Today in fighting Christian hegemony, a non-exclusive list of some concepts Christians/culturally Christian people seem to think Judaism and Christianity agree on that they don’t:
1. Original Sin
2. What it means to be “chosen”
3. Sin/Chet
4. Dualistic afterlife
5. Charity/Tzedakah
6. Monotheism
7. Meaning of the Tanakh
8. Theism
9. Blasphemy
10. “The world to come”
11. What “religion” means
12. G-d and gender
13. The role of women
14. Questioning
15. Science and Religion
16. When life begins
17. Modesty
18. Anthropomorphism of G-d
19. Angels (Malachim)
20. Free will
21. Justice
Could a Jewish person please elaborate on the Jewish pov for these concepts?
I’m rarely fast, but I do usually try to answer! I am going to focus on my own list for this response (and even that I will take in chunks), largely because we enter areas of far more complex theologies and differences between denominations of Judaism in the additional list. Addressing them all at once would require a novel, and I’m not so much for novel writing on my cell phone in the tumblr app.
Okay, after delays caused by illness and life and associated adult-y responsibilities, let’s look at 10 and 11!
10. So we are going to be speaking in fairly broad brushes here to demonstrate majority views, which I realize isn’t a 100% accurate portrayal of all unique forms of Christianity or Judaism as this is an area where we tend to see a variety of views but is helpful in looking at overarching cultural differences in society.
Judaism’s conceptions of the “world to come,” in traditional eschatology, are of a utopia here on Earth which included the “righteous of all nations.” That is to say, first, it doesn’t include a visit to a metaphysical heaven (which is part of the teachings of many forms of Christianity). But, and I think this is more of a theological divergence, it’s not just for Jews.
Judaism’s theologies about a post-Moshiach utopia aren’t exclusive to members of Judaism. Anyone who is righteous is included. And, as it happens, it’s easier to be a righteous gentile than a righteous Jew in traditional Jewish thought. By contrast, the majority of Christian traditions teach that arrival in the “world to come” or “Heaven” requires belief in Christianity. So that’s one major difference.
The other major difference is emphasis on the world to come more generally. Christianity, traditionally, places a large emphasis on obtaining one’s place in the world to come or in heaven (dependent on denomination). Judaism, again speaking generally, largely doesn’t focus on those things. At all. What happens after death to the dead is not something most of Judaism is preoccupied with on a regular basis.
11. Last, but not least, what the word “religion” means. Judaism, and it is far from alone in this regard, defines religion by membership in a peoplehood. It is a group of related tribes, cultures, beliefs, and an ethnicity. It encompasses all of that. Religion includes liturgy and rituals, yes, but also cultural attitudes and viewpoints on food, music, bodily autonomy, authority, learning, etc. all of those things are considered part of Judaism.
The traditional Christian understanding of religion is as being synonymous with “faith” or “belief.” To be a Christian, one need only believe in the fundamental precepts of Christianity. It is a universal religion, and historically considers itself separate (and in many ways above) from different cultures or ethnicities.
It’s a short explanation, I know, and I dive into more detail on this difference elsewhere on this blog, but describes a major difference between Judaism and Christianity.
kink at pride is easy af to explain to kids, idk what yall are talking about. “mommy, why is that mostly-naked man wearing leather?” because lots of gay men think it looks nice. “why is that guy on a leash with a mask?” hes playing pretend. “why does she have a whip?” she thinks its fun. you know how you like to play with water guns? its like that but only for grown-ups, and she wont play with anyone who doesnt want to play with her so we’re all totally safe
if your 6yo’s next question is “is that a sex thing?”, thats fucking wild and a completely different problem. for you. not really an “Us Problem” collectively for all pride-goers, tbh. something’s going on there thats hard to call the dominatrix’s fault
homophobes think that being gay is already a weird sex thing thats hard to explain to kids. did yall forget that already? why are you trying to play respectability politics for people who will never respect you?
