Three Major Monotheistic Religions

Midterm Essay3

The three Major monotheistic religions are Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. They are by far the greater three represented religions throughout the world. They have all have similar beginnings that support the belief and that there is one God. Each religion also has a origin in common that is also a major contributor to a beginning to the differences. Each of the three religions all have Ironically a lot of the similarities contribute to their differences. These differences have continued to divide the religions and even cause divides among the religions themselves. Each have a written form of guidance for worship that teaches and shapes its followers. For all the similarities they have fundamental differences that are also

shared from the birth and acceptance or rejection of the Jesus Christ. Finally they all have a set of rules or guidelines that are commanded for entry into heaven which have been sent down via human prophets and aided by angels.
One of the common beliefs in the three religions is the belief in one God.

Christians, Jews and Muslims believe that there is only divine God. They also believe that God is the creator of the universe The three religions believe in the existence of other supreme beings. They all believe that angels and demons exist. In all cases, the angels represent good tidings, while the demons are messengers or representatives of evil. All the religions believe in the instructions of the prophets. They all agree that the prophets are messengers of God, and that God uses them to reveal His will to humanity. All the religions believe that God gave Moses the law. The three religions believe in life after death, where people will be punished or rewarded according to their life on earth. They believe that there is heaven, where the doers of good deeds and followers of religion will spend eternity. They view hell as a place of eternal suffering and condemnation. The three religions believe that signs shall accompany the end times. The philosophies and traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam most prominently begin with the founder of the Hebrews, known as Abraham ca 1800 B.C.E. Historically, these teachings were also subscribed by nomadic tribes, which settled in present day Palestine, near Mt. Sinai. The people of these tribes did not label themselves as Hebrews, and referred to God as the God of Abraham. This came about as God promised Abraham a son, and in the course of the events

doubting that is old wife could give him a son, he had Ishmael with his maid, Hagar, and then later God's prophecy would be fulfilled with the birth of Isaac, by his wife Sarah. Due to their belief system, the tribe proliferated the idea that Isaac and his descendants were chosen by God to carry forward Abraham's holy lineage. Isaac was the forefather of what was to become the 12 tribes of Israel, while Ishmael and his descendents were to constitute a different Semitic tribe and follow Arabic traditions. The term Judaism came about after the establishment of the state of Israel when the tribes divided into two, the northern and Judas kingdoms, ca 922-587 B.C.E. The customs and belief systems of these nomadic tribes to be later identified as Arab tribes were very similar to the Hebrews'; however, the Arab tribe in some subtle ways. They remained nomadic, whereas the Hebrews tended to follow the teachings of the Holy Scriptures to the achievement of The Promised Land. As for the Arab nomadic tribes because of this development, a centralized governing agent which organized the religion did not develop as it did to the Hebrews. In approximately 600 C.E., a somewhat modified revival of the beliefs and traditions of Abraham occurred, due to the persuasions of Mohammed. He disagreed with the commonly held belief that Isaac and his descendents were the chosen ones. He taught instead that Ishmael was the chosen one, and therefore, Ishamael's descendants, the Arabs, carried forth Abraham's holy lineage. Mohammed redefined the Arabic religious tradition on this point into the tradition of Islam. This is because they all claim Abraham as an important pillar of their faith. The Jews and the Christians trace their origins to Abraham and Sarah, while the Muslims trace their origins to Abraham and Hagar. The three religions have differing beliefs and traditions. All the religions have divisions within them. There are many divisions within Christianity. The Islam is mostly divided into the Sunni and the Shiite, although there are other smaller divisions. Some of the groups within Judaism include the Hasidic and the conservative Jews. The three religions believe in the existence of other supreme beings. They all believe that angels and demons exist. In all cases, the angels represent good tidings, while the demons are messengers or representatives of evil. All the religions believe in the instructions of the prophets. They all agree that the prophets are messengers of God, and that God uses them to reveal His will to humanity.

All the religions believe that God gave Moses the law. The three religions are different in many ways. The concept of one God in the Christian faith is not the same in the other religions. The Christians believe that there is one God in three distinct persons, which are the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The Muslims, on the other hand, believe in one God whose name is Allah. The Jews believe in one God, Yahweh. They have different views concerning salvation. The Muslims believe that people are saved through their good works and the five pillars of faith. The Jews believe that one is saved by their belief in God and by doing good deeds. The Christians predominantly believe that salvation only happens by believing in Jesus Christ. The three religions have different beliefs concerning Jesus. To the Christians, Jesus is the son of God, who was born of a virgin, and will come again on the final day. The Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, who ascended into heaven. They also believe that He will come for a second time. The Jews view Jesus as a normal Jew, who was born normally. They believe that he was

a false prophet who died by crucifixion. The Jews and Muslims do not believe that Jesus from the perspectives of both Judaism and Islam, such extreme beliefs about Jesus are seen as being utterly inconsistent with the sort of genuine, radical, and uncompromising monotheism upon which both Judaism and Islam absolutely insist, as non-negotiable core articles of faith. For Jews and Muslims alike, God is One, and not in any sense Three; for them, Christianity’s belief in the Trinity smacks of an unacceptable “tri-theism.” For their part, Muslims do regard Jesus as a very great prophet indeed, but as nothing more elevated or holy than that — a mere mortal, nothing more. Jews take an even dimmer view of the matter, seeing Jesus as at best a failed wannabe messiah, or at worst as a false prophet. In either case, for both Judaism and Islam alike, Jesus is no savior, is not divine, was never resurrected, and is not God incarnate (or the literal Son of God) in any sense whatsoever. The Quran, Islam's holy book, discusses Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus, and other biblical figures; in doing so, the Islamic scripture itself makes it abundantly clear that the God of Muhammad, and the God of Jesus, and the God of Israel are all the selfsame God. Since the Muslim God is also the Judeo-Christian God, Allah is in fact identical with — and not different from — the Hebrew God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Both the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) and the Talmud (rabbinic literature) are filled with accounts involving the angelic activity of various sorts, including that of the angel Gabriel, the angel Michael, and others unnamed. Likewise, the Quran speaks of angels as God’s created messengers and functionaries, including Mikail (Michael), Israfil (Raphael), and many others; indeed, the very revelation of the Quran to Muhammad was itself facilitated by Jibril (Gabriel), the greatest member of the angelic hierarchy. Yet another similarity shared between Judaism and Islam is that both faiths sternly warn against regarding angels as objects of worship per se, or as themselves being on par with God; to do so would be to commit the sin of idolatry. The religious worldviews of Judaism and Islam each make room for nonhuman heavenly Denizens generally referred to as “angels,” supernatural beings created by God to serve as his messengers (or to otherwise perform divinely directed deeds). While similar in many ways, from beginnings, to guidance in written form, the three major religions branch out from a root belief of one god to rejection of his son. The existence of angels and demons are common among all three they all believe angels assist, while demons test faith. The angels helped in providing the guidelines or tenets of acceptance to a heavenly afterlife. While similar the three major religions a uniquely different. Goldschmidt, Author, and Lawrence Davidson. "The First Muslim Revolution." A Concise History of the Middle East. 10th ed. Boulder: West view, 2013. 24-44. Print.