Alright folks, today I gotta walk you through how I tackled this whole Judaism vs Christianity thing. Been seeing questions pop up, people kinda mixing them up, so figured I should finally sit down and get it straight in my own head. Wanna share what I did, step by step, warts and all.
First off, gotta admit: I was kinda fuzzy on the details myself. Knew they both came from the Old Testament stuff, worshipped one God, but beyond that? Real patchy. So, I started by just pulling out a big blank piece of paper – the big one I use for messy brainstorming – and just scrawled “Judaism” on one side and “Christianity” on the other. Real basic setup.
Diving Into the Starting Point
I knew both trace back to Abraham, right? But how they see him seemed important. So, I started reading quick summaries online – nothing super heavy, just simple explainers. Biggest lightbulb moment right away? Understanding that for Jews, Abraham is the founding father because he made this special covenant deal with God, basically following God’s rules super strictly. But then Christians? They see Abraham as important too, but kinda more like the first step leading to… well, Jesus later on. It’s like they both agree he’s important, but he fits into different spots in their story.
That Jesus Hurdle
This is where it got real messy for me initially. Seriously, this is the absolute key difference, the massive speed bump I kept tripping over. I kept reading stuff:
- Judaism? They straight-up don’t believe Jesus was the Messiah promised in their scriptures. Full stop. They’re still waiting for that figure, expecting someone very different when he comes. They definitely don’t see Jesus as God’s son in the Christian way.
- Christianity? Literally everything revolves around Jesus being that Messiah AND the Son of God. His dying and coming back to life is the absolute core of the whole faith. Without Jesus being God and doing that, the whole Christian house of cards kinda falls down.
I had to sit with that for a bit. One faith centers entirely on him as divine, the other respectfully disagrees he was the guy they were promised. Massive, massive difference right there.
Digging Deeper Into the Rules (Law)
Okay, next headache? All those laws in the Old Testament. What’s the deal there?
- Judaism places HUGE emphasis on following the Torah, those first five books. We’re talking the kosher food rules, observing Sabbath strictly, circumcision, the festivals – it’s like a detailed blueprint for daily life and worship. The rabbis, those are their scholars and teachers who interpret it all.
- Christianity? Takes a very different turn. They believe Jesus’ sacrifice fulfilled those ceremonial laws. They still value the Old Testament big time (especially the moral laws like the Ten Commandments!), but the nitty-gritty food and festival rules? Generally seen as not required anymore, replaced by faith in Christ and guidance from the New Testament stuff written later.
This part always tripped me up because both use the same starting books but read them so differently! I sketched out examples on my paper – like drawing a cheeseburger (kosher says ‘no’, many Christians say ‘okay’) and a calendar for Shabbat/Sunday.
Figuring Out the Afterlife Angle
Death. Heavy topic, right? Turns out they see it differently too.
- Judaism has some diverse views honestly – resurrection, spiritual afterlife – but it’s often less defined than the Christian picture. There’s more focus on living a good life HERE and NOW according to God’s will, on the covenant with God, and leaving the specifics of the ‘after’ a bit more mysterious. The world to come is important, but the how is varied.
- Christianity has a super clear narrative: Heaven, Hell, salvation through accepting Jesus. Get saved, go to Heaven. Reject him, risk Hell (interpretations vary). It’s a central motivator – your eternal fate hinges on Christ.
Seeing that contrast helped me grasp a different feel between the two – one maybe more focused on the present earthly journey under the covenant, the other heavily geared towards the eternal destination tied to Jesus.
Pulling It All Together & My Big Mistake
After wrestling with all this for way longer than I expected (who knew religion was complex?!), my piece of paper was covered in scribbles, arrows, circled words, and crossed-out misunderstandings. I tried to boil it down on a fresh sheet:
- Foundation: Both Abrahamic, monotheistic.
- The Big Split: Jesus = Messiah & Son of God? (Christianity: Absolutely Essential. Judaism: No)
- Scripture: Judaism = Tanakh (Torah core). Christianity = Tanakh/Old Testament + New Testament (Jesus-centered).
- Law: Judaism = Detailed Torah observance vital. Christianity = Moral law vital, ceremonial law fulfilled/done.
- Focus: Judaism = Covenant, present life lived by God’s law. Christianity = Salvation via Jesus, eternal destiny.
Here’s my honest admission: Before this, I kinda mumbled something about Jews following the Old Testament rules and Christians the New. Totally missed the HUGE JESUS-shaped chasm in the middle and how that changes everything about interpreting the shared older books. I nearly offended both sides in one go! This whole deep dive saved me from future embarrassing oversimplifications for sure.
So yeah, that was my journey. Just one guy trying to untangle two massive world religions on a kitchen table covered in scribbled notes. Hope it helps someone else avoid my initial fumbles! Gotta say, digging into this stuff is always humbling.
