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Introduction
Judaism and Christianity are among one of the world’s major religions. These two religions have a common origin and that is ancient Judaism (Borkataky‐Varma, 2014). In the early times, the two religions were one thing but they parted ways and eventually became two different entities each having its own regulations.
Background
The term ‘gentile’ refers to someone who is not Jewish. After Jesus’ crucifixion the gentiles were considered as outcasts because they did not observe the Torah. This is in regard to the book of Acts chapter 15 (Bird, 2012). The book of Acts clearly indicates that unless you are circumcised according to the teachings of Moses then you cannot be saved. This issue was a really great challenge and it brought about some really heated argument between Paul and Barnabas. This argument had high magnitude such that the two were appointed alongside other leaders to go to Jerusalem to see various apostles to discuss the matter which brought misunderstanding.[1]
In the dismay of what a lot of people expected, some Pharisees and elders of the law stood up and proclaimed that Gentiles must be circumcised according to the Law of Moses. Before this disagreement, Christianity and Judaism were one and the same thing but when this issue arose, and as a result a separate identity began to form between Christianity and Judaism (Bird, 2012).
Thesis
The write-up is going to discuss the cause of split between the two major religions. The paper also includes some of the reasons that contributed to the splitting.
Why Judaism and Christianity became two separate religions
Reason 1
The gentiles were originally regarded ‘foreigners’ because they did not observe the Torah (Bucur, 2014). This is in regard to the book of Acts chapter 15. The book of Acts clearly indicates that unless you are circumcised according to the teachings of Moses then you cannot be saved. This issue was a really great challenge and it brought about some really hatred argument between Paul and Barnabas. This argument initiated appointment of Paul and Barnabas alongside other leaders in Jerusalem. In the dismay of what a lot of people expected, some Pharisees and elders of the law stood up and proclaimed that Gentiles must be circumcised according to the Law of Moses.[2] Before this disagreement, Christianity and Judaism were same thing but when this issue arose, Christianity and Judaism became two separate religions (Ezra, 2012). In addition, the separation or split between Judaism and Christianity was attributed to third party, the Romans. For almost two centuries Romans were aggressively involved in persecuting Christians and they regarded Christians as not Jews and Jews not Christians. During this particular time, large numbers of Christians were arrested and tried. It is important to note that here; the persecutions did not involve the Jews.[3] History indicates that at some instances the Jews were involved in assisting the Romans to arrest and persecute Christians. Moreover, between 132-135 CE immediately after Simeon Bar Kokhba led a prolonged rebellion against the Romans in Judea, the Romans embarked on Jewish persecution as a direct consequence of this rebellion. In this case, also, it is very clear that the Romans only persecuted the Jewish observers and not the Christians (Ferrero, 2014).
Reason 2
The constitution of the early church as a distinct institution from Judaism is also another reason that contributed to the gentiles wanting to be Christians and following Jesus; a Jewish leader . In Galatians Paul conducted a series of teachings implying that the temple can be set aside and the people itself becomes its a spiritual temple. This is in accordance with what is written in the book of 1 Corinthians 6:9. This concept of building a new church out of the people was not well taken by some individuals especially the Jewish intellectuals (Jung, 2013). The concept of the church formed a basis of Jewish split with the church as some of them considering it not to be inconsistency with some of the major principles of Judaism.
From time to time, there were some issues that rose as a result of the compatibility of Christianity with the second temple of Judaism. In regard to this issue, there are certain concepts that bring forth concept and reasons for the split between Christianity and Judaism. Well, first and foremost is the aspect of Jewish messianism and Christianity messianism. Well this is in regard to the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls commonly known as the Essenes. According to scholars, the two most relevant aspects are the traditional one; Messiah ben David and Messiah ben Joseph.[4] In accordance to this, the issue of concern was what the Messiah was supposed to do; liberate that nation form foreign domination or liberate humanity from the power of sin. They did not come into terms with the teachings of Jesus as the resurrected Messiah. Jesus himself was a Jew and he observed the Jewish tradition and preached to the Jewish people. This aspect was not well taken to the latter as some of the Jewish people and elders regarded this as dismay (Bird, 2012). They did not consider Jesus as an ultimate savior of the world but rather considered him as their tribesmen – someone who was supposed to save the Jews and the Jewish community from foreign domination. This perspective was very dynamic and it formed the basis of separation between Judaism and Christianity. Despite the split that came about there is no doubt to say that Christianity had its roots from ancient Judaism. Actually, on this accord numerous historians and scholars have clearly identified Christianity as a subset of Judaism. This is evident in the sense that some of Jesus’ close and immediate followers who played a crucial role in setting up the church in Jerusalem were typical Jews who had a similar pharisaic outlook just like most of the other Jews. The only difference was that they believed in the Messiah, the one that was supposed to liberate humanity from the power of sin and they had an impression that He was not with dead bodies and He would soon return to continue with His mission to liberate the Jews from the Roman rule.[5]
Reason 3
Paul’s intervention and interpretation brought about a significant impact as far as the issue of Christianity and Judaism is concerned. During the early times, people had a totally different understanding of what it meant with Jesus’ death (Bird, 2012). A section of people had a conviction that Jesus will return and continue on where he left on in the quest to liberate the Jews from the Roman rule while others believed that he was the Messiah. Paul’s intervention and interpretation played a very significant role here. Paul was very specific in his interpretation. He clearly indicated that Jesus’ death and resurrection was somewhat a mystery. He implied that it was a sacrifice that was made for salvation. He clearly implicated that Jesus’ death was not an interruption of his mission to save the Jews from the Roman rule but rather it was the whole point and His death was his mission. As a direct consequence of this powerful intervention and interpretation, a section of Christians rose and took it in very different path from Judaism. Despite the numerous efforts that have been made to fully bridge the gap that exist between Christianity and Judaism this has not been so impactful due to the sense that all evidence present is conclusive and it leads to fact that Christianity is just another set of Judaism. Saint Paul was very significant here as he clearly indicated that solidarity with gentile Christians was more important than solidarity between Jews.
