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Summary
- Judaism is the older faith. Christianity began among Jesus’ Jewish followers in the first century and became a separate religion over the following centuries.
- Both worship the God of Abraham and read the Hebrew Bible. Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah and God the Son; Judaism teaches that the Messiah has not yet come and that God has no body or form.
- Christians confess one God in three persons and add the New Testament to Scripture; Jews recite the Shema, “The Lord is one,” and read the Tanakh with the Oral Torah, the Mishnah and Talmud.
- Most Christians teach that people inherit a fallen state from Adam and are forgiven through Jesus’ death and resurrection; Judaism teaches that people are born pure and that a merciful God forgives those who return through teshuvah, prayer, charity and making amends.
- Jews keep Shabbat from Friday before sundown to Saturday nightfall and the Torah’s festivals; most Christians gather on Sunday and keep Christmas and Easter.
- The Catholic Church teaches that God’s covenant with the Jewish people has never been revoked and that Jews as a people cannot be blamed for Jesus’ death.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version, as given by Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+6%3A4%3BMark+12%3A29%3BMatthew+28%3A19%3BJohn+1%3A14%3BIsaiah+2%3A4%3BActs+11%3A26%3BRomans+11%3A29%3BLuke+22%3A15%3B1+Corinthians+15%3A3&version=ESV
- Glazier, James Scott. “What are the main differences between Judaism and Christianity?” ReformJudaism.org, Union for Reform Judaism. https://reformjudaism.org/learning/answers-jewish-questions/what-are-main-differences-between-jew-and-christian
- “What Do Jews Believe About Jesus?” My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/what-do-jews-believe-about-jesus/
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- “Who Are Messianic ‘Jews’?” My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/messianic-judaism/
- Hammer, Reuven. “The Jewish View of Sin.” My Jewish Learning, from Entering the High Holy Days (Jewish Publication Society). https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-jewish-view-of-sin/
- “Teshuvah, or Repentance.” My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/repentance/
- “Life After Death.” My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/life-after-death/
- “Bible 101.” My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/bible-101/
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- “The Written Torah and the Oral Torah.” My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-formation-of-the-oral-torah/
- “What Is the Mishnah?” My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/mishnah/
- “Shabbat 101.” My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/shabbat-101/
- Jacobs, Louis. “Jewish Denominations.” My Jewish Learning, from The Jewish Religion: A Companion (Oxford University Press). https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-denominations/
- Maimonides. Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 1:7; Repentance 3:5; Kings and Wars 11:4. Translated by Eliyahu Touger. Sefaria. https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Foundations_of_the_Torah.1.7 ; https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Repentance.3.5 ; https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Kings_and_Wars.11.4
- Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 and Yoma 8:9 (William Davidson Edition); Mishnah Eduyot 2:10 (Mishnah Yomit, trans. Joshua Kulp). Sefaria. https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Sanhedrin.10.1 ; https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Yoma.8.9 ; https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Eduyot.2.10
- Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 60b (William Davidson Edition). Sefaria. https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.60b
- “Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity” (2000). Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations. https://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/documents-and-statements/jewish/dabru-emet
- Second Vatican Council. Nostra Aetate (1965). https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html
- Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. “The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable” (2015). https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/commissione-per-i-rapporti-religiosi-con-l-ebraismo/commissione-per-i-rapporti-religiosi-con-l-ebraismo-crre/documenti-della-commissione/en.html
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 120, 253 and 404. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PR.HTM ; https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM ; https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1C.HTM
- The Nicene Creed, in The Book of Common Prayer (1979), Holy Eucharist Rite II. https://www.bcponline.org/HE/he2.html
- The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapters VI and XIX. Orthodox Presbyterian Church. https://www.opc.org/wcf.html
- Orthodox Church in America. “Original Sin.” Questions and Answers. https://www.oca.org/questions/teaching/original-sin
- Berger, David. “Dabru Emet: Some Reservations about a Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity” (2002). Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations. https://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/documents-and-statements/analyses/dabru-emet-berger
- Reconstructing Judaism. “Reconstructionism as an Approach.” https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/reconstructionism/
- Orthodox Church in America. “Canon of Scripture.” Questions and Answers. https://www.oca.org/questions/scripture/canon-of-scripture
- Orthodox Church in America. “St. Augustine & Original Sin.” Questions and Answers. https://www.oca.org/questions/teaching/st.-augustine-original-sin
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “Declaration of the ELCA to the Jewish Community” (1994). https://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/documents-and-statements/protestant-churches/na/lutheran/elca94apr18
- Southern Baptist Convention. “Resolution on Jewish Evangelism” (1996). https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/resolution-on-jewish-evangelism/
- Pew Research Center. “How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020” (2025). https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/how-the-global-religious-landscape-changed-from-2010-to-2020/
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