When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they became aware of themselves as human beings -- with the knowledge of both good and evil.  On the one hand, they now knew that they needed clothing on their bodies, but at the same time, were punished by God because they had not followed God's commands by being exiled from the Garden of Eden.   Rabbi Harold Kushner, in some of his books has indicated that the Garden of Eden story is really the actualization of the human potential.  We are NOT like the animal kingdom, even if we may be classified as part of it scientifically.  We are different precisely because we think, like God does and can choose between right and wrong, good and evil.  The choice is ours.  

The Torah is the covenant between God and the Jewish people, containing 613 specific laws governing all aspects of life.  Granted, a number of these commandments, at the present time are "on hold" because most Jews don't live in the Land of Israel (for example, the Laws of the Shemitah/the Sabbatical year  - don't apply to those of us living outside of the Land) and we don't have a Temple in order to offer sacrifices which were commanded to us primarily in the book of Leviticus. We read the Biblical verses as part of religious worship in order to remember these commandments which we cannot actually fulfill.  Interestingly, the Torah's handles are called "The Atzei Hayyim - the Trees of Life" - the very thing that God didn't want Adam and Eve to have access to after eating from the Tree of Knowledge.  Through the study and observance of Torah, we strive to attain eternal life of the spirit, since we know that all human beings ultimately expire and die.

 

The Torah can never be overturned or changed.  This is a principle enunciated by Maimonides (1135-1204) and is recited every Friday evening (and by many Jews, every day) when reciting the Yigdal prayer which indicates "Our God will neither change nor modify His law; its place remains established for eternity" (translation from Sim Shalom Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book).  The overturning of the laws of the Torah creates a different religion from that of Judaism.  We believe in "a maximum of interpretation - but with a minimum of revelation."  Hence, Judaism is the religion of the Torah (Five Books of Moses) as interpreted by the Rabbinic tradition.

 

Rabbi Robert Alpert
 

The Gemara in Avodah Zarah 17b that you refer to does not deal directly with the prohibition of entering churches, per se - as it deals more explicitly with the problem of entering places of ill-repute.  Nevertheless, Maimonides in Hilkhot Avodah Zarah (chapter 7, law 2) and Hilkhot Melakhim (chapter 11, law 4) and elsewhere (Hilkhot Teshuvah 3:8; Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah 9:1) make it eminently clear that Christianity is viewed by the tradition as idolatry and taht we are forbidden as Jews to derive benefit from it.

 

While I am a Conservative Rabbi, I see no real prohibition of just entering a church on a non-Sunday or at least three days before/after one of the major festivals on the Christian calendar (especially in the land of Israel) to view the art work contained therein and gaining an esthethic appreciation of the forms used there, whithout any desire on your part to "worship" these objects.  it is fascinating, in fact, that Rabbinic tradition saw no problem about entering a bath house created by non-Jews - even if it contained idolatry within it - as it was done purely for "beauty" (Hilkhot Avodah Zarah - chapter 7, law 18).  Clearly, you are not going there for purposes of worship or apostasy.

 

Maimonides would certainly favor helping non-Jews (Hilkhot Avodah Zarah, chapter 10, law 5) who are in dire need because of the overriding desire we have to develop peaceful relationships with the majority cultures that surround us.  I, for one, support all attempts to continue to develop the "new spirit" that arose in Christianity towards Judaism starting in the 1960's with the proclamation of "Nostra Aetate" by Pope (recently canonized as a "saint") John XXIII claiming that Jews are no longer guilty of the crime of deicide and that we should work with all good Christians to re-educate them about Judaism to help promote peace in the world.  I recently participated in an interfaith pre-Passover Model Seder with our Catholic neighbors and see nothing wrong with this. 

 

Rabbi Robert Alpert