Judaism & Christianity: The Differences

Best would be to cite from the back cover of this book: "...the notion that Judaism and Christianity, to maintain harmonious relations, must level their distinctive characteristics is really a totalitarian aberration...democracy is predicated on the conviction that differences are no justification for inequality and discrimination. The democratic way is that those of different views and beliefs respect the dissimilar views and beliefs of their neighbors." Should be compulsory reading for every young Jew. This was a vital source for my chapter "Living with the Christians" in my book "The Optimistic Jew: a Positive Vision for the Jewish People in the 21st Century"

I think that this book presents in a very balanced way the main differences between Judaism and Christianity. It deals more with the theology, doctrine, concepts, etc. of each religion more than the actual practices, and it addresses many of the more subtle differences that many people might not be aware of or might not have thought about, such as the differences between the Jewish and Christian gods. Very interesting.

Probably the best single introductory volume on the distinctiveness of Judaism, including its differences from Pauline Christianity, is Abba Hillel Silver's _Where Judaism Differed_ (or "Differs"; it was published under each title, the latter being Rabbi Silver's preference). Unfortunately that fine volume is out of print.Trude Weiss-Rosmarin's little book is a distant second. This is in part because she focuses so exclusively on the differences between Judaism and Christianity (whereas Rabbi Silver deals also with other religious outlooks, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism). It is also in part because she is pretty vehement in her denunciation of Jesus's own teachings, without noticing that she is relying almost exclusively on Paul in interpreting those teachings. (Nor is this merely because she wrote before "recent" scholarship rediscovered that Jesus was Jewish. Jewish scholarship has long recognized as much.)For all that, this book does provide a sound summary of the theological differences between Judaism and Christianity. I find that she overstates some of the differences, but her work provides a valuable service on two main counts. First, it can help to protect Jews "near the margins" against Christian evangelization efforts. Second, it can help to stimulate Christians to rethink their own theology, with a view toward bringing it into line with the Torah in which Jesus himself believed.One drawback, though, is the following. Moses Maimonides and others have long held that Jesus and Christianity (and for that matter Mohammed and Islam) are the means by which Torah values are spread to the world and as such are part of the Divine plan. The reader of Weiss-Rosmarin's book will not gain any sense of Christianity's role in civilizing the West or, indeed, much of anything positive about it at all.

I read this book bout 10 years ago, and have gone back to it often for a refresher on this topic. I'm at this site today to buy a copy for a relative - this indicates my respect for this important book.

This is an excellent book. I was raised as a Christian, but recently have been questing some of Christian practices and beliefs. Every chapter of this book taught me something new about the Jewish people and the Old Testament. I never realized how much Christ's teachings (or the teachings of the apostles) are in conflict with Jewish beliefs. I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to reconcile the Old Testament with the New Testament and is having a difficult time. This book will make you question many of the traditional Christian teachings about the Jewish people.