There exists in many branches of the Christian church and much of our society today an obsession with, and a propensity to promote Judeo Christianity.

It is not uncommon to hear such phrases as "our Judeo Christian religion" and our "Judeo Christian heritage." We also hear the phrase "Judeo Christianity" but few people seem to have any understanding of what these terms really mean. But to use any of these terms implies a certain common moral fiber, and unfortunately, most Christians are simply not aware of the almost total immorality of Judaism.

I was first introduced to a problem with the term Judeo Christianity many years ago, when I first began speaking around the country. When I haphazardly used words like "Jew" and "Jewish," and Judeo Christian, I received a lot of criticism. As a result of that criticism I had to do some studying and found that I had to drastically alter what I had been saying.

At one time I, like many or some of you, believed in such a thing as Judeo Christianity, but I have since learned that Judaism and Christianity are as close to opposites as you can get, and I would like to share some what I have learned with you.

Jews practice Judaism and, as I mentioned, there is very little if any similarity between Judaism and Christianity. Most people think that Judaism is the religion of the ancient Hebrews, but as will be shown later on, Judaism did not even become a religion until around 534 B.C.

Most people also presume that the Jews believe in the first five books of the Bible (the Torah) and that they read and study those books. The fact is that at the time of Christ some may have done so but today some may but many do not. Several years ago there were three rabbis being interviewed on Television. I don't remember their positions but they were important leaders. They were asked about the first five books of the Bible and the response from one of these individuals was:

"I have never read the first five books of the Bible and I don't know any important Jew who has."

When I heard this, I don't mind telling you that I was shocked because I had always believed that the Jews read and studied those books. But here was a Jewish leader stating that was not true and the other two never disagreed with him. Well, one has to ask the question, if they do not read and study some portion of the Bible, what is the basis of their religion? We need an answer to that question and we will address that issue later.

It is remarkable that so many people are willing believe that Christianity has something in common with Judaism, even knowing that the Jews do not accept Christ as their personal savior. That fact alone should tell everyone that Christianity has nothing in common with Judaism.

One is simply at a loss in trying to determine where and when this the term Judeo Christian was first used. Some of the older dictionaries tell us that the word "Judaically" means "after the Jewish manner" and "Judaic" means "of the Jews, their culture."

To use a term like "Judeo Christian heritage" presupposes that there are a people called Jews and that their heritage and the heritage of Christians have something in common.

The primary dictionary meaning of the word "heritage" is inheritance, an estate that passes down from generation to generation. However, Scripturally, heritage is defined by Webster as follows:

"In Scripture, the saints or people of God are called his heritage, as being claimed by him, and the objects of his special care." Webster's Dictionary, 1st ed., Vol, 1, p. 100

In scripture, "the saints or the people of God" are Israel, and this is substantiated by a later edition of Webster's. The College Edition, "The New World Dictionary of the American language" states:

"In the Bible the chosen people of God; Israelites..."

Now the question becomes, do we have anything in common with the Israelites? And to answer that question we have to ask "are the Jews Israelites?" If we and the Jews are both Israelites then it would follow that we should have a common heritage.

Actually since there are African blacks, Aborigines in Australia, and Chinese in China who are Christians and the heritages of those peoples have absolutely nothing in common with each other, much less a people called Jews Therefore, the term "Judeo Christian heritage" is a misnomer.

Nevertheless, we will examine the origin of this people called Jews and see if their heritage has anything in common with the Anglo-Saxon people.

In addition, to use a term like "Judeo Christian ethics" also presupposes that there is a people called "Jews" and that their ethics and ours have something in common. Ethics will be defined as a doctrine of morality or social manners, a system of rules for regulating the actions and manners of man.

We could easily compare the ancestry and history of the Jews and the Anglo-Saxon people or any other peoples to see if they have a common heritage. We could also compare Jews with Christianity, but it is impossible to compare the two because the word "Jews" refers to a people and "Christianity" to a religion. This impossibility also makes the term "Judeo Christian" a misnomer, unless the term is construed to be applied to religions.

