Maimonides 13 Principles of Faith: Introduction

Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith are often considered to be the official creed of Orthodox Judaism. Technically, no creed ever received such universal recognition in Judaism as the Nicene Creed did in Christianity. This series will explore the limits of Orthodox Jewish theology, and also show that none of Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith ever received universal acceptance.

More interestingly, I will be comparing these 13 principles to what is taught in Evangelical Christian theology.

Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith:

1. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
2. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.
3. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, has no body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever.
4. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.
5. I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, Blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.
6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both those who preceded him and those who followed him.
8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses our teacher, peace be upon him.
9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged, and that there will never be any other Torah from the Creator, Blessed be His Name.
10. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, knows all the deeds of human beings and all their thoughts, as it is written, "Who fashioned the hearts of them all, Who comprehends all their actions" (Psalms 33:15).
11. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them.
12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming.
13. I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, Blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.

Compare this to the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
      the Father almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth,
      of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only Son of God,
      begotten from the Father before all ages,
           God from God,
           Light from Light,
           true God from true God,
      begotten, not made;
      of the same essence as the Father.
      Through him all things were made.
      For us and for our salvation
           he came down from heaven;
           he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
           and was made human.
           He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
           he suffered and was buried.
           The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
           He ascended to heaven
           and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
           He will come again with glory
           to judge the living and the dead.
           His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord, the giver of life.
      He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
      and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
      He spoke through the prophets.
      We believe in one holy universal and apostolic church.
      We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
      We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
      and to life in the world to come. Amen.

These two creeds have much in common. The Nicene Creed affirms most of what is in Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith. What I intend to show is that the range of interpretation of these 13 Principles in Orthodox Jewish theology, is so wide that the entire system of Evangelical Christian theology fits neatly within it. My chief source will be Marc Shapiro's book The Limits of Orthodox Theology:



At the very least, Evangelical Christian theology affirms 11 out of 13 principles in almost the same sense that Maimonides intended, while Reform Judaism rejects some principles and takes such creative liberties with the rest that it is a stretch to say that it really affirms any of them.

This is another reason why it is the height of hypocrisy for Orthodox Jews to prefer that their fellow Jews be Reform Jews rather than Messianic Jews. Even Orthodox Jewish theology is broad enough to have room for Messianic Judaism, an expanded definition of Judaism even more so.