Islam, Judaism & Christianity
Origins of Each Faith

Date and Place founded:
 Judaism – approximately 1300
B.C. in Palestine
 Some say the date is unknown
 Christianity – approximately 33
A.D. in Palestine
 Islam – 622 A.D. in Saudi Arabia
2
Founders and Early Leaders

Founders and Early Leaders

Judaism – Abraham and Moses

Christianity – Jesus

Islam - Muhammad
3
Brief History on Origins

Judaism- The Hebrew leader Abraham
founded Judaism around 2000 B.C. Judaism
is the oldest of the monotheistic faiths
(religions with one God).

Christianity - Founded by Jesus Christ, who
was crucified around A.D. 30 in Jerusalem. It
was after his death when his followers came
to believe in him as the Christ, the Messiah.

Islam - Founded in Arabia by Muhammad
between A.D. 610 and A.D. 632
Spread of Each Faith

Early Expansion

Judaism – Little expansion mostly
confined to Israel

Christianity – by the end of the 4th
century Christianity spread across the
entire Roman Empire

Islam – Within 12 years, entire Arabian
peninsula; after 100 years stretched from
Spain to Southeast Asia
5
Terms for Followers and Clergy

Followers Called:




Judaism – Jews
Christianity – Christians
Islam – Muslims
Clergy Called:



Judaism – rabbis
Christianity – bishop, pastor, ministers,
priest
Islam - imams
6
Where and When They Worship

House of Worship

Judaism – synagogue or temple
Christianity – church, cathedral, chapel
Islam – mosque

Day of Worship


o
o
o
Judaism – Saturday
Christianity – Sunday
Islam - Friday
7
Languages of Faiths

Original Language




Judaism – Hebrew
Christianity – Aramaic and Greek, then Latin
Islam – Arabic
Names of God



Judaism – Yahweh and Elohim
Christianity – God, the Trinity
Islam - Allah
8
Sacred Texts of Each Faith

Sacred Texts



Judaism – Hebrew Bible
Christianity – Old Testament
and New Testament
Islam – Qur’an (Koran)
9
Monotheistic Beliefs

Ultimate Reality (Type of Theism)

Judaism – One God

Christianity – Trinity (God the
father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit)

Islam – One God
10
Divine Revelation
How do we know about God?

Judaism – through prophets recorded in the
Hebrew Bible

Christianity – through prophets and Jesus as
recorded in the Old and New Testament

Islam – through God’s final prophet
Muhammad recorded in the Qur’an
11
Identity of Jesus

Judaism – False prophet

Christianity – Son of God, the
Messiah, Savior

Islam – prophet of God
12
Death of Jesus

Judaism – death by Crucifixion

Christianity – death by Crucifixion

Islam – Did not die, but ascended
into heaven (a disciple took his
place)
13
Resurrection of Jesus

Judaism – Denied

Christianity – Affirmed

Islam – Denied; since he did not
die
14
Means of Salvation

Judaism – Belief in one God; good
deeds

Christianity – correct belief, good
deeds; by faith accept Christ as
Savior (Protestants)

Islam – Belief in one God; good
deeds and follow Five Pillars of
Faith
15
Afterlife






Judaism – eternal heaven, or no
afterlife
Christianity – eternal heaven
Islam – eternal paradise (heaven)
Judaism - eternal hell, or no afterlife
Christianity – eternal hell
Islam – eternal hell
16
Symbols



Judaism – Star of David
Christianity – cross
Islam – crescent with name of Allah in
Arabic
17
View of Fellow Abrahamic Religions

Judaism – “Islam and Christianity are false
interpretations and extensions of Judaism.”

Christianity – “Judaism is a true religion, but
with incomplete revelation. Islam is a false
religion.”

