Judeo-Christian

Judeo-Christian (or Judaeo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, and typically considered (along with classical Greco-Roman civilization) a fundamental basis for Western legal codes and moral values. Compare with Ebionites and Judaizers.

Source of the term

The term was invented in the United States in an attempt to create a non-denominational religious consensus or civil religion that, by embracing Judaism, avoided the appearance of anti-Semitism.

The first-known uses of the terms "Judæo-Christian" and "Judaeo-Christianity", according to the Oxford English Dictionary, are 1899 and 1910 respectively, but both were discussing the emergence of Christianity from Judaism. The term was first used with its current meaning in 1938, during World War II[1] to as an alternative to using the term 'Christian civilization' in light of Hitler's attacks on Jews and judaism.

The term is now commonly used in popular culture as a shorthand for the predominant religious influences upon Western culture.

Users of the term Judeo-Christian point out that Jews and Christians have many sacred texts and ethical standards in common, also generally hold that Jews and Christians worship the same God.

For a systematic comparison of the two religions see: Judaism and Christianity

Problems with the term

The term Judeo-Christian has been criticized for implying more commonality than actually exists. In The Myth of the Judeo-Christian Tradition, Jewish theologian-novelist Arthur A. Cohen questions the theological appropriateness of the term and suggests that it was essentially an invention of American politics. [2]. It has also been criticized by some for excluding or marginalizing Islam, the third major Abrahamic religion. Sometimes the terms Judeo-Islamic or Judeo-Christo-Islamic are used to more fully incorporate Islam into this umbrella.

In its political applications, the term is also criticized for over-emphasizing the role of Judaism and Christianity in Western political theory, especially to the exclusion of other predecessor and concurrent schools of thought. In the United States particularly, it is noted that few of the Founding Fathers were Jewish, several were Deists, and that the Enlightenment, religious pluralism, and other philosophies were as influential as either of the religions' holy scriptures. Characterizations of the United States or the West generally as "Judeo-Christian," thus, are often met with criticism that these groups were singled out arbitrarily, and that the hybrid represents more of a political compromise than an accurate description.

Fundamental differences between the two religions

Judaism and Christianity have many areas of agreement, as well as sharply defined ethical and religious systems that are in some areas opposites. Generally neither Jews nor Christians want to have their distinctive traits removed by an oversimplification. Opponents of this term claim that the concept collapses these important differences, and effects a modern appropriation of Jewish identity to Christian values. They point to the traditional Christian claim that Christianity is the logical progression of, and heir to, Biblical Judaism, as precedent.

A further problem with the notion of a Judeo-Christian tradition is that in fact neither Judaism nor Christianity is monolithic. Tremendous variations occur in both religions which have influenced each other over the past 2,000 years. Moreover, Judaism and Christianity each have widely diverging views of their respective relationship to the other, and a complex joint history. So although there are popular themes, or common views, no one group, or view, can claim to speak for either religion, and each religion comprises a scattering of traditions and beliefs which vary in universality, based around a common core, rather than a definitive description. A measure of the scale of this variation, is that even internally to each religion, there exist some Jews and Christians who hold that other Jews and Christians are not in fact the same religion. The who is a Jew? article covers this for Judaism. Another concept where the two differ is the approach to the legal aspect of ethics. Whereas Christian laws stem from ethics, the Jewish ethical tradition is built around the law.

Despite this, the mainstream view and approach, at least in current times, is mostly peaceful living side by side, with strong inter-dialogue at many levels to reconcile past differences between the two groups. According to some Jewish teachings, Christians are accepted as worshipping the same God, and likewise many Christians emphasize common historical heritage and religious continuity with the ancient spiritual lineage of the Jews.

