Judaism and Christianity

Judaism and ChristianityPass out Worksheet #1 Religion in Society and have the students work individually, pairs, or groups to complete it.1What do you KNOW about Judaism and Christianity?Discuss worksheet #1 Religion in Society2Students will understand that Judaism and Christianity share a great deal and helped shape ideas in history.The Big IdeaLets look at the BIG IDEA about Judaism and Christianity.3ObjectivesIdentify the Jewish Bible and the Christian Bible and their parts, and recognize their importance to Jews and Christians.Understand Abrahams covenant with God and his role as patriarch for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.Lesson #1: The CovenantThese are the Objectives for Lesson #1: The Covenant

-Read each objective4How was Earth made?

Have students think about the next three questions. Students do not need to answer out loud.5What is the meaning of life?

6What happens to us when we die?

7Human beings have asked these questions for centuries and many have found answers in the form of religious faith.Read Slide

Say in this lesson you will learn about some of the basic understandings that Jews and Christians believe, and some shared beliefs of Judaism and Christianity.

Many people have found that religion helps human beings answer questions like these and make sense of the world. Two major religions, Judaism and Christianity, began thousands of years ago in an area that we now call the Middle East. The answers that these ancient religions gave to fundamental questions about the meaning of life and how to live are still valued by millions of modern people.8VocabularyScripture sacred writings that are believed to be the word of God.Bible simply means bookCovenant a relationship in which two parties agree to depend on each otherMonotheism the religious belief that there is only one divine beingSacrifice to kill a living creature as an offering to a godPatriarch a man who is a founder or father of a group of peopleHave students pull out their notes to write down the vocabulary words.9The Bible Most of what we know about Judaism and Christianity comes from the bible.The bible is a collection of sacred writings, or Scripture, that is important to Jews and to Christians as well.

Read Slide10The Bible Christians and Jews both possess the Bible, but in different forms.For Jews, the Bible, which they call the Tanach, consists only of those writings that Christians call the Old Testament.

Read Slide11The Bible The Jewish Bible is a collection of books written over a period of about a thousand years.It includes the laws, history, poetry, letters, and legends of the ancient Hebrew, or Jewish, People.

Read Slide

-Tell the students The purpose of all these writings is to tell how God has acted in the lives of human beings, to make them aware of him, and to teach them how they should live in relation to him.12The Bible For Christians, the Bible contains, besides the Old Testament, the New Testament, which consists of Christian writing added after the time of Christ

Read Slide13The Beginning of Judaism The first book of the Bible, Genesis, tells the story of a man name Abraham who lived many years ago- around 3,500 4,000 years ago.

Read Slide14

MesopotamiaSay Abraham and his family lived in Ur, a city in Mesopotamia, which lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now What Country? Answer is Iraq

Say according to the Bible, God spoke to Abraham and told him to leave his home, take his family, and go west to another land, where God would make him, his children, and his childrens children great.So Abraham moved to Canaan, a strip of land east of the Mediterranean Sea.15Mesopotamia

Say Abrahams decision to move to Canaan marks the beginning of Judaism.

-God promised Abraham that he would make him the father of a great nation.-By making this promise, God entered into a covenant with Abraham. Remember a covenant is an agreement much like a contract. The two parties in the covenant agree to depend on each other in certain ways.

16Covenant with God

- The Covenant between God and Abraham described in the Bible had several parts to it. The First part was the blessing of having many descendants. The second part was the promise of land for Abraham and his descendants.

To keep his part of the covenant, Abraham promised that he and his descendants would worship one god only and trust in only this god.

Remember that believing in a single divine being is called monotheism.

Judaism is a monotheistic religion

The covenant between Abraham and God is the basis for the religion of Judaism, and it is one of the lasting ideas that still influence religion today.

Before this idea of covenant, people made offerings and followed gods and goddesses because they believed that by doing so, they might be able to keep on these divine beings GOOD SIDE.

Abrahams covenant showed a shift in thinking. Instead of trying to win the favor of many gods by offering a steady flow of gifts, it was now possible to believe that a single God would look after you and your family because you had entered into a lasting agreement with him.

This was an important change rather than being a distant stranger who had to be bought off, God became a being who mattered in a persons life. People could feel that their lives had purpose and that even the simplest decisions mattered to God.17Abraham and Isaac

God made another promise to Abraham, this time about his wife Sarah. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her, yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations, kings of people shall be of her (Genesis 17:16)When Abraham hear this, the Bible says he laughed. He could not help himself. Sarah was too old to have a child. But God repeated his promise: My covenant will I establish with (your future son) Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year (Genesis 17:19)

A year later, Sarah gave birth to a son.

18Abraham and Isaac

According to the Bible, Abraham was a man of great faith. When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, he was willing to obey God no matter what.

He took fire, wood, a knife, and Isaac and traveled to the place where animals were sometimes killed and offered as sacrifices to God. On the way, Isaac began to wonder what they were doing and asked his father, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham replied, God will provide himself a lamb for a burn offering (Genesis 22:7-8)

When they reached the place, Abraham built an altar, laid the wood out for a fire, took Isaac and tied him up, and laid him on the wood. Then Abraham took his knife and raised his arm to kill his son.

