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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43675
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43675
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Growing up in Israel, I am surrounded by Jews. Interacting with Christian acquaintances, and reading literature written by religious Christians, there are a few things I noticed - things that stood out to me as not being what is to me "the norm". (This is not an exhaustive study. Those are broad generalisations based on relatively limited personal experience.)

**Faith is understood differently by Jews and Christians. That is, being a "good Christian" is different from being a "good Jew" not only in the technical rules one follows (Kashrut etc.) but in how one thinks of the whole thing.**

Consider Tevye the Dairyman, especially the way he is presented in _Fiddler on the Roof_. He is in constant dialogue with God: "Would it spoil some vast eternal plan, if I were a wealthy man?" He is not a "bad Jew" for asking questions. In fact, we admire Abraham and Moses for arguing with God, for taking a moral stand.  
We argue with God, we also argue about how we should follow God's commandments. The Gemara is all discussions and arguments, and of course it doesn't stop there. Our belief tends to the logical rather than the mystical. Consider how the Rambam explains why rules make sense, and how they make sense. We always ask why. We have a cultural respect for knowledge, for study, and because of that - for science. Rambam wrote at length about it, at the same time as Christian monasteries were not at all keen on the idea.

For Christians, as I understand it, questioning God is not a good way to behave. One is supposed to meekly accept, bow, obey, "have faith". Look at _The Lord of the Rings_, a profoundly Christian work: compare Aragorn (good) to Boromir (bad). Boromir doesn't stop questioning Gandalf's decisions - he uses his own head, he wants explanations, he wants to have it logically proven to him that their course is the right one. Aragorn, on the other hand, questions nothing and trusts Gandalf.

> 'But do not _you_ know the word, Gandalf?' asked Boromir in surprise.  
> 'No!' said the wizard.  
> The others looked dismayed; only Aragorn, who knew Gandalf well, remained silent and unmoved.  
> 'Then what was the use of bringing us to this accursed spot?' cried Boromir (J.R.R. Tolkien, _The Lord of the Rings_, book 2, chapter 4 - A Journey in the Dark)

(This is one of multiple examples that form a pattern.)

Another important element: Judaism is very understanding and accepting of humans being humans. We are not expected to be saints - we are expected to make mistakes. It is understood. We do not seek absolute perfection, in fact we treat it with suspicion - it just can't be. In Christianity, the whole thing with confession etc. - the philosophy blames each and every human for each and every mistake. They've sinned, they're bad, they're undeserving of heaven...

Which brings us to the different attitude to this life and the next. Christian theology is very focused on Heaven and Hell, and avoiding the latter. This life is a "corridor" on the way to the next, and you must work very hard to end up in the right place. For Jews, all the focus is on this life. The afterlife is barely touched on, and there are so many varied opinions on it in the various sources, that consensus appears to be "when we get there, we'll find out". Hell is rather a foreign concept to us.

* * *

The thing about those core philosophies is, you can reject religion entirely, and yet your understanding of what being religious means would still be coloured by that religion you rejected. Or, one might think of oneself as "bad Christian" or "bad Jew", and those would be reflections of their perception of "good Christian/Jew". Whether your Christian character is religious, or not at all, she would still have this understanding.

If Pam suspects God is involved in what Ruth is experiencing, I would imagine her reaction would turn to fear and awe rather than to curiosity, and she might be more passive - accepting the experience rather than trying to figure out what God is trying to say. At least, that's my understanding of it all.

Original score: 10