 On the Sabbath of August 4th in the year 1263, the synagogue of Barcelona was host to a royal guest. James I, King of Aragon, had come to address his Jewish subjects. The king attempted to persuade the congregants to convert to Christianity. When the king was finished his speech, Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman, the Ramban as he's known in Hebrew acronym, Nachmanides, stepped forward to give expression to the feelings of his co-religionists. After a preliminary demonstration of respect for the crown, the rabbi addressed the king with the following words. I am amazed the words said in our presence to convince us that the Nazarene is the Messiah were said by the Nazarene himself when he brought this same message to our ancestors and tried to persuade them. They refuted him to his face with a perfect and strong rejection, despite the fact that it was he who spoke, who knew and could argue his claim that he is divine in accordance to your opinion. Better than you can today. Now, if our ancestors who saw him and knew him did not heed him, how then can we believe and heed the voice of the king, whose only knowledge of the matter stems merely from the hearsay of distant purporters who had no personal contact with him? The simple words of Nachmanides reflect the clarity of vision, the calmness of spirit, and the solid conviction of the Jews' rejection of Christianity. Throughout the ages, the Jews faced hardship, persecution, sometimes even death as a result of this rejection, but the Jew was not moved. The Jew went about doing whatever he had to do, patiently negotiating the various obstacles the hostile Christian world threw into his path, but it never occurred to him to join that world. Being a Jew was as essential as life itself, and even more than that. When being a Jew meant death, the Jew went to die accompanied by his wife, his little children, and a simple love for his God. But to embrace Christianity? Never. It happened, however, in certain phases of Jewish history, that many Jews seem to have lost this resistance to Christianity. We live in one of those periods today. Hundreds of thousands of Jews have joined the Hebrew Christian movement. This wave of apostasy, as well as those which preceded it, comes on the heels of another wave. A Jewish conversion to Christianity, whether it takes place on the individual level or on the communal level, follows a breakdown of the Jewish educational system. Most converts to Christianity had little connection to their Jewish heritage before they converted. A Jew who was truly connected to a living Judaism would rather die than convert to Christianity. Why? What is it that the Jew knows about Christianity that inspires him to reject it? How can the Jew be so confident to prefer death over conversion? The traditional Jew may know very little about Christianity, but the little that he knows is far more than enough. The Jew knows that Christianity rejects the fundamental beliefs of Judaism. The Jew knows that Christianity calls a man God. All the philosophical explanations offered to justify Christian theology are wasted on the Jew. These simple facts cannot change. The Law of Moses is not Christianity and the God of Abraham is not a Trinity. His faith in the God of Abraham and Moses inspired the Jew with the confidence to reject Christianity. A Jew who lives as his ancestors did before him experiences the Law of Moses in his daily life. Love and the awareness of the God of Abraham fills the Jew's heart and soul. Perhaps he cannot articulate how he knows the Law of Moses to be immutable, but he knows it, nevertheless. Some Jews who walk with God may find it difficult to point out the faults in the various arguments presented by the missionaries who attempt to justify their worship of Jesus. Nevertheless, these Jews know that worship of a human being is idolatry. But in our generation, when so many Jews are disconnected from the simple faith of their ancestors, it has become necessary to articulate and to explain the Jewish rejection of Christianity. In the following presentation, I will try to articulate the traditional Jewish viewpoint. These words are not written to replace a genuine connection with authentic Judaism, but rather to encourage it. As a Jew, you may have wondered, what went through the minds of our ancestors when they went to die for the crime of rejecting Jesus? It's possible that your interest in this subject was sparked by the increased efforts of missionaries in recent years. You may have found that their campaign to save your soul has reached alarming proportions. This may have served as an inspiration to you to learn more about the traditional Jewish response to missionary claims. In any case, I hope that you will find this presentation a starting point for your research in this field. Now, some of those who watch this video may be Christians. As a Christian, you may have wondered why it is that Jewish people have such a resistance to Christianity. Why is it that most Jewish people don't even bother to read the Christian scriptures? Do these Jews think that just because they were born into their religion, that their religion must be right? How are these people so confident that they are right? These and similar questions may have been troubling you. The purpose of this presentation is to answer these questions. I hope that you find it helpful in understanding the traditional Jewish mindset. If you are a Jew who has embraced Christian beliefs, please regard this as an appeal to your innate sense of honesty. Don't take me at my word. Check things out for yourself. Please acquaint yourself with the richness of your heritage. Find out what it means to be a Jew. Find out what it means to be chosen as God's witness to the world. As King David says in Psalm 34, verse 9, Taste and see that God is good. Fortunate is the man who takes shelter in him. Judaism and Christianity are both belief systems. Each has its own way of looking at the world. Now these two systems are fundamentally different from each other. Only one of these systems can be correct. Judaism and Christianity are mutually exclusive. The foundations of Judaism are the events of the Exodus and the Revelation at Sinai. These establish the relationship that the Jewish people have with God. These events also establish the credibility of Moses as God's prophet. The Jewish people worship the God who revealed himself to them at Sinai. The Jewish people follow the teachings of Moses, the prophet of God. The Jews of all generations accept this belief system based on the testimony of their parents. A Jew is born into a nation which worships the God of Sinai and lives by the teachings of Moses. It's through the testimony of this nation that the Jew learns the belief system, which is Judaism. Christianity has a dual foundation. First, Christianity believes in the prophets of Jewish scripture. And second, Christianity is founded on the life and teachings of Jesus. The Jewish prophets are the ones who proclaim that the Messiah is to come, and Jesus supposedly came and fulfilled that prophecy. The miracles that the Christian scriptures claim were performed by Jesus supposedly established