by Jeffrey Salkin, Religion News Service, 11/1/22.
…Why did you write this book? Who is your audience?
…In this case, my audience is all American Jews, and a good portion of American Christians. Jews have so many questions about the religion of our neighbors, and they do not have a reliable place to turn for answers. I have given them answers.
Even though Jews live in an overwhelmingly Christian culture, we do not really understand Christianity as well as we might. Why is that the case?
Jeff, you have defined the problem exactly. There are a number of reasons for our misunderstanding.
First, we get a lot of our information from popular culture — movies, television, popular Christmas songs — and that information is often misleading.
Second, we live in a secular age, and general knowledge about religion is lacking. We can ask a Christian friend a question, but they might not know the right way to answer.
Third, there are still many people out there who want to convert Jews to Christianity, sometimes using deceptive means to reach out to us. This makes Jews defensive and suspicious, and rightly so. Jews need a trusted source for information.
…American Jews need to understand Christianity just like a fish needs to understand the ocean in which it swims. This is our environment.
What are some of the most common Jewish misconceptions about Christianity?
If Jews want to understand Christianity and how it differs from Judaism, first they need to know more about Judaism. That is why this book that explains Christianity contains a lot of Judaism.
…What is the biggest error that Jews and Christians share? The misconception that Christianity and Judaism are opposites. Jews and Christians alike simply assume that if something is Jewish, it’s “not Christian,” and vice versa.
So, for example: If Christians have a religion of love, then it must be that Jews just have a religion of harsh judgment.
If Christians believe in divine forgiveness, then it must be that Jews don’t believe in divine forgiveness.
If Christians believe in an afterlife, then it must be that Jews do not.
If Christianity is all about believing in Jesus, then Judaism is all about not believing in Jesus.
This popular view of Christianity and Judaism as opposites harms Jews and Judaism, and it also misrepresents Christianity. It would be far more accurate to say Christianity and Judaism offer different answers to some of the same compelling questions.
What do you think of the increasing tendency to try to meld these two faiths together and/or to minimize differences?
Everyone wants to get along. And, many households have both Christian and Jewish members. So, people have a stake in minimizing differences.
But, the problem in doing this is that it does violence to both religions. Just as you can only speak a specific language, you can only practice a specific religion. Judaism and Christianity are the “same” — only if you are not practicing either religion in your daily life. If we want to live our religion, it becomes apparent that Judaism and Christianity often contradict each other. That is why they are, in the end, different religions.
Some say we should all forget our differences and just come together. That sounds friendly, but in reality, it threatens the minority faith. It is as if the ocean says to the pond: “Let us merge, and just be one body of water.” If the ocean and the pond merge, the end result is that it will look just like the ocean. But, the ducks, trout and cattails will no longer have a home.
Read more at … https://religionnews.com/2022/11/01/you-should-know-this-wylen-judaism-christianity-interfaith/
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