If a person were to juxtapose the western religions that exist in our society today, a vast amount of people would conclude that a major similarity between them is that they are all monotheistic. There is a multiple amount of religions in this world today, but a few are monotheistic like the western religions and then there are the polytheistic religions, which tend to be more along the eastern side. Monotheism can be straight forward with its definition; however, there are certain concepts that need to be known in order to completely understand the true nature of monotheism in today’s western religions. These concepts can be comprehensible by exploring a few themes within monotheism.
Fundamentally, monotheism refers to the notion that there is only one Supreme Being, who is known as God. Monotheism, which is derived from Greek, can be broken down into “monos” which means “one” and “theos” meaning “God”. This particular theism is continually contrasted with the other common word referred to as polytheism. Essentially, polytheism refers to the belief in a numerous amount of gods, which again is common in many eastern religions. By doing some research, there seems to be a slight difference in the historical inception of the term monotheism. There were a few sources that referred to monotheism beginning back in ancient Egyptian times. It was stated that the notion of believing in one God was mentioned in the Egyptian Book of the Dead ; however, other sources referred to monotheism beginning with the tribal people known as the Hebrews. It was said that Abraham began to believe that the universe was created by only one higher being and decided to teach this notion to others. The story behind Abraham is much more in depth ...
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..., western religions in today’s society are known as Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. That is not to say that there are other religions that share the monotheistic view. Needless to say, monotheism seems to be a straightforward definition but in all actuality it does have a much deeper meaning to it. As mentioned previously, there are shared beliefs among the western religions but there is also the notion of there being a variety of different forms of monotheism. Most of the forms don’t necessarily relate to the main western religions but they do exist. These different forms provide a much different meaning to monotheism and how different monotheism can be viewed. Some of these forms, such as Deism, are actually considered an actual religion. But by exploring a few main concepts of monotheism, it may give a more comprehensible look into the western religions.
One such category is popularly referred to as "western religions", thereby differentiating the religions constituting it from "eastern religions." Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are of the three most popular religions that rest on the foundation of a single creator belief and are therefore called western religions. As these religions have the core conviction in common; the religious belief that this universe came into existence, as well as controlled and governed by one God.The significance and popularity of western religions can be determined from the fact that "Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic faiths practiced by about half of the world's population
Between 600 BCE and 600 CE, religion played an important role in the social order of the Middle East. The introduction of monotheistic religions challenged earlier polytheistic religions and caused people to have faith in in one almighty god. Social order was affected by these new understandings because people began to believe that those who sided with God would be granted everlasting life while those who were on the side of evil were sentenced to eternal punishment.
Both Islam and Christianity are coinciding in that they are monotheistic, meaning they only believe in on...
The Roman Empire began polytheistic like many earlier civilizations. The practice of monotheism was not legalized until 313 C.E. when Emperor Constantine ended the persecution of Christians. As with many religions, there were various groups of Christians with different views as to what defined Christianity. In 325 C.E. the Council of Nicaea, brought together by Constantine to resolve this issue, established The Nicene Creed. According to this doctrine Roman Christians believe “in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; and in Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of his Father...And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost” (p 142-143). Though Christians believed in three divine beings they only worshipped one God. Even then polytheism was still dominant among the Romans.
Monotheistic religions tended to develop in Southwestern Asia. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all began in very similar regions in Southwestern Asia. All three also share a common bond of being monotheistic. Islam's belief system was centered around the importance of making the God happy by your behavior (Doc 2). By the end of your life, there would be a final judgement where the God would assess your behavior and you would hopefully be granted a peaceful afterlife.
Three equals one. Out of all of the statements made by the Christian faith, perhaps none is more confusing. The Doctrine of the Trinity has been questioned for decades and many Christians do not even understand it. Colin E. Gunton argues that this does not have to be so. Instead, he calls the Western Church to learn from Eastern Orthodoxy and allow Trinitarian thinking to permeate every aspect of the church. It is when the Western Church embarrasses “The Forgotten Trinity” (the name of the chapter) in thinking and in worship, that we not only learn the nature of God, but how we should live in light of it.
