Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life, crucifixtion, resurection and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. It is the world's largest religion, with an estimated 2.1 billion adherents, or about one-third of the total world population. It shares with Judaism the Hebrew Bible (historically called by Christians the Old Testament), and for this reason is sometimes called an Abrahamic religion along with Judaism and Islam.

Christianity's relationship with other faiths

Christianity's relationship with other faiths is at times rather complicated. Historically Christianity was often used to subjugate and oppress members of other faiths, particularly faiths considered "pagan" in nature. At the same time, early Christians did great deal of almsgiving to the poor not only to fellow believers but to pagans as well. The anti-Christian pagan emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363 AD), stated "These godless Galileans (i.e. Christians) feed not only their own poor but ours: our poor lack our care". http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas//pages/Gospel.htm Also, it is argued that Christianity had a role in the growth of tolerance in the West. http://www.jubilee-centre.org/online_documents/Themythofseculartolerance.htm In addition, in modern times, prosecutions for blasphemy have been rare in nations such as the United States which is a fairly religious country with many Christians.http://www.crf-usa.org/terror/rushdie.htm However, due to its diverse history and its numerous denominations and branches it is difficult to give an accurate account of Christianity's current relationship with the many non-Abrahamic faiths. The relationship of Christianity with faiths such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and the many so called "pagan" faiths of the world can vary from region to region and denomination to denomination. As such this segment will focus on Christianity's relationship with Abrahamic faiths.

Related Topics:
Pagan - Blasphemy

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Comparative religion scholars attempt to find commonality between religions; and, the description of Christianity as an Abrahamic religion arises from this effort, using the term to point out supposed commonalities especially in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which each refer to Abraham as important to their faith. The Jews see Abraham as the progenitor of the people of Israel, through his descendants Isaac and Jacob, and Muslims admire Abraham (whom they call Ibrahim) as a great prophet and as the father of Ishmael, whom they believe to be the progenitor of Muhammad and whom they believe Abraham was to sacrifice rather than Isaac.

Related Topics:
Comparative religion - Abrahamic religion - Abraham - Jew - People of Israel - Isaac - Jacob - Ibrahim - Ishmael - Muhammad

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For their part, Christians point to Abraham as a spiritual ancestor and an exemplar of justifying faith. (This relationship is not to be confused with Abraham's role as a blood ancestor of Jesus, as described in the genealogies of Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3.) They see Jesus as Abraham's spiritual descendant, in whom God promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3; 22:18), and thus they consider themselves heirs of that promise (Gal. 3, especially vv. 7,14,29; Rom. 9:6–8). Unlike Judaism and Islam, Christians see Abraham's willingness to offer his son, Isaac, to God, as foreshadowing God's giving of his son, Jesus, for the salvation of men (Gen. 22:1–14; Heb. 11:17–19).

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Thus, some members of each faith see Abraham as a basis for understanding between Christians, Jews, and Muslims, but when Christians use the "Abrahamic roots" language, they do not mean that true Christianity is found in some kind of average of religions with overlapping traditions, but merely that, the Christian faith has elements in common, which may provide a helpful basis for constructive relationships between peoples of the divergent traditions. Two representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, for instance, have recently referenced the Abrahamic roots of the Christian faith publicly: In a statement to the United Nations in 2001, Apostolic Nuncio Renato Cardinal Martino, spoke of "the peoples of the Holy Land" as "cousins in the Abrahamic faith." Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) struck the same theme in his statement in 2000 in an effort to repair damaged Jewish-Roman Catholic relations: "Even if the most recent, loathsome experience of the Shoah was perpetrated in the name of an anti-Christian ideology, which tried to strike the Christian faith at its Abrahamic roots in the people of Israel, it cannot be denied that a certain insufficient resistance to this atrocity on the part of Christians can be explained by an inherited anti-Judaism present in the hearts of not a few Christians".

Related Topics:
United Nations - 2001 - Apostolic Nuncio - Renato Cardinal Martino - Pope Benedict XVI - 2000 - Holocaust

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Christianity and Judaism

There have long been some sentiments of anti-Semitism in Christianity (see Christianity and anti-Semitism), but especially since the Holocaust, there has been much dialogue between Christians groups and Jews aimed at Christian-Jewish reconciliation and Christian attitudes toward Jews have greatly improved. Many conservative evangelicals support Christian Zionism, which is tied to the common belief that the Jewish people are "the apple of God's eye". Many are dispensationalists, who believe that the ingathering of Jews to the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. They await the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, which they believe to be one of the final signs that Jesus is returning soon to rescue the Church from the Great Tribulation, and to save the Jews from the Antichrist, after which Jesus is expected to reign over the earth from Jerusalem, during the Millennium.

