Judaism and Christianity: the Differences [Paperback]

Trude Weiss-Rosmarin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1988

Dr. Rosmarins popularly written yet authoritative volume forthrightly analyzes the basic differences between Judaism and Christianity. She maintains that there is an inherent conflict between the basic views of these mother/daughter religions, a conflict that cannot be resolved but that must be understood. Among the subjects addressed are miracles, sin and atonement, faith versus law, Free Will versus Original Sin, asceticism, and the place of Jesus in Jewish thinking.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dr. Weiss-Rosmarin's book is a very important volume.... It deserves a wide reading by both Christians and Jews." -- Jewish Social Studies

"It is refreshing to have a Jewish scholar write so frankly about 'the eternal and fundamental differences between Judaism and Christianity.' Such a discussion, motivated by a desire for truth and clarity and characterized by factual statement and scholarly restraint, is much needed these days." -- The Protestant

"This book cannot be recommended too highly to those who are deeply and essentially, not only formally and superficially, interested in Jewish-Christian understanding and rapprochement." -- The Humanist

"True to its title, this book contains a succinct statement of what it is in the essential Christian faith that a scholarly Jew does not accept." -- New York Times

About the Author

Trude Weiss-Rosmarin (1908-1989), a native of Germany, was the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Jewish Spectator magazine. A popular lecturer, she authored many books, including Religion of Reason; The Hebrew Moses: An Answer to Sigmund Freud; Jewish Women Through the Ages; and Highlights of Jewish History.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Jonathan David Publishers (January 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824603982
• ISBN-13: 978-0824603984
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #980,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Polemical but useful, May 29, 2001

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Judaism and Christianity: the Differences (Paperback)

Probably the best single introductory volume on the distinctiveness of Judaism, including its differences from Pauline Christianity, is Abba Hillel Silver's _Where Judaism Differed_ (or "Differs"; it was published under each title, the latter being Rabbi Silver's preference). Unfortunately that fine volume is out of print.

Trude Weiss-Rosmarin's little book is a distant second. This is in part because she focuses so exclusively on the differences between Judaism and Christianity (whereas Rabbi Silver deals also with other religious outlooks, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism). It is also in part because she is pretty vehement in her denunciation of Jesus's own teachings, without noticing that she is relying almost exclusively on Paul in interpreting those teachings. (Nor is this merely because she wrote before "recent" scholarship rediscovered that Jesus was Jewish. Jewish scholarship has long recognized as much.)

For all that, this book does provide a sound summary of the theological differences between Judaism and Christianity. I find that she overstates some of the differences, but her work provides a valuable service on two main counts. First, it can help to protect Jews "near the margins" against Christian evangelization efforts. Second, it can help to stimulate Christians to rethink their own theology, with a view toward bringing it into line with the Torah in which Jesus himself believed.

One drawback, though, is the following. Moses Maimonides and others have long held that Jesus and Christianity (and for that matter Mohammed and Islam) are the means by which Torah values are spread to the world and as such are part of the Divine plan. The reader of Weiss-Rosmarin's book will not gain any sense of Christianity's role in civilizing the West or, indeed, much of anything positive about it at all.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book explaining the Jewish perspective, April 11, 2002

By 

"dab_68" (Brownsville, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Judaism and Christianity: the Differences (Paperback)

Written from the Jewish perspective, Ms. Weiss-Rosmarin delineates the differences between Judaism and Christianity. While Christians will not be persuaded by her arguments, certainly they will understand why Jews are not persuaded by Christian viewpoints. She clearly lays out many issues, but I particularly liked how she shows that the Law could never be superseded by any later doctrine. I think this book should be mandatory reading for any fundamentalist Christian who seeks to convert Jews, so that he or she will see why it is a waste of time.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth the time and $, September 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Judaism and Christianity: the Differences (Paperback)

I think that this book presents in a very balanced way the main differences between Judaism and Christianity. It deals more with the theology, doctrine, concepts, etc. of each religion more than the actual practices, and it addresses many of the more subtle differences that many people might not be aware of or might not have thought about, such as the differences between the Jewish and Christian gods. Very interesting.