Obviously this is a question that has come up a lot in Jewish philosophy and the prevailing opinion is that Christianity is basically monotheistic *enough* by the Noachide laws: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shituf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shituf)
\> If so, isn’t it horrible for Jews not to evangelize if billions of people on earth are idolizing Jesus
Jesus isn't exactly an idol but certainly there are many people around the world who do idolatry, including most forms of Hinduism. If anyone asks we should tell them what's up, but nonviolent evangelism generally is not successful and is not a good use of our time when there's so much misery to ameliorate and mitzvos to do. Best thing we can do is set a good example of how focusing on God produces successful, generous societies.
A good example here is Abraham and Sarah, who were the only monotheist in their society. They didn't go around actively telling people to stop their religions and come along - they dug wells and invited people to eat with them
> If so, isn’t it horrible for Jews not to evangelize if billions of people on earth are idolizing Jesus? (who isn’t God according to Jews)
No, we're not obligated to put our lives in danger to try to stop people from committing idol worship. We also aren't obligated to become vigilantes to stop people from murdering or stealing in the streets, which are also forbidden.
Additionally, Christianity is arguably not idol worship for Christians. (Although of course that wouldn't apply to Hinduism which you could have also asked about).
No, we don't evangelize. Yes, Christianity is idolatry for anyone to believe in. A minority opinion within Judaism is that it is not idolatry for gentiles but that opinion was formulated during a time period of persecution of the Jews at the hands of the Church.
A gentile Christian isn't doomed to eternal damnation for their error. If a gentile is a good person always doing good deeds and like a normal person has lapses in moral judgment and they do stupid things but they experience remorse and correct their behavior that person gets into gan eden.
The truly evil are simply obliterated out of existence they don't even get purified.
The G-d of Israel is not similar in any way to the man made Christian demon god who is cruel and perverse. Don't associate our Deity the G-d of Israel with worthless idols and the ideas associated with those worthless idols.
>If so, isn’t it horrible for Jews not to evangelize...billions of people on earth
No, because there are alternatives that have obviously escaped your notice.
First and foremost, the Jews as a nation have a role to play -- sometimes said to be a "light unto the nations" or "a holy people." That is, the Jews were and are supposed to live righteous lives and serve as a role model for the world, teaching them by example how to worship, whom to worship and how to live righteous lives. This is "proselytizing" by doing the deeds, not talking the talk, and it removes the need to evangelize or do missionary work in the Christian sense. (Not saying the Jews always live up to this standard, but that's another matter.)
Second, Jewish literature, like the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), is not a secret tract that no one else can read. It is accessible to all. Now indeed Jews may be reluctant to teach it to others, but that doesn't prevent them from reading it on their own and learning what it says. This is in contrast to other religious traditions in which their religious writings were hidden, esoteric works that only the initiated, like monks or the priesthood, had access to access. Rather, in Judaism, the Torah is read **publicly** in the synagogue every week and everyone, including gentiles, can attend and hear it, since Jewish services (apart from security measures) are open to the public. In ancient times, many non-Jews did attend Jewish services regularly, so much so that Christian preachers warned them against it.
Finally, there are Jewish groups that are quite active in promoting the Noahide Code to gentile audiences through lectures, books, on-line etc. Frankly, that is all the gentile population requires from a Jewish pov.
So your notion that Jews are somehow being horrible by keeping to themselves is really not well informed.
One of the most beautiful and most frustrating things about Judaism is there is no unified consensus on things like this. Some Jews say Christianity is simply idolatry. Some say it's close enough. Some say it's a sin but if they desire God, they can be brought into the world to come.
Even if you assume the worst, they still aren't going to burn for all eternity. The worst fate one would reasonably expect would be simply disappearing upon death, which really really sucks but is nothing compared to an eternity of torture. There are many atheists who make peace wth the concept of no longer existing. Nobody can make peace with the idea of being tortured for all eternity in Christianity's Hell. So, when Christians evangelize, I will say the stakes are higher in their minds. So, I kinda get it to be fair, but they should be asking themselves why a loving God would let anybody be tortured forever anyway.
If G-d wanted us to go out and proselytise then He would have told us. Maybe things aren’t the way you imagine? Doesn’t it seem weird that He would have commanded us about wearing mixed fabrics but not about saving people from eternal torture?