the credibility of Jesus at his message. The person of Jesus is worshiped by Christians as a God, and the teachings of Jesus form the belief system of Christianity. Christians of all generations accept this belief system based on the testimony of the Christian scriptures. Judaism and Christianity clash on several fundamental points. From the Jewish perspective, the important differences between the two belief systems relate to the nature of God and to the teachings of Moses. Number one, who is God? Judaism worships the Almighty God. Jews believe that God is not a physical being, nor can God be represented by a physical being. God is not constrained by time or space. God is all-powerful and all-knowing. God is one. The Jewish belief about the oneness of God is described by the term absolute unity. This means that any plural number cannot be used in describing the essence of God. This is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the God who spoke to his people at Sinai. The focus of Judaism is on God, the life of the Jews devoted to this God. Christianity worships Jesus. Christianity believes that God is one at the same time that he is three. The Christian God consists of the Father, who roughly parallels the Jewish God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. These three are considered by the Christians to be co-equal members of the Godhead. The focus of Christianity is on Jesus. The life of the Christian is devoted to Jesus. Number two. What are the teachings of Moses? Well, Judaism believes that the law of Moses is a living law. It is a law which can and should be followed by a nation, a nation which includes all types of people. The law of Moses is applicable in all generations and in all situations. The entire revelation of God at Sinai includes more than that which is written in the five books of Moses. The five books of Moses only contain the general structure of the law. Moses also received from God and transmitted the definition of these laws. These teachings of Moses, which clarify the law, were not recorded in the five books, but rather these were retained in the collective memory of the nation. As a static body of law, the teachings of Moses require living people to apply them to a practical life. Moses taught the nation the methods that they are to use in order to render the law applicable to every situation. When the Jew does not know how to apply the law to a particular situation, he consults with his teachers, who are familiar with the methods of application which were taught by Moses. The Jew finds practical guidance for daily life within the law of Moses. Christianity does not recognize any teachings of Moses which are not recorded in the five books. Christianity rejects the Jewish testimony regarding those teachings that Moses received from God and were not recorded in the five books. Christianity believes that many of the scriptural teachings of Moses are no longer relevant. Christianity does not see in the law of Moses a guide to practical living. Today, some Messianic congregations have begun recognizing the binding nature of the law of Moses. These people are also beginning to realize the importance of the defining teaching of Moses. However, this is not the traditional Christian position. From the Christian perspective, the important differences between the Jewish and Christian belief systems concern notions about atonement and the Messiah. How does one achieve atonement for sin? Judaism accepts that the only method for expiation of sin is repentance. If one sincerely regrets his sins, confesses his guilt before God, and redirects his life towards God, then God forgives the sin. There are many actions through which one can express the attitude of repentance. Prayer, charity, and bringing offerings to God's alter or legitimate expressions of a repentant heart. In some situations, God commands us to bring an offering to give expression to our repentance. But it is the sincerity of the repentance which ultimately achieves the reconciliation with God. Christianity believes that the only method for atonement of sin is through blood sacrifice. The only blood sacrifice which Christianity recognizes is the sacrifice of Jesus. Through worship of Jesus, Christians hope to connect with the blood that expiates their sins. What is the role of the Messiah? Judaism believes that the Messiah will be a human king. In the time of the Messiah, there will be universal peace. The temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. The Jewish people will return to the land of Israel. Through the reign of the Messiah, everyone on earth will be united in their worship of the God of Israel. The Messiah will lead all of mankind in the service of God. Christianity believes that the Messiah is a human God. Christianity believes that the chief role of the Messiah is to die. Through the death of the Messiah, the world is redeemed of its sins. According to Christian theology, the Messiah will come a second time. When the Messiah returns, then all those who worshiped him will be rewarded, while those who rejected him will be punished. These are the basic differences between the two belief systems. Judaism and Christianity differ on their understanding of the essence of God, the teachings of Moses, atonement, and the role of the Messiah. Judaism and Christianity have different beliefs concerning these basic matters. Only one set of beliefs can be true. Christian missionaries spend much energy in an effort to convince Jews that the Christian belief system is the correct one. All the arguments of the missionaries are wasted on the knowledgeable Jew. In order for the Jew to be convinced that his belief system is correct, he must be sure that the testimony of his nation is true. If the Jewish nation is bearing true witness, then any belief system which runs counter to its testimony must be false. If the Jewish people are telling the truth when they testify that God himself revealed himself as an absolute unity, then any belief system which denies the absolute unity of God must be false. If the Jewish people are telling the truth when they testify that Moses taught them the details, definitions, and practical applications of the Torah's laws, then any belief system which denies this fact must be false. It's not necessary for the Jew to examine the testimony of other belief systems to know that Judaism is true. For the Christian to be convinced that his belief system is true, it's not enough to be sure that the Christian scriptures are reporting actual events. In order for the Christians to know that his belief system is correct, he must also determine that the Jewish nation is bearing false witness. If the testimony of the Jewish nation were true, then even if Jesus performed all the miracles which the Christian scriptures attribute to him, he would have no credibility. If indeed God revealed himself at Sinai as an absolute unity, then anyone who advocates worship of a Trinity is advocating idolatry. No miracle, no matter how spectacular, can serve as justification to worship an idol. In order to be a committed Christian, one must be convinced that the Jewish people are bearing false testimony.