Romans

& World
Religions

Judaism and Romans

Abram & his religions
Three faith groups claim to derive their beginnings from
Abram (later Abraham), a resident of the Mesopotamian city
of Ur who was called by God to go to a land unseen by faith.
These three groups are: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Judaism and Islam use Abraham to claim a lineage as God’s
ethnic people, Christians use Abraham as an example of
God working through faith beyond lineage.
• Read Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
• Paul uses the figure of Abraham exactly because
he is the locus of “definitive” or “authentic”
Judaism – but turns the table from ethnicity to
something else. What makes Abraham righteous
according to Paul?

Judaism, historically and

today
Judaism today is one of the world’s smallest religions,
comprising only approximately one-half percentage point
(0.5%) of the world’s population. Yet Judaism’s place in the
world has always been one of popularity despite a small
size.
Judaism today is considered “modern” Judaism. Modern
Judaism has existed from about the 1800’s. Before Modern
Judaism, premodern or “Rabbinic”/“Talmudic” (of the
“Talmud”, the book of collected rabbinic teachings on
Scripture and life) existed from around 500 AD to the 1800’s.
Pre-500 AD was a period of pre-literary Judaism. During this
period, beliefs were not written down except for books of
Scripture – rather, they were handed down orally from rabbi
to disciple.
• Read Romans 4:9-11, I Cor 15:3
 • Paul uses the uses the word “received” in Rom
4:11 in the same way that a disciple would say he
“received” the teaching of his rabbi. What things
are “handed down” in Christianity today?

The dual-Torah and

Reformation Christianity
Christianity took a sharp departure from Judaism in the
1500’s when the Reformation described an interpretation of
the Bible in which the laity could interpret Scripture
themselves (through the use of other Scripture, reason, and
the guiding of the Holy Spirit). This was a departure from the
Jewish concept of the “dual-Torah”. The “dual-Torah”
described the interpretation of Scripture being both written
(in the words of Scripture) and through the oral tradition (the
words of the Rabbis). Only when these two “torahs”
(teachings) were seen together, was an interpretation valid.
The Reformation challenged this sense of needing a “dual
Torah” flatly with the assertion of the “Sola Scriptura”
perspective on theology and interpretation.
• Read Romans 4:1-8
• Does Paul appear to be using a “dual-Torah” or
“Sola Scriptura” approach with the Jewish
Christians of Rome here?

Grace and Sin in Judaism

Throughout this series, we are going to be especially
interested in each religion’s concepts of sin and grace.

Sin: Sin in Judaism is the genesis point for the Christian

understanding of sin. Notably, however, the Christian
concept of “original sin”, an ongoing mutation of humanity
from Adam and Eve, is not present in Judaism. Instead,
each man or woman is seen to “stand in the same place” as
Adam or Eve before God, with decisions to do right or
wrong.
 • How would Christianity be different without the
concept of “original sin”?
Grace: God’s greatest gift of grace to these new “Adams”
and “Eves” is the gift of the Law (through the dual-Torah).
This Law allows people the gift of steering clear of mistakes
without having to make the mistakes. Additionally, God is
seen as gracious by allowing even the worst of people the
ability to turn their lives around in repentance. This
repentance allows even evil men and women to change the
consequences of their actions by “turning” and doing good
instead of evil.
• How is this understanding of grace similar or different
from Christianity?

For Next Time

We will be studying about Islam. Visit the website of our
neighbors, the Islamic Center of Tallahassee:
http://www.ictallahassee.org/

Look for things that might make for interesting discussions.

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.