Jews--Christians--Muslims...same God?

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meltzerboy said:
I cannot speak for Islam, but Judaism has a very personal relationship with G-d. Haven’t you seen “Fiddler on the Roof,” in which Tevye is always talking to G-d, complaining, negotiating, even accusing Him? That’s how intimate the relationship is between Jews and G-d. Prayer is very personal as well, and it is not confined to the synagogue. In the Jewish home, the kitchen table is the alter and the woman who lights the Friday night candles addresses her prayers directly to G-d for her whole family.
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What I meant is that Jews and Muslims do not anthropolize God the way Christians do.
 
PastorBonus said:
What I meant is that Jews and Muslims do not anthropolize God the way Christians do.
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That is correct. Neither Judaism nor Islam anthropomorphizes G-d since neither believes in G-d Incarnate. Thus the form of G-d does remain a bone of contention between us even though we all, as monotheistic religions, worship one G-d. We all believe that G-d created us in His image, meaning with the inner qualities of love, compassion, and goodness.
 
meltzerboy said:
That is correct. Neither Judaism nor Islam anthropomorphizes G-d since neither believes in G-d Incarnate. Thus the form of G-d does remain a bone of contention between us even though we all, as monotheistic religions, worship one G-d. We all believe that G-d created us in His image, meaning with the inner qualities of love, compassion, and goodness.
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anthropomorphize, that’s the word I was looking for, thanks 👍
 
When I was researching the ancient Israelites and their culture, I noticed that God did have form in the early years of the Jewish faith. The first few books actually desribes body parts. It was not until around the time of the exile that God became formless to the Israelites. I do not know if it was merely a product of the times or what, but that was always interesting to me. Moses looked at his back, Jacob fought with God, no one could look upon the face of God, He walked in the garden with Adam…etc…So it seems He did have some kind of form in the early years but lost that form???
 
aidanbradypop said:
When I was researching the ancient Israelites and their culture, I noticed that God did have form in the early years of the Jewish faith. The first few books actually desribes body parts. It was not until around the time of the exile that God became formless to the Israelites. I do not know if it was merely a product of the times or what, but that was always interesting to me. Moses looked at his back, Jacob fought with God, no one could look upon the face of God, He walked in the garden with Adam…etc…So it seems He did have some kind of form in the early years but lost that form???
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I don’t think the Jewish interpretation is that G-d actually had form, but rather He is described on occasion as such for the benefit of the people’s understanding Him in part by means of identification. Jacob’s fight was not with G-d Himself but with an angel of G-d. Further, the language used in the Hebrew Bible is often figurative.
 
meltzerboy said:
I don’t think the Jewish interpretation is that G-d actually had form, but rather He is described on occasion as such for the benefit of the people’s understanding Him in part by means of identification. Jacob’s fight was not with G-d Himself but with an angel of G-d. Further, the language used in the Hebrew Bible is often figurative.
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I will send you a PM so that we can stay on topic in the thread 😉
 
meltzerboy said:
I read your PM and never heard of that before, but I know Judaism did evolve in several aspects so I will look into it. Thank you.
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I come at it as a Cultural Anthropologist. The first Christians thought the world was flat and the sun and planets went around the earth. 😉

Ok back on topic…

I took Fr to dinner last night and we actually talked about this thread for a few minutes. He is from western India so has had much contact with Islam and Allah. He states that the Church does believe and has stated that Jews, Muslims and Christians believe in the same God. We all start with God but go in different directions from there.
 
aidanbradypop said:
I come at it as a Cultural Anthropologist. The first Christians thought the world was flat and the sun and planets went around the earth. 😉

Ok back on topic…

I took Fr to dinner last night and we actually talked about this thread for a few minutes. He is from western India so has had much contact with Islam and Allah. He states that the Church does believe and has stated that Jews, Muslims and Christians believe in the same God. We all start with God but go in different directions from there.
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And that’s the crux of the matter. If those that believe that G-d wants us to live our life according to the Torah are right then everyone that worships Jesus will have a problem as they will have to account for idolatry, and Muslims will have a problem as they will have lived their life according to the Quran. If Jesus was the Messiah Jews will have to account for having rejected the saviour, while Muslims should still be fine. And if Muhammad was the prophet that spoke G-ds’ true words than we’re (Jews and Christians) all screwed.
 
