How are Jews different from Christians?
As Christianity was essentially based on the rejection of Judaism, the two religions hold virtually nothing in common. From the Jewish perspective, the concept of the Trinity is not true monotheism. Aside from this, the majority of key tenets held by Christianity directly violate the teachings of Judaism.
Christianity's focus is on what a person believes while Judaism's focus is on what a person does in life.
Judaism has the Tanach (Jewish Bible), which is made up of Torah (Teachings), Nevi'im (Prophets), K'tuvim (Writings). Christianity has the Old Testament, which was based on the Tanach but was altered to support the teachings of Christianity, and the New Testament. Jews do not consider the Old Testament to be a valid religious text, the same is true for the NT.
Christianity has very specific beliefs as to what happens after death. Judaism has theories about what might happen after death but barely touches on the subject which isn't really discussed even in the Tanach. Judaism focuses on the current life with the goal of helping HaShem (The Creator) complete creation.
Christianity teaches that humans are born in sin and have to be saved from this. Judaism teaches that humans are capable of doing both good and bad but when we were created, HaShem called us good and that humans are intrinsically good. The word most commonly translated as 'sin' in the Tanach is an archery term meaning 'to miss the mark'. Judaism teaches that without the ability to do bad, we cannot choose to do good. By doing good we become closer to HaShem and when we make a mistake, it gives us a chance to correct that mistake and grow as a person and in the end, we become closer to HaShem.
A few examples of Christian concepts that either do not exist in and/or directly oppose the teachings of Judaism are:
* Original sin
* The Christian concept of messiah
* The existence of heaven and hell
* The existence of the devil
* The concept of damnation
* The Christian concept of 'sin' altogether
* The idea that a man can atone for the mistakes of another
* The idea that one can atone for mistakes not yet made
* The idea that faith supersedes action
* That G-d can be man or son of man
* The need to pray to G-d through intermediaries
Below are a few of the many things Jews believe in that Christians do not:
* Man is born good and innocent, there is no such thing as original sin.
* An individual is responsible for his own mistakes and no one else can atone for those mistakes.
* Man becomes closer to HaShem (The Creator) through his actions, blind faith is meaningless.
* Informed consent is required and we are to question everything.
* A 'moshiach' is a mortal man with no supernatural attributes and there have been hundreds of these men.
* HaShem is without form and will never be man or son of man, nor can He be divided into parts.
* The idea that a man can be the literal son of HaShem is an abomination.
* Man communicates directly to HaShem, intermediaries are not needed.
* Every single person who works to live a good life has a place in the world to come.
* There are different paths for different people, everyone does not have to follow the same religion.
* The covenant between the Jews and HaShem is eternal.
* That prophecy ended approximately 2,200 years ago.
* That sacrifice was only a valid part of atonement for unintended mistakes and even then was meaningless without repentance. Prayer replaces sacrifice when the Temple is not standing.
* That the Torah cannot be added to nor changed.
*Note: Jesus plays absolutely no role in Judaism and he is not considered a prophet or teacher.
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