Editing Pelagianism (section)

===Pelagianism and Judaism===
One of the most important distinctions between Christianity and [[Judaism]] is that the former conventionally teaches justification by faith, while the latter teaches that man has the choice to follow divine law. By teaching the absence of original sin and the idea that humans can choose between good and evil, Pelagianism advocated a position close to that of Judaism.{{sfn|Fu|2015|p=182}} Pelagius wrote positively of [[Jews]] and Judaism, recommending that Christians study Old Testament (i.e., the Tanakh) [[Law of Moses|law]]—a sympathy not commonly encountered in Christianity after [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]].{{sfn|Visotzky|2009|p=48}} Augustine was the first to accuse Pelagianism of "[[Judaizers|Judaizing]]",{{sfn|Visotzky|2009|p=45}} which became a commonly heard criticism of it.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=51}}{{sfn|Visotzky|2009|p=45}} However, although contemporary rabbinic literature tends to take a Pelagian perspective on the major questions, and it could be argued that the rabbis shared a [[worldview]] with Pelagius, there were minority opinions within Judaism (such as the [[Essenes]]) which argued for ideas more similar to Augustine's.{{sfn|Visotzky|2009|p=59}} Overall, Jewish discourse did not discuss free will and emphasized God's goodness in his revelation of the [[Torah]].{{sfn|Visotzky|2009|p=60}}