504Katrin said:
And that’s the crux of the matter. If those that believe that G-d wants us to live our life according to the Torah everyone that worships Jesus will have a problem as they will have to account for idolatry, and Muslims will have a problem as they will have lived their life according to the Quran. If Jesus was the Messiah Jews will have to account for having rejected the saviour, while Muslims should still be fine. And if Muhammad was the prophet that spoke G-ds’ true words than we’re (Jews and Christians) all screwed.
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Right you are lol. I simply pray for all that God will show mercy and love. Heaven is not a given for any of us. 😉
 
504Katrin said:
And that’s the crux of the matter. If those that believe that G-d wants us to live our life according to the Torah are right then everyone that worships Jesus will have a problem as they will have to account for idolatry, and Muslims will have a problem as they will have lived their life according to the Quran. If Jesus was the Messiah Jews will have to account for having rejected the saviour, while Muslims should still be fine. And if Muhammad was the prophet that spoke G-ds’ true words than we’re (Jews and Christians) all screwed.
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lol thats a nice way to put it … so funny 😃 i think i will try to make my own version of this later on lol.
 
504Katrin said:
And that’s the crux of the matter. If those that believe that G-d wants us to live our life according to the Torah are right then everyone that worships Jesus will have a problem as they will have to account for idolatry, and Muslims will have a problem as they will have lived their life according to the Quran. If Jesus was the Messiah Jews will have to account for having rejected the saviour, while Muslims should still be fine. And if Muhammad was the prophet that spoke G-ds’ true words than we’re (Jews and Christians) all screwed.
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In a nutshell, I suppose this makes sense. However, I know that according to Judaism, one doesn’t have to be Jewish to be “saved” and go to heaven. One just has to lead a moral life in terms of one’s behavior toward others: that is, follow the Noahide Law. Jews have it somewhat tougher since they have the whole Law of the Torah to practice. Further, Catholics believe in the idea of invincible ignorance and that G-d may save those who are not a visible part of the Church and its Sacraments. Similar to Judaism, Catholics who abandon their faith may face a tougher time with respect to salvation. Islam, like Judaism, also places great emphasis on moral works, so who knows? All three religions profess a G-d of mercy as well as justice, and therefore I think we can all take comfort in that.
 
meedo said:
lol thats a nice way to put it … so funny 😃 i think i will try to make my own version of this later on lol.
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Get your own talking points lol:p
meltzerboy said:
In a nutshell, I suppose this makes sense. However, I know that according to Judaism, one doesn’t have to be Jewish to be “saved” and go to heaven. One just has to lead a moral life in terms of one’s behavior toward others: that is, follow the Noahide Law. Jews have it somewhat tougher since they have the whole Law of the Torah to practice. Further, Catholics believe in the idea of invincible ignorance and that G-d may save those who are not a visible part of the Church and its Sacraments. Similar to Judaism, Catholics who abandon their faith may face a tougher time with respect to salvation. Islam, like Judaism, also places great emphasis on moral works, so who knows? All three religions profess a G-d of mercy as well as justice, and therefore I think we can all take comfort in that.
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I take comfort that Christians, Jews and Muslims can come on here and show love to one another. Wish the world was as understanding as this thread:thumbsup:😉
 
504Katrin said:
And that’s the crux of the matter. If those that believe that G-d wants us to live our life according to the Torah are right then everyone that worships Jesus will have a problem as they will have to account for idolatry, …
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Katrin, I’m the daughter of a (poorly taught) Reform Jew who converted to Christianity. I was raised Christian, and I’ve chosen to be a practicing Christian. However, I’ll cheerfully admit that in terms of apologetics, I believe Judaism has a stronger case than Christianity in some ways.