Just then, the Bible says, Gods angel cried: Abraham, Abraham. And Abraham replied, Here am I. Then God himself spoke: Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me (Genesis 22: 11-12)

Abraham freed Isaac. He saw a ram caught in a bush nearby and sacrificed the ram instead.

This biblical story reveals a lot about the relationship that the Jewish people expect to have with God. Just as Abraham trusts in God and is completely obedient to him, so too can Jews open their hearts to God in faith and obey him. Gods covenant with Abraham and his descendants, the Jews, means that they are to depend on God no matter what even when things seem impossible.19Why the Sacrifice?

You might be wondering why God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son.

Ancient peoples believed that everything was a gift from the gods, and the peoples of the Middle East believed that the first of everything had to be given back to God.

This included the first part of the harvest, the firstborn male of the flocks.

The Book of Genesis includes this story of Abrahams belief in human sacrifice as one way of showing a change in the relationship between God and human beings.

The story shows that early on, the Jews believed that God did not require human sacrifice. Instead, they believed that God blesses and cares for human beings.

At the end of the story of Abraham and Isaac, God repeat his earlier promise to give Abraham many descendants, adding two beautiful images: I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore. And in thy seed shall all the nation of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice (Genesis 22:17-18).

20The Legacy of Abraham

The Bible reports that Abraham did indeed have many descendants. The son of Isaac was Jacob. The sons of Jacob gave their names to the twelve tribes of Israel, which settled in the land of Canaan.

The descendants carried on the special relationship that God had begun with Abraham.

Even today, Abraham is remembered as the first great patriarch of the Jewish people. Do you remember what patriarch means? Answer a man who is a founder or father of a group of people.

Jews pray, celebrate holy days and festivals, read the Scriptures, and follow God because they believe that God and Abraham entered into a lasting agreement.

Abraham is important not only to Judaism but also to Christianity and Islam. All three of these three major world religions consider him to be a good example of holiness and trust in God.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims all think of Abraham as their father in faith.

21The idea of a covenant between God and a people has lasted for centuries. It has been the basis for three major religions and has changed the way millions of human beings have thought of themselves.Read Slide

22Review QuestionsWhat is Scripture?

Scripture is sacred writing that believers consider to be the word of God.23Review Questions2. What Scripture is sacred to Jews?Jews believe that the Bible or Tanach what the Christians call the Old Testament is sacred.24Review Questions3. What Scripture is sacred to Christians?Christians believe that what they call the Old and the New Testament are both sacred.25Review Questions4. What does the New Testament contain?Books that were written after the birth of Christ, following the rise of Christianity.26Review Questions5. How did God and Abraham enter into a covenant with each other?God promised Abraham that he would make him the father of a great nation and would give him the land of Canaan as an eternal possession. In turn, Abraham promised that his descendants would worship only God.27Review Questions6. How did Abraham prove his faith in God?By being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac if God commanded it.28ObjectivesDescribe the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt.Explain the Ten Commandments and how God revealed them to Moses.Understand the content of the Torah, or Pentateuch.Lesson #2: The Commandments2910 rules in order to make the world a better placeAsk the students to imagine that they are required to make a list of just ten rules in order to make the world a better place.

Call on students and write their answers on the board.

Explain that in this lesson they will learn about Moses, a biblical patriarch in the Jewish and Christian faiths to whom God revealed the Ten Commandments a list of rules for his people.

Ask students if they can guess some of the rules in Gods commandments.30VocabularyTorah the first five books in the Bible; also known as the Books of Moses and the Pentateuch31The Legacy of Abraham

Judaism teaches that God took care of the descendants of Abraham, a people know in ancient times as the Hebrews.

32Canaan to Egypt

The Hebrews were faced with famine thousand of years ago, God made it possible for them to go to Egypt.

Egypt was a rich country with a great civilization.

Every year the Nile River flooded, bringing water to irrigate the valleys fertile soil and allowing the Egyptians to grow abundant crops.

At first the Hebrews prospered in Egypt, but later, according to the Bible, the Egyptian pharaoh enslaved them.

33Moses

The Bible describes how God liberated his people by giving them a leader and lawgiver named Moses.

The second book of the Bible, Exodus, describes Moses as a holy man who was called by God to lead the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt.

The escape is called the Exodus, and it may have taken place roughly 3,200 years ago.

The Exodus is an event of great importance to the Jewish people. It is celebrated each spring during Passover.

34Moses

When the pharaoh ignored Moses plea to let the Jewish people go, God sent ten plagues upon Egypt to convince the pharaoh that he was serious about rescuing his people.

God sent swarms of insects, made Egyptian cattle and other livestock die, and turned the Nile River to blood, among other disasters.

Still, nothing convinced the pharaoh.

The tenth, and last, plague sent by God was the death of the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.

Hebrew families were warned to smear the blood of a lamb on their doorposts so that the angel of death would spare them. They also were told by Moses to be ready to flee.

35Moses

When the firstborn sons of the Egyptians all died, the frightened pharaoh threw Moses and the Hebrews out of the country.

The people left quickly, but not fast enough, for the hardhearted pharaoh changed his mind. He still wanted the Hebrews as slaves. So he chased them and caught up to them at the Red Sea, on Egypts eastern borders.

