If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on The Jewish Christian Debate. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality The Jewish Christian Debate paper right on time.
Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in The Jewish Christian Debate, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your The Jewish Christian Debate paper at affordable prices!
The Jewish Christian Debate
Christian and Judaic theologies are both structured in the practices of knowing God, having faith in God and living life according to Gods will. Christians and Jews both agree in the opinion that Gods proclamations are documented in both the Hebrew scriptures of ancient Israel, the Old Testament or the Written Torah and the Bible. These texts both record how humanity came to know God. They are based on traditions, morality and ethics, and are used as mediums to express Gods will. However, there has been an ongoing battle. By the Jewish people disclaiming that Jesus exists as God, the basis for the Christian religion is senseless, and in contrast, by replacing Jewish laws with Jesus Christ the Jewish religion is dishonored. Basically,one faith believes the other is misguided about God.
It all started with Jesus Christ. He was a Jew that disagreed with the laws of the Judaic Written Torah. Many people followed Jesus and when he died, his followers replaced Jewish laws with his doctrine or Christianity. Most of the discrepancies between Judaism and Christianity center on the interpretation of God, Jesus, original sin, death, and the afterlife. A careful examination will show this.Custom writing service can write essays on The Jewish Christian Debate
Judaism and Christianity both share the notion that God exists. Nevertheless, the differences are in how they both see Gods existence. For example, the Jewish faith believes God exists as one entity. On the contrary, Christians believe that God is a combination of three in one or God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Christians see Jesus Christ as the embodiment of these three entities.
Jews, revere Jesus as a brilliant storyteller and teacher, but not the Messiah or Son of God. In the Jewish view, the Messiah is a human being who will direct people toward peace. Jewish people believe that one can recognize the messiah when the world is tranquil or reflective of his arrival. Jews feel this did not happen when Jesus was on earth or following his death. Therefore, he could not have been the Messiah.
Judaism says that only God can save souls, not Jesus. Because of their disbelief in the miracle that Jesus rose from the dead, Jews feel that He could not have absorbed the sins of people because he was not of divine entity. Furthermore, they believe that sins could only be removed by seeking forgiveness. In seeking forgiveness, Jews pray to God and search their souls for redemption. Additionally, they believe that seeking forgiveness requires repenting or confronting their remorse with people directly. Alternatively, Christians believe forgiveness is absolved only from God. It is believed that Jesus came to earth to absorb the sins of people and absolve them of all sin. Christian theology says God is the Trinity. They believe Jesus is not only God as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit but is the messiah and that He was put on this earth in the form of Gods son. Christian thinking is that if you accept His divinity you will be spiritually saved and welcomed by God. Because Jesus performed miracles, he was seen as the Messiah or savior of humankind.
According to the Book of Matthew, He had the ability to cure the sick. It says " And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people" (New Testament, 4. ). Christian theory explaining why one must follow Jesus and the Christian word, rests on the fact that if you live honestly, help others, and without malice, there gives little room for anguish, hate and evil. Therefore, following Jesus and his righteousness will set you free.
The idea of original sin is another difference separating Judaism and Christianity. Christians say that one is born into sin. This concept goes back to the Old Testament which presents the situation in which humanity adopts the sins of Adam, the first man on earth. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines original sin as, [T]he sin of Adam, by which all humankind fell from divine grace" (Britannica online).
Judaists do not accept this version of original sin. They believe that people are born naturally good or bad. They say that the ability to choose how one will behave morally and ethically belongs to the individual. Additionally, free will is more powerful than a predestined will of evil or good. Jewish ethics preaches that humans hold the power of their destinies.
For Christians, God did not originally create Adam and Eve (his female counterpart) as sinners. He created them good and without malice, however Adam and Eve sinned by their own choice, thus paving the way for all to be born in sin. Without original sin, there was no need to follow Jesus. Christians deem that if people were born morally good, there would have been societies developed as such from the beginning. They feel that there are no other forms of salvation than through Jesus and that one can get a repaired innocence by being baptized in His name. Baptism washes away original sin and conditions the individual in an innocent state. The ceremony represents what one was and who they have become. This gives them the opportunity to set things right in the eyes of the Lord. They are washed of sin and have entered communion with God.
Another difference in the Christian and Judaic interpretation, occurs in the view both religions have on the afterlife. A basic conceptual understanding is that if you are good on earth you will end up in a perfect heaven and that if you are evil you will end up dammed where sin and anguish will exist for your eternity.
