Compare and Contrast Judaism and Christianity

Compare and Contrast Judaism and Christianity Judaism and Christianity are key religions in the history of our world, and are still around today. Both of these religions are monotheistic, believing in only YHWH, the God of Abraham. However, if we look deeper, there are many more similarities and differences in these two religions. Some things that are comparable are their political figures, their holy works, and social beliefs. The first thing that was necessary to having a successful religion was figures to lead the way. For Jews, these began as “Judges”, or leaders that took charge during difficult times. These judges eventually became kings, and for 3 generations, King Saul, David, and Solomon were the top figures of Judaism. For Christianity, there were no kings. When Jesus Christ came, his life exemplified that serving others was more important than ruling over them. Because of this, in Christianity, there were no official political leaders, only those chosen by God to guide his people. Another difference in these two faiths was the leaders in the church itself. During Shabbat, Jewish rabbis would preach and lead prayer in the synagogue on Saturdays. For Christians, ordained ministers such as priests or pastors would lead in prayer and give sermons on Sundays. One similarity regarding faith leaders was the prophets. Prophets were men who were supposedly chosen by God to share the belief, and even predict the coming of Christ. Both Christianity and Judaism believed these men truly told of the coming of a savior. Having these historical figures truly paved the way for generations to come. We see many references to these people in the holy books of both religions. Another aspect of Judaism and Christianity is their holy books. For Jews, the holy book is the TaNaKh, made up of 3 parts: the Torah (5 Books of Moses), the Nevi’im (Books of the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (historical, poetic, and philosophical writings). The TaNaKh was written in Hebrew, the