah of the Hebrew bible and the Old Testament. ...

The Messiah

Jews believe that a descendant of King David will one day appear to restore the Kingdom of Israel and usher in an era of peace, prosperity, and spiritual understanding for Israel and all the nations of the world. Jews refer to this person as Moshiach or 'anointed one', translated as Messiah in English and Christos in Greek. The traditional Jewish understanding of the messiah is that he is fully human and born of human parents without any supernatural element. The messiah is expected to have a relationship with God similar to that of the prophets of the Tanakh. In his commentary on the Talmud, Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) wrote: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian ; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: , ; the Anointed One) at first meant any person who was anointed with oil on rising to a certain position among the ancient Israelites, at first that of High priest, later that of King and also that of a prophet. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian ; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: , ; the Anointed One) at first meant any person who was anointed with oil on rising to a certain position among the ancient Israelites, at first that of High priest, later that of King and also that of a prophet. ... Neviim [נביאים] (Heb: Prophets) is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), following the Torah and preceding Ketuvim (writings). ... For the musical collective, see Tanakh (band). ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ...

All of the people Israel will come back to Torah; The people of Israel with be gathered back to the land of Israel; The Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt; Israel will live among the nations as an equal, and will be strong enough to defend herself; Eventually, war, hatred and famine will end, and an era of peace and prosperity will come upon the Earth.

He adds: The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash and meaning literally The Holy House) was located on the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) in the old city of Jerusalem. ...

"And if a king shall stand up from among the House of David, studying Torah and indulging in commandments like his father David, according to the written and oral Torah, and he will coerce all Israel to follow it and to strengthen its weak points, and will fight The Lord's wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. If he succeeded [and won all nations surrounding him. Old prints and mss.] and built a Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the strayed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together ... But if he did not succeed until now, or if he was killed, it becomes known that he is not this one of whom the Torah had promised us, and he is indeed like all [other] proper and wholesome kings of the House of David who died."

He also clarified the nature of the Messiah:

"Do not imagine that the anointed King must perform miracles and signs and create new things in the world or resurrect the dead and so on. The matter is not so: For Rabbi Akiba was a great scholar of the sages of the Mishnah, and he was the assistant-warrior of the king Ben Coziba [Simon bar Kokhba] ... He and all the Sages of his generation deemed him the anointed king, until he was killed by sins; only since he was killed, they knew that he was not. The Sages asked him neither a miracle nor a sign..." (Main article: Moshiach)

The Christian view of Jesus as Messiah goes beyond such claims and is the fulfillment and union of three anointed offices: Akiba ben Joseph (or Rabbi Akiva, Rebbi Akiva, c. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Simon bar Kokhba (Hebrew: שמעון בר כוכבא, also transliterated as Bar Kokhva or Bar Kochba) was the Jewish leader who led what is known as Bar Kokhbas revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE, establishing an independent Jewish state of Israel which he ruled for three years as Nasi (prince, or... The concept of the messiah in Judaism is briefly discussed in the Jewish eschatology entry. ...

• A Prophet like Moses who delivers God's commands and covenant and frees people from bondage.
• A High Priest in the order of Melchizedek overshadowing the Levite priesthood.
• A King like King David ruling over Jews, and like God Himself ruling over the whole world and came from the line of david

For Christians, Jesus is also fully human and fully divine as the Word of God who sacrifices himself so that humans can receive salvation. Jesus sits in Heaven at the right hand of God and will judge humanity in the end times. Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek — by Dieric Bouts the Elder, 1464–67 Melchizedek or Malki-tzédek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק / מַלְכִּי־צָדֶק, Standard Hebrew Malki-ẓédeq / Malki-ẓádeq, Tiberian Hebrew Malkî-ṣéḏeq / Malkî-ṣāḏeq), sometimes written Malchizedek, Melchisedec, Melchisedech, Melchisedek or Melkisedek, is a figure mentioned by various sects of both Christian and Judaic traditions. ... In the Jewish tradition, a Levite (לֵוִי Attached, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. ... This page is about the Biblical king David. ... The hypostatic union (also known as the mystical union), in Christian theology, refers to the dual nature of Jesus Christ as being simultaneously God and Man. ... This article is about logos (logoi) in ancient Greek philosophy, mathematics, rhetoric, Theophilosophy, and Christianity. ... Judgment Day redirects here. ... // In the three Abrahamic Religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), the End Times are depicted as a time of tribulation that precede the predicted coming of a Messiah figure. ...

