Islam, Judaism
&
Christianity
Comparative Religions
Religion
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Origins
Canaan
~2000 BCE
Palestine
~30 CE
Founders
Moses
Jesus Christ
Saudi
Arabia
622 CE
Mohammad
Adherents
Jews
Christians
Muslims
Population
14 million
2.1 billion
1.5 billion
Israel, Euro, US
Euro, Americas,
Mid East, SE
Comparative Religions
Religion
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Diety
God
Yahweh,
Elohim
God
God
Allah
Holy Book
“People of
the book”
Torah
(Old Test.)
Bible
(Old and New
Test.)
Qur’an
(Koran)
Religious
Law
Halakhah
Canon Law
Sharia
Place of
Worship
Synagogue
Church
Chapel
Cathedral
Mosque
Origins and History
of
Each Faith
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
5
Founders and Early Leaders
• Founders and Early Leaders
– Judaism – Abraham and Moses
– Christianity – Jesus
– Islam - Muhammad
6
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
– After his death 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
8
Terms for Followers and Clergy
• Followers Called:
– Judaism Jews
– Christianity  Christians
– Islam  Muslims
• Clergy Called:
– Judaism  rabbis
– Christianity  bishop, pastor, ministers, priest
– Islam  imams
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Judaism Timeline
•
1800 BCE  Hebrews flee Canaan,
migrate to Egypt (enslaved).
– Lead by Moses to Sinai Peninsula.
Covenant w/God.
– 1 God, 10 Commandments, Chosen
People
•
1025 BCE form kingdom of Israel in
Fertile Crescent.
– Kings David & Solomon help reach
greatest glory
•
500 BCE Persians take over, Return to
Israel & rebuild temple in Jerusalem.
•
70 CE  Romans expel Jews from
Israel/Palestine – diaspora…
– Won’t return until late 1800s
Christianity
•
Jesus born in Roman ruled Palestine
(Bethlehem)
– Carpenter’s apprentice
– Studied w/ rabbis - Preacher 30 yrs old
•
Some believed he was the messiah – Savior
from foreign rule, restore kingdom
•
Roman’s, scared of popularity & refusal to
accept emperor as a god, crucified him in 33
CE.
•
Followers, Christians, spread word
– Everyone equal, salvation & eternal life
– Persecuted by Romans, became martyrs
– 313 CE, Emperor Constantine converts
– 395 CE, official religion Roman Empire
Islam Timeline
• 610 CE Angel Gabriel tells
Mohammed he is to be the
messenger of God/Allah
– Merchant in Mecca
• 622  flee to Medina, build 1st
mosque
– Hejira – Yr 1 of Muslim Calendar
– Prophet
• Expansion of Islam
– Uses war & political maneuvering
to spread ideas
– 632 control Peninsula
– 732 Atlantic to Indus
How They Worship
Where and When They Worship
• House of Worship
– Judaism: synagogue or temple
– Christianity: church, cathedral, chapel
– Islam: mosque
 Day of Worship
o Judaism: Saturday
o Christianity: Sunday
o Islam: Friday
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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
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Holy/Religious Texts
Sacred Texts of Each Faith
• Sacred Texts
–Judaism: Hebrew Bible, Torah,
Talmud
–Christianity: Old Testament and
New Testament
–Islam: Qur’an (Koran)
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Beliefs
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
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Divine Revelation---God’s Words
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
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Identity of Jesus
–Judaism: False prophet
–Christianity: Son of God, the Messiah,
Savior
–Islam: prophet of God
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Death of Jesus
– Judaism: death by Crucifixion
– Christianity: death by Crucifixion
– Islam: Did not die, but ascended into
heaven (a disciple took his place)
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Resurrection of Jesus
–Judaism: Denied
–Christianity: Affirmed
–Islam: Denied; since he did not die
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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
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Afterlife
–Judaism: eternal heaven/
eternal hell
–Christianity: eternal heaven/
eternal hell
–Islam: eternal paradise
(heaven)/ eternal hell
25
Symbols
of
Faiths
Symbols
– Judaism: Star of David
– Christianity: cross
– Islam: crescent with name of Allah in Arabic
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Views of Fellow
Abrahamic
Religions
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.”
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Followers
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
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PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
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
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Judaism In More Depth
Judaism
• religion of just one people: the Jews.
• 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 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.
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
• Another important book is the "Talmud," serving
primarily as a guide to the civil and religious laws of
Judaism.
• Hebrew is read right to left.
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
Christianity In More Depth
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.
• 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.
Sin and Evil are realities in our existence.
They believe that the Bible is the inspired word
of God.
The leader of Christianity was Jesus, and the
followers was his 12 disciples.
Their giving is a tithe or offerings.
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 In More Depth
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
– 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
• 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.
• They contain only designs, no people or
animals or furniture.
• Normal day of worship is Friday.
Jamia Mosque in Derby England
Islam
• 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 behavior 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
• 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