The Hebrews thought they were doomed. But Exodus says that God told Moses to raise his arms, and the Red Sea parted, allowing the people to cross safely to the other shore.

When the Egyptian chariots followed, Moses lowered his arms, and the sea returned, sweeping horses and the Egyptians to their death.

The Hebrews had escaped.

Moses led the Hebrews eastward across the desert toward Canaan, the land of Abraham, where they believed God wanted them to live.

On the way God had Moses lead them to Mt. Sinai.

36The Ten Commandments

God called Moses to the top of Mount Sinai.

There he told him to say to the people: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I care you on eagles wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if you will harken unto my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own treasure for all the earth is mine (Exodus 19:4-5)

When Moses came down he told the people what God had said, they agreed to keep his covenant.

Then Moses went back up the mountain and God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, written on two stone tablets.

The Ten Commandments give basic rules about how people ought to treat God and their fellow human beings.

The commandments have had a lasting impact on peoples lives down through the centuries.

Christians as well as Jews believe that the Ten Commandments provide a basic set of rules by which they should live.

37The Ten Commandments

The first commandment remind the Jews that there is only one God.

The next three commandments tell them how they should honor God.

The last six give them some rules about how to treat people around them, or rather how not to treat them.

Those commandments, taken together, are the heart of Jewish religious law.38The Torah

According to the Bible, Moses brought more than just the Ten Commandments down from Mt. Sinai. He also brought a whole set of additional commandments, as well as detailed rules about how Jewish people should live and worship.

This information appears in the first five books of the Bible.

Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy often called the Books of Moses.

Sometimes people refer to all five of them together as the Pentateuch or the Torah.

Torah is a Hebrew word for he taught

Pentateuch means five scrolls and reminds us that the books of the Bible were originally not books at all but long, handwritten parchment scrolls rolled up on poles.

The Torah contains the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Moses, as well as other well known Bible stories, like Adam and Eve and Noahs Ark.

39Abraham and Moses

Abraham and Moses are two of the most important figures in the Torah, and two very important figures in the history of the Jewish people.

It was Abraham who made the original covenant with God, but it was Moses who taught the religion to the people.

40Review QuestionsWhat was the Exodus? According to the Bible, who was responsible for helping the Hebrews in it?

The Exodus was the Hebrews escape from slavery in Egypt. At Gods command, Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt and parted the Red Sea.41Review Questions2. Where does the Bible say that God revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses? How did God reveal them to him?God revealed the Ten commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai and they were on two stone tablets.42Review Questions3. What do the Ten Commandments represent to Jews?They represent the heart of Jewish law and provide a basic set of rules by which people should live.43Review Questions4. What five books comprise the Torah?Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy44Review Questions5. What is the Pentateuch and what are some of the things contained in it?The Pentateuch is another name for the Torah or Books of Moses. It includes guidelines for living; the Ten Commandments; and stories of Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Adam, eve, and Noah. 45ObjectivesUnderstand the role of Prophets such as Amos and Isaiah in Judaism.Understand what happened to the Jewish people during the almost 1,000 years between Davids Kingdom and the coming of Roman rule.Lesson #3: The Prophets46The ProphetsWarned their fellow Jews about religious failings and social injustices.In this unit you will learn about biblical era prophets, who warn their fellow Jews about religious failings and social injustices.

There were many prophets in this period, but the ones we remember today are those whose words were recorded in the Bible.

47VocabularyProphet in the Bible, a person who is inspired by GodMessiah the anointed one; an agent of God who comes to set things right for Gods people48The Kingdom of IsraelThe Hebrews, or the Israelites, as they now became known, fought many wars with the other peoples and tribes who lived in Canaan.

Read Slide

About three thousand years ago, the Israelite's, under the leadership of their king, Saul, were at war with the Philistines.

A battle took place between the Philistine giant Goliath and David, a young Jewish shepard.

49David and GoliathDavid had a powerful faith in God. His only weapons were his slingshot and his faith.

David shouted thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield , but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, and I will smite thee that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel (1 Samuel 17: 45-46)

David then killed Goliath using his slingshot, and the Philistine army fled.50King DavidDavid went on to become Israels king and one of it greatest heroes.

David united all the Israelite tribes under his rule. He captured Jerusalem and made it his capital. He was a great military leader who brought a measure of peace to his land.51King DavidDavid was also a talented musician, and he is said to have written a number of Psalms, or sacred hymns, in honor of God.

The most famous of the many psalms attributed to David is the Twenty-third Psalm.

This psalm is often recited by Jews and Christians in moments of fear or danger.

In it God is compared to a shepard, taking care of his flock

52The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down green pastures;He leadeth me beside the still waters.He restoreth my soul;He guideth me in straight paths for Hisnames sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley ofThe shadow of death,I will fear no evil,For Thou (God) art with me;

Twenty-third Psalm53Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.Thou preparest a table before me in thePresence of mine enemies;Thou anointest (blessed) my head with oil;My cup runneth over.Surely goodness and mercy shall followMe all the days of my life;And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Twenty-third Psalm54King SolomonWhen King David died his son Solomon became king.

Under King Solomon, Israel became wealthy, attracting trade from all over the Middle East.

