Download Judaism at a glance

Judaism
Judaism at a glance
Judaism is the original of the three Abrahamic faiths, which also includes Christianity and Islam.
According to information published by The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, there were around
13.1 million Jewish people in the world in 2007, most residing in the USA and Israel. According to the
2001 census 267,000 people in the UK said that their religious identity was Jewish, about 0.5% of the
population.
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Judaism originated in the Middle East over 3500 years ago
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Judaism was founded by Moses, although Jews trace their history back to Abraham.
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Jews believe that there is only one God with whom they have a covenant.

In exchange for all the good that God has done for the Jewish people, Jewish people
keep God’s laws and try to bring holiness into every aspect of their lives.

Judaism has a rich history of religious text, but the central and most important religious
document is the Torah.
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Jewish traditional or oral law, the interpretation of the laws of the Torah, is
called halakhah.
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Spiritual leaders are called Rabbis.
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Jews worship in Synagogues.

6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust in an attempt to wipe out Judaism.
There are many people who identify themselves as Jewish without necessarily believing in, or
observing, any Jewish law.
The relationship with God
Jews believe that there is a single God who not only created the universe, but with whom every
Jew can have an individual and personal relationship.
They believe that God continues to work in the world, affecting everything that people do.
The Jewish relationship with God is a covenant relationship. In exchange for the many good
deeds that God has done and continues to do for the Jewish People...

The Jews keep God's laws

The Jews seek to bring holiness into every aspect of their lives.
Judaism is the faith of a Community
Jews believe that God appointed the Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an example of
holiness and ethical behaviour to the world.
Jewish life is very much the life of a community and there are many activities that Jews must do
as a community.
Judaism
Judaism at a glance
Judaism is the original of the three Abrahamic faiths, which also includes Christianity and Islam. According to
information published by The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, there were around 13.1 million Jewish people in
the world in 2007, most residing in the USA and Israel. According to the 2001 census 267,000 people in the UK said that
their religious identity was Jewish, about 0.5% of the population.

Judaism originated in the Middle East over 3500 years ago

Judaism was founded by Moses, although Jews trace their history back to Abraham.

Jews believe that there is only one God with whom they have a covenant.

In exchange for all the good that God has done for the Jewish people, Jewish people keep God’s laws
and try to bring holiness into every aspect of their lives.

Judaism has a rich history of religious text, but the central and most important religious document is
the Torah.

Jewish traditional or oral law, the interpretation of the laws of the Torah, is called halakhah.

Spiritual leaders are called Rabbis.

Jews worship in Synagogues.

6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust in an attempt to wipe out Judaism.
There are many people who identify themselves as Jewish without necessarily believing in, or observing, any
Jewish law.
The relationship with God
Jews believe that there is a single God who not only created the universe, but with whom every Jew can have an
individual and personal relationship.
They believe that God continues to work in the world, affecting everything that people do.
The Jewish relationship with God is a covenant relationship. In exchange for the many good deeds that God has
done and continues to do for the Jewish People...

The Jews keep God's laws

The Jews seek to bring holiness into every aspect of their lives.
Judaism is the faith of a Community
Jews believe that God appointed the Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an example of holiness and
ethical behaviour to the world.
Jewish life is very much the life of a community and there are many activities that Jews must do as a community.

