Dynamics of Christianity
Introduction
Christianity is the largest religion all over the world, for the reason that it has a huge number of adherents. Judaism on the other hand is somehow similar Christianity because the two religions has a lot of similarities. When reading the dictates of Judaism one can easily confuse them to the dictates of Christianity. For that reason, this paper will discuss the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, the evolution of Christianity, before focusing on the difference between contemporary Christianity and biblical teachings.
Christianity and 1st century Judaism are related in the sense that both religions have similar dictates. For instance, Judaism scripture was commonly known as the Torah, and comprised of five books which were Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and were believed to have been given to Moses by God (Federow, 2012). In the same way, these books are also in the Bible. In addition, Judaism is similar to the Old Testament in the bible, since divine laws of the Torah are similar to those of the Old Testament. Nonetheless, there are also a number of differences between the two, which is the dictates of the Divine Law. Jews expected God to come on his own and save Israel from the challenges it was facing. This is not so with Christianity, since Christians believe Jesus will come to save them from their sins.
Christianity began after the death of Jesus as a small assembly of Jews in Judea, and spread faster in the Roman Empire. It later grew to become a state religion, and spread to different parts of the world, such as Europe and Russia. The Europeans would then use it as a means of colonizing some parts of Africa, hence becoming widespread (Federow, 2012).
Contemporary Christianity and Biblical teachings are different in the sense that biblical teachings dictate that all Christians should love one another, and believe in Jesus as their Christ and saviour (Federow, 2012). On the other hand, contemporary Christianity teachings are based on worldly factors, which basically goes against the teachings of the bible. For example, contemporary Christianity revolves around what is good, and most preachers tend to focus more on money, rather than passing the message of God. In addition, churches have been turned into businesses, whereby the congregation is coerced into offering tithes, which are then used inappropriately. According to biblical teachings, God called us to relationship, thus when Christians seek the kingdom of God, their prayers will be answered. However, in contemporary Christianity, prayers can only be answered through tithing, which basically shows how the modern church is embroiled in money making schemes, through the use of the scriptures.
Conclusion
As discussed in the paper, Christianity is a large religion hence its dictates are influenced by different factors. Judging from the period the religion began, it becomes clear that Christianity is closely related to Judaism, since most Jews converted to Christianity. On the other hand, there are also other factors which have changed in this religion such as contemporary Christianity which seems different from biblical teachings.
Reference
Federow, S. (2012). Judaism and Christianity: A contrast. Bloomington, Ind: iUniverse Inc.