Solomon use this wealth to build a huge Temple in Jerusalem for the worship of God.55

The Sorrows of Israel and JudahAfter Solomons death, however, problems began to arise.

The kingdom split into a northern state, which continued to be called the kingdom of Israel; its capital was Samaria.

A southern state, centered on Jerusalem, was known as the kingdom of Judah. Both kingdoms faced many dangerous enemies.

Several hundred years after David and Solomon, the ruthless kings of Assyria overwhelmed the small northern kingdom. Most of its people were forced to move to Assyria, where they disappeared into the population.

Judah, survived another 150 years, when the king of Babylon conquered it.56Destruction of Solomons Temple

The Babylonians destroyed Solomons Temple and drove the leading families of Judah, including the Temple priests, into exile in Babylon.

During a fifty-year period know as the Babylonian Captivity, Jewish leaders in Babylon made strong and successful efforts to ensure that their people remained faithful to the covenant.57Throughout these centuries of turmoil, the Jewish people connected their belief in Gods fairness with their own expectations of themselves.

If God was just and cared for people, then he expected people to care for one another as well.The ProphetsThe writers of the Bible trusted that God would not only rescue people who were being treated unfairly, but would also punish those who were cruel or failed to help others.

They believed God would look at each individuals behavior and reward or punish accordingly.

This was the message of the prophets, who in ancient Israel were regarded as religious teachers inspired by God.

They warned that the disasters befalling the Jewish kingdoms including foreign conquest were punishments from God for religious offenses and social injustices.

58Religious offenseOne religious offense that angered the prophets was the early Jews tendency to forget the covenant and begin worshiping other gods.They would set up idols such as this golden calf

Why do you think this happened?

It happened because the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were surrounded by other countries whose people worshiped many gods. It was impossible to keep out foreign influences.

Sometimes even Jewish kings or their foreign-born queens encouraged the worship of other gods.

When they set up idols to those gods, the prophets responded with angry attacks on idolatry (Idol Worship).

Remember that the worship of idols was strictly forbidden by the second of the Ten Commandments.

59Amos was a religious leader who lived in the northern kingdom and foresaw the little states conquest by might Assyria. He taught about justice and judgment AmosThe messages about Gods justice and judgment helped Jewish religious leaders create a moral system that clearly says what is right and wrong and how people can live together peacefully.

Keeping Gods word, said these ancient prophets, includes accepting personal responsibility for others.

These powerful words still continue to influence western civilization.

60Was from the southern kingdom of Judah

He warned that Judah would face the same fate as the northern kingdom if it did not treat its poor justly.

Urged the Jews to honor their covenant with God, in order to bring about peace and justice on Earth.

IsaiahHe said that even ferocious Assyria was merely an instrument in the hands of God. For a while it might suit Gods purpose to allow Assyria to punish the world for its wickedness, but if the Jewish people remained faithful to the covenant, God would someday humble all the arrogant kings of this world and allow justice to flourish on earth.

Isaiah said people throughout the world would acknowledge Israel's God as the only lord of creation.

At last, peace would reign on Earth61About 2,500 years ago, Cyrus, the king of Persia (a country now known as Iran), destroyed the Babylonian Empire.The return to JerusalemAlthough Cyrus did not belong to their religion, Jews regarded him as a king sent from God because he allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

For several hundred year the Jews enjoyed self-rule under Persian protection, and Jewish religious practices continued to take shape.

Jewish people also began to migrate to other parts of the Middle East, although they always considered Jerusalem their holy city and tried to travel there periodically to worship God at the Temple.62Alexander the Great

Hanukkah

Roman EmpireThe conquering of the Middle EastA new conqueror entered the Middle East some 2,300 years ago Alexander the Great

He was a young Greek-speaking king of Macedonia (a land to the north of Greece), and in his brief but brilliant fifteen-year reign he built the largest empire the world had yet seen, stretching form modern Greece to modern Pakistan.

The tiny land of the Jews became part of Alexanders empire. After his death the Jews were ruled by other Greek-speaking kings for nearly 200 years.

One of these kings tried to seize the wealth of the Temple in Jerusalem, but Jews rallied around Judas Maccabeus and is brothers, who fought off the kings armies.

The rebels succeeded, and they purified the Temple and restored the worship of God in a ceremony that Jewish people recall every year when they celebrate the festival of Hanukkah.

Judas Maccabeus died in battle, but his family continued to rule Israel for several generations until the Roman Empire spread all around the Mediterranean Sea.

Eventually, after a series of revolts and horrible wars, Rome conquered the rebels and destroyed the second Temple.

Jerusalem was left in ruins.63Ever since the time of Isaiah, more than 500 years before, prophets had foretold a messiah, or savior, whom God would send to free Israel and establish righteousness throughout the world.Hopes for the MessiahThe greater their sufferings, the more Jews longed for such a messiah.

They disagreed, however, about exactly who the messiah would be, how they would recognize him, and what they ought to do to hasten his coming.64Review QuestionsWho was the head of the unified kingdom of Israel about three thousand years ago? What were some of his achievements?

