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What Do
Catholics and Jews Believe?

Jews

Jewish Attitude Towards Divorce
Judaism has always accepted divorce as a fact of life and an unfortunate one. Judaism generally maintains that it is better for a couple to divorce than to remain together in bitterness and anger.

Under Jewish Law, a man can divorce a woman for any reason or no reason. The Jewish scriptures (The Talmud) specifically says that a man can divorce a woman because she spoiled his dinner or because he found someone more attractive. The woman’s consent to divorce is not required. In fact, Jewish Law requires a divorce in some circumstances: when the wife commits a sexual transgression, a man must divorce her, even if he is inclined to forgive her.

Judaism does not take divorce lightly. Many aspects of Jewish Law discourage divorce. The procedural details involve in arranging a divorce are complex and exacting. Except in certain cases of misconduct by the wife, a man who divorces his wife is required to pay her substantial sums of money as specified in the KETUBAH (marriage contract). In addition, Jewish Law prohibits a man from remarrying his ex-wife after she has married another man. The document for a divorce is commonly known today a GET.

The Get does not emphasize the breakdown of the relationship, nor does it specify the reason for the divorce. Rather, it states that the woman is now free to marry another man. (Permission and credit: Tracey R. Rich, www.jewfaq.org.)

Catholics

Unlike the civil courts, the Catholic Church does not allow a divorce. The Church’s position stems from five New Testament passages:

1. St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (I Cor 7:10-11. He reminds them of Jesus’ prohibition on divorce.
2. St. Mark’s Gospel (10:2-12) restates Jesus’ command, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another commits adultery.”
3. St. Matthew’s Gospel (19:3-9), also states Jesus’ command not to divorce.
4. St. Matthew’s Gospel (5:32) further states Jesus’ command not to divorce, , “…let no man separate what God has joined together.”
5. Lastly, St. Luke’s Gospel (18:6) restates Jesus’ command, “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. The man who marries a woman divorced from her husband likewise commits adultery.”
6. Therefore, the Catholic Church does not allow divorce. While the Church does not allow divorce, it will grant what is called an annulment. An annulment means that the marriage was invalid. It may be invalid for a number of reasons. For example, the Church Court (Marriage Tribunal) may discover that one party entered marriage with the intention of withholding the right to important information from the other party. Once the case is declared annulled then the persons are free to remarry. Some reasons for an annulment are insanity, grave emotional problems, lack of conjugal love, psychopathic or sociopathic problems, serious immaturity and serious drug and other addiction problems.

Jewish Attitude About Jesus
There is no single Jewish belief about Jesus. Some Jews consider Him to have been a prophet after the manner of Isaiah or Jeremiah; others feel that Jesus and His movement were out of the mainstream of Judaism from the beginning; others believe Jesus was a fanatic.

Judaism is based on the belief in the uniqueness of God. The idea of a divine Person equal to God the Father is completely alien to it. Whatever the individual opinions of Jews about Jesus are, He has no place in Jewish worship and official religious teachings. Jewish-Christian relations through the centuries have been stormy. Today, serious efforts are being made to improve relations between Catholics (and other Christians) and Jews. Through dialogue, Jews have come to a better understanding of Catholic positions. Catholics have become more aware of their Jewish roots, bigotry and anti-semitism. Much good has been done by this, but much more remains for the future.

Catholic Attitude About Jesus
Simply put, for Catholics and many Christians, Jesus is the Son of God literally and is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was sent by God the Father to give further insights into the mystery of God.

Moslem Attitude About Jesus
Jesus is mentioned several times in the Moslem scriptures, the Koran. Like the Jews, Moslems believe in the absolute uniqueness of God, or commonly called Allah. For Moslems, Jesus is a great prophet, a messenger of Allah who performed many miracles. Moslems believe in the Virgin Birth, holding that, though only human, Jesus was created by the direct will of Allah. They believe that Jesus has no yet died-that the Crucifixion was only an illusion. Jesus was taken up into Paradise, where He will remain until the end of the world, when He will kill the Anti-Christ, die and be resurrected by Allah.