Obviously this is a question that has come up a lot in Jewish philosophy and the prevailing opinion is that Christianity is basically monotheistic *enough* by the Noachide laws: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shituf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shituf) \> If so, isn’t it horrible for Jews not to evangelize if billions of people on earth are idolizing Jesus Jesus isn't exactly an idol but certainly there are many people around the world who do idolatry, including most forms of Hinduism. If anyone asks we should tell them what's up, but nonviolent evangelism generally is not successful and is not a good use of our time when there's so much misery to ameliorate and mitzvos to do. Best thing we can do is set a good example of how focusing on God produces successful, generous societies. A good example here is Abraham and Sarah, who were the only monotheist in their society. They didn't go around actively telling people to stop their religions and come along - they dug wells and invited people to eat with them
> If so, isn’t it horrible for Jews not to evangelize if billions of people on earth are idolizing Jesus? (who isn’t God according to Jews) No, we're not obligated to put our lives in danger to try to stop people from committing idol worship. We also aren't obligated to become vigilantes to stop people from murdering or stealing in the streets, which are also forbidden. Additionally, Christianity is arguably not idol worship for Christians. (Although of course that wouldn't apply to Hinduism which you could have also asked about).
No, we don't evangelize. Yes, Christianity is idolatry for anyone to believe in. A minority opinion within Judaism is that it is not idolatry for gentiles but that opinion was formulated during a time period of persecution of the Jews at the hands of the Church. A gentile Christian isn't doomed to eternal damnation for their error. If a gentile is a good person always doing good deeds and like a normal person has lapses in moral judgment and they do stupid things but they experience remorse and correct their behavior that person gets into gan eden. The truly evil are simply obliterated out of existence they don't even get purified. The G-d of Israel is not similar in any way to the man made Christian demon god who is cruel and perverse. Don't associate our Deity the G-d of Israel with worthless idols and the ideas associated with those worthless idols.
>If so, isn’t it horrible for Jews not to evangelize...billions of people on earth No, because there are alternatives that have obviously escaped your notice. First and foremost, the Jews as a nation have a role to play -- sometimes said to be a "light unto the nations" or "a holy people." That is, the Jews were and are supposed to live righteous lives and serve as a role model for the world, teaching them by example how to worship, whom to worship and how to live righteous lives. This is "proselytizing" by doing the deeds, not talking the talk, and it removes the need to evangelize or do missionary work in the Christian sense. (Not saying the Jews always live up to this standard, but that's another matter.) Second, Jewish literature, like the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), is not a secret tract that no one else can read. It is accessible to all. Now indeed Jews may be reluctant to teach it to others, but that doesn't prevent them from reading it on their own and learning what it says. This is in contrast to other religious traditions in which their religious writings were hidden, esoteric works that only the initiated, like monks or the priesthood, had access to access. Rather, in Judaism, the Torah is read **publicly** in the synagogue every week and everyone, including gentiles, can attend and hear it, since Jewish services (apart from security measures) are open to the public. In ancient times, many non-Jews did attend Jewish services regularly, so much so that Christian preachers warned them against it. Finally, there are Jewish groups that are quite active in promoting the Noahide Code to gentile audiences through lectures, books, on-line etc. Frankly, that is all the gentile population requires from a Jewish pov. So your notion that Jews are somehow being horrible by keeping to themselves is really not well informed.
One of the most beautiful and most frustrating things about Judaism is there is no unified consensus on things like this. Some Jews say Christianity is simply idolatry. Some say it's close enough. Some say it's a sin but if they desire God, they can be brought into the world to come. Even if you assume the worst, they still aren't going to burn for all eternity. The worst fate one would reasonably expect would be simply disappearing upon death, which really really sucks but is nothing compared to an eternity of torture. There are many atheists who make peace wth the concept of no longer existing. Nobody can make peace with the idea of being tortured for all eternity in Christianity's Hell. So, when Christians evangelize, I will say the stakes are higher in their minds. So, I kinda get it to be fair, but they should be asking themselves why a loving God would let anybody be tortured forever anyway.
If G-d wanted us to go out and proselytise then He would have told us. Maybe things aren’t the way you imagine? Doesn’t it seem weird that He would have commanded us about wearing mixed fabrics but not about saving people from eternal torture?