Christian readings of the Hebrew Bible find many references to Jesus. This takes the form in some cases of specific prophesy, but in most cases of foreshadowing by types or forerunners. Traditionally, most Christian readings of the Bible maintained that almost every prophecy was actually about the coming of Jesus, and that the entire Old Testament of the Bible is a prophecy about the coming of Jesus. According to the Canonical Gospels, the Ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1-3 years. ...

Catholic views

Catholicism teaches of the necessity of the Church for salvation, which some like Fr. Leonard Feeney - at one point excommunicated by Pope Pius XII - interpreted as limiting salvation to Catholics only. At the same time, it does not deny the possibility that those not visibly members of the Church may attain salvation as well. In recent times, its teaching has been most notably expressed in the Vatican II council documents Unitatis Redintegratio (1964), Lumen Gentium (1964), Nostra aetate (1965), an encyclical issued by Pope John Paul II: Ut Unum Sint (1995), and in a document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dominus Iesus in (2000). The latter document has taken criticism for claiming that non-Christians are in a "gravely deficient situation" as compared to Catholics but also adds that "for those who are not formally and visibly members of the Church, salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church, but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation." Catholic Church redirects here. ... The Latin phrase Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, meaning: Outside the Church there is no salvation, is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. ... // Father Leonard Feeney (1897-1978) was an American priest who propagated a rigid interpretation of the Catholic doctrine extra ecclesiam nulla salus, or outside the church there is no salvation, denying baptism of blood and baptism of desire as heretical innovations and that all unbaptized human beings (in the Catholic... Excommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ... Pope Pius XII (Latin: ), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (March 2, 1876 – October 9, 1958), reigned as the 260th pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, from March 2, 1939 until his death. ... Unitatis Redintegratio is the Second Vatican Councils Decree on Ecumenism. ... Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. ... Nostra Aetate is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. ... Ut Unum Sint (Latin: may they be one) is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II of May 25, 1995. ... Dominus Iesus (Latin for Lord Jesus) is a document by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Congregations then secretary, Tarcisio Bertone. ...

Pope John Paul II on October 2 of 2000 emphasized that this document did not say that non-Christians were actively denied salvation: "...this confession does not deny salvation to non-Christians, but points to its ultimate source in Christ, in whom man and God are united". The Pope then, on December 6, issued a statement to further emphasize that the Church continued to support its traditional stance that salvation was available to believers of other faiths: "The gospel teaches us that those who live in accordance with the Beatitudes--the poor in spirit, the pure of heart, those who bear lovingly the sufferings of life--will enter God's kingdom." He further added, "All who seek God with a sincere heart, including those who do not know Christ and his church, contribute under the influence of Grace to the building of this Kingdom." On August 13, 2002, American Catholic bishops issued a joint statement with leaders of Reform and Conservative Judaism, called "Reflections on Covenant and Mission", which affirmed that Christians should not target Jews for conversion. The document stated: "Jews already dwell in a saving covenant with God" and "Jews are also called by God to prepare the world for God's Kingdom." However, some U.S.-led Baptist and other fundamentalist denominations still believe it is their duty to engage in what they refer to as outreach to "unbelieving" Jews (see Jews for Jesus). Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   []; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) reigned as the 264th Pope of... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Beatitudes (from Latin, beatitudo, happiness) is the beginning portion of the Sermon on the Mount of the Gospel of Matthew. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of American Jews and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th-century Germany. ... This article is about Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Baptist is... Fundamentalist Christianity is a fundamentalist movement, especially within American Protestantism. ... Jews for Jesus is a Christian [1] evangelical organization which targets Jews for conversion to Christianity. ...