Islam – “Jews and Christians are respected
as fellow believers, but with wrong beliefs and
only partial revelation.”
18
Where They Can Be Found

Major Locations TODAY
 Judaism – Europe, Israel, North America
 Christianity – Europe, North and South
America
 Islam – Africa, Middle East, and
Southeast Asia
19
Current Worldwide Followers TODAY

Judaism – 14 million (ranks 12th)
Christianity – 2 billion (ranks 1st)
Islam – 1.3 billion (ranks 2nd)

In the USA





Judaism – 5.6 million
Christianity – 159 million
Islam – 1.1 million
20
Judaism

JUDAISM is a religion of just one
people: the Jews.

JUDAISM was the first to teach belief
in only one God.

Two other important religions
developed from Judaism: Christianity
and Islam.
Judaism Briefly

Judaism is around 3500 years old and is
the oldest of the world's four great
monotheistic religions (religions with only
one God). It's also the smallest, with only
about 12 million followers around the world.

Its holy city is Jerusalem.

The Jewish calendar is based on 29 or 30
days therefore they have 12.13 months.
Judaism beliefs

Jews believe that there is a single God who
not only created the universe, but with
whom every Jew can have an individual and
personal relationship.

They await the Messiah, who will be an
earthly king. They believe in heaven, but
that God determines where they go after life
on earth.

Give a tithe (10%). Ten Commandments is
the basic code of law.
Judaism

Jews think that God will send a
Messiah (a deliverer) to unite them
and lead them in His way.

Christians believe that Jesus was the
Messiah. The Jewish people do not
agree; they anticipate His arrival in the
future.

Judaism teaches that death is not the
end and that there is a world to come.
Jewish Philosophy










God is one and unique
God is the creator
God is transcendent
God is immanent.
God is lawgiver
God is personal
We have the obligation to worship
The Torah is God's law
God is judge
The Messiah will come.
Judaism Holy Book

The most holy Jewish book is the Torah
(the first five books of the Christian Bible).
Others include Judaism's oral tradition, the
written form of which is known as the
Talmud.

The Torah (scroll of teachings) contains the
five books revealed to Moses by God on
Mount Sinai.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers &
Deuteronomy

Hebrew is read right to left.
Judaism

The "Torah," the first five books of the
Hebrew Bible, is the most important
Jewish scripture.

It contains the basic laws of Judaism.

Another important book is the
"Talmud," serving primarily as a guide
to the civil and religious laws of
Judaism.
Judaism Place of Worship

Jews worship in
Synagogues or
temples. Men and
women usually sit
separately.

Worship is led by a
Rabbi.

Friday evening is
time for worship.
Stamford Hill, London
Judaism

The Jewish house of worship is called a
synagogue.

Rabbis (spiritual leaders) conduct services, act
as interpreters of Jewish laws, and deliver
sermons.

Today there are over 18 million followers of
Judaism scattered throughout the world.

A large number of those people live in the Jewish
nation of Israel. Over six million live in the United
States.
Christianity briefly

Christianity is the world's biggest
religion, with about 2.2 billion followers
worldwide.

It is based on the teachings of Jesus
Christ who lived in the Holy Land
2,000 years ago.
Christianity

The early Hebrews who eventually
developed into the Jewish religion
became the foundation of Christianity.

Jesus, or the Messiah, was a Jewish
boy who disagreed with some of the
Jewish principles of his day began to
profess a new way of thinking.

This eventually led to the beginning of
the Christian religion.
Christianity

Christianity started about 2000
years ago about the same time of
Jesus.

The central point of Christian belief
is that God, the Father, entered into
human history as the Son, Jesus of
Nazereth, and arose as the Holy
Spirit.
Christian Philosophy


God is the Creator of the universe.
There is one God, Who is
Three PersonsFather, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus is both fully man and fully
God. He was born of the Virgin Mary
Crucified, resurrected from the
dead, and ascended to the Father.
Christianity Beliefs






Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the
Son of God
God sent his Son to earth to save humanity
from the consequences of its sins
Jesus rose from the dead on the third day
after his Crucifixion (the Resurrection)
Christians believe that Jesus was the
Messiah promised in the Old Testament
Christians believe that there is only one God,
but that this one God consists of 3 "persons"
Christians believe that God made the world.
Christianity Beliefs continued
Christians
believe that they can have a
personal relationship with God, and that
they are saved by faith, not works. Grace is
the law code.
They believe in actual heaven and hell.
They believe that the Bible is the inspired
word of God.
Their giving is a tithe or offerings.
Christian Philosophy

Sin and Evil are realities in our
existence.

