Judeo-Christian is a contradiction in terms

Thanks to my opponent for his last post and I would like to assure him that he is making an excellent job of his first DDO debate. Pro: "While there is a common body of literature that is holy to both Christians and Jews, the focus of the religions are so very disparate that it's hard to see how they could be at all related, other than starting from a similar body of text." The relationship itself goes deeper than the text. The first Christians as well as Jesus himself, were of course Jews. They revered the same scriptures because they shared the same faith and cultural history. The New Testament does not replace or override The Old Testament from a Christian perspective, it adds to it and draws heavily upon it. Since Christianity (like Islam) is basically an offshoot of Judaism (though of course a separate religion) it is not at all hard to see how they are related. The relationship is undeniable and there is no way Christianity could exist without the foundation of Judaism which it sprang from. --- Regarding inscriptions on US coins, I don't have any to inspect but this was not one of the stronger cases made by Jewish World Review in their advocacy of the term Judeo-Christian. http://www.jewishworldreview.com... Some of the stronger points evidencing Hebrew tradition in American society within this source are: "Hebrew was compulsory at Harvard until 1787. The words on the Liberty Bell, "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land . . . ," are from the Torah. Vast numbers of Americans took Hebrew names." And: "Thomas Jefferson wanted the design of the seal of the United States to depict the Jews leaving Egypt. Just as the Hebrews left Egypt and its values, Americans left Europe and its values." --- Pro lists several true and accurate distinctions between the Christian and Jewish faiths. I accept there are many disparities but this does not affect the fact that there is also much common ground. There are terms that describe the different aspects of each faith that are separate and distinct. These terms are 1) Jewish and 2) Christian. There is a term to describe the aspects which are shared. This term is Judeo-Christian. --- On the surface the Trinity certainly has the appearance of being a pantheon. If, however you ask any serious Christian about the substance of the Trinity they will explain that it is three-in-one. For Christians the three are not separate entities, rather they are different aspects of the same divine being. Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit. So Christianity is a monotheistic religion. While it may perhaps seem contradictory and implausible to non-Christians such as myself and my opponent, this is what Christians actually believe. Their faith dictates that the three 'gods' are One God. As this debate is not concerned with questioning the validity of any faith, my opponent should accept that Christianity is monotheistic and that this is something it does have in common with Judaism. --- Pro: "the true point of seperation is, of course, the person of Jesus." I would have assumed this myself but my opponent suggests otherwise with his discussion of Messianic Jews. He clearly states that "they believe that Jesus was the messiah, which is uncommon but doesn't invalidate them from Judaism." A Christian can be defined as anyone who worships Christ as his saviour, although some people do believe otherwise and groups such as Mormons are often labelled as cults by other Christians. So how can this be the "true point of separation" if they are both Jewish and Christian? It seems my opponent has contradicted himself somewhat as well as proving me wrong in my initial assumption that it would always be incorrect to label an individual as a Judeo-Christian as this sounds like exactly what Messianic Jews are. --- Here is an example of an organisation comprising Jews and Christians founded by a rabbi, with similar aims to the Judeo-Christian alliance: http://www.ministrywatch.com... I think that there are probably more complicated reasons(than the book of Revelations) why so many right-wing Christians support Jewish control and expansion of Israel , though my opponent makes some excellent points. The political issues are of course a subject for a different debate. The fact is however that through shared history, culture and faith (The Hebrew scriptures) Christians are likely to feel much more affinity for the Jews than for the Arabs in Israel and Palestine. Since Sunday School church classes, Christians have studied stories found in the Hebrew Tanakh depicting Israelites and Jews as God's chosen people and automatically 'the good guys' in any conflict. ---- One of Pro's main arguments for the contradictory nature and inappropriateness of the term Judeo-Christian is that it is used almost exclusively by Christians and that Jews find it annoying and inapplicable to them. Aside from the Jewish World Review article already sourced there are in fact many further examples. With very basic research I was able to find a huge number of not just Jews but actual Rabbis (Jewish teachers/priests) who approved of the term and/or wished to emphasise the shared values and commonalities of the two faiths. Here are just a couple: "Q: There are many shared values between Jews and Christians. Rabbi Segni: It stems from the fact that these two religions have their origin in the Bible. Biblical tradition underlines the importance of the dignity and of the life of man, the sense that life must have an ideal, the sense of social solidarity. These are fundamental values -- biblical values that are intrinsic and shared between Jews and Christians." http://www.zenit.org... "Daniel Lapin (born c. 1950) is a political commentator and American Orthodox rabbi......He argues that it is better for Jews to promote shared Judeo-Christian values with the majority than promote solely Jewish values. He has also called secular liberalism a danger to Judeo-Christian values" http://en.wikipedia.org... ---- Terms like Judeo-Christian remind us of the common values people share and help to bring people together. If we emphasise the distinctions between each other and ignore the commonalities then we invite xenophobia. That will be all for now, I'm kind of tired. Thanks. Con.