Eastern Orthodox views

Eastern Orthodox Christianity emphasizes a continuing life of repentance or metanoia, which includes an increasing improvement in thought, belief and action. Regarding the salvation of Jews, Muslims, and other non-Christians, the Orthodox have traditionally taught the same as the Catholic Church: that there is no salvation outside the church. People of all genders, races, economic and social positions, and so forth are welcome in the church. People of any religion are welcome to convert. Orthodoxy recognizes that other religions may contain truth, to the extent that they are in agreement with Christianity. (Some of the early church fathers pointed to Socrates' belief in one God; a few more modern Orthodox Christian theologians have found traces of trinitarianism in the writings of Laozi.) A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... This page is about the Classical Greek philosopher. ... Laozi (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lao Tzu; also Lao Tse, Laotze, Lao Zi, and in other ways) was an ancient Chinese philosopher. ...

Many Orthodox theologians believe that all people will have an opportunity to embrace union with God, including Jesus, after their death, and so become part of the Church at that time. God is thought to be good, just, and merciful; it would not seem just to condemn someone because they never heard the Gospel message, or were taught a distorted version of the Gospel by heretics. Therefore, the reasoning goes, they must at some point have an opportunity to make a genuine informed decision. Ultimately, those who persist in rejecting God condemn themselves, by cutting themselves off from the ultimate source of all Life, and from the God who is Love embodied. Jews, Muslims, and members of other faiths, then, are expected to convert to Christianity in the afterlife. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also holds this belief, and holds baptismal services in which righteous people are baptized in behalf of their ancestors who, it is believed, are given the opportunity to accept the ordinance. Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... For other uses, see Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (disambiguation). ...

Proselytizing

Judaism is not a proselytizing religion. Orthodox Judaism deliberately makes it very difficult to convert and become a Jew, and requires a significant and full-time effort in living, study, righteousness, and conduct over several years. The final decision is by no means a foregone conclusion. A person cannot become Jewish by marrying a Jew, or by joining a synagogue, nor by any degree of involvement in the community or religion, but only by explicitly undertaking intense, formal, and supervised work over years aimed towards that goal. Some less strict versions of Judaism have made this process somewhat easier but it is still far from common. Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the converts previous beliefs; in some cultures (e. ...

In the distant past Judaism was more evangelistic^[16], but this was often more akin just to "greater openness to converts" (c.f. Ruth) rather than active soliciting of conversions. Since Jews believe that one need not be a Jew to approach God, there is no religious pressure to convert non-Jews to their faith, see also proselyte. Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab by William Blake, 1795 Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld: Ruth in Boazs Field, 1828 The Book of Ruth (Hebrew: מגילת רות, Megilat Rut, the Scroll of Ruth) is one of the books of the Ketuvim (Writings) of the Tanakh (the... Proselyte, from the Koine Greek προσήλυτος/proselytos, is used in the Septuagint for stranger, i. ...

However the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidic Judaism, whose various beliefs and practices have caused controversy with other Jewish denominations, has been an exception to this non-proselytizing standard since in recent decades it has been actively promoting Noahide Laws for Gentiles as an alternative to Christianity.^[17][18] Chabad Lubavitch, or Lubavich, is one of the largest branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi . ... This article is about the Hasidic movement originating in Poland and Russia. ... The Rainbow is the ancient symbol of the Noahide Movement reminiscing the seven coloured rainbow that appeared after the Great Flood of the Bible. ...

By contrast, Christianity is an explicitly evangelical religion. Christians are commanded by Jesus to "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations". Historically, evangelism has often led to forced conversion under threat of death or mass explusion (See also Inquisition). While abuses of this sort are no longer common, at certain times and in certain places, evangelism has veered into high-pressure coercion, in those instances causing significant ill-will. Look up evangelist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread the faith to all the world. ... A forced conversion occurs when someone adopts a religion or philosophy under the threat that a refusal would result in negative non-spiritual consequences. ... This article is about the Inquisition by the Roman Catholic Church. ...

