Judaism

Definition of Judaism: World religion that traces its origins to God’s call to Abram (Abraham) to be the father of a great people who would inherit the land of Canaan and be the means of blessing to all mankind (Genesis 12). That people is identified as the children of Abraham’s grandson Jacob, who was renamed Israel. The foundation of Judaism is the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy), which tells of the Israelites’ bondage in Egypt, their miraculous deliverance in the Exodus, and the giving of the Law through Moses. The Israelites returned to the promised land of Canaan and became a small but powerful nation there under the rule of King David and his son Solomon. After Solomon’s death the kingdom split into a northern kingdom called Israel and a southern kingdom called Judah (the name of David’s tribe). The northern kingdom was conquered and decimated by the Assyrians in 722 BC, after which the term Judeans, or Jews, gradually came into use to refer to all Israelites. The Jews suffered conquests by a succession of foreign powers — the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and finally the Romans in the first century BC. Throughout this period the Jews developed a strong sense of national identity, identification with the Promised Land, and anticipation of a coming Messiah or Christ (“Anointed One”). These themes dominate the rest of the Jewish Bible, which is identical with the Protestant canon of the Old Testament. In the first century AD, Christianity originated with the belief that Jesus was that promised Messiah. The Jewish establishment at that time, however, rejected Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah, and in fulfillment of his prophecy (Mark 13) the Jerusalem temple was destroyed and the Jewish nation scattered (AD 70). What is now known as the religion of Judaism originated after AD 70 as the rabbis, or teachers of the Torah, developed a system of laws and interpretations of the Torah that were eventually codified in the Talmud. Today Judaism can be identified as a cultural, ethnic, or religious concept. There are three main branches of modern Judaism: Orthodox (traditional, literal adherence to the Torah as interpreted by the Talmud), Conservative (a middle position advocating traditional beliefs and practices up to a point), and Reform (liberal, non-literal stance on the Torah and Talmud; often non-religious or secular with emphasis on Jewish culture).

Judaism: 4Truth.net - 4truth.net is maintained by the Apologetics and Interfaith Evangelism team of the North American Mission Board, an agency of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Judaism: Patheos  - Founded in 2008, Patheos.com is the premier online destination to engage in the global dialogue about religion and spirituality and to explore and experience the world's beliefs. Patheos is the website of choice for the millions of people looking for credible and balanced information or resources about religion. Patheos brings together the public, academia, and the faith leaders in a single environment, and is the place where people turn on a regular basis for insight into questions, issues, and discussions. Patheos is unlike any other online religious and spiritual site and is designed to serve as a resource for those looking to learn more about different belief systems, as well as participate in productive, moderated discussions on some of today's most talked about and debated topics.

Judaism: Interfaith - Interfaith.org is a freely available and independent online publication, providing information on a comprehensive range of issues relating to religion, faith, and spiritual matters. Main areas of coverage include major world religions, new religions, and spiritual development. While Interfaith.org is primarily delivered for UK readers, we also aim to cover key events across the world as relevant.This service is provided by Brite Media.

Judaism - Yahoo Directory

Judaism: AllTop

Judaism: Wabash Center Internet Guide to Religion - A selective, annotated guide provided by the Wabash Center to a wide variety of electronic resources of interest to those who are involved in the study and practice of religion: syllabi, electronic texts, electronic journals, web sites, bibliographies, liturgies, reference resources, software, etc. The purpose of the Guide is to encourage and facilitate the incorporation of electronic resources into teaching.

Judaism: Information Please - Information Please has been providing authoritative answers to all kinds of factual questions since 1938—first as a popular radio quiz show, then starting in 1947 as an annual almanac, and since 1998 on the Internet at www.infoplease.com. Many things have changed since 1938, but not our dedication to providing reliable information, in a way that engages and entertains. Information Please is part of Pearson, the world’s largest integrated education company. Pearson’s other primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

Judaism: Religious Tolerance - A multi-faith website promoting tolerance among all religions. As of 2010-DEC, Religious Tolerance staff consists of one Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. Thus, the OCRT staff lack agreement on almost all theological matters, such as belief in a supreme being, the nature of God, interpretation of the Bible and other holy texts, whether life after death exists, what form the afterlife may take, etc.

Jewish History Sourcebook - An excellent resource website.

Judaism: Apologetics Index - The Apologetics Index is a 'family of web sites' provides 42,850+ pages of research resources on religious cults, sects, new religious movements, alternative religions, apologetics-, anticult-, and countercult organizations, doctrines, religious practices and world views. These resources reflect a variety of theological and/or sociological perspectives.

Judaism - Google Directory

Judaisim - British Broadcasting Company (BBC)

Judasim - Beliefnet is independent and not affiliated with any spiritual organization or movement. Beliefnet was founded in 1999 by Steven Waldman and Robert Nylen. Steven Waldman conceived of the idea for Beliefnet in 1998 and teamed up with magazine publisher Robert Nylen to launch Beliefnet.com on December 28, 1999.

Judaism - AcademicInfo