Nevertheless, we will first examine the religion of the Jews and see if it has anything in common with Christianity.

The term "Judeo Christianity" fails to appear in any dictionary this author owns. However, the unabridged Random House Dictionary of 1979 defines Judaism as:

"The monotheistic religion of the Jews, having its ethical, ceremonial, and legal foundation in the precepts of the Old Testament and in the teachings and commentaries of the rabbis as found chiefly in the Talmud."

There is more to Judaism than this definition implies and in order to understand this huge wall of separation between Judaism and Christianity, we should look briefly, and I do mean briefly, at some of the buzz words relating to Judaism such as the Torah, Pentateuch, Haggadah (He-ga-de-ah), Halakah (Ha-lak-ah), Midrash, Midrashim, Cabala, Talmud, and the Shema.

The Torah is a name applied to the five books written by Moses. Torah means "doctrine" or "law" and became known as "law book." It is divided into two parts: 1) HISTORICAL (Genesis to Exodus 11), and 2) The Law (from Exodus 12 to the end of Deuteronomy). The law contains 613 laws of which 248 are commands and 365 are prohibitions. But, as we saw earlier, apparently these books are not even used by Jews of importance.

The Pentateuch is simply the Greek adaptation of a Hebrew expression referring to the five books written by Moses, called the Torah.

Haggadah means "to report or to explain" and is used with Midrash to encompass the non-legal principles of Scripture. This category also includes stories, legends, and tales which were passed down from generation to generation. It also includes astrology, astronomy, medicine, and magic.

Halakah is the body of religious law dealing with legal issues (i.e. the civil laws and the ritualistic laws) and extends to all usages, customs, and decrees for which there is no authority in Scripture. This term was replaced by the word Midrash.

The Midrash is an investigation into Scriptures to examine the text and derive interpretations which are not immediately obvious. These investigations were divided into two different groups:

1. The Midrash Haggadah embraced the interpretation, illustration, or expansion, in a moralizing or edifying manner of the non-legal portions of Scriptures.

2. The Midrash Halakah pertained to legal principles and embraced the verification of the traditionally received Halakah by identifying its sources in Scripture and interpreting these passages in accordance with certain rules as proofs of its authenticity

The Midrashim is a reference to various smaller existing Midrashim which dealt with a later period of time.

The Mishnah can best be described as studies of the Midrash.

The Talmud can best be described as a collection of rabbinical laws, law decisions, and comments on the law handed down by Moses. There were also two Talmuds: 1) Babylonian Talmud, and 2) Palestinian or the Jerusalem Talmud.

The Talmud and the Midrash, at one time, were identical in content. The Midrash is devoted to Scriptural exposition while the writings of the Talmud are based upon the Halakah. It could be stated that the Talmud is a mere amplification of the Midrash by comments and additions.

The Cabala literally means "the received or traditional lore." It is a mystic doctrine concerning God which was supposedly received by certain elect saints and passed down to a select few. While the Talmudists were engrossed in a study of the law the Cabalists were engaging in prayer, which was considered a mystical process toward God, demanding a state of ecstacy. It was the chief task of the Cabala to produce this ecstatic mysticism in an effort to bridge the gap between God and man.

The Oral Laws are the laws and statutes (in addition to the Pentateuch) God supposedly gave to Moses. It includes all the interpretations and conclusions which the scribes deduced from the written Torah, as well as the regulations instituted by them, and therefore comprise the entire traditional teaching contained in the Mishnah, To-sef-ta, and the Halakic (Ha-lak-ek) Midrashhim, and are divided into eight groups:

1. Explanations of certain statutes of the written law (Torah).

2. Ancient Ha-la-kot which have no connection with the scriptures and derive their authority from tradition which ascribes them to Moses.

3. Ha-la-kot found in the prophetic books called "words of tradition."

4. Interpretations and regulations defining many written laws, as well as new Ha-la-kot, which the first scribes, beginning with the time of Ezra, formulated. Known as the "words of the Soferim."