Mutual views

Common Jewish views of Christianity

Main article: Judaism's view of Jesus

Jesus plays no role whatsoever in Judaism. Jews are familiar with Jesus primarily through the western world since it is a relatively Christian-oriented society. Many view Jesus as just one in a long list of failed Jewish claimants to be the messiah, none of whom fulfilled the tests of a prophet specified in the Law of Moses. Others see Jesus as a teacher who worked with the gentiles and ascribe the messianic claims they find objectionable to his later followers. Because much physical and spiritual violence was done to Jews in the name of Jesus and his followers, and because evangelism is still an active aspect of many church's activities, many religious Jews are uncomfortable with discussing Jesus and treat him as a non-person. In answering the question, "What do Jews think of Jesus," philosopher Milton Steinberg claims, for Jews, Jesus cannot be accepted as anything more than a teacher. "In only a few respects did Jesus deviate from the Tradition," Steinberg concludes, "and in all of them, Jews believe, he blundered."^[19] Judaism has no special or particular view of Jesus, and very few texts in Judaism directly refer to or take note of Jesus. ... Occident redirects here. ... This is a list of people who have been said to be a messiah either by themselves, or by their followers. ... Christianity diverged from Judaism in the first century CE: for this reason, the Jewish view of Jesus is important for a historical understanding of Christianitys initial reception. ... This article is about references to the name Yeshu in classical Jewish rabbinic literature. ...

On a religious level, Judaism does not believe that God requires the sacrifice of any human. This is emphasized in Jewish traditions concerning the story of the Akedah, the binding of Isaac. In the Jewish explanation, this is a story in the Torah whereby God wanted to test Abraham's faith and willingness, and Isaac was never going to be actually sacrificed. Thus, Judaism rejects the notion that anyone can or should die for anyone else's sin (see Spiegel, 1993). As a religion, Judaism is far more focused on the practicalities of understanding how one may live a sacred life in this world according to God's will, rather than hope a hope of a future one. Judaism does not believe in the Christian concept of hell but does have a punishment stage in the afterlife (i.e. Gehenna, the New Testament word translated as hell) as well as a Heaven (Gan Eden), but the religion does not intend it as a focus. Abraham Sacrificing Isaac by Laurent de LaHire, 1650 Akedah or the Binding of Isaac (‎, Akedát Yitzhák) in Genesis 22, is narration from the Hebrew Bible, in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. ... Sacrifice of Isaac, a detail from the sarcophagus of the Roman consul Junius Bassus, ca. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... This article is about the theological or philosophical afterlife. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Christmas and other Christian festivals have no religious significance in Judaism and are not celebrated. Celebration of non-Jewish holy days is considered Avodah Zarah or "Foreign Worship" and is forbidden^{[citation needed]}; however some secular Jews in the West treat Christmas as a secular (but not religious) holiday. For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ... Avodah Zarah (meaning idolatry - lit. ...

Common Christian views of Judaism

Main article: Christianity

Christians believe that Christianity is the fulfillment and successor of Judaism, retaining much of its doctrine and many of its practices including monotheism, the belief in a Messiah, and certain forms of worship like prayer and reading from religious texts. Other beliefs, like the need for a blood sacrifice for sin, are beliefs that Rabbinical Judaism has since veered away from. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... For the Celtic Frost album, see Monotheist (album) In theology, monotheism (from Greek one and god) is the belief in the existence of one deity, or in the oneness of God. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian ; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: , ; the Anointed One) at first meant any person who was anointed with oil on rising to a certain position among the ancient Israelites, at first that of High priest, later that of King and also that of a prophet. ... For other uses, see Prayer (disambiguation). ...

Most Christians consider that the Law was necessary as an intermediate stage, but once the crucifixion of Jesus occurred, then adherence to civil and ceremonial Law was superseded by the New Covenant^[20] since the purpose of these laws was to dictate a proper relationship to God through the tabernacles and the temples in Jerusalem. Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ...

Some Christians adhere to Replacement theology which states that Jews who reject Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God have ceased being the Chosen People. This position has been softened by some adherents, or completely rejected by other churches where Jews are recognized to have a special status due to their covenant with God through Abraham, so this continues to be an area of ongoing dispute among Christians. Supersessionism is the traditional Christian belief that Christianity is the fulfillment of Biblical Judaism, and therefore that Jews who deny that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah fall short of their calling as Gods Chosen people. ...