Is God a Christian written by Kirby Godsey is a very powerful book that forces its readers to take an introspective journey into not only one self’s religious beliefs, but also the fundamentals of one 's morals, judgment, and principals. Godsey begins his book by answering the title of his book. He believes that God is not tied to any single religion, like Christianity. That rather, the presence, feelings, and support of God should be perceived through a combination of beliefs, experiences, and perhaps even religions in order to understand the entirety of God.
Religions of the ancient world were in a state of constant flux. Karl Jaspers states that between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C.E, “great changes took place in all the civilized world” (qtd. in Basham 36), and the great thinkers of these times began thinking independently and individually. Moreover, “after these great thinkers the world was never the same again” (qtd. in Basham 36-37). These times were dubbed the “axial period” (qtd. in Basham 37). The axial religions that emerged during this period were profound and lasting. In fact, the religions discussed in this paper—Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity—are considered the most practiced religions to do this day. Although these religions have changed over time, their underlying structure remains intact.
The term monotheism is significant to Islam, meaning that a belief in only one God. The first article of faith in Islam is the belief that there is no deity but God (Allah) and that Muhammad is the messenger of God. A belief in a number of gods or in the extension of God’s spirituality to any person is strongly forbidden. Islam rejects the human points that the Christians and Jews added to their doctrines, such as the incarnation of God. It has been estimated that over ninety percent of Muslim theology deals with the implications of Unity. God, while One, is referred to by ninety-nine names (Fisher 233).
Every religion has its own goal, and their own path and believe to reach their goals, however there are also many similarities in believes. Although the followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam may see things differently, they all fundamentally hold the same values and codes. To Islam, the Prophet Mohammad’s teaching is a complete and final revelation. On the other hand, according to the bible, Christianity believes that Jesus Christ is the true lord and savior will grant you the access to heaven in the afterlife. Judaism is founded by Abraham, and it is the base from which both of the other two religions sprung. Even though the three religions differ in many areas and on many aspects, they also agree on the monotheistic, the belief in ‘One True God.’ Those religions have many similarities and a number of significant differences about God, role of women, prayer, and salvation.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the three great religions of the world. They are all monotheistic religions, which mean the followers believe in one God. Each religion has a sacred book that contains God 's message for the world. These books are the Jewish Torah, the Christian Bible, and the Muslin Qur 'an (Religion Explained 16).
Human beings have always been curious about the meaning and purpose of life. Religions try to answer the curiosity people have about there being a higher source, typically identifying this greater domination as God. Some beliefs teach that there is only one G-d this is defined as a monotheistic religion. Some examples of monotheistic religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Although each sect has a different perspective on teachings and beliefs they have one common thread; the belief in a singular deity.
There are many religions today that people worship and adapt into their daily lives are their creed. Some may have a lot of gods, while some only have one god. But three of these religions are considered as the major religion practiced by most people in the world today. Although different in some senses in terms of history and other teachings, they all have things in common that most of their followers do not seem to realize. The similarities are very important to understand each religion better and be able to determine which parts they vary. In this paper, I like to discuss the similarities found in the three major monotheistic religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
To even begin a religion a people have to set a certain belief. Whether it be monotheism, polytheism or no theism at all, a certain faith structure is crucial in order to have and maintain religion. This belief or faith is chosen, yet again, by the people of the area. They are the ones that decide what to believe and how to believe it. Then the people come who, more by convenience than be choice, partake in these certain beliefs. It is almost considered necessary for people to believe the same ideas who are in the same community in order for more peaceful living. For example, a person would not find a Christian practicing their faith in India’s predominantly Hindu villages. If a person was born in India he/she would more than likely practice the Hindu religion just as if a person that was born in South China’s Taoist areas would practice Taoism. This is not a personal choice. It is a community effort in the way that the community forces their ways upon an individual. In order for these beliefs to occur, though, people must engage in conversation with one another to be knowledgeable about the correct belief of their particular religion.
The belief in one God, monotheism is a common practice in today’s world for many religions but when God made his covenant with Abraham, monotheism was practically new and an unpracticed view in the world. Muslims, Christians, and Jews are three religions that have this common belief in monotheism. But while these three religions are monotheistic and have the same belief, each of these religions have essentially different views and ideas on what monotheism is and what it means to their religion.