David Brooks in today's NYT explains why he is Jewish and a Christian or Christian whle remaining Jewish (the faith he

[Ocelot II]

7. He seems to be trying to describe his religious experiences

while trying to shoehorn them into both the Jewish and the Christian traditions. As far as theology goes, though, I don't think you can be both. Though Christianity and Judaism have the same roots, as I understand it a person is Jewish by birth for starters, but they can be Christian through belief alone, which means they have to believe that Jesus was both human and divine, that he died and was resurrected, and that he is the messiah who has come. If you are Jewish, however, you believe God is distinct from humanity and that the messiah has not come yet. A lot of people accept the traditional practices and rituals of both (celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas, for example), but when you get into the theology they aren't compatible. I think Brooks was speaking of transcendency, which can come from any religious or spiritual tradition, but if he accepts the basic premise of Christianity, which is a belief in the divinity of Jesus, he's a Christian. Whether he specifically believes that wasn't clear.