Judaism and Christianity

religion Place of pilgrimage Why is it important

Christianity Jerusalem Because that is where Jesus died on the cross

Judaism Jerusalem Because that is where the temple of Solomon was torn down. and that is where the west wall is, people put scrolls inside it to pray to god

pilgrimage

Christians place of worship

Christians worship in a church. The word church has two meanings: the church building, and the community of the religion. Inside a church there are a lot of seats and at the front of the church is the nave where there is a big cross. In most modern churches like mine technology is used. For instance, there is a projector that displays the words for people that don’t know the songs. And there is the altar. There is the Sunday school that teaches little kids about God in an interesting way. There is a balcony in our church but maybe not in other ones. There is also a confession box where the people go to confess their sins to the preacher. There is the church tower that rings the bells calling people into the church hall. There is also an elevated platform that is like a box. The preacher stands on it while he reads the holy gospel. There is also the baptismal pool where the people get baptized and become Christians.

Jewish place of worship

The Jewish place of worship is in a synagogue. In the Jewish synagogue there is the Bimah which is normally in the center of the room. The rabbi reads the Torah to the people in the synagogue on the Bimah. The Torah is the holy book of the Jewish religion. The Torah consists of 5 books. The names of the books are listed in order 1. Genesis 2. Exodus 3.Leviticus 4. Numbers 5. Deuteronomy. The books in the Torah are also the first five books in the Old Testament of The Bible. Then there is the ark which holds the Torah. The ark is usually at the back of the synagogue on a wall facing towards Jerusalem. The Star of David is also located on the front of the temple and is the symbol of the Jewish religion. I’m not sure if the synagogues stayed traditional or if they use technology but I think some of them are beginning to use technology.

Similarities and differences between Jewish and Christian faiths

Similarities: Some similarities between Christianity and Judaism are that they both have the same stories in both of their holy books. The Christian bible has 67 books in total with 27 books in the New Testament and 40 books in the Old Testament which are the same Holy Scriptures in the Jewish religion. And the Torah has 5 books from the Old Testament of the bible. Another thing that is the same is that both worship the same concept of a god with only one god. Christians and Jews also have lots of religious holidays. The 10 commandment are also Christian and Jewish.

Differences: There are also things that the Jewish and Christian faiths don’t have in common like the confession boxes in the churches you don’t see those in a synagogue. Jews boys also must get circumcised when they are babies, this consists of cutting off the tip of the penis and only some Christians are. Jews don’t have baptismal pools, whereas Christians do. Christians believe that Jesus was the promised messiah but Jewish people believe that the messiah is still coming.

How do I show I belong

I go to church because my mom thinks it makes us better people just going and being in a community which is so close together. I have never been baptized. I think religions are just stories that people make up to explain why we exist and “miracles” are just coincidence. For example Mother Teresa wanted to make a care center where a bus station was. It was found that the guy who owned it didn’t pay taxes so he had to choose to go to jail or rent it out to Mother Teresa. So mother Teresa got her space and everyone called it a miracle. I don’t think it is a miracle. The thing only happened because in everyone’s sub-conscious they were thinking Mother Teresa wants to help people by getting the space so think of ways to help her. And someone found out that that guy was evading taxes. So that’s why I don’t believe in miracles or a God.

“You do not need to go to a religious place to show commitment to God” Do you agree?

I think that the place in which you pray to your god or gods doesn’t matter because as long as you get your message to God it is the same. For example some Muslims pray on the plane for safe travels. In the plane there is no temple so I conclude that people don’t need to go to a place of worship to worship their god or gods.

It may also be argued that you have to go to a place of worship to show commitment to God. This is partially true. It is important to go to a temple or church or mosque or whatever to bond with other people who share the same religious beliefs because then you can share experiences and swap ideas on how to be more faithful to your God or Gods and how they have changed your life if they have. And on religious holidays for Christianity like Christmas lots of people go to church on Christmas or charismas eve because it is important to show remembrance of Jesus.