Jewish thinkers do not concern themselves with death until the appropriate time. Since God is seen as ultimately fair, they believe that the earthly injustices that have taken place will be reflected upon in the afterlife. In other words, the role of death gives life meaning. Traditional thinkers have considered how individuals would be rewarded or punished after their deaths. The Conversion to Judaism Resource Center, describes a place where souls are to be punished or accepted after they leave this earth. They call this Gehenna. It is described as the following
There are, similarly, many varying conceptions of paradise, such as that paradise is the place where we finally understand the true concept of God. It is also possible that there is no separate Heaven and Hell, only lesser or greater distance from God after death. In addition, punishment might be self-determined based on suffering in kind the suffering the person brought about. (par 14)
Judaism does not define Heaven and Hell, or describe different places to which someone goes for the ultimate salvation, but they do feel that God uses the afterlife to provide people an opportunity to reflect on their lives. In this notion, they will experience peace or an anguished time reliving their sins.
Alternatively, good Christians believe that they will go to a place where God embraces them after death. Christians believe that a faithful Christian or one who believes that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior will be glorified in heaven. On the other hand, one who does not accept Jesus will go to hell. They believe that in heaven everything that is deemed wrong on earth will not exist there, such as sexual immorality, theft, greed, and hatred. Thus, if you accept Jesus and do as he does, living an honest and compassionate life, you will end up in heaven. Also, that if you reach heaven you will not reflect on any personal wrongdoing or evil that was brought on by humanity, because by doing so the idea of a perfect place and a tranquil mind could not exist.
Though both religions express that the good you do on earth will be redeemed in the after- life, they view the function of the afterlife differently. Jews believe that good and bad will be acknowledged by reflecting ones actions and ultimately understanding lifes meaning. Christians believe that in heaven, they will be rewarded for their behavior and be freed from all thoughts of evil on earth, and that Hell will reflect evil and belong to those who are damned.
In summary, there are many reasons as to why bitterness exists between these two religions. For Judaists, the Christians replacement of the Torah with Christ as a trinity undermines Judaic laws. Jacob Neuse and Bruce Chiltons book, Jewish-Christian Debates God, Kingdom, Messiah, speaks about the Jewish perspective. They explain,
" 'God the Creator reveals Gods will for creation through the torah, given to Israel, Gods people. The Torah contains the 'laws of life " (5). The Jewish world views that when Christians refrained from obeying the Torahs scroll, Judaism was dishonored. According to Jews, the Christian perspective, starting with Jesus, shames the Jewish peoples entire inner framework. In opposition, according to Christians, Jews are saying that the Christian trinity, crucifixion and resurrection are mute, so they feel that Jews are desecrating their complete central belief system. Therefore, without Jesus as God, as Gods son and as the messiah, Christianity would be meaningless.
In the case of Judaism versus Christianity, religious animosity stems from the context by which things allegedly happen, so consequently Judaists and Christians end up completely closing an eye to the others principles. As a result, both religions may miss important lessons that could otherwise enhance a better quality of life. Judaists believe that the torah has a broad range of life- positive messages and Christians feel that Jesus does the same. It would be a shame if self-empowerment was sacrificed by stubborn pride or having to choose one way of thinking over the other.
It is probable that what we do on earth, and how we end up hereafter, will hold true as each beholder sees it and not be one sided. Although, both religions depict the afterlife differently, in essence it is dually believed that it is a time that will reflect how we behaved and what we believed on earth.
Works Cited
Columbia Encyclopedia. Baptism. elibrary. 00. Encyclopedia.com. Alacritude. 8 October 00. http//encyclopedia.com/html/b1/baptism.asp.
Conversion to Judaism Resource Center. The differences between Judaism and Christianity. elibrary. 00. Shamash The Jewish Internet Consortium. 8 October 00. http//www.convert.org/differ.htm.
Encyclopedia Britannica "Original Sin. 00. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. October 00. http//www.britannica.com/search?query=original.sin&ctN.
Nuesner, Jacob and Chilton, Bruce. _Jewish-Christian Debates God, Kingdom Messiah_. 5. Minneapolis Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 18.
Schoeps, Joachim Hans. _The Jewish Christian Argument_. David E. Green. Germany Holt, reinhart and Winston, Inc., 161
Please note that this sample paper on The Jewish Christian Debate is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on The Jewish Christian Debate, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on The Jewish Christian Debate will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!