Can Christianity and Judaism Both Be Right?
John Gager, a modern theologian, asserts that Paul believed Jews to be saved without the acceptance of Christ, therefore removing conflict between the Jesus movement and Judaism. He sees them as equally valid paths to salvation, one under Christ, and the other under the original covenant and law. By this view, they are both right, and Christians and Jews alike will be saved by the same God by doing following completely different sets of rules. Problems arise when the two are mixed because “the law produces sin not in Jews but in Gentiles, because they stand condemned outside the law” (Gager 72). For Gentiles, trying to follow the law does them no good because they are not God’s people. For the Jews however, “living according to the law was [their] response to God’s gracious acts that founded the nation” (Gager 72). The law and Christ, according to Gager’s view of Paul’s writings, are two entirely separate salvation paths. However, in the gospels, Jesus is presented as fulfilling the la
