Are Jews Basically "Fellow Christians?"

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Eh? Jews are basically Christians? What a crackpot idea. The absolute basic requirements of being a Christian, which are shared by all denominations are that you believe Jesus was the son of god and you choose to follow him. If you don't believe that, you're not a Christian. End of.

PS I am a practising Christian and have been for many, many years. I have never heard this nonsense before.

Christians and Jews believe in the same God, the argument is about whether or not Jesus is the son of God. This attempt to smear me yet again, shows why I have absolutely no respect for some people here.


My viewpoint is Christianity and Judaism are basically two subsets of the same religion isn't about one being superior to the other, it is about the fact that I believe God will sort out any misunderstandings one way or the other when a Christian or Jewish Person gets to heaven.


Are next people going to claim that Roman Catholics and Methodists are not both Christians?

If we want to get technical it could be argued that Christianity is a split in the Jewish Faith where one group believes Jesus is the son of God and the other believes Jesus was simply a very wise man.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is One. The God of the Christians are Three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If one reads the bible with belief, God made it a strong point that He was One (and the Only).

1 is not = 3. Simple arithmetic.

ruveyn

That is actually a misinterpretation on your part.

God is 1 not 3, it can get confusing to someone that doesn't get the fact God can be in multiple places at the same time.

Jews are Christians?
More like Christians are people who believe in variations of the ancient Jewish religion, which is still practiced by some Jews today.

Jews are a nation, not a religious group. Not all Jews believe in Judaism.
However, even if you do believe in Judaism as a religion, it doesn't necessarily make you Jewish. According to the religion, those who are not Israelites are only required to observe the 7 Noahide laws. The 613 mitzvot are only obligatory to the Sons of Israel, and that's one of the reasons why converting to Judaism is not common and not easy - because the religion itself distinguishes the religious beliefs and the nation. Converting to being Jewish actually refers to entering the nation according to the religion, not entering the religion.

Whether Jews will enter Heaven, whilst talking about the Christian Heaven? Well, basically in Judaism there is the "next world", and no Hell, which is a Christian invention that has nothing to do with original Judaism as far as I know. So I have no idea why Christians believe in stuff that Jews don't believe in, as Christians believe in the Jewish religion themselves (some version of it). But as far as I know according to Jewish theology Jews automatically "have a place" in the next world, along with "gentiles" who observe the Noahide laws, that are easier to observe, and in the next world there is no distinction between Israelites and non-Israelites. The Israelites were supposed to be "a light to the nations", to spread the word of God, and get a "protection" in return.

There are Jews who believe in Jesus as a prophet/saviour/messiah and are still not Christians. They simply see no reason to define themselves as anything different. To say that Jews and Christians differ in seeing Jesus as a saviour is problematic. The term "Jews", in this manner, refers to Jewish people who believe in the Jewish religion. It doesn't refer to non-Jews (and non-Israelites) who follow this religion, or to Jews who don't. Also, how do you define Jews who don't see themselves as Christian but believe in the divinity of Jesus?

It is not misinterpretation. I suspect - thouh I can't be sure - it is not even misrepresentation. I would say it relates to having blinkered sight - of which ruveyn is rather proud, and of course for some purposes it is an asset.

But you need - I don't know how up on Christian theology you are, but you need to get deeper and a bit more sophisticated. The Trinity is NOT about being in multiple places at the same time. Patrick's shamrock was a better analogy, though very limited.

You really tell that to a Jew? That God can be in multiple places at the same time?
God is everywhere, that's the problem with the trinity doctrine... He is not in 3 places, and not in 1 place. He is 1 and everywhere. So why 3?

I honestly see this trinity thing as mistranslated. Jesus referred to God as his father, and also as Son of Man. Confusing? To someone whose not Jewish, not to a Jew who speaks Hebrew. God as a father=a metaphor (and you know, Jesus loved metaphors) used commonly in Judaism. There is even a Jewish saying (and song) that says "we have no one to rely on, but our father". Son of Man=בן אדם (ben adam), the Hebrew word for "human", literally "son of Adam". It's funny to me to see the theological debates about these terms, and whether they are contradictory, as it's like seeing people trying to analyse a simple song. These are common, simple, Jewish terms.

The "Holy Spirit" is also a Jewish term that doesn't refer to a being that exists alongside God. This divine presence was "experienced" by prophets and figures in Judaism, but it didn't make them God. Even if Jesus had this divine presence, it doesn't make him God. Elijah and Isaiah are famous prophets that obviously had it as well.

And if Jesus spoke to God, well, how can he be God? Saying that "Jesus is our Lord" is a bit confusing as he prayed to God, and asked him why he left him (on the cross, according to the Gospels). There is no "God the son", there is simply one God. Not a son, a father and a holy spirit.

It should be noted, anyhow, that not all Christians believe in the trinity doctrine.

The Unitarians, to their credit, understand that 1 = 1.

Isaac Newton practiced the Arian Heresy and denied the Trinity, but he kept it quiet and discrete since he was paid by a Christian university.

ruveyn

The Unitarians may not believe the Trinity - but the ones we have here these days don't seem to believe anything else either. Sermons on life lessons from Winnie the Pooh. NOT joking - I heard it with mine own ears.

Jesus Christ is the messiah the Old Testament prophesied. Jews deny their savior. Christianity totally supersedes Jewish worship.

He is my distant cousin, but he is not my savior.

And we shall see what supersedes what.

The Jews kept the faith. They believe God is One if they believe in God at all.

ruveyn

A. Let us be accurate. That Jesus is the Christ is disputed by most Jews and some Christian-derived theologies. What the messianic claim implies is also debated, as is the inventory of alleged prophecies.

B. Not all Jews deny that Jesus saves.

C. Christianity totally supersedes Jewish worship? Hardly. One may perhaps claim that the expansion of the law is superseded, one certainly claims a new covenant [kaine diatheke], one may take the crucifixion [and by some theology the Eucharist] as superseding the sacrifices of the defunct temple. But there is a lot more to worship than that.

If one expects the atheist contingent to respect fact in their claims and objections, one must be accurate in representing Christran fact and theory.

What about those who eat their God's flesh and drink his blood? Sounds pretty gory as well.

It's too bad that Baal didn't win out over Yahweh way back when. I would have preferred religious services that weren't so boring, and that included a good amount of sex and feasting.

Where exactly is the smear? You seem too have too high an opinion of yourself.

Anyway, there is an argument over whether Jews are, in fact, "basically Christians", and whether Jews and Christians do, in fact, worship the same God. This triune God is something all together bizarre.


Do only Jews and Christians get to Heaven?


That claim certainly has a lot of adherents.


The belief that Jesus was the Son of God is a radical departure from mainstream Judaism. And, there may be some Jews who didn't regard Jesus as having been particularly wise.

Well, the first Christians were Jews.

"Became" gentile dominated? By that definition, orthodox jews must also be gentile dominated, since they've accepted conversions for millenia.