As unique as Judaism and Christianity are within the religions of the modern world in their commonality, they are at the same time diverse. Monotheistic religions, they both share Jerusalem as their birth place. They both share the Old Testament as part of their Biblical foundations. Additionally, they share in having one day of the week serve as their Sabbath. As much as they share they are different. While the Old Testament provides a foundation for what will become Christianity, the New Testament is actually the story of the Christian religion. As Christianity holds the birth of Christ as the launching point of their religion, Judaism believes that their savior is yet to come. There are other aspects that both share, such as the establishment of countries unique as the centers of their religion. Vatican City, usually forgotten as a country, is the ‘political’ center of Catholicism, the largest denomination of Christianity, comprising of 50% of the world’s Christians (Pew Research). While Israel was formed after W.W.II from the geographical area known as Palestine as the political entity for the Jewish people. While Christianity, with 2.1 billion people, represents the largest religion in the world (Adherents) it commands roughly the political power yet a perhaps lesser influence as the 14 million people of Judaism, the 12th largest religion (Adherents). This is solely because of Israel’s position in the Middle East, surrounded by Arab and Muslim cultures.
There is much to respect about Judaism and the Jewish people. Their existence as an isolated group amidst groups of people who want nothing more than to wipe them off the face of the earth demands admiration. Since my youth, I have always had a fascination with Jewish people who, while always in a minority, stood up for their beliefs and what they perceived to be theirs. As I have grown I have recognized the strong ties that Jews share. Despite their differences, some more religious and fundamental, while others have even married outside their religion, they all share the common bond of Israel. They have a strong faith and patriotism of sorts for Israel and the centuries-long history the Jewish people share as God’s chosen people, who have endured the Holocaust and stand alone in their struggle to maintain what they believe to be their Biblical rights to their homeland.
The size of Christianity is its biggest detriment. Obviously, 2.1 billion people can not share the same exact beliefs. The manner in which the United States was settled with a basic Christian faith across a huge area allowed for various individualized community churches to form. Each of these Protestant sects, while sharing their belief in Christ, have developed different belief foundations. Some hold the Bible to its literal meaning, while others speak in tongues and yet others have their own television channels raising as much money as they can.. Yet the largest group, the Catholics have the one universally recognized Christian leader in the Pope. These many variations make having a consistent belief a difficult task.
I have found it hard to justify so many various religions. For me I have come to the basic message that having faith is the most important thing. If there is to be a God, a universal being, then there is no way one particular religion can be ‘thee one’ true religion. That would mean the vast majority of the people of the earth are spiritually doomed and how could a loving, caring God allow that to happen.
Works Cited
“Global Christianity-A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population.”
Religion& Public Life, PewResearchCenter, 19 Dec. 2011. www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/. Accessed 5 January 2017.
“Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents.” Adherents.com. Major Religions Ranked by Size. www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html. Accessed 5 January 2017