Though, all things considered, I believe Christianity is true, I could be wrong, and if I am I ask for God’s mercy. The thing is, my belief in Jesus has not led me into idolatry; it’s made me more aware of God and His character—His ineffable holiness and unfathomable mercy both. At my best, I worship the One God alone, as a triune unity (at my worst, I give more attention to all sorts of lesser things.) For a supposed misleader, Jesus has been very effective at leading me to worship God.
 
meltzerboy said:
In a nutshell, I suppose this makes sense. However, I know that according to Judaism, one doesn’t have to be Jewish to be “saved” and go to heaven. One just has to lead a moral life in terms of one’s behavior toward others: that is, follow the Noahide Law. Jews have it somewhat tougher since they have the whole Law of the Torah to practice. Further, Catholics believe in the idea of invincible ignorance and that G-d may save those who are not a visible part of the Church and its Sacraments. Similar to Judaism, Catholics who abandon their faith may face a tougher time with respect to salvation. Islam, like Judaism, also places great emphasis on moral works, so who knows? All three religions profess a G-d of mercy as well as justice, and therefore I think we can all take comfort in that.
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Yes, they needn’t live their lives according to the entire Torah, but according to the Noahide laws.
On a side note, someone asked for proof of the trinity in scripture earlier. Jesus said something along the lines of: “Go baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” so you have the trinity right there.

And I do firmly believe that a devoted Christian will get to heaven first before the “best Jew” will get to heaven if the Jew doesn’t keep the law out of love for the Creator, but because he feels compelled to keep it for any other reason. On the other hand, a not so observant Jew that sincerely prays with the heart when he can, might get into heaven first before the “best Christian” if that Christian doesn’t pray with the heart and loves himself most. So and all in all, I say this: If we love our G-d with all our heart and our entire mind and all our strength, and love our neighbour as ourselves, we should be (pretty much) good to go I believe, no matter if we’re Christians, Jews or Muslims 🙂
 
AbideWithMe said:
Katrin, I’m the daughter of a (poorly taught) Reform Jew who converted to Christianity. I was raised Christian, and I’ve chosen to be a practicing Christian. However, I’ll cheerfully admit that in terms of apologetics, I believe Judaism has a stronger case than Christianity in some ways.

Though, all things considered, I believe Christianity is true, I could be wrong, and if I am I ask for God’s mercy. The thing is, my belief in Jesus has not led me into idolatry; it’s made me more aware of God and His character—His ineffable holiness and unfathomable mercy both. At my best, I worship the One God alone, as a triune unity (at my worst, I give more attention to all sorts of lesser things.) For a supposed misleader, Jesus has been very effective at leading me to worship God.
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You know, I once complained about my ignorance: “The only Psalm I know by heart is Psalm 63!” and I was sooo frustrated. The Pastor replied to me: “And if this Psalm is the only one that you know… and if this one and only Psalm will bring you closer to G-d…it’s fine to stick with this one Psalm” 😉
 
504Katrin said:
You know, I once complained about my ignorance: “The only Psalm I know by heart is Psalm 63!” and I was sooo frustrated. The Pastor replied to me: “And if this Psalm is the only one that you know… and if this one and only Psalm will bring you closer to G-d…it’s fine to stick with this one Psalm” 😉
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Know it and know it well lol…

Katrin…your story is interesting. So you were jewish, converted to_______ and then reverted back to the Jewish faith?
 
aidanbradypop said:
Know it and know it well lol…

Katrin…your story is interesting. So you were jewish, converted to_______ and then reverted back to the Jewish faith?
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Calling it a mess would be more appropriate than calling it interesting lol.

We’re baptized Catholics, but didn’t really grow up religiously. So when I found G-d almost two years ago I had to learn everything about Catholicism. What I didn’t know was that my mothers Grannies were Jewish. A little bit later I found out that my fathers’ Grannies were Jewish also. I guarantee you that my mother didn’t know that she married a Jew and vice versa so in the end all stayed in the family. I call it divine intervention lol 😃

When I started to read the Hebrew Scriptures it all made sense and felt so true and I didn’t feel comfortable with the Christian scripture anymore. Finding out that I was Jewish was almost like a relief to me. So now just like two years ago when I learned about Catholicism, I start at zero once again. It can only get better though.
 
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