Perceived exclusion of Islam

The term Judeo-Christian is seen by some to imply a rejection of Islam, the third major religion to trace its roots to the same common culture. The term Judeo-Christian values is commonly used in the West, and many Muslim scholars view this term as emblematic of a disconnect between Western-culture Christianity and Islam. Attempts have been made to unite this split, followed closely by attempts to discredit them. The term Judeo-Christian-Islamic has been coined to describe the values shared by the common history of the three religions. This term has been used, for example, by Abrahamic faith gatherings held in various cities of the U.S., which are designed to promote mutual understanding, and have drawn the participation of Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

Others however denounce this inclusion, arguing that Islam lacks basic features in doctrine that Judaism and Christianity share, and also because they believe that Judaism and Christianity has shaped the cultural settings of Europe while Islam has been outside of this development.

Some argue that this term is appropriate, since one faith builds on the previous faith. Jews believe in the authority and authenticity of the Torah (five books of Moses), Tanakh (The Hebrew Bible) and an oral law that explains how the Tanakh is to be understood. Building on this, Christians believe in the authority and authenticity of the Torah (five books of Moses), Tanakh (The Hebrew Bible), yet become a distinct religion because they reject the Jewish oral law, and add the New Testament, and recognize Jesus as both a messiah and as being part of God himself, in the Trinity. Many people in the west believe that the same scheme links Islam with Judaism and Christianity. That is, they believe that Muslims believe in the authority and authenticity of the Torah (five books of Moses), Tanakh (The Hebrew Bible), the New Testament, and recognize Jesus as the messiah; in this view Islam differs because Muslims add to this a belief in the authority and authenticity of the Quran.

They also argue that Islam had a major influence on bringing Europe out of the Dark Ages into the Age of Enlightenment, through the culture and sciences that the Europeans learned from the Muslims during that period.

However, a problem with this schema is that Muslims simply do not have such beliefs. The above representation, while popular in some groups, misrepresents mainstream Islamic theology. In point of fact, Islam rejects the authority and authenticity of the Torah (five books of Moses), the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament. Muslims believe that some original versions of these books at one time existed, but that they were deliberately distorted by corrupt Jewish and Christian leaders. This perceived distortion of the Bible is known as tahrif.

Also, Muslims reject most Christian beliefs about Jesus as the Son of God as heretical, and view the Christian trinity as a polytheistic blasphemy.

In a practical sense, these three religions stemming from common roots, their cultures, and their mutual interactions, have together been responsible for shaping much of the modern world, so a common inclusive term for the combined traditions of all three is often seen as an appropriate umbrella term.

See also

*Law and Gospel — traditional Protestant views against reviving Jewish laws among Christian Gentiles
*Supersessionism — the belief that Christianity has superseded Judaism
*Antinomianism — term used to describe those who believe that Christians are not subject to laws
*Grace — For by grace ye are saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)
*Comparing and contrasting Judaism and Christianity — defining their distinct identities
*Cultural and historical background of Jesus — perspective on the period in which the two religions began to diverge
*Judaizers — term used to describe an early heresy that taught that Christians must keep the law of Moses
*Ebionites — an early heresy that combined Judaism with Christianity
*Seventh-Day Adventism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Worldwide Church of God — modern groups that combine Judaism with Christianity

Related terms

*Abrahamic religions — an umbrella term used to refer to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as smaller, related religions such as Baha'i Faith and Samaritans .
*Christo-Islamic — term used to refer to common elements in Christianity and Islam
*Judeo-Christo-Islamic — there is considered a triune religious connective relationship
*Judeo-Islamic — term used to refer to the common cultural elements and backgrounds of the two religions

References

*Bulliet, Dick. The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization. Columbia University Press, 2004.
*Cohen, Arthur A. The Myth of the Judeo-Christian Tradition. Harper & Row, New York, 1970.
*Hexter, J. H. The Judaeo-Christian Tradition (Second Edition). Yale University Press, 1995.
*Neusner, Jacob. Jews and Christians: The Myth of a Common Tradition. Trinity Press International, Philadelphia, 1991.

External links

*A Judeo-Christian Looks at the Judeo-Christian Tradition
* The rise and fall of the term 'Judeo-Christian'