Jesus Camp:

[djnemo65]

Coming from a Jewish background I bristle when people assert that Christianity is the one true religion because the clear implication is that my dead relatives are burning in hell. I appreciate it much more when people say that Christianity works for them, but that they respect that other religious faiths - or even having no religion at all - may work equally well for other people.

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

Coming from a Jewish background I bristle when people assert that Christianity is the one true religion because the clear implication is that my dead relatives are burning in hell. I appreciate it much more when people say that Christianity works for them, but that they respect that other religious faiths - or even having no religion at all - may work equally well for other people.

Jesus was nothing if not a good jew. In my opinion, Christianity doesn't "replace" judaism but rather is a culmination of its teachings. W/o understanding, believing and accepting the old testament teachings, christianity is a religion out of context. That includes (IMHO) the teachings of tolerance and acceptance.

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

Jesus was nothing if not a good jew. In my opinion, Christianity doesn't "replace" judaism but rather is a culmination of its teachings. W/o understanding, believing and accepting the old testament teachings, christianity is a religion out of context. That includes (IMHO) the teachings of tolerance and acceptance.

I'm not sure what you mean? Christianity is a culmination of Jewish teachings for who? For Christians? Certainly not for Jewish people, who reject the new testament. A culmination is believed to be superior to what came before it (the word literally means to reach the highest point) so if I was a little more fanatical I might find what you just said offensive. I don't think you meant it to be, but culmination was a poor word choice imo. How about Christianity builds off of Jewish teachings while going in a new direction?

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

I'm not sure what you mean? Christianity is a culmination of Jewish teachings for who? For Christians? Certainly not for Jewish people, who reject the new testament. A culmination is believed to be superior to what came before it (the word literally means to reach the highest point) so if I was a little more fanatical I might find what you just said offensive. I don't think you meant it to be, but culmination was a poor word choice imo. How about Christianity builds off of Jewish teachings while going in a new direction?

Fair enough - for Christians. And no, it was not meant to be offensive. With that said, it is the Christian belief that Christ was the culmination of the "old covenant" and that, rather than a "new direction", the "new covenant" was a continuation of those same old covenant promises through the Christ's death and resurrection.

Given the underlying tension between the two faiths (The Judaic messiah has yet to come v. The Judaic messiah has come), the Christian and Jewish faiths will always on some level be at odds and each side has to use care in communicating with each other - particularly Christians when speaking of the Jewish faith.

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

Fair enough - for Christians. And no, it was not meant to be offensive. With that said, it is the Christian belief that Christ was the culmination of the "old covenant" and that, rather than a "new direction", the "new covenant" was a continuation of those same old covenant promises through the Christ's death and resurrection.

Given the underlying tension between the two faiths (The Judaic messiah has yet to come v. The Judaic messiah has come), the Christian and Jewish faiths will always on some level be at odds and each side has to use care in communicating with each other - particularly Christians when speaking of the Jewish faith.

I agree, and I wasn't offended. Thanks for being understanding though.