5. Interpretations and regulations covering the written law, as well as new ha-la-kot, which are deduced from Scripture by means of certain rules or by logical conclusions

6. Customs and observances which were introduced at various times by various scholars ascribed to Moses and Joshua but mainly to the members of the great Synagogue or the Soferim.

7. Statutes and decisions decreed by the Sanhedrin or court, and generally accepted, thus becoming laws which could only be abrogated by another court superior to the first one in numbers and scholars.

8. Statutes and regulations for which the scholars had no tradition or allusion in Scripture, but which they accepted as standards after deriving them from the customs and laws of the country in which they were living. Referred to as "Statutes of the Country."

I have elaborated on all of this just to give you some idea how complex Judaism was and is and how little of it is based upon the Bible. The definition by Random House Dictionary stated that Judaism's "...legal foundation (is) in the precepts of the Old Testament." However nothing, with the exception of the Torah, was a product of God and as we learned in the introduction, important Jews don't even read it.

Probably the highest authority of Judaism then and now has evolved into what is called the Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud began during the Babylonian captivity when Rabbis began making commentaries to explain the law. It was by these commentaries or traditions that they undertook to explain and elaborate upon the law of God, making it of no effect.

Not many people know anything about the Talmuds; however, some of the great Biblical scholars of the past knew it well. The great Reformer, Martin Luther, studied and knew the Talmud very well and he spoke out against it. Luther stated of it:

"Yea, I maintain that in three fables of Aesop there is more wisdom to be found than in all the books of the Talmudists and Rabbis and more than could come into the hearts of the Jew ... For I see in their writings how they curse us Goyim and wish us all evil in their schools and prayers. They rob us of our money through usury ... they play us all manner of tricks; what is worst of all, they ... teach that such things should be done. No Heathen has done such things and none would do so except the Devil himself, and those whom he possesses like he possesses the Jews."

Nevertheless, the Talmud was and is the backbone of Judaism. It is the great body of oral law or traditions which they claimed has even higher authority than the Word of God. This was true at the time of Christ and it is true unto this day. In this regard, Zondervan's Pictorial Ency. of the Bible states:

"Among the schools of European Jewry the Talmud represented the highest and most complete mastery and challenge to which the pious Jew could apply. The knowledge of the Talmud was held in higher esteem than that of the Scripture itself,..." Zondervan's, supra, Vol. 5, p. 594

By the time of Christ, the principles of the Talmud were referred to as the "traditions of the elders." Thus the original religion of the Hebrew children had been replaced by a religion of traditions called Judaism. This is best explained by the Jews themselves. For example the late Stephen Wise, who, as a chief Rabbi of the United States, once stated:

"The return from Babylon, and the adoption of the Babylonian Talmud, marks the end of Hebrewism, and the beginning of Judaism."

Rabbi Wise plainly tells us that Judaism began at the return from Babylon, which would be in approximately 534 B.C. Since this information is readily available to anyone who will seek it, why do so many people tell us that Judaism began with Moses and the giving of the law in 1491 B.C.? Well perhaps Rabbi Wise is not telling us the truth. Oh, but yes he is. In fact, Zondervan's Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible states under Judaism:

"Properly speaking, Judaism ought to be regarded as beginning with the Babylonian exile." Zondervan's, supra, vol 3, p. 727

In the National Encyclopedia comes the following on the subject:

"JUDAISM, The religion of the Jewish people, began with the restoration of the religion of ancient Israel after the Babylonian exile... It took over a body of teachings contained in the sacred scriptures. The Torah, or Law, was accepted as the guiding rule of life. The ritual of ceremony and of sacrifice became a holy memory, and in their place was offered a reinterpretation of the theological ideas and instructions of the past in the light of the teachings of the prophets." National Encyclopedia, Vol 6, p. 21

The captivity and exile into Babylon in 600 B.C., means that Rabbi Wise and Zondervan's only disagree by some 70 years, the period of the exile. But no matter who is right, 600 to 534 B.C. is a far cry from 1491 B.C when Moses received the law. Thus Judaism did not exist anywhere in the kingdom of Israel from the time the Israelites left Egypt until sometime around the Babylonian captivity or their return to Jerusalem (over 800 years after Moses received the law).