Related Topics:
Anti-Semitism - Christianity and anti-Semitism - Holocaust - Christian-Jewish reconciliation - Christian Zionism - Dispensationalist - Israel - Biblical prophecy - Temple in Jerusalem - Great Tribulation - Antichrist - Millennium

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Jewish criticism

A common Jewish criticism of Christianity is that Jesus did not fulfill prophecy. Christians by and large believe that Jesus did fulfill prophecy, but Jewish scholars and religious leaders often argue that many of the prophecies remain unfulfilled. Some such prophecies include the following: The Hebrew people were expecting a descendant of King David, anointed by God, who would restore the Nation of Israel and the Davidic Kingdom, ushering in an everlasting age of peace on earth. The Messiah was also to end all earthly bondage and servitude (Particularly to the Romans). Many Jews today believe that were Jesus the true Messiah (or anointed one) it would be in the power of none to deny him. Christians, by and large, believe in an eventual Second Coming in which Jesus will fulfill all prophecy.

Related Topics:
King David - Romans - Second Coming

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Messianic Judaism

Messianic Judaism refers to a loose religious movement, self-identified as Jewish, holding that Jesus is or was the Messiah. Messianic Jews may hold a wide range of religious beliefs and practices, ranging from Evangelical Christian Judaism to Christian Orthodox Judaism. Messianic Jews vary in their adherence to Jewish religious law and worship practices, such as keeping of Kosher and observing the Sabbath. Even though Messianic Jews are typically of a Jewish ethnicity, some Messianic temples may be composed entirely of gentiles. Messianic Jews are not considered part of the Jewish religion by mainstream Jewish groups. There are also Jewish members of Christian churches that are not affiliated with Messianic Judaism.

Related Topics:
Messianic Judaism - Jesus - Messiah

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Many Jews argue that Jesus failed to fulfill numerous prophecies from the Jewish scriptures, and that therefore he could not have been the true Messiah. Because of this argument some religious Jews have dismissed Messianic Judaism as little more than Christianity with Jewish undertones. However Messianic Jews believe in the Second Coming of Jesus and that those prophecies which Jesus did not fulfill will be fulfilled upon his eventual return. From the Christian view the rejection and execution of the Messiah fulfills numerous prophecies from the Old Testament.

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See also * Comparing and contrasting Judaism and Christianity and Judeo-Christian

Related Topics:
Comparing and contrasting Judaism and Christianity - Judeo-Christian

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Christianity and Islam

Adherents of Islam have historically referred to themselves, Jews, and Christians (among other religious adherents) as People of the Book since they all base their religion on books that are considered to have a divine origin. Christians accept the Old Testament as part of their Biblical canon, but they neither consider the Qur'an to be a book of divine revelation or a part of their faith nor agree with Islam's view that Jesus was a prophet, on par with Muhammad. Also most Christians believe that they were forewarned expressly by Jesus to be aware of false prophets, a category often applied to Muhammad by Christians.

Related Topics:
People of the Book - Biblical canon - Qur'an - Islam - Muhammad

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Muslims, for their part, believe that parts of the Gospels, Torah and Jewish prophetic books have been forgotten, misinterpreted, or distorted by their followers. With that perspective, Muslims view the Qur'an as corrective of Jewish and Christian scriptures. Muslims, believe that God (or, in Arabic, All?h) revealed his direct words for mankind to prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and eventually Muhammad (c. 570?632). Muslims believe that the messages of all of the prophets were similar. Therefore, Muslims respect Jesus as they do Muhammad, but they don't share with Christians the Trinity beliefs nor view Jesus as God.

Related Topics:
Adam - Noah

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Not surprisingly, the relationship between the two faiths has had its share of controversy and conflict (an example being the Crusades). Indeed, many Christians forcefully reject the entirety of the Muslim faith system, citing Jesus' statement that anybody who is not with him is against him. Today, it is common to hear Christians emphasize the view that Islam contradicts the teachings of the Messiah, or that Muhammad was a false prophet. Some Christians, though in the minority, see important common ground shared by the two faiths: see Christo-Islamic. On May 6, 2001, Pope John Paul II, the first Pope to pray in a mosque, delivered an address at Omayyad Mosque in Damascus that seemed to strike a balance between these two approaches. The Pope said: "It is important that Muslims and Christians continue to explore philosophical and theological questions together, in order to come to a more objective and comprehensive knowledge of each others? religious beliefs. Better mutual understanding will surely lead, at the practical level, to a new way of presenting our two religions not in opposition, as has happened too often in the past, but in partnership for the good of the human family."

Related Topics:
Crusades - Christo-Islamic - Pope John Paul II - Mosque - Damascus

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