David was king of Israel. He was a military leader who had defeated Goliath; he was a talented musician and psalmist whose Twenty-third Psalm is recited today65Review Questions2. What happened to the Jewish kingdom after the death of Solomon? The kingdom split into a northern state, called the kingdom of Israel, which was overwhelmed by Assyria, and a southern state, called Judah, which was conquered later by the king of Babylon66Review Questions3. What foreign ruler restored Jerusalem to the ancient Jews?Cyrus, the king of Persia67Review Questions4. Who were the Jewish prophets, and what did they do?Jewish prophets were regarded as people who spoke with Gods direct inspiration. They reminded the ancient Jews that God required everyone to act justly or face his anger. They warned that disasters afflicting Jewish kingdoms were punishments form God and urged Jews not to abandon their covenant with God. 68Review Questions5. What did the prophet Isaiah try to convey?Isaiah urged the Jews to honor their covenant with God, in order to bring about peace and justice on Earth.69AssignmentTimeline WorksheetHand out the Timeline worksheet to each students.

Allow students to work with a partner70ObjectivesUnderstand the centrality of Jesus Christ to Christianity.Understand the content of Jesus teaching in the Beatitudes, Golden Rule, parables, and Lords Prayer.Lesson #4: The Life of Jesus71The Christian religion began as a movement within Judaism.The Man Called JesusA young man named Jesus of Nazareth began preaching to his fellow Jews.

A number of people thought that Jesus was the messiah, and they followed him until, a few years later, he was arrested, tried, and executed in Jerusalem.

Accounts of the life of Jesus were later written down by his followers and can be found in the New Testament of the Christian Bible.

His actions and words are the subject of the first four books of the New Testament: the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John.72Jesus

According to the Gospels, Jesus was no ordinary man. His followers wrote that his was a miraculous birth.

The angel Gabriel, it was said, told his mother, Mary, that she would have a son.

Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, a town near Jerusalem.

73Jesus

When Jesus grew up, he went to see his cousin, John the Baptist.

John was a prophet who preached in the desert.

He told people to repent of their sins because the messiah, or savior, was coming, and he baptized them in the waters of the Jordan River as a sign of purification.

Jesus was baptized by John, and according to the Bible, when he came up from under the water, the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove, while a voice from heaven spoke: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Mathew 3:17)

74Jesus

Jesus went into the desert to pray.

According to the Bible, Jesus fasted (went without food) for 40 days and nights, during which time he was tempted by the devil, who dared him to prove his spiritual power by turning stones into bread and jumping from a high tower, and who promised to make him king of the world.

Jesus refused these temptations

75Healer and Teacher

Jesus taught publicly for about three years. The Gospels show Jesus and his closest followers, called disciples, traveling from place to place, encouraging people to turn to God and live moral lives.

Jesus spoke to people wherever they gathered along roadsides, on lake shores, and in towns.76Healing the Sick

The Gospels told of Jesus miracles, many of which involved curing sick people.

Jesus healed those who were sick, restoring sight and hearing, bringing his friend Lazarus back to life, and multiplying a few fish and loaves of bread to feed a crowd.

These miracles were always done to benefit someone and not to make Jesus more famous.

In fact, the Gospels report that Jesus was often reluctant to use the power of God to cause a miracle and did so only because he was moved by compassion.77Parables

In the Gospel account, Jesus often made his points by using parables, or storiesMany, such as the parable of the Prodigal Son, have become famous.

In this story, Jesus tried to show how God wants people to treat each other.

A certain young man, Jesus said, asked his father to give him the money he would some day inherit so he could do with it what he pleased right away. His father gave him the money, and the boy went to some faraway city and proceeded to spend it on having fun.

Naturally, the money was soon gone, and he found himself in deep trouble. Frightened, the prodigal (wasteful) young man felt that he had no choice but to come home, but he was too embarrassed and ashamed to face his father.

He planned just to sneak in as one of his fathers servant and help take care of the animals.

But the father, grief stricken to see the boy leave home, was watching to see if he would come back and he finally saw him returning. Overjoyed, the father welcomed the boy home and held a great celebration.

This displeased his older son, who had dutifully stayed home. Why, he asked, waste still more of the familys resources on this wasteful brother?

The fathers response was to say that the boy had seemed dead, but now had returned to life.

Just so, Jesus concluded, God would welcome back sinners who had gone astray, and those who meanwhile had faithfully done their duty should not resent Gods willingness to forgive those who had been lost.

Like the prophets you heard about in the last lesson, Jesus wanted people to pay more attention to helping their fellow humans.78The Two Great Commandments

One day a lawyer asked Jesus which of the Torahs commandments was the most important.

This was a tricky question. There were many laws and commandments in the Torah, and debate about which were most important had raged for centuries.

Various Jewish groups considered certain laws more important than others.

Whatever Jesus said would probably anger someone.

But Jesus was not intimidated. His simple answer, stating the Two Great Commandments, astonished his questioner:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Mathew 22:37-39).

Both these commandments were in the Torah. According to the Gospel of Mathew Jesus explained that the entire Torah and all the message of the prophets were contained in these two commandments.

His response was important because it showed that Jesus believed his mission to be that of fulfilling the Jewish faith.79Sermon on the MountMany of Jesus teachings were presented on a famous occasion when he addressed a crowd from a hilltop.

