Judaism and Christianity are two different religions that are set apart from one another by their distinct qualities. Despite the differences between these two religions, there came a time when it was almost improbable to speak of one without referring to another and this was attributable to their similarities and the fact that Christianity emerged from Judaism. If Judaism and Christianity were once not entirely distinct from one another, what caused their divergence? How distinct did each religion become after it has established itself as having its own distinct characteristics? What were the proofs that would support the divergence of two religions from one another?
Judaism is the world’s oldest religion. It stems from the teachings of Moses and it is solely governed by the Old Testament of the Bible. Judaism emerged from Jerusalem and has widely influenced its government. Ethics and morality in the old Jerusalem are deeply anchored to what is acceptable according to the rules of Judaism—rules that are said to have been prescribed by God himself, through Moses. Religion and state governance back then were inseparable and laws that were enacted by the state should be in accordance to what the Bible and the religious practitioners prescribed as acceptable. Judaism is distinct in that the personnel who control the activities of their sect (e.g. worships, sacrifices, etc.) are divided into classes. According to Lundquist, personnel of Judaism was divided into three factions—the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes (127). The Essenes were not described in the book but the other two factions were clearly differentiated from one another. Sadducees differ from the Pharisees largely. Being in the same religion, one would assume that people belonging to different factions, despite being slightly different from the roles they play in the sect, would generally be uniformed in the crucial areas of their religion, such as what they believe in, what rules they agree to follow, and how they interact with the masses. But this was the opposite for the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Pharisees and Sadducees greatly differed from one another. Pharisees believed in the written and oral Torah (the Law Moses received from the Mt. Sinai) while Sadducees believed in only the written Torah (Lundquist 127). Also, Pharisees believed in life after death while Sadducees did not believe in the same thing (Lundquist 128). Pharisees were also known to love the admiration and recognition of the masses while Sadducees did not like the attention but enjoyed instead a luxurious way of life (Lundquist 128).
Christianity, on the other hand, is a religion that emerged from the teachings of Jesus Christ, hence the name Christianity. The teachings of Christ modified most of Moses’ teachings, adjusting them to what is more ideal to people in his time. Therefore, Christ’s teachings gave birth to the New Testament of the Bible. Despite being distinct from one another, Judaism and Christianity coexisted and intersected with one another many times.
Christianity emerged from the time when Judaism was the leading religion in the old Jerusalem. Sadducees controlled the activities of the Temple and its services. The Temple is the only building in which Jewish worship services and sacrifices were made (Lundquist 132). Unlike other religions, Judaism did not support the building of other houses of worship but focused on one which they decorated exactly as the prophets that time described heavens according to their visions (Lundquist 132). This left other Jews that are far from the official state-Temple unable to partake in the worship and regular sacrifices made therein. Despite the Jewish custom of patronizing and establishing one central Temple, synagogues were established which served as houses of prayers, study halls, and community centers (Lundquist 133), lending people who were not able to worship and offer sacrifices to the central Temple an option which would enable them to at least say their prayers. However, synagogues were not made to replace the Temple after its destruction in the 70 C.E. as it was made even before the Temple was destroyed (Lundquist 133). Synagogue demonstrated a clear and initial stratification between Jews and Christians. Synagogues were crucial to the very first Christian preachers as these buildings served as their venue for teaching people—Jews and non-Jews. However, synagogues once witnessed the convergence of Judaism and Christianity at a single point in time.
After the destruction of the Temple in the 70 C.E., rabbis (Jewish priests) had nowhere else to turn to. Eventually, they turned to synagogues for prayers, although this seemed insufficient compared to the manner of worship and sacrifice they were accustomed to (Lundquist 134). As the Jews were starting to utilize more of the synagogues, paraphernalia common to the Temple were started being transferred to the synagogues, which caused Christians discomfort (Lundquist 135). According to Lundquist, Christians envied the majestic architecture of the Temple but denied the synagogues any “residual sanctity of the Temple” (135). However, modifications were still made that converted synagogues into becoming a little more like the Jews’ central Temple. And this intersection of Judaism and Christianity did not stop here; rather, it reached its peak during the medieval time.
With the rise of Roman Empire into prominence and worldwide influence, Christianity was elected as the official religion and Judaism started to take a back seat behind Christianity. Churches then were built as venues of worship for Christian people. Unlike the Jewish system, churches or worship centers for Christian were not limited to one but several were built to cater to the fast-growing number of people who chose to leave their former religion and be baptized as Christians. The Christian system of worship and belief greatly differed from those of the Jewish customs but the architecture of their church greatly resembled that of the Jewish Temple that was destroyed in the 70 C.E. (Lundquist 156). Builders of the churches during the Roman Empire struggled to create sanctuaries that looked as majestic as that of the Jewish central Temple. Even the things that were common to Jewish practice were ultimately adopted by the Christians. However, Christian and Judaism are completely divergent from one another and have evolved to become two powerful religions distinct from one another.
Christianity and Judaism may be considered to completely diverge from one another during the time when the Temple was destroyed for two reasons: (1) Christianity started being recognized as a religion independent from Judaism as the central Jewish feature (the Temple) crumbled down while Christianity was beginning to flourish and (2) the destruction of the central Jewish Temple marked the materialization of Christ’s prophecy and the recognition of New Testament in replacement of the Old Testament whose rules seemed to be less adaptable to people that time as compared to the rules of the New Testament. If observed closely, the times that Christianity and Judaism converged also suggested their divergence from one another. As Christianity gradually took on its own identity—although inspired by the then-prominent Judaism, Judaism was left with its preserved customs and traditions which greatly set it apart from Christianity.
Works Cited
Lundquist, John M. The Temple of Jerusalem. Westport: Praegar, 2008. Print.
