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Judaism Vs Christianity Essay

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I believe the main point of divergence between Judaism and Christianity starts with how each views Jesus and God. Jews do accept Jesus as the Messiah and Christians do; thus creating a point of contention. Christians believe in the Trinity and the Jews do not. The Christian belief that God came to mankind in a human form goes against the Jewish belief in the Oneness of God – which further divides the two religions and the rejection of the Trinity concept.

Sin is also another area of divide. In Judaism, the view of sin and atonement changed after the destruction of the main temple in Jerusalem by the Romans ~70CE. The path to forgiveness incorporated prayer and sacrifices at the temple – but the destruction removed that option and a different …show more content…

The Christian belief that humans are innately disposed to sin because of Adam and Eve; along with the concept of Jesus dying for the Christian’s sins, need for repentance, and that the only way to heaven is through Jesus (2 Peter 3:9; John 14:6 Acts 4:12 NKJV). These are quite different from the Jewish belief.

The view or belief in heaven and hell are truly opposites. Christians and Muslims have a clear idea/belief in what lies in the afterlife – Heaven or Hell. The Jewish concept of these is all over the board. Some believe in these concepts, others do not. Some believe in Sheol – a purgatory of sorts (Van Voorst, 2017). Others believe this world is considered preparation for the next - the Garden of Eden (Gan Eden), and there is a correlation between how one experiences the next and what they do in this life. Other teachings leave it up to the individual to decide (Van Voorst, 2017; Klug, 2013; Rose, n.d.).

In the end, the Jewish and Christian faiths share many concepts, but also differ on key elements. I submit that regardless of beliefs, the goal is to live a virtuous and wholesome life – as Rabbi Rose (n.d.) wrote “We Don’t Know, So [We] Must Make Our Lives

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