His speech, know as the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew: 5-7), begins with a famous passage known as the Beatitudes.

The Beatitudes describe eight kinds of people whom Jesus considered especially blessed.80The Eight Beatitudes"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10 After presenting the Beatitudes, Jesus explained in great detail how he wished his followers to behave.

He urged them not to strike back against evil-doers but to turn the other cheek.

Jesus argued that people should love not only their friends but also their enemies.

Jesus urged his listeners to behave according to the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Mathew 7:12).

Jesus even taught his listeners a prayer that they should recite asking God to forgive their sins and to protect them form evil.

Today, Christians call this the Lords Prayer.81Final Event in Jesus LifeEventually, Jesus andsome of his followers went to Jerusalem. The city was holy to Jews because Gods Temple was there.

But at this time the city was under Roman control and was the headquarters of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

According to the New Testament, Jesus knew that he would be arrested, tried, and executed in Jerusalem. But he insisted on going there in order to proclaim his message.82Final Event in Jesus LifeThe Last SupperGarden of Gethsemane

The Last SupperDuring the Jewish holy time of Passover, Jesus followed the Jewish ritual of eating a meal with his apostles. Christians call this final meal the Last Supper. During the Last Supper, Jesus shared bread and a cup of wine with his disciples, saying: ..this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19)

The Garden of GethsemaneThen Jesus and his apostles went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. There, Jesus was betrayed by the Apostle Judas. Some priests hostile to Jesus had given Judas 30 pieces of silver to betray his master. Judas showed the priests which man was Jesus by kissing him on the cheek. Jesus was arrested.83Pontius Pilate

Tried first before the religious court of the Jews, Jesus was next sent to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor.

Pilate condemned him to death for supposedly having said that he was the king of the Jews a claim that the Romans regarded as treason.

He was stripped, whipped, and mockingly crowned with thorns.

Then he was nailed to a cross.84Was a cruel form of public execution used frequently by the Romans for people guilty of what the government considered particularly awful crimes, especially rebellion.CrucifixionThe crucified person died an agonizingly slow death. He was nailed to a cross and made to hang there. Eventually, sometimes after days, the lungs would collapse and the person died.

According to the Gospels, Jesus died after only a few hours.

Most of his apostles hid, but a few followers took him down from the cross and buried him in a tomb.85Tomb

On the third day after his death and burial, his body vanished.

The Roman authorities announced that the body had been stolen by one of Jesus followers (Mathew 28: 13-14).

But the followers themselves told a different story. They proclaimed him as risen from the dead and exalted to heaven.

His resurrection, they said, proved that Jesus was not simply a man but the Son of God.

The followers insisted that Jesus was the messiah who had been sent by God to save humanity. Thats why they began referring to Jesus as Christ, which means the anointed one, and in this case, the messiah.

They also began to preach that the life and death of Jesus announced a New Covenant between God and the human race.86Review QuestionsWhat four books of the New Testament treat Jesus actions and words?

The first four books of the New Testament, which are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John87Review Questions2. According to the New Testament, what miracles did Jesus perform?Jesus healed people who were sick, could not see or hear; he brought Lazarus back to life; he multiplied loaves and two fish to feed thousands88Review Questions3. According to Jesus followers, what happened after Jesus was crucified?Jesus followers say that Jesus rose from the dead and later ascended into heaven. His resurrection, Christians believe, proves that Jesus is not simply a man but also the Son of God. 89Review Questions4. In the Golden Rule, what does Jesus urge his listeners to do?Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.90Review Questions5. What people do the Beatitudes address?The many in Gods kingdom, including the poor in spirit, they that mourn, the meek, the pure in heart, and so on91ObjectivesUnderstand the spread of Christianity through Jesus followers, such as Paul of Tarsus.Understand the Roman persecution of Christians, the efforts of church councils to standardize Christianity, and the growth of Christianity as a major religion.Lesson #5: The Rise of Christianity92 Jesus lived during the time when Rome ruled the ancient Middle East. After Jesus execution by the Romans, his followers (called Christians) began to worship him as Gods son and the Messiah, and they spread his message throughout the Roman Empire.The Rise of ChristianityOne of Jesus most important teachings had to do with the establishment of the kingdom of God. Jesus taught that God wanted everyone to be with him in his kingdom.

This ideas of a kingdom was not a new idea to his Jewish listeners. The books of the Jewish Scriptures frequently stated that God was the real ruler of the whole world the king of the Jews and of everyone else.

What was new in Jesus teaching, as his followers explained it, was that Jesus would make the kingdom of God a reality for the entire world.

Christians declared that the time was now. They believed that Jesus had begun the kingdom of God and would return very soon with Gods final judgment on sin and evil.

They also believed that the kingdom of God was not meant only for Jews but for the whole world.93 At first, Jesus followers talked about their belief in Christ to their neighbors in their Jewish communities. But the Jewish community as a whole did not accept this idea that Jesus Christ was the messiah who would start a new age.Two ReligionsJews and Christians began arguing with each other, and sometimes the arguments ended up in fights.

Gradually, and not at all peacefully, Christians and Jews separated into different groups and eventually two different religions.

