Religion Case

The choice for my elective Introduction to Religion was relatively easy. I have always been naturally inquisitive to other cultures, so this course sparked my interest right away. Seeing different rituals, or acts, that different cultures would do always left me wanting to know why they do what they do. I felt with this Introduction to Religion class could give me more insight and fulfill the curiosity that is constantly growing.

The readings on Judaism were most familiar to me. The similarities of Judaism and Catholicism are evident from the beginning, since both follow the Old Testament. The variance comes to play in that Judaism halts at the Old Testament whereas Catholicism continues with the belief that Jesus Christ was the son of God. Rabbi Bruce Kadden speaks of the key differences of Judaism and Christianity to be, "the interpretation of the life and death of first century Jew, Jesus of Nazareth." (Kadden) From reading his perspective it seems that Rabbi Kadden believes that Jesus did live and die, but as with his religion does not recognize Jesus to be the Messiah foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus was raised Jewish and followed lessons from the Tanakh. When looking to where the differences arise it goes back to Catholics not only adhere to the Tanakh, but also the New Testament. The practices of fasting and observance of the Sabbath are practiced by both religions. The difference of Sabbath observance would be how Judaism begins at sunset Friday into sunset Saturday. Catholics hold service on Sunday; this goes against Jewish practice since Sunday is the day of rest. Fasting is practiced by both faiths, but not to the same detail. The ten Days of Awe and Lent both call for their followers to reflect on their mistakes for the year. There is a similarity in these religions as well with the use of bread and wine, although for different purposes. Jews use wine for blessings and challah at the beginning of the Sabbath meal. Catholics use bread and wine for Holy Communion, the wine becomes the blood of Christ and the bread his body. Even in praying there can be found similarities. The Holy Rosary resembles the prayer beads used in Jewish tradition. Ultimately, the base similarity is that both religions recognize the same God.