Huston Smith on Judaism and Christianity

Judaism and Christianity each have their own beliefs and traditions, with Judaism being a religion that shaped Christianity as it is today. Both religions were shaped by the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament, which is considered by many to be the biblical law of God (Molloy, 2009). Christians however, consider that in the New Testament with the arrival of God in human form, that our sins were forgiven. In its earliest stages, Christianity was considered a sect of Judaism. Jesus and his apostles even considered themselves Jewish in the early years of Christianity. While followers of Judaism do believe in one God, they do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah or that God is the Holy Trinity.

Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are some of the religions that most individuals can relate to, being the three largest religions in the world. Like many religions they share many differences and also some similarities. One difference that these religions hold is their view of Jesus Christ. Similarities are surprisingly common to find among some religions because of the basis they put on one another. Some similarities between these religions include: belief of monotheism and the influence of Zoroastrianism had on each religion. Also another similarity carried out by these three religions would be the significance of Abraham. Some other differences include: religious texts and also how they approach God in prayer.

The fundamental theme presented in chapter twenty five and twenty six of David W. Dorries book Spirit Filled Christology maintains that Jesus came, not only as a pathway for salvation, but also to lead as an example of the Spirit’s movements and to empower His church with supernatural abilities to further the ministry that He began. In order to expound upon his statements, Dorries uses historical context.

According to our text, Huston Smith believed that all religions were essentially the same, whereas Stephen Prothero believes that they are all fundamentally different. These two differing opinions can be looked at further by comparing two of the world religions: Christianity and Buddhism. I believe that all religions are a mixture of both; religions are essentially the same and are also fundamentally different. Christianity and Buddhism both have similar aspects within them, and they have different aspects as well. In order to make sense of the world, one needs to have knowledge of religion and the implications it has on society (Prothero).

“It’s my turn now!” he exclaims, his eyes lighting up like a child. This time, Jesus takes more of the ingredients and pours them all into the bowl. “When you look in the mirror, you don’t realize how beautiful you are; when you participate in the rope courses at camp, you don’t realize how brave you are; when you tend to someone’s physical wounds, you don’t realize how caring you are…. and those are just some of many.” He looks back at me, his eyes filled with one emotion: pride. For me.

Jesus is the fulfillment of Judaic prophecies; he is the new Moses imparting the new Law of Love.

Everyone in life, has a certain image of what he or she thinks of Jesus. In the beginning of the book, Phillip Yancey, talks about, “Who Jesus Was” in part one. In part one, the reader gains a better insight into Jesus’s younger years, which is unknown to many people. In fact, the only information that people known about Jesus’ younger years are

Judaism and Christianity is a monotheistic religion. "Judaism is a diverse tradition associated with the Jewish people", and Jesus is a Jew. Many people insist Judaism is the foundation of Christianity because Christianity originated from Judaism (when God showed himself to Abraham and Moses), but not an expansion of Judaism. This two religions, both refer to Jesus Christ, even though his role in each religion differs. The Jews refer to God as Yahweh (“I am who I am”) while the Christians refer to him as God. They have the same origin, believe that Abraham was the father of faith and Moses received the Ten Commandments. Both religions relate in faith and the scripture they share, but as much as they associate, they also have differences.

The context of this will be showing how Judaism and Christianity more similar than most people think. Three ways these two religions are the same are, both are monotheistic, how both share same holy city, and their beliefs to the “Good Life.”

Catholic and Judaism are considered opposite religions, yet they share very similar rituals and ceremonies. A Catholic child typically around twelve or thirteen years old goes through their confirmation. This is a ceremony where the young adult promises to follow with the religion and continue to learn about the faith. In the Jewish faith when a girl is twelve and a boy is thirteen they celebrate their Bah Mitzvah if they are a girl or Bar Mitzvah if they are a boy. This ceremony is also when the young adult promises to follow their religion and stay close to and learn more about their faith.

On occasion, authors approach cultural subjects as historians. However, Huston Smith limits the historical facts to stay focus on the values of the religions (Smith 10,12). Having an history filled book can cause readers to lose interests in his discussion. To keep the numbers down, Smith picks the religions that most people acknowledge and would share the most common themes in their life (11). He is passionate about his studies, and he wants the audience to find their own appreciation for religion. To accomplish this, Smith simply states that,”This is a book about values”(12). Some books describe a certain faith’s good and bad qualities and can sometimes put more emphasis on the bad if the

There are several important ideas and most interesting thoughts that are poised by Smith that communicated to me directly. Some of the most important ideas that Smith depicted were a result of events that he experienced. He was able to observe traits from others who believed they “knew” a religion and he was actually able to explain to them the difference in sentences and phrases that one was able to understand and comprehend. It is important for one to not only study a religion and practice it but for one to be devoted to the religion. Religion is a part of life, and to live you must have religion in your life. In his article he continuously states that he is not defining the religion although he may not realize that he actually is. He is defining the religion as a concept in which an outside reader is able to understand. “The man of religious faith lives in this world. He is subject to its pressures, limited within its imperfections, particularized within one or another of its always-varying

Throughout the New Testament are recounts of the miracles that Jesus performed to give proof that He was indeed the Son of God and the Messiah foretold of in the Old Testament. John chose to recount only seven of the many miracles that Jesus performed. He felt that these seven, more than any of the others, showed definitive proof that the Messiah, the Son of God, had come as promised.

In his ministry, he regularly used signs and gestures in preaching to his followers. He used his miracles as sign that shows his unification with God while also identifying himself as human. Jesus did not only use words in his quest to spread the word of God, he also used gestures and signs to interact with

As we know now, it was his passionate and private Christian faith. His compassion for his fellow man manifested itself in the form of service to millions through the United Nations. In addition, a collection of vivid personal Christian reflections, hailed by many as one of the most