The Bible is the Holy Book that records
God's revelation.

All believers are promised life
everlasting.

The leader of Christianity was Jesus,
and the followers was his 12 disciples.
Christians Holy Book

The Bible is the Christian holy book. It
is divided into the Old and New
Testaments. Parts of the writing
contained in the Old Testament are
also sacred to Jewish and Muslim
people.
Christian Place of Worship

The Christian place of
worship is called a Church,
which are built in the shape
of a cross with the altar
facing east towards the
rising sun. Services are led
by a priest, pastor or
reverend.

Day of worship is normally
Sunday but most recently
Saturday has been added.
Westminster Abbey London
Islam Briefly

Islam is the second most popular religion in
the world with over a thousand million
followers. Islam began in Arabia and was
revealed to humanity by the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Those who follow Islam are called Muslims.
Muslims believe that there is only one God,
called Allah, who speaks Arabic.

The Muslim calendar has 354 days and is
based on the 12 crescent moon cycles.
Islam

ISLAM is the name given to the religion
preached by the prophet Muhammad in
the 600s A. D.

The Islamic religion started in the area
known as Palestine in the year 600AD.

It has about 850 million followers, most
of them in the region north and east of
the Mediterranean Sea.
Islam

The holy book of Islam is the
"Koran." Muslims believe its
words to be those of Allah
himself, spoken to Muhammad
by an angel.

Allah, is the Islamic God.

People who believe these
ideas are called Muslims.
Islamic Philosophy

Muslims learn that life on earth is a
period of testing and preparation for the
life to come.

Angels record good and bad deeds.

People should behave themselves and
help others, trusting in Allah's justice and
mercy for their reward.
Islam Holy Book




The Muslim scripture is the Holy Qur'an. It is
'the word of God'. Muslim beliefs and
practices are rooted in the Qur'an.
Muslims treat the Qur'an with great respect
because they believe that the Qur'an is from
Allah, and every word and every letter is
sacred.
Muslims regard the Qur'an as the unaltered
word of God.
It is read from right to left and written in
Arabic, the language of heaven.
Islam Place of Worship

The Muslim building for communal
worship is called a Mosque. The
word comes from the Arabic for
"place of prostration".

Worshippers are called to prayer 5
times a day from minarets –
towers on the mosque corners.
Jamia Mosque in Derby England

They contain only designs, no
people or animals or furniture.

Normal day of worship is Friday.
Islam

Muslims pray five times daily in their
mosques (churches).

While praying, they face the holy city of
Mecca (in Saudi-Arabia) and sometimes
kneel with faces to the ground.

All Muslims are required to make a
pilgrimage (trip to a sacred place) to
Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
Five Pillars Belief system/law code

Shahadah: declaration of faith
"I bear witness that there is no god, but God; I bear witness
that Muhammad is the prophet of God." By reciting this, one
enters Islamic faith.

Salah: prayer
Muslims are required to pray five times a day, washing
themselves before prayer and facing in the direction of Mecca
while praying.

Zakat: giving a fixed proportion to charity
Muslims are required to give away a percentage of their
earnings to those less fortunate, regardless of their religion.

Saum: fasting during the month of Ramadan
Muslims fast for one lunar month each year, a period called
Ramadan. During this time, Muslims reflect on their behaviour
and strive to purify their thoughts.

Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca
If it is financially possible, Muslims are required to travel to
Mecca once in their lifetime.
Main Festivals Continued

Hijja:
The month of
pilgrimage during
which all Muslims,
at least once in
their life, should
try to make the
pilgrimage to
Mecca and
worship at the
Kaaba