For example, the Jewish prayer book uses WE and OUR in prayers where some other faiths would use I
and MINE.
Jews also feel part of a global community with a close bond Jewish people all over the world. A lot of Jewish
religious life is based around the home and family activities.
Judaism is a family faith
Judaism is very much a family faith and the ceremonies start early, when a Jewish boy baby is circumcised at
eight days old, following the instructions that God gave to Abraham around 4,000 years ago.
Many Jewish religious customs revolve around the home. One example is the Sabbath meal, when families join
together to welcome in the special day.
Who is a Jew?
Jews believe that a Jew is someone who is the child of a Jewish mother; although some groups also accept
children of Jewish fathers as Jewish. A Jew traditionally can't lose the technical 'status' of being a Jew by adopting
another faith, but they do lose the religious element of their Jewish identity.
Someone who isn't born a Jew can convert to Judaism, but it is not easy to do so.
Judaism means living the faith
Almost everything a Jewish person does can become an act of worship.
Because Jews have made a bargain with God to keep his laws, keeping that bargain and doing things in the way
that pleases God is an act of worship.
And Jews don't only seek to obey the letter of the law - the particular details of each of the Jewish laws - but the
spirit of it, too.
A religious Jew tries to bring holiness into everything they do, by doing it as an act that praises God, and honours
everything God has done. For such a person the whole of their life becomes an act of worship.
Being part of a community that follows particular customs and rules helps keep a group of people together, and
it's noticeable that the Jewish groups that have been most successful at avoiding assimilation are those that obey the
rules most strictly - sometimes called ultra-orthodox Jews.
Note: Jews don't like and rarely use the word ultra-orthodox. A preferable adjective is haredi, and the plural
noun is haredim.
It's what you do that counts...
Judaism is a faith of action and Jews believe people should be judged not so much by the intellectual content of
their beliefs, but by the way they live their faith - by how much they contribute to the overall holiness of the world.
Christianity
Christianity at a glance
Christianity is the most popular religion in the world with over 2 billion adherents. 42 million Britons see
themselves as nominally Christian, and there are 6 million who are actively practising.
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Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.
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Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
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Christians believe that God sent his Son to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins.
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One of the most important concepts in Christianity is that of Jesus giving his life on the Cross
(the Crucifixion) and rising from the dead on the third day (the Resurrection).
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Christians believe that there is only one God, but that there are three elements to this one God:
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God the Father
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God the Son
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The Holy Spirit
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Christians worship in churches.
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Their spiritual leaders are called priests or ministers.
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The Christian holy book is the Bible, and consists of the Old and New Testaments.
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Christian holy days such as Easter and Christmas are important milestones in the Western secular
calendar
God, Jesus and the saints
God
Christians believe that there is only one God, whom they call Father as Jesus Christ taught them.
Jesus
Christians recognise Jesus as the Son of God who was sent to save mankind from death and sin.
Jesus Christ taught that he was Son of God. His teachings can be summarised, briefly as the love of God and love
of one's neighbour.
Jesus said that he had come to fulfil God's law rather than teach it.
Justification by faith
Christians believe in justification by faith - that through their belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and in his death
and resurrection, they can have a right relationship with God whose forgiveness was made once and for all through the
death of Jesus Christ.
The Trinity
Christians believe in the Trinity - that is, in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Some confuse this and think that Christians believe in three separate gods, which they don't.
Christians believe that God took human form as Jesus Christ and that God is present today through the work of
the Holy Spirit and evident in the actions of believers.
Life after death
Christians believe that there is a life after earthly death.
While the actual nature of this life is not known, Christians believe that many spiritual experiences in this life
help to give them some idea of what eternal life will be like.
The Saints
These days, the word saint is most commonly used to refer to a Christian who has lived a particularly good and
holy life on earth, and with whom miracles are claimed to have been associated after their death.
The formal title of Saint is conferred by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches through a process
called canonisation.
Members of these Churches also believe that Saints created in this way can intercede with God on behalf of
people who are alive today. This is not accepted by most Protestants.
In the Bible, however, the word saint is used as a description of anyone who is a committed believer, particularly
by St. Paul in the New Testament (e.g. Ephesians 1.1. and 1.15).
Islam
Islam at a glance
The word Islam means 'submission to the will of God'.
Islam is the second largest religion in the world with over 1 billion followers. The 2001 census recorded
1,591,000 Muslims in the UK, around 2.7% of the population.
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Muslims believe that Islam was revealed over 1400 years ago in Mecca, Arabia.
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Followers of Islam are called Muslims.
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Muslims believe that there is only One God.
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The Arabic word for God is Allah.
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According to Muslims, God sent a number of prophets to mankind to teach them how to live according
to His law.
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Jesus, Moses and Abraham are respected as prophets of God.
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They believe that the final Prophet was Muhammad.
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Muslims believe that Islam has always existed, but for practical purposes, date their religion from the
time of the migration of Muhammad.
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Muslims base their laws on their holy book the Qur'an, and the Sunnah.
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Muslims believe the Sunnah is the practical example of Prophet Muhammad and that there are five
basic Pillars of Islam.
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These pillars are the declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving money to charity, fasting and
a pilgrimage to Mecca (at least once).
Basic articles of faith
Muslims have six main beliefs.
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Belief in Allah as the one and only God
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Belief in angels
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Belief in the holy books
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Belief in the Prophets...
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e.g. Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David),Isa (Jesus).
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Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final prophet.
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Belief in the Day of Judgement...
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The day when the life of every human being will be assessed to decide whether they go to heaven or
hell.
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Belief in Predestination...
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That Allah has the knowlege of all that will happen.
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Muslims believe that this doesn't stop human beings making free choices.
Allah
Allah is the name Muslims use for the supreme and unique God, who created and rules everything. Allah
translates from Arabic as “God” (“lah” is the word for any deity, “al” means “the”)
The heart of faith for all Muslims is obedience to God’s will.
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God is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent...
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God has always existed and will always exist.
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God knows everything that can be known.
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God can do anything that can be done.
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God has no shape or form...
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God can't be seen.
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God can't be heard.
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God is neither male nor female.
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God is just...
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God rewards and punishes fairly.
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But God is also merciful.
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A believer can approach God by praying, and by reciting the Qur'an.
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Muslims worship only God...
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because only God is worthy of worship.
The one and only God
All Muslims believe that God is one alone:
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There is only one God.
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God has no children, no parents, and no partners.
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God was not created by a being.
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There are no equal, superior, or lesser Gods