Salvation and World Religions Essay
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Dec 6, 2023
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Salvation and World Religions Essay
Amy A. Taylor
THEO 202- Theology Survey II
April 13, 2023
1
When explaining the concept of Christian salvation to my friend of Judaism faith it is
important to first recognize the similarities between the two religions. We both believe in
Monotheism-the doctrine that there is only one God. Judaism basis their monotheism from
Deuteronomy 6:4 “…. Here Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one”, and we as Christians
believe in one God who exists in three distinct persons (The Father, Son and Holy Spirit). We
also believe in the power of prayer. In Judaism, prayer is so important that they even have a
Jewish prayer book called the
Siddur
.
In Christianity, we value prayer as an important part of
our faith and through prayer we can communicate our needs to our Father God, and when we
don’t know how or what to pray the Holy Spirit goes before us to express those groanings to the
Father.
The differences that lie within Judaism and Christianity are many. First, as Christians we believe
the Bible is the Holy Word of God where God inspired men to write it. Judaism has the
Torah
(the Old Testament Law), The
Nevi’im
(the Book of Prophets) and
Ketuvim
(the Writings). They
do not believe in the New Testament. Another important belief that differs is in Jesus Christ. As
Christians, we believe that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, second person of the Trinity and
was born of a virgin who came to Earth as the Messiah to reconcile the sins of the world so we
could be made right with God. Judaism believes that Jesus was just an ordinary Jew and not the
Messiah. They believe that Jesus’ time on Earth was of no significance and that his crucifixion
was for his own glory. As Christians, we believe that Salvation through Jesus Christ is something
that “God has done, is doing and ultimately will do.”
(1)
________________________________
(1
)
Etzel, Gabriel; Gutierrez, Ben; Small, R.N., “
Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith”.
Nashville,
Tennessee, 2016, 180.
2
Acts 4:12 says: “
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given
to mankind by which we must be saved.”
(2)
Judaism doesn’t believe in individual salvation but
believes in the salvation of Israel as a whole. They don’t believe in individual salvation through
faith, but through repentance, good deeds and a life of devotion will restore the relationship with
God.
If Judaism follows Old Testament law, then there would still be need for sacrifices for
atonement to be achieved. In Christianity, we hear the words of the Prophets in the Old
Testament as they prophesied over fifty-fives times of the birth of Jesus, his ministry, his death,
and resurrection and the second coming of Jesus. His was our atonement.
Hebrews 9:11-28
, Paul
explains the Blood of Christ and how his atonement became our new covenant. 1 John 2:2 says:
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but also for the sins of the world.”
(3)
Salvation is us realizing that we are indeed sinners. We hear and believe that God sent his only
Son to die for our sins and whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Through
believing, we then repent of our sins and accept Christ for our salvation allowing us to be
adopted into God’s family. We are sanctified and set apart to grow in Him and to be His hands
and feet to the rest of the world bringing glory to God and bringing others to know salvation.
______________________
(2)
Acts 4:12 NIV - - Bible Gateway
, accessed April 13, 2023,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts
%2B4%3A12&version=NIV
.
(3)
I John 2:2 NIV - - Bible Gateway
, accessed April 13, 2023, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I
%2BJohn%2B2%3A2&version=NIV.
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3
Bibliography
“Biblegateway.com: Search for a Bible Passage in 71 Languages and 225 Versions.” n.d.
Biblegateway.com. Accessed April 13, 2023. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/.
“Salvation as Interpreted by Judaism.” 2009. Chosen People Ministries. October 20, 2009.
https://www.chosenpeople.com/salvation-as-interpreted-by-judaism/.
Etzel, Gabriel; Gutierrez, Ben; Small, R.N., “
Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith”.
Nashville, Tennessee, 2016.
“The Key to Salvation.” n.d. Jewish Theological Seminary. Accessed April 13, 2023.
https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/the-key-to-salvation/.