Judaism vs. Christianity

Judaism and Christianity developed on the basis of obeying god, adherence to his rules and intention, and their faithful fulfillment. Since the fulfillment of God’s will is a duty of a Jewish or Christian person, both religions fall into the rule-deontological category. Although each sect has a different perspective on teaching and beliefs, they have one common thread: the belief in a singular deity. Both religions are monotheistic with a holy text and both strive to conquer evil. The origin of theses religions both come from the Middle East: Judaism coming from the tribe of Judah (one of the 12 sons of Jacob) and Christianity from Jesus’ title “Christos”, which is Greek for Messiah. Each religion is very similar with only some of the beliefs and teaching being different. In Judaism, God is seen as having a contracted relationship with the Jewish people, where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. In parts of the Old Testament, God shows mercy and forgiveness, and in later interpretations of God’s laws, such as the Ten Commandments, are followed not only out of loyalty to God, but also because of their high moral character. In Christianity, the emphasis is placed on the love of God rather than obeying his will. People much believe that God is merciful and loves them as well. As a reflection of God’s love, people must also love one another and forgive their enemies. Christians practice peace and non-violence, return good for evil, and love for suffering (“turn the other cheek”). They also give separate messages to outsiders as to what the religions stand for. Christians basically just sin, repent, and then are forgiven for their sins, whereas Judaism is a system of sanctification in which all is to be subsumed under God’s rule. Christianity and Judaism are very similar in some ways and vary drastically in others.