Conclusion
The split between Christianity and Judaism was a process that took years as depicted from the discussion above. Most people have always considered it as an event but that is not the case. The Gentiles were included in the church settings and in the concept of bringing light to the Gentiles. With time the church became more and more gentle and less Jewish simply because the gentiles decided to follow Jesus, a Jewish leader (Jung, 2013).
As mentioned earlier, Christianity ceased to be Judaism when it failed to observe some fundamental aspects and principles that defined the Jewish religion such as issue of circumcision.
It is regarded as a process and not an event because of the fact that it took time and some Jewish section disappeared and the evolution indicated how the dominant Pharisaic Judaism changed into Rabbinic Judaism thus emergence of a totally distinct religion, Christianity.[6]
Therefore, one can conclude that Christianity and Judaism are totally different religions. Evidence shows that a distinction and split of the two religions brought about various changes in principles and standpoint that each of the two religions believes in. This is clear and has even been illustrated by different types of issues observed regarding the Messiah.
References
Bird, M. F. (2012). salvation in Paul’s Judaism?. Paul and Judaism: Crosscurrents in Pauline Exegesis and the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations, 15-40.
Borkataky‐Varma, S. (2014). Invitation to World Religions. By Jeffrey Brodd, Layne Little, Bradley Nystrom, Robert Platzner, Richard Shek and Erin Stiles. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. xx+ 555. $79.95. Religious Studies Review, 40(2), 77-78.
Bucur, B. G. (2014). Justin Martyr’s Exegesis of Biblical Theophanies and the Parting of the Ways between Christianity and Judaism. Theological Studies, 75(1), 34-51.
Ezra, D. S. B. (2012). Fasting with Jews, Thinking with Scapegoats: Some Remarks on Yom Kippur in Early Judaism and Christianity, in Particular 4Q541, Barnabas 7, Matthew 27 and Acts 27. In The Day of Atonement (pp. 163-187). Brill.
Ferrero, M. (2014). Competition between Judaism and Christianity: Paul’s Galatians as entry deterrence. Kyklos, 67(2), 204-226.
Jung, D. (2013). Islamic Studies and Religious Reform. Ignaz Goldziher–A Crossroads of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Der Islam, 90(1), 106-126.
Nirenberg, David. Neighboring Faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the Middle Ages and Today. University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Plaskow, Judith. “Anti-Judaism in Feminist Christian Interpretation.” In Judith Plaskow: Feminism, Theology, and Justice, pp. 83-95. BRILL, 2014.
Portier-Young, Anathea. Apocalypse Against Empire: Theologies of Resistance in Early Judaism. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2011.
Reed, Annette Yoshiko. “Messianism between Judaism and Christianity.” Rethinking the Messianic Idea in Judaism (2014): 23-62.
Seidmukhammed, Abdunaim, Absattar Derbisali, Omirzhanov Yesbol, and Daulet Kozhambek. “Political, Legal, Religious Reforms of the Altyn Orda in Its Early Years.” Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 6, no. 6 S1 (2015): 561.
Yovel,
Yirmiyahu. The Other Within: The Marranos: Split Identity and Emerging
Modernity. Princeton University Press, 2018.
[1] Nirenberg, David. Neighboring Faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the Middle Ages and Today. University of Chicago Press, 2014.
[2] Plaskow, Judith. “Anti-Judaism in Feminist Christian Interpretation.” In Judith Plaskow: Feminism, Theology, and Justice, pp. 83-95. BRILL, 2014.
[3] Portier-Young, Anathea. Apocalypse Against Empire: Theologies of Resistance in Early Judaism. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2011.
[4] Reed, Annette Yoshiko. “Messianism between Judaism and Christianity.” Rethinking the Messianic Idea in Judaism (2014): 23-62.
[5] Seidmukhammed, Abdunaim, Absattar Derbisali, Omirzhanov Yesbol, and Daulet Kozhambek. “Political, Legal, Religious Reforms of the Altyn Orda in Its Early Years.” Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 6, no. 6 S1 (2015): 561.
[6] Yovel, Yirmiyahu. The Other Within: The Marranos: Split Identity and Emerging Modernity. Princeton University Press, 2018.