Unfortunately, this tension between Christians and Jews has continued through the centuries to the present. At various times in history, it has caused hatred, oppression, and slaughter.94The Spread of Christianity

Christianity began in ancient Palestine, where Jesus had lived. His disciples and other followers stayed near Jerusalem for a while, but eventually they began to travel as they preached.

Following the ancient trade routes, thee early Christians went west to the city of Alexandria in Egypt and established their a Christian community that would become very important.

They also traveled north to the cities of Damascus (now in Syria) and Antioch (today in southern Turkey).95Paul

One of the most important of the early Christians was Paul. A Jew from Tarsus in modern Turkey, Paul started out hating Christians and persecuting them.The New Testament tells how he was converted to faith in Jesus as the messiah.

One day, Paul was going with other men to Damascus to find and arrest Christians. Suddenly, light flashed from the sky, and he was knocked to the ground. He heard a voice ask, why are you persecuting me? Who are you? Paul asked. I am Jesus, the voice replied (Acts 9:1-10). The voice told Paul to go on to Damascus.

According to the New Testament, the men Paul was with heard the voice but didnt see anything.

When Paul stood up, he was blind. They had to lead him into the city.

For three days he couldnt see, and he didnt eat or drink anything.

A Christian named Ananias was told by the Lord in a dream to go to Paul. Ananias was afraid at first, because he had heard about Paul and didnt want to be arrested. But Ananias did as the Lord asked. He went to Paul and laid his hands on him to restore his sight. Pauls vision returned, and he was baptized a Christian shortly after.96Paul Paul began preaching, trying to persuade people to believe in Jesus Christ. He made three long journeys to start new communities of Christians.

He and several other Christians traveled for years throughout the are of modern day Syria, Turkey, and Greece, teaching about Jesus. He was especially successful at convincing non-Jews to believe in Jesus Christ.

Once Paul had established a community of Christians, he moved on to the next town to start preaching there. But he kept in touch with the new Christians by writing them letters or epistles.

These epistles have become books in the New Testament and are given titles according to the group to whom they were sent.97The Spread of Christianity

The first and second Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians, for example, were sent to the Christians who lived in the Greek city of Corinth.

In these letters, Paul gave advice about how to live good Christian lives and how to treat others. He reflected on who Jesus Christ was and what it meant to be a Christian.

Pauls idea about what it means to believe in Jesus Christ became very important to Christians. Paul wrote that Jesus life, death, and resurrection reveal Gods love for all human beings, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Faith in Jesus Christ is necessary. These ideas from Paul about what it means to be a Christian are still important to Christians.98Paul arrested

After he had helped start a number of Christian communities, Paul was arrested for disturbing the peace in Jerusalem. He was sent to Rome, where it is believed that he was eventually executed.

If it werent for Paul, Christianity might not have become the major religion it later became.

By founding new Christian communities wherever he went, and by preaching to people who had not been born into the Jewish faith, he played a very important role in spreading Christianity in the Roman Empire.99Gradually, the small communities that Paul and other missionaries established gave rise to Christian groups throughout the Roman Empire.

But Christians were not always liked by their non-Christian neighbors. Many people thought that Christians had strange ideas and practices.Christianity Becomes a Major ReligionThey called Christians atheists, because Christians did not worship the pagan gods; they thought Christians were antisocial and were poor citizens, and blamed them for misfortunes such as droughts and famines and military defeats. They also accused Christians of terrible crimes.

For several centuries the Roman government itself was suspicious and occasionally sponsored widespread persecutions. Christians were considered disloyal because they would not worship the gods of the Roman state, or agree that the Emperor was divine. If arrested, Christians might be martyred, or killed for their faith.100Despite such persecution the number of Christians continued to increase. Over the course of the third and fourth centuries, Christianity became the major religion of the Roman Empire.Christianity Becomes a Major ReligionFinally, in A.D. 313, the emperor Constantine signed the Edict of Milan, a document that declared that the Christian Church could legally exist in the Roman Empire.

By Constantines time the number of Christians had increased so much that the Church had Christian leaders, called bishops, in large cities, such as Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch.

Christians relied on their bishops and on Scripture for answers to their questions, but differences still arose. The bishops decided to meet together in councils to address issues so that the Church would be the same everywhere.101Nicene Creed

At the council of Nicea (a city in modern Turkey), in A.D. 325, Emperor Constantine and the bishops discussed the importance of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture mentioned the Spirit often, but who was the Spirit in relation to God the Father and Jesus?

At this council the bishops taught that Christians should believe in one God, who exists as a Trinity, or three part unity; Father, Son (that is, Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit (the power of God in the world).

The bishops then wrote the Nicene Creed, a statement of beliefs that all Christians were required to accept. According to this Creed, Christians acknowledge that God as a Trinity made everything exists; that Jesus Christ, who is both God and man, died and was resurrected in order to save those who believe in him; that he will some day return to Earth to judge all people, living and dead; and that he will establish an eternal kingdom in which those whom he has saved will be united with God.

Finally, the Nicene Creed declares that all Christians belong to one universal church.102By the 600s the Church was flourishing in most parts of the old Roman Empire.

Christians had strong leaders, carefully reasoned beliefs, and a faith that was expressed through beautiful songs and prayers.

Especially after Christians were allowed to exist legally in the Roman Empire, magnificent church building arose, and artwork of all kinds was created.

