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Judaism Vs Christianity: What Are The Main Differences

Over the years, there have been debates on the differences between Judaism and Christianity. Many scholars believed that there were no differences at all, that to some extent, they were both the same. The two religions gradually diverged over the first few centuries of the Christianity Era. The most important distinction is Christian acceptance and Jewish non-acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition.

 According to Christians, God consists of three persons essentially the Trinity. Judaism emphasizes the Oneness of God and rejects the Christian concept of God in human form. Other differences include the recognition of the Hebrew bible which is also known as the Old Testament, Judaism doesn’t recognize the Christian New Testament.

1. Separate Theologies

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The main purpose of Judaism is to carry out the covenant between God and the Jewish people. The Oral Torah is the primary guide for Jews to abide by these terms, these help them learn how to live a holy life and bring holiness, love, and peace into the world. This provides the relationship between the individual Jew and God through either study or prayer three times daily.

Christian writers believe that the New Testament reveals that Jesus is both the Son of man and the Son of God and that Jesus’ death led to the acceptance of him as Savior and Lord. In the new testament, Jesus’ sermon on the Mount is considered to be a proclamation of the New Covenant ethics which is in contrast to the Mosiac Covenant of Moses.

2. The Covenant Theology

Christians believe that the New Covenant was established by God with people through Jesus. Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians use the New Covenant as an authoritative sacred tradition and canon law. Christians refer to the biblical books about Jesus as the New Testament and to the canon of Hebrew books as the Old Testament.

Judaism on the other hand rejects all claims that the Christian New Covenant fulfills the consumption of the covenant expressed in the Written and Oral Torahs. This is the point at which Christianity and Judaism differ, Christians don’t accept that the Mosaic law has any authority over Christians. While Judaism doesn’t accept that the New Testament has any religious authority over Jews.

3. The Biblical Laws 

Some Jews contend that Christians cite commandments from the Old Testament to support one point of view but then ignore other commandments. Christians explain that such rulings were made by early Jewish Christians in the Book of Acts and that while believing gentiles, they didn’t need to fully convert to Judaism.

Some Christians agree that Jews who accept Jesus should still observe all of the Torah which is based on warnings by Jesus to Jews. The Christian-Torah submission holds the Mosaic law which is written by binding on all followers of God under the New Covenant.

4. The Concept of God

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Both Judaism and Christianity believe in the God who was worshipped by Issac, Jacob, and Abraham. God in Judaism has been conceived in a variety of ways. Judaism holds that Yahweh and the national god of the Israelites delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Jews also believe that God gave Israelites the law of Moses at Mount Sinai as described in the Torah. Judaism believes in a monotheistic conception of God which is both removed from and involved in the material universe.

God is described as unique and perfect, free from all faults, and held to be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and infinite. Jews never describe God in any image and the Torah forbids them from sharing his singular sovereignty as he is considered to be the absolute one.

However, God in Christianity is believed to be the eternal, supreme being who created and preserved all things. Christians believe in the same monotheistic conception of God. Christian teachings on the immanence, transcendence, and involvement of God in the world. The Christian theology of the attributes and nature of God has been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity.

5. Faith against Good Deeds

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Judaism teaches that the purpose of the Torah is to teach us how to act correctly. However, some see the Torah as commanding Jews to believe in God. Jews view God as a necessary condition for Jewish life. Thus pointing out that a person is enjoined to bring holiness into life rather than removing themselves from life to be holy.

Christianity also teaches that God wants people to perform good works but all branches hold that good works alone will not lead to salvation. Some Christian denominations hold that salvation depends upon transformational faith in Jesus. The Christians stand for sola fide which translates to salvation by faith alone. 

6. Both Views on Sin

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Jews regard the violation of any of the 613 commandments as a sin. Judaism teaches that sin is a part of life, sin has various classifications and degrees. Jewish courts during the time of the Temple punished certain sins with varying forms of punishment depending on the exact sin.

The punishments would vary from execution to fines, to lashes, and everything in between. Less severe sins were considered to be unintentional sins, these sins had to be committed out of lack of knowledge in order for them to not be considered as sins. The more severe sins were the sins committed between people. 

In Christianity, a sin is an immoral act that was considered to be a transgression of divine law. The doctrine of sin is central to the Christian faith because the basic message is about redemption in Christ. A branch of Christian theology called Hamartiology is the study of sin which describes sin as an act of offense against God. Hamartiology is closely related to concepts of moral theology, natural law, and Christian ethics. 

Scholars understand that sin is mostly a legal infraction of non-binding philosophical frameworks and perspectives of Christian ethics. Other scholars understand sin to be a fundamental relation between a loss of love for the Christian God. The legal definition of sin is the understanding of Christian grace and salvation which are viewed in relational terms.

7. Their views on Abortion

In Judaism, their views are primarily based on the legal and ethical teachings of the Hebrew Bible. Jewish religious movements allow abortion in order to save the life of a pregnant woman. Authorities differ on when and whether it is permitted in other cases. Orthodox Judaism opposes mist abortion, however, it is permitted if the pregnancy endangers the woman’s life.

Scholars have voted on the long complex history between Christianity and abortion. Even though the Bible doesn’t contain any explicit judgment on abortion, there are several biblical passages that indicate either moral approval or disapproval of abortion.

Early Christians are believed to hold different opinions about abortion, some say that they condemned abortion at any point of pregnancy. Christian denominations today hold a variety of stances on the issue of abortion. 

8. Taboo food and Drinks

Unlike most Christians, Orthodox Jews still practice a restrictive diet that has many rules. Most Christians believed that kosher food has been replaced. The part of Christianity that has very particular and elaborate rules of fast is the Eastern Orthodox Church. However, they aren’t the only ones that follow strict rules on food, Jehovah’s witnesses don’t eat blood products and are known for their refusal to accept transfusions.

Other Christian denominations observe some biblical food laws. Some follow the practice of Ital in Rastafari, 

9. Forgiveness in Both Religions

In Judaism, when a person causes harm they sincerely and honestly apologize to the wronged individual and try to rectify their wrongdoing, then the wronged individual is encouraged to grant forgiveness. In Judaism, a person cannot obtain forgiveness from God for wrongs the person has done to other people. This means that unless the victim forgave the perpetrator before he died, murder is unforgivable in Judaism.

In Christianity, forgiveness is central to the Christian ethic. It is a frequent topic in sermons and theological works. This is because, in Christianity, they teach that Christ is about redemption, and redemption is all about forgiveness of sin.

10. Salvation Through Christ

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In Judaism, human beings who are inherently flawed and sinful cannot be saved. Unlike in Christianity, they don’t associate ideas of salvation with a New Covenant which is delivered by a Jewish messiah. However, in Judaism, people will have a renewed national commitment to observing God’s commandments under the New Covenant. Through the Protestant eye, every human is a sinner and is saved by God’s grace and not simply by the merit of one’s own actions.

Judaism instead teaches that proper living is achieved through good works and heartfelt prayer as well as a strong faith in God. It also teaches that Gentiles can receive a share in the world to come.