Explanation:
Judaism and Christianity are two monotheistic, ethical religions which share a part of
their scriptures in common; the Bible or Tanakh of the Jews is the Old Testament of the
Christians. These religions share many common beliefs: (1) there is one God, (2) mighty
and (3) good, (4) the Creator, (5) who reveals His Word to man, and (6) answers prayers.
Both Judaism and Christianity make (7) a positive affirmation of the world as the arena
of God's activity, (8) as the place where people have an obligation to act ethically, and (9)
which should be redeemed from injustice. Both believe in (10) a future life, as well as a
doctrine of resurrection. Finally, both look to (11) a final consummation of history and
(12) the realization of God's complete sovereignty on earth, through the coming of a
Messiah or, in the case of modern forms of Judaism, a Messianic age. Besides these
similarities of doctrine, Christianity is bound to pay special attention to Judaism because
Jesus and his disciples were Jews. They lived as Jews; the Jewish Bible was their Bible,
and they criticized Jewish beliefs and practices as reformers from within. Jesus' life and
teachings are largely incomprehensible without an understanding of Judaism of his time.
Although Judaism and Christianity share many common elements in their beliefs, there
are also deep differences. First, for Judaism God is one and unique; for Christianity God
is one in His nature but there are three persons constituting the Holy Trinity: Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. Christians believe in Jesus, called Christ, the Messiah, who is the
Incarnation of the second person of the Trinity: therefore adoration is not given to man
but to God who became man. Salvation for mankind is entirely the gift of God, through
the sacrifice of the second person of the Trinity, who became man and suffered and died
in his humanity and became alive again.