The Roman government, which had once persecuted Christianity, eventually declared it illegal to be a pagon.

The beliefs of a small group of Jesus followers centered on Jerusalem had become so influential that Christianity would shape western civilization for all of its later history.

103Review QuestionsHow did Paul try to persuade people to believe in Jesus Christ?

Paul made four journeys to start new communities of Christians. He traveled through what are now Syria, Turkey, and Greece and finally reached Rome, telling people about Jesus.

104Review Questions2. Why did Romans persecute Christians?- Christians were considered disloyal because they would not worship the Roman gods, and Romans feared that if they tolerated the Christians, their gods would punish them with disasters like earthquakes and invasions.105Review Questions3. What document declared that the Christian Church could exist in the Roman Empire?The Edict of Milan106Review Questions4. At what council was the creed established that declared God exists as a Trinity?The Council of Nicea107ObjectivesUnderstand that Judaism and Christianity agree on one God, who is good and who make everything in the universe, and that people should be good.Understand that Judaism and Christianity disagree on question of human nature and life after death.Lesson #6: Ideas About God and Humanity108 Judaism and Christianity have many ideas in common. Both teach that there is one God, that he is good, that he made everything in the universe, including human beings, and that he wants people to avoid evil and do good.Similarities and DifferencesHowever, these two religions also differ.109JudaismAt the center of Jewish life and teaching is the Torah, through which, Judaism teaches, God reveals himself to human beings.ChristianityChristians agree that God revealed himself to people through the Old Testament, but they do not follow all the instructions of the Torah.Judaism The laws and commandments found in the Torah give detailed instructions on how the Jewish people are supposed to live and worship.

Christians Christianity teaches that God revealed himself completely only through his son, Jesus Christ. The heart of Christianity is faith in Jesus Christ as the savior of the world who rose from the dead. By following Jesus teachings Christians believe that people can have an eternal life of love with God in heaven.110Human NatureJudaismMost Jews agree that people can recognize good and evil and must use their consciences to choose between them.ChristianityChristians use the story of Adam and Eve to shape their view of human natureBoth Judaism and Christianity teach that human beings are made in the image of God and that human life is sacred. As a result, all people are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.

Christianity according to Christian teaching Adam and Eve, the first man and woman made by God, were created good but freely chose to disobey God that is, to sin. Adam and Eve symbolize the whole human race. Humans can tell the difference between right and wrong, but because of their nature, they are morally weak and tend to sin. Christians believe that sinful humans beings can live good lives only with Gods help. This they believe, is why Christ came to earth, taught, and suffered death.

The most basic Christian belief is that Christ chose to die and was resurrected in order to save all human beings from their sins and to reunite them with God. 111Life After Death JudaismJews disagree among themselves about whether there is life after death and, if so, what it might be like.ChristianityTraditional Christians insist that there is life after death. Judaism Belief in resurrection is expressed daily in the prayers of some Jews. But belief in life after death is not an essential part of Jewish faith. Some Jews hope that God will send and individual messiah, while others look forward to a messianic age in which God will make possible universal peace and human fellowship.

Christianity They believe that those who have faith in Jesus will go to heaven and that those who have rejected him will suffer eternal punishment in hell. Today, many Christians believe that, rather than being physical places, heaven and hell are states of being, such as the joy of being with God and the misery of being without him.

Christians also believe that Christ will return to Earth in the Second Coming, when time as we know it will end and the reign of God will begin. There is much disagreement among Christians about how and when all this will happen, and what its results will be.112Springing from the same ancient roots, Judaism and Christianity offer answers to basic questions about the meaning of life that people have always asked. Both offer people many opportunities to explore their faith in God.Judaism and ChristianityBoth have stimulated countless ideas about how the world could be made more just and peaceful. Although there are perhaps a billion and a half Christians today (almost one-third of the worlds population), compared with about 18 million Jews, both faiths remain a constant source of inspiration and spiritual guidance.113Review QuestionsWhat issues do Jews and Christians agree on concerning God?

They agree that there is one God who is good, who made everything in the universe, and who wants people to avoid evil and do good.114Review Questions2. How does God reveal himself according to the Jewish faith?Jews believe that God reveals himself through the laws and commandments in the Torah.115Review Questions3. How does God reveal himself according to the Christian faith?Christians believe that God reveals himself first through the Jewish Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament, and later through Jesus Christ.116Review Questions4. How do Jewish and Christian beliefs about human nature differ?Jews believe that human beings can and must- choose between good and evil.

Christians believe that human beings were created good but chose to disobey God. Because of their sinful conditions, Christians believe that humans can live good lives only with Gods help. 117Review Questions5. What different beliefs do Jews and Christians have about the end of the world?Christians believe that Jesus Christ will return to Earth and judge all living and dead souls, that those who have faith in Jesus will go to heaven, and that those who do not have faith in Jesus will go to hell. Some Christians today believe that heaven and hell are real places; others believe that they are spiritual conditions.

Some Jews believe that god will choose a Messiah who will bring all the Jews home to Israel, rebuild a temple, and restore worship there and make Jerusalem the center of spiritual life. Other Jews believe that God will begin a messianic age of peace and human fellowship.118