That reminds me of how surprised I was to learn about Judaism from my late Jewish husband's friends, including a rabbi and a cantor.

I had grown up with the typical Evangelical Christian idea that Judaism is just Christianity lite — Christianity awaiting a messiah for spiritual salvation or assurance of a good afterlife.

After all, didn't the Old Testament look forward to the messiah while the New Testament looked back? Wasn't God's sacrifice necessary to atone for sin and keep one out of hell?

Wow, was I ever shocked to learn how wrong those Christian teachings are! I was seriously surprised to learn from Jewish scholars and leaders that their faith isn't about an afterlife, and that many Jews are unsure if such a thing even exists. They sure don't believe in hell!

I was delighted to learn that Judaism centers loving-kindness in a traditional ethical framework debated and dissected over many centuries as Talmudic discourse, continued up to the present. (Modern discourse doesn't make it into the Talmud, but interpretation and refinement of Talmudic discourse is ongoing and expected, if not outright required.)

Progressive Christianity is similar, focusing on how to live a good, ethical life (by emulating Jesus) rather than on how to be rewarded after death.

And it's nice to see that, like Judaism, progressive Christianity largely rejects the concept of hell.

(For extra credit, readers could look into what Jewish beliefs about the messiah actually are. Hint: It's got nothing to do with spiritual salvation or God taking on the form of a man.)