In addition, there was no such thing as Judaism in Jerusalem until the adoption of the Talmud around the time of the return of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from Babylon. Not all Israel had the Talmud mind you, for only a remnant of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi returned from Babylon. The rest of Israel are the children of God scattered abroad in the dispersion.

While we cannot trace the origin of the words "Judeo Christianity," we do know something about the word "Judeo" as it comes from the religion known as Judaism. Benjamin Freedman, himself a Jew, in his book entitled "Facts are Facts" quotes a Rabbi Adolph Moses as follows:

"Yet neither in biblical nor post biblical, neither in talmudic, nor in much later times, is the term Judaism ever heard ... It was Flavius Josephus ... who coined the term Judaism, in order to pit it against Hellenism ... The Jews themselves, who intensely detested the traitor Josephus, refrained from reading his works ... Hence the term Judaism coined by Josephus remained absolutely unknown to them ... It was only in comparatively recent times, after the Jews became familiar with modern Christian literature, that they began to name their religion Judaism."

In a publication entitled "Judaism and the Christian Predicament," Rabbi Bokser wrote:

"This is not an uncommon impression and one finds it sometimes among Jews as well as Christians -- that Judaism is the religion of the Hebrew Bible. It is of course a fallacious impression. "Judaism is not the religion of the Bible." p. 59

In a Jewish paper called the "Jewish World," for March 1923, we find the following:

"Fundamentally Judaism is anti-Christian."

The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, under the word "Pharisees" states:

"The Jewish religion as it is today traces its descent, without a break, through all the centuries, from the Pharisees. Their leading ideas and methods found expression in a literature of enormous extent, of which a very great deal is still in existence. The Talmud is the largest and most important single piece of that literature ... and the study of it is essential for any real understanding of Pharisaism."

Another prominent Jewish leader and scholar named Louis Finklestein, also gave us some insight on the subject of Judaism which he calls Pharisaism. Rabbi Finklestein was chosen in 1937 by the Kehillas (Jewish Communities) of the world as one of the top 120 Jews who best represent a "lamp of Judaism" to the world. For many years he headed the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. In the forward of the first edition to his book entitled "The Pharisees," he writes:

"Pharisaism became Talmudism, Talmudism became Medieval Rabbinism, and Medieval Rabbinism became Modern Rabbinism. But throughout these changes in name....the spirit of the ancient Pharisees survives, unaltered.... From Palestine to Babylonia; from Babylonia to North Africa, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany; from these to Poland, Russia, and eastern Europe generally, ancient Pharisaism has wandered.... demonstrates the enduring importance which attaches to Pharisaism as a religious movement..."

Notice that there is no mention of Christianity here and we are told that Talmudism is Pharisaism and of course we know that Talmudism and Pharisaism are what we today call Judaism. As a further matter of interest on the Pharisees, the Zondervan Bible dictionary states of them:

"....it may be said that the Pharisees made these contributions to Judaism, so that ultimately Pharisaism and Judaism became almost synonymous. The first one of these is Jewish legalism, which began in earnest after the Babylonian captivity... "The Pharisee studied the traditional exegesis of the law and made it a part of Jewish thought...; they formalized the religion of the scribes and placed it into practice. This is why the scribes and Pharisees are often mentioned together in the NT. The Pharisees...were the religious leaders of the Jews. "A third contributing factor to Pharisaism was the development and organization of the Jewish religion itself after the Captivity and the Revolt. Formulation and adaptation of Mosaic law by scribe and rabbi, increased tradition, and a more rabid separatism from almost everything resulted in almost a new religion much the opposite from that handed down in the Covenant by the prophets. Pharisaism epitomized this spirit."

