Christianity and Judaism

Introduction

By Judy Git

Growing up and living in a country which is predominantly Christian, we often hear people talk about the "Judeo Christian" ethic or tradition. As Jews, it is our responsibility to ask ourselves in what ways this term describes the real world, and in what ways it is not accurate. Are we really THAT similar to the Christians? Do we believe all of the same things except for that teeny little disagreement that we have about Jesus of Nazareth? If not, then in what ways are we unique? In what ways is our tradition only the "Judeo" part of the equation? That is what I'd like to explore with you in this book - why we are a nation and a religion which is, always has been, and must of necessity continue to be, in some ways, a nation apart.

In today's world there is a new movement within Christianity which is, at one and the same time extremely benevolent and well meaning, but at the same time presents us with a challenge and a danger to our very identity. You may have run into some of these ardent and very friendly Christians. Typically, they refer to Jesus as "Yeshua," they adopt certain Jewish customs and symbols, from Shabbat observance to wearing a Magen David, (I've even seen a necklace with a magen David and cross intertwined) and they are very friendly towards the Jews. These benevolent people are Christians who are trying to get in touch with the Jewish foundations of their religion. So far - no problem. In fact, so far, so terrific, in my opinion. After all, Christianity IS founded in Judaism.and it's perfectly understandable that Christians should explore their roots. This attitude is certainly much preferable to the "traditional" Christian anti-Semitism that our grandparents and great grandparents had to suffer through for generations in Europe and even, to some degree, right here in the United States and Canada. The problems arise when some of the Christians in question try to pass themselves off as Jews and, more importantly, try to pass off their religion as Judaism.

Can you have your cake and eat it too?

Can you be both a Jew and a Christian? In one sense, yes you can. When a person is born Jewish, he/she remains a member of the Jewish people, regardless of his/her religion, and should he/she ever decide to return to Judaism, no conversion will be necessary (although there are some reform rabbis who do require returning apostates to undergo conversion ceremonies). The religion practiced by these people, however, is NOT Judaism. You cannot adhere to the Christian faith and the Jewish faith at one and the same time. There are too many contradictions between them. The adherents to this new form of Christianity, however, ardently believe otherwise.

Their argument goes something as follows:

1) Christianity grew out of Judaism.

2) Look how similar we are to Judaism even today.

3) Therefore we are STILL just a sect of Judaism.

4) We are the LEGITIMATE sect of Judaism.

These people insist on calling their ministers rabbis and their churches synagogues - indeed, they often insist on having them listed in the Yellow Pages under the heading of synagogues rather than churches. They typically will have a television show in which they preach their form of "Judaism," in which, as a matter of fact, they infuse so many of the symbols and vocabulary of genuine Judaism, that when you tune in, you will, at first, think you are looking at a genuinely Jewish program. Some of them, to my sorrow, are, in fact, apostate Jews, i.e., Jews who have left the religion to become Christians. However, unlike apostate Jews from centuries past, they think that they are still practicing Judaism, and they want you to think so, too.

A program that I once tuned into here in the Twin Cities is, I believe, called "The Jewish Hour." The host of the program wears a kippah and refers to himself as a rabbi. In the background one can see a shelf with a chanukiyah on it. It wasn't until I had watched this program for several minutes that the "rabbi" began talking about Yeshua. I changed the channel.

One of the most enticing of these programs, which appears across the country, is the one hosted by Zola Levitt who is, as his name implies, an apostate Jew. This program is enticing because it is ardently pro-Israel and, in fact, spends about half of its time trying to convince religious Christians to support Israel. The other half is spent trying to convince Jews like you and me to endorse Christianity as the true form of Judaism in the world today.

So, if you were to encounter one of these Christian missionaries (for that is truly who and what they are), or, for that matter any Christian missionary, even those who don't call themselves Jews, before reading any further, think about and discuss the following:

Food for Thought and Discussion

How would you respond to someone who tried to convince you that Jesus (or "Yeshua") is the Jewish messiah and that Christianity is really the one, genuine, true form of Judaism?