Christians and Jews: historical and theological perspectives of their relationship

Abstract

The article analyses the subject of Christian-Jewish relations in historical and theological terms. In the historical part the following periods are briefly discussed: New Testament, patristic, medieval, modern and contemporary. In the theological part, the common elements of Judaism and Christianity were first presented: - Jews and Christians identify their faith and action through the interrelations between justice and love; they base their beliefs on the common “scripture” (the “Old Testament”); they understand each other as the people of God; they profess the one God, the Creator and the Redeemer; they express their faith in worship, in which there are many similarities; Jews and Christians also live in the expectation for the common history of God with his people, whose fulfillment they expect. Distinctive elements (The divergence of the ways) are: the belief in Jesus, the Christ; the interpretation of the Scriptures; a different understanding of what God’s people are; different developed piety. In conclusion, it was said that the rediscovery of a positive relationship with Judaism facilitates a positive formation of Christian identity and memory.