Some Christians who view the Jewish people as close to God seek to understand and incorporate elements of Jewish understanding or perspective into their beliefs as a means to respect their "parent" religion of Judaism, or to more fully seek out and return to their Christian roots. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are ethnic Jews who have found faith in Jesus as their Messiah. Christians embracing aspects of Judaism are sometimes criticized as Biblical Judaizers by Christians when they pressure Gentile Christians to observe Old Testament. The Baruch Hashem Messianic Synagogue in Dallas, Texas Theology and Practice Messiah · Yeshua · Dance · Seal Religious Texts Messianic Bible translations Movement leaders & Orgs. ... Ethnic Jews is a term used to describe people of Jewish ethnicity and background; the term sometimes can refer exclusively to Jews who, for whatever reasons, no longer accept Judaism as their religion, or who are so casual in their connection to that religion as to be effectively secular. ... Judaizers is a pejorative term used by Pauline Christianity, particularly after the third century, to describe Jewish Christian groups like the Ebionites and Nazarenes who believed that followers of Jesus needed to keep the Law of Moses. ...

Inter-relationship

In addition to each having varied views on the other as a religion, there has also been a long and often painful history of conflict, persecution and at times, reconciliation, between the two religions, which have influenced their mutual views of their relationship over time. It has been suggested that Christian opposition to anti-Semitism be merged into this article or section. ...

Genocide, including persecution, forcible conversion, and forcible displacement of Jews (ie hate crimes) were common for many centuries, with occasional gestures to reconciliation from time to time. Pogroms were common throughout Christian Europe, including organized violence, restrictive land ownership and professional lives, forcible relocation and ghettoization, mandatory dress codes, and at times humiliating actions and torture. All had major effects on Jewish cultures. For other uses, see Genocide (disambiguation). ... Look up Persecution in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In general, conversion is the transformation of one thing into another. ... Forced migration refers to the coerced movement of a person or persons away from their home or home region. ... A Jewish cemetery in France after being defaced by Neo-Nazis. ... The Russian word pogrom (погром) refers to a massive violent attack on people with simultaneous destruction of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). ... For the rapper, see Ghetto (rapper). ... For other uses, see Torture (disambiguation). ...

More recently, even within the last century alone, some Jews see the current wave of evangelism as yet more reasons to doubt goodwill, while others look to the many peaceful gestures towards harmony since that time, likewise some Christians are at peace and others suspicious of Jews. Look up evangelist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

What is clear is that formally, there is mostly peaceful living side by side, with strong inter-dialogue at many levels to reconcile past differences between the two groups, and many Christians emphasize common historical heritage and religious continuity with the ancient spiritual lineage of the Jews. What is also likely is that for a long time to come, some within each will continue to consider the other with varying degrees of suspicion and hostility. In recent years there has been much to note in the way of reconciliation between some Christian groups and the Jewish people. ...

See also

• Anti-Judaism
• Antisemitism
• Bible
• British Israelism
• Christianity
• Christianity and Biblical prophecy
• Christianity and antisemitism
• Christian Zionism
• Cultural and historical background of Jesus
• Dispensationalism
• Jesus
• Jewish Christians
• Judeo-Christian
• Islam and Judaism
• Messianic Judaism
• Mormonism and Judaism
• Persecution of Christians in the New Testament
• Relations between Catholicism and Judaism
• Sermon on the Mount
• Shema Yisrael (a pivotal Jewish prayer and - in part - declaration of faith)
• Supersessionism
• Table of books of Judeo-Christian Scripture
• Unification Church and antisemitism