The point I want to make sure everyone understands is that prior to the Babylonian captivity, the children of Israel practiced a religion we probably should call "Israelism" or "Hebrewism" for it was almost exclusively practiced by the children of Israel who were commonly called Hebrews. But with the inception of Talmudism or the traditions of the elders, which was adopted by the Pharisees around the time of the return from Babylonian exile, Hebrewism was replaced with a new and different religion called Judaism.

In Horticulture it is a common practice to take certain trees which have hardy roots and plant them and let them grow until they reach a certain age. Then the trunk is cut off and a good fruit producing tree is grafted to the trunk of the tree having good roots. Let's assume that the tree with hardy roots is a willow tree and the grafted fruit tree is an apple tree. Once the apple tree has been grafted to the trunk of the thorn tree and several years pass by, the tree will mature and produce apples. The tree will look like an apple tree and produce apples. It will never look like a willow tree even though it has the roots of a willow tree.

The process can be reversed, that is we can take the root of the apple tree and graft to it a willow tree and when it matures it will not look like an apple tree or produce apples, it will be a thorn tree and produce nothing.

Christianity has its roots in the writings of Moses, the major and minor prophets, and all the other books in the Old as well as the New Testament. True Christianity, that which was understood by the apostles, is Hebrewism plus the teachings of Jesus Christ. Christianity does not have its roots in the Gospel of Matthew, it begins with the book of Genesis.

Judaism does not have these same roots. However, it could be stated that Judaism had its roots in the first five books of the Bible (the Torah); however, from those books they made their own notes and commentaries and once they formalized they had no further need for the Torah. The Books of Moses were only used as a guide to write their own religion which which eventually evolved into something has has little or no relationship with the Torah.

Even though it is not true, let us assume for a minute that Judaism and Christianity had their origin in the first five books of the Bible and that they are the roots of both religions. The Jews took a look at the roots and decided they liked some things and didn't like other thingss. So they improvised, and using these roots as a guide they made notes and commentaries and came up with their own religion. What they ended up with was a new set of roots.

However, we have made the assumption that the books of Moses are their roots so let's continue from that assumption. The Jews then looked at the roots and saw that these roots produced apples and they decided they didn't like apples. So they cut off the trunk of the tree and grafted to it their own tree. You guessed it, they grafted a thorn tree to the roots of an apple tree and they produce nothing but thorns.

So, based upon our assumption, the Jews started from the same roots but what has happened? Judaism matured from the root of an apple tree and yet it did not like its roots and so it cut off the trunk and grafted itself to a thorn tree. A thorn tree cannot produce good fruit but does produces lots of thorns. Anyhow, the result id Judaism, and Judaism can never produce good fruit.

In Matthew, Christ explained this principle as follows:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
"Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
"Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7:15-20

Now what false prophets are we to suppose Christ is talking about? Buddhists? Hindus? Muslims? No, the false prophets of the days Christ was speaking about were the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Herodians, whose teachings had the effect of leaven.

As the thorn can only produce thorns, not grapes; and as the thistle produces prickles, not figs, so the teachers of Judaism produce the thorny prickly fruit of degeneracy.

But what happened to Christianity? Christianity grew from the five books, sprouted strong branches with the writings of the prophets and finally bloomed with the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Messiah and today is producing good fruit.

Thus we see that Judaism is a religion based upon the traditions of man -- not on the Word of God. Any religion based on the traditions of man can never produce good fruit for the Lord. And once again, there is an extreme difference between Judaism and Christianity and once that is understood, it can also be understood that there can be no such thing as Judeo Christianity.

Referring to Judeo Christianity is like referring to a woman a virgin-prostitute. If a woman is a virgin she cannot be a prostitute and if she is a prostitute she certainly cannot be a virgin. And so, a woman can be one or the other but not both, and likewise with Judaism and Christianity for they, like virgins and prostitutes, are diametrically opposite to each other and cannot produce the same fruit. Therefore, If a person accepts Judaism they must reject Christian ethics and traditions. And if a person accepts Christianity they must reject Judaism and its ethics and traditions. I say again, there can be no such thing as Judeo Christianity. And if the two are ever grafted together, then Christianity will be destroyed and there will be no production of good fruit.

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