Judaism, Christianity and Islam are siblings

Transcription

1 Judaism, Christianity and Islam are siblings Unit 4:3 - Why Judaism, Christianity and Islam have much in common (it will be useful to view History Creation through to 135 CE first) Rabbi Jonathan Keren Black, 2011 Leo Baeck Centre for Judaism For the On-Line Introduction to Judaism course Pjv.org.au

2 Biblical Judaism in decline This presentation commences as the Judaism of the Bible centralisation in the Temple in Jerusalem, daily animal sacrifices, a hereditary priesthood, is in decline. Since the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple, and the exile to Babylon, a Jewish community has developed outside the land of Israel.

3 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII It is a time of unrest and strife in Judea. The Romans increase taxes and forbid public reading of the Torah

4 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII It is a time of unrest and strife in Judea. The Romans increase taxes and forbid public reading of the Torah Different groups including one following a charismatic Jewish teacher Jesus - claim that their plans will save the Jews from Roman oppression.

5 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII It is a time of unrest and strife in Judea. The Romans increase taxes and forbid public reading of the Torah Different groups including one following a charismatic Jewish teacher Jesus - claim that their plans will save the Jews from Roman oppression. Jerusalem is besieged and in 70, it and the Temple are destroyed

6 Herod s Temple (the Second Temple) is destroyed

7 RabbinicJudaism: In 70, the greatly enlarged Herod s Temple was traumatically destroyed by Rome Therefore there could be no more sacrifices, and no clear role for the priests But the institutions of Rabbis and Synagogues were by now well developed to fill the vacuum Biblical has given way to Rabbinic Judaism

8 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Yavneh is established to train Jewish teachers and Rabbis

9 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Yavneh is established to train Jewish teachers and Rabbis The Rabbis console and lead the people and Judaism as we know it is developed

10 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Yavneh is established to train Jewish teachers and Rabbis The Rabbis console and lead the people and Judaism as we know it is developed By 220 CE, the rules and traditions have been collected together as The Mishna

11 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Yavneh is established to train Jewish teachers and Rabbis The Rabbis console and lead the people and Judaism as we know it is developed By 220 CE, the rules and traditions have been collected together as The Mishna Several hundred years more discussion and debate produced the two Talmuds

12 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Rabbinic Judaism is now completely established as mainstream Judaism

13 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Rabbinic Judaism is now completely established as mainstream Judaism The idea of rebuilding the Temple and recommencing animal sacrifices has been postponed until the Messiah comes

14 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Rabbinic Judaism is now completely established as mainstream Judaism The idea of rebuilding the Temple and recommencing animal sacrifices has been postponed until the Messiah comes Biblical Judaism animal sacrifices, geographically centred, run by a hereditary priesthood - is history!

15 Mark One and Mark Two Judaism I call the Sacrifice based, geographically centred, hereditary-priest led Judaism of the Bible MARK ONE JUDAISM The prayer-based, locally centred, scholar-led, more democratic version shares stories and core values but in practical terms is very different. I call this MARK TWO JUDAISM

16 BCE BEFORE THE COMMON ERA CE COMMON ERA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII The Rabbis were developing a new Judaism for a new situation (and a new millenia) At the same time, other groups were also developing their own stories and traditions, based on the words of the Torah and Hebrew bible.

17 Judaism and Christianity Mark Two Judaism is heavily based on Mark One Judaism and developed in Judea out of a crisis of hope Another new Jewish interpretation also developed from Mark One Judaism, out of the same crisis of hope in Judea Eventually it separated itself off, and is known as Christianity. So we are siblings!

18 Not identical but similar Mark Two or Rabbinic Judaism Judaism recognisable today is two thousand or so years old, based on Mark 1 Judaism Christianity is about two thousand years old, and is also based on Mark 1 Judaism Not surprisingly, we have many things in common, as well as some differences. And not surprisingly there has sometimes been sibling rivalry between us.

19 Major Differences Jews believe every child is born pure and unblemished Many Christians believe a child is born with original sin Jews believe God is invisible and can t be a person Most Christians believe that Jesus is God incarnate Jews believe that the Messiah hasn t come yet Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah Jews pray directly to God without intermediaries Most Christians pray to God through Jesus Jewish emphasis is on living this life as best we can Many Christians emphasise the life to come

20 Other Differences Judaism is a people, a culture and a religion. Christianity is a religion Jews tend to put emphasis on rituals in their lives Many Christians observe few religious rituals Jews have a complex range of food laws Christians have none or very few Jews are still Jews, even if they don t believe in God Christians really have to believe in Jesus Judaism has a strong connection to the land of Israel Christianity does not have the same connection

21 Final thoughts! Judaism introduced pure, ethical monotheism into the world Christianity dramatically popularised and spread the core message of one just, loving, caring and listening God, but did so by somewhat changing it, making God visible and human, and reducing ritual such as circumcision and food laws Islam developed some 500 years later it seems its intention was to publicise the central Jewish messages, and re-emphasise the One, invisible God, and the importance of daily ritual.

22 Similar but not the same Actually, the Qur an also added various midrashim (creative explanations) from Jewish sources, and heavily emphasised the Day of Judgment and life after death and also addressed some of the problems the Rabbis found with Torah. Overall, it is not surprising that Judaism finds so much in common with Islam.

23 Conclusion This concludes this presentation, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are siblings. We hope you found it interesting and informative. As always, your feedback, to would be appreciated.