Unity between Jews and Gentiles!

Along with Christianity and Islam, Judaism is one of the three major monotheistic religions of the world. With them, it has in common a belief in one God as creator and ruler of the universe and the lord of human history. Of the three, Judaism is much the oldest, having its roots in the history of Israel, a nation, or people, that traces its origins back at least 3,000 years to Abraham, the patriarch who is considered the father of the Jewish faith . Ancient Israel dwelled in the land of Palestine in the Middle East, and the modern state of Israel, founded in 1948, represents a return of the people to a homeland that had been under other domination for more than 20 centuries.

The early Christians were all Jews. They remained in Jerusalem and partook of the religious observances in the Temple. They differed from their fellow Jews only in that they believed that the Messiah had come. Had they remained quiet about their conviction, they might well have remained a sect within Judaism. However, they insisted on preaching to all who would listen that the Jesus whom the Jewish authorities had persecuted was the one Israel had long awaited. This preaching aroused great hostility on the part of religious leaders, and the early Christians were persecuted.

Yet these Christians had no thought of venturing beyond the confines of Israel with their message. It was only with the appearance of a man named Saul of Tarsus that the assembly of believers enlarged its horizons to include the whole known world. Saul, a strict Jew, was a persecutor of the church. He was nevertheless converted, and, after changing his name to Paul, began what is called the mission to the gentiles. (The word gentile is simply a cover-all term for all non-Jewish peoples.) It was this man who, more than any other, by the power of the Holy Spirit Through Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior after his revelation to Saul on his way to Damascus in pursuant of the followers of The LORD JESUS, pulled the church out from temple and synagogue and set it apart as a separate institution.

But the separation was, for Paul, more than a physical one. It was also doctrinal. Christians, he asserted, did not have to become Jews. They were not subject to all the rites, rituals, and laws of Israel's religion. This, perhaps more than any other factor, aroused the intense hostility of the Jews and led to a definitive separation of the two camps.

Early in the 16th century a split occurred in the Roman church. Since that time the church in the West has been divided primarily between the Roman Catholic and Protestant segments. The term Protestantism has come to refer to nearly any denomination that is not affiliated with either the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox branches. Among the older Protestant denominations are the Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Reformed, Methodist, and Baptist.

Most religions do missionary work to win converts. Only Christianity advocates evangelism. The word is derived from a Greek term meaning "good news." Evangelism thus means getting the good news out or, more colloquially, spreading the word. The word is the message about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The first New Testament gospel, Matthew, ends with Jesus commissioning his followers to "go and make disciples of all nations."