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Christianity And Judaism Compare And Contrast

Decent Essays

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are all monotheistic religions founded in the Middle East. Often grouped together as “Abrahamic religions," these three faiths share common traditions and history, a reverence to the Bible, a belief that there is one God, a belief in divine revelation and prophets, among other things. But Judaism, Christianity, and Islam also differ significantly in matters of practice and belief, from their perception of God to the identity of the prophets, Jesus, and the importance of Jerusalem.

Judaism is the oldest surviving monotheistic religion, arising in the eastern Mediterranean in the second millennium B.C.E. One of Judaism's main texts is the Tanakh, an account of the Israelites' relationship with God from their earliest history until the building of the Second Temple (c. 535 BCE). Abraham is considered to be the first Jew and the father of the Jewish people. Because Judaism, Christianity and Islam all recognize Abraham as their first prophet. In Judaism, God is an absolute one, inseparable and unique being who is the ultimate cause of existence. Judaism teaches that the true aspect of God is …show more content…

Christianity similarly pulls its beliefs from the Tanakh, called the Bible, which contains writings about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Whereas Judaism is non-hierarchical in the sense that it ascribes equal attention to all of the prophets and recognizes no other temporal human authorities, Christianity is founded on the belief that Jesus, the son of God, is the Messiah who brought the final word of God, while certain branches of Christianity do recognize religious authorities, such as the pope in Catholicism. Christians believe that God is revealed through three dimensions: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Since crucial moments in the life of Jesus unfolded in Jerusalem, this city is a holy site for Christians, as it also is for Jews and

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