Download Judaism and Christianity

Judaism
The Hebrew Bible tells the history of Judaism. It gives the account of the Hebrews, also known as the
Israelites, and their relationship with God from the beginning of time until the building of the Second Temple
in Jerusalem. It was the first religion to denounce idol worship and believe in only one God.
Movement and Settlement of the Hebrews
The Hebrew people are believed to have originally lived in Mesopotamia. Ancient Israel, also known as
Canaan, was an important site to the Hebrew people. For example, the prophet Abraham formed a covenant
with God and moved his followers to Canaan around 1800 B.C. Many Hebrews moved to Egypt around 1600
B.C. in order to escape famine, but they were taken as slaves. In the 1200s B.C. Moses, a Jewish prophet, freed
the Hebrews from slavery. After freeing his people from slavery, Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt and
across the Sinai Peninsula to eventually return to Canaan. This event is known as the Exodus and is incredibly
important to the Jewish faith.
The city of Jerusalem was historically the capital of the Hebrew Kingdom. According to the Hebrew Bible,
the First Temple was built on Mount Zion, also known as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem by King Solomon in the
1000s B.C. This temple was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. The Hebrews were exiled to
Babylon during this time, but they were allowed to re-establish Jerusalem and re-build their temple, known as
the Second Temple, in the 500s B.C.
Romans took control of area in the 100s B.C. Jewish revolts against the Roman rule in the 1st century A.D.
led to most Jewish worship being forbidden. As a result of continued Jewish revolt, the Romans destroyed the
Second Temple in 70 A.D., forbade Jews from entering the city of Jerusalem, and changed the region's name
from Israel to Palestine. After the Temple was destroyed, Jewish worship was structured around the rabbis,
religious teachers, instead of the Temple. As a result of this change and because of their removal from
Jerusalem, Jews moved even further than they had in previous times of exile and settled in many areas around
the world. This movement was called the Diaspora.
Central Teachings and Beliefs
Hebrew Bible
Jewish writings include the Torah, which includes the Five Books of Moses, the Nevi'im, and the Ketuvim.
Together these books are known as the Hebrew Bible, which is very similar to the Christian Old Testament.
The books of Torah include the Ten Commandments, which is a list of religious and moral laws that were
given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai during the Exodus. These laws make up the foundation of the rules that
Jews believe must be followed.
Talmud
The Talmud makes up another central text of the Jewish faith. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic
discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs, and history. It is also known as the Oral Law
and has two parts, the Mishnah and Gemara.
Origins of Christianity
The Christian religion has its origins in the Jewish followers of the prophet Jesus of Nazareth. They
believed that Jesus was the "Christ," which means literally "the anointed one." Jesus Christ was believed to be
the savior that Jewish prophecies had foretold would come to Earth.
Jesus taught his followers that people must repent of their sins and start doing good works that would please
God. Jesus also taught that his followers should spread his teachings to everyone they met, known as
witnessing.
According to the Christian Bible, Jesus was hanged on a cross, an event known as the Crucifixion, and
killed for claiming to be the son of God. By this act, Christians believe that Jesus died to save mankind and
allow them to be accepted into heaven if they repented of their sins in life. In the Christian faith, the holiday of
Good Friday is the observation of the day that Jesus died. Two days later, the holiday of Easter celebrates the
day that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven.
Under the leadership of apostles like Peter and Paul, Christianity gradually separated from Judaism. Saint
Paul, though he did not know Jesus in life, claimed that Jesus visited him in a vision. Paul wrote much of the
Christian New Testament, which makes up the second part of the Christian Bible and includes various authors'
depictions of the teachings of Jesus. Paul is also famous for preaching Jesus' message to the Gentiles, the
people who were not Jews. Paul taught that the God of Abraham is for all people, both Jews and Gentiles,
instead of for Jews only.
Christianity in the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire controlled the land of Israel when Jesus lived and taught. Pontius Pilate was the Roman
governor who ordered Jesus to be killed by Roman soldiers. During the first three centuries of Christianity,
Roman emperors persecuted Christians as a part of the persecution of Jews. In 64 A.D., Emperor Nero blamed
Christians for the great fire that broke out in Rome. Many forms of execution were used to punish Christians,
including crucifixion and the feeding of Christians to lions and other wild beasts. Though these punishments
were meant to deter people from practicing the religion, they instead had the unintended result of strengthening
the faith of the Christians. Even non-believers, impressed by the bravery and resolve of the Christians in the
midst of dire persecutions, began to embrace the religion. Christianity continued to spread throughout the
Roman Empire, as Christians moved in order to escape death in Rome.
Christianity became an officially supported religion of the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine I in
313 A.D. The religion continued to grow, and all religions except Christianity were prohibited in 391 A.D.
Central Texts and Beliefs
Similar to Judaism and Islam, Christians are monotheistic, which means they believe that there is only one
God. All three of these faiths are also referred to as the Abrahamic religions since they all acknowledge a
connection to Abraham. However, the central figure in Christianity is Jesus of Nazareth. Christians believe that
Jesus of Nazareth, while being the son of God, is also God himself. The Christian Bible makes up the central
text of the faith and is made up of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament
The Old Testament is made up of the books of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians and Jews believe to be
inspired by God. Books in the Old Testament include Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
The New Testament
The New Testament is made up a number of books that describe Jesus' life and the early history of
Christianity. The New Testament is made of 27 books including four gospels or stories of Jesus' life, a book
called Acts of the Apostles, 21 epistles (letters), and a book called Revelation.