Christianity and judaism
Christianity and judaism"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters." And so, believe many, the earth's history began. This quotation from the Bible and the stories that follow it have spawned so many different sects in the Christian Tradition. But what spawned Christianity? Most would say the Christian Tradition was brought about by the belief that Jesus Christ was the messiah. This is, in essence correct. However, Christianity in itself can be looked at as a sect of Judaism, because, Judaism, in essence, gave birth to Christianity. Jesus was, after all a Jew.
It is a simple fact that the Christian Tradition finds its roots in Judaism. Jewish men founded some of the first Christian churches. Because Christianity came about from the teachings of Jesus, it is important to understand where Jesus came from and what inspired His preaching. Most historians agree that Jesus probably attended the local synagogue and "gained there at least an oral familiarity with the Hebrew Scriptures and the demands of Pharisaic Judaism." As He grew older, He was influenced by the teachings of John, a preacher from a nearby town. John explained that in order to pass from Earth to the Kingdom of God, one had to be baptized. Because of his teachings, John was executed by the State.
Jesus soon began his own path in preaching. He took much of John's preaching to heart, but Jesus set out to show that the Kingdom of God was present on earth. He showed this by performing miracles of healing and exorcism. Like John, Jesus was executed for his words. But he had developed a following. His apostles, after the resurrection, preached the good news. Their words were directed at Jews. In fact, the leaders of the movement, which would later turn into Christianity, saw themselves as Jews. "Therefore, the 'Jesus movement' could quite properly be seen as a sect within Judaism."
Why though, is it important to understand Christianity's root in Judaism? It is important to know the connectedness of these two religions for the same reason it is important to know who one's own parents are. Judaism is the parent of Christianity. It, in essence, gave birth to the Christian Tradition. By truly understanding where these traditions came from, a Christian can better understand why they are practiced. Furthermore, through mutual understanding, different religions can live in peace together. This idea of peace between religions is called ecumenism. "The spirit of ecumenism has produced a conspicuous increase in the amount and quality of fraternization."
This paper sets out to show what unbreakable links tie Christians and...
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