An example of state-sponsored atheist anti-Judaism. ... Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism, also known as judeophobia) is prejudice and hostility toward Jews as a religious, racial, or ethnic group. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... British Israelism (sometimes called Anglo-Israelism) is a Christian theology based on the premise that many early British people, Europeans and/or their royal families were direct lineal descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel and in some cases of the Tribe of Judah. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Since Judaism does not accept the validity of the New Testament and rejects the claim that Jesus was a messiah, see the beliefs of Jews and Judaism in Jewish eschatology and the Jewish Messiah. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Competition... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      for Christians... This article — a part of the Jesus and history series — describes the period within which Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, is said to have lived. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      A current... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Jacob wrestling an angel, by Gustave Doré (1832-1883), a shared Judeo-Christian story. ... This article is about the historical interaction between Islam and Judaism. ... The Baruch Hashem Messianic Synagogue in Dallas, Texas Theology and Practice Messiah · Yeshua · Dance · Seal Religious Texts Messianic Bible translations Movement leaders & Orgs. ... Latter-day Saints believe themselves to be either direct descendants of the House of Israel, or adopted into it. ... This article on relations between Catholicism and Judaism deals with the current relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and Judaism, focusing on changes over the last fifty years, and especially during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. // The Second Vatican Council Throughout history accusations of anti-Semitism have resounded... The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ... Shema Yisrael (or Shma Yisroel or just Shema) (Hebrew: שמע ישראל; Hear, [O] Israel) are the first two words of a section of the Torah (Hebrew Bible) that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ... Supersessionism (sometimes referred to as replacement theology by its critics) is a belief that Christianity is the fulfillment and continuation of the Old Testament, and that Jews who deny that Jesus is the Messiah are not being faithful to the revelation that God has given them, and they therefore fall... Below is a table of books of Jewish TaNaKh and Christian Scripture, organized by the Jewish use and Christian churches who hold these books to be sacred. ... While many of the members of the Unification Church take a generally pro-Jewish, pro-Israel stance, the church has been a subject to criticism for alleged antisemitism because of its teachings concerning the Jews in the Old and New testaments. ...

Notes

The Expounding of the Law (KJV:Matthew 5:17-48), sometimes called the Antithesis of the Law, is a less well known but highly structured (Ye have heard . ... Halakha (הלכה or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ... Hillel (הלל) (born Babylon 1st Century BCE - died ?Jerusalem, 1st Century CE) was a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. ... Shammai (50 BCE–30 CE) was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaisms core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century version in Latin, partly revised and partly translated by Jerome on the orders of Pope Damasus I in 382. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Jacob Emden was a Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and opponent of the Shabbethaians. ... The Rainbow is the modern symbol of the Noahide Movement reminiscing the rainbow that appeared after the Great Flood of the Bible. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In Christianity... For other uses, see Sabbath. ... For other persons named Tiberius, see Tiberius (disambiguation). ... ... For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation). ... Woodcut of Juvenal from the Nuremberg Chronicle Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, Anglicized as Juvenal, was a Roman satiric poet of the late 1st century and early 2nd century. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

References

• Bamberger, Bernard 1981 "Commentary to Leviticus" in The Torah: A Modern Commentary edited by W. Gunther Plaut. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations. ISBN 0-8074-0055-6

• Bloom, Harold 2005 Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine Riverhead ISBN 1-57322-322-0

• Herberg, Will 1951 Judaism and Modern Man: An Interpretation of Jewish religion Jewish Publication Society, ISBN 0689702329

• Jacobs, Louis 1973 A Jewish Theology Behrman House ISBN 0-87441-226-9

• Rosenzweig, Franz 2005 The Star of Redemption University of Wisconsin Press ISBN 0-299-20724-2

• Rouvière, Jean-Marc 2006 Brèves méditations sur la création du monde, L'Harmattan Paris

• Speigel, Shalom 1993 The Last Trial: On the Legends and Lore of the Command to Abraham to Offer Isaac As a Sacrifice: The Akedah Jewish Lights Publishing; Reprint edition ISBN 1-879045-29-X

External links

• Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited (ISBN 0-8028-1362-3) - A book on Jewish-Christian relations from an Anabaptist perspective.
• Roman Catholic Church's views on other faiths
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Christianity in its Relation to Judaism
• A Rival, a Relative, or Both? Differing Christian Stances Toward Judaism Over Two Millennia by Dr. Graham Keith (Middle East Resources)