Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are considered the world's oldest monotheistic religions practiced today. Geographically speaking, all of these religions originated in what is today called the Arab world. Abraham, whose story is found in Genesis 11:27-25:10 in the Bible, can be considered the founding father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and together they are sometimes called the Abrahamic religions. According to Molloy M. (2013), history notes the timeline of Abraham around 1800 BCE, which can be considered the starting point of all these religions. According to McFarland, IA (2011), “as the recipient of the covenant of circumcision, Abraham is considered by Jews to be the first Jew; his rejection of idolatry in favor of worshiping the one God means that he is sometimes described as Islam's first Muslim (although formally most Muslims would grant Adam this honor). Although Abraham has never been generally referred to as the first Christian, his importance to Paul's theology gave him a central role in the doctrine of justification. In the New Testament of the Bible, in Galatians 3 and Romans 4, Saint Paul writes about Gen. 15:6 ("and Abraham believed in the Lord, and the Lord counted it as righteousness to him") to affirm that Abraham is the prototype of those who are justified by faith, not only by the works of the law, and made of him the ancestor of the Gentile Christians. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get Original Essay As we can see, all three religions believe in the common root as well as their starting point dating back a thousand years, but there are points in history that have importance for each religion. For Judaism, this historic event was the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. This led to the end of the ceremonial part of the temple-based religion and caused the widespread dispersal of Jews to lands far from Israel. On the timeline, the founder of Christianity, Jesus was born around 4 BCE and lived for 33 years. He was crucified around 29 CE, resurrected from the dead and ascended to heaven forty days later. According to Molloy M. (2013), the first Jerusalem group was almost entirely Jewish. Its members celebrated Jewish holy days, prayed in the Jerusalem temple, and conducted their services in Aramaic. It was weakened by the destruction of the second temple and disappeared over the next 100 years. Meanwhile, the non-Jewish branch of Christianity, led by Paul and others, began to spread. Thus the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem played an important role in the separation of Judaism and Christianity. The important milestone in the history of Islam is the birth of Muhammad around 570 BCE. He was born in what is now known as Saudi Arabia. At the age of 40, during a religious retreat in a cave on Mount Hira, he received his first revelation, as recorded in the Quran. He shared it with his closest friends and family, especially his wife Khadijah, his cousin Ali and his friend Abu Bakr. These were the first Muslims, that is, people who submit to God (Allah). Although Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all believe in the God of Abraham, there are similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity in their understanding of the nature of God. As stated by D. Jary and J. Jary (Eds.), Collins Dictionary of Sociology (4th ed.), "According to Max Weber, the Jews conceived the jealous God, Yahweh – 'Thou shalt have no other gods than me” –and the notion of “chosen people”. These designs were a response to the vulnerability of the tribes of Israel to foreign domination, problems explained by the prophets as a supreme God punishing his people for worshiping false gods. As mentioned in our textbook, Moses lived in a time when people believed in many gods and monotheism was not a popular belief among the Israelites. The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten unsuccessfully attempted to initiate monotheism by worshiping the sun god Aten, which influenced the development of monotheism among the Israelites. The Hebrew Bible generally calls the deity by one of two Hebrew names: Elohim (usually translated as the English word "God") and YHWH, which is replaced by the word Adonai (usually translated as "Lord"). Judaism puts pressure on the idea of ​​monotheism and rejects any idea of ​​a trinity, duality or any other form of God. He also denounces idol worship in all its forms. Pronouncing the names of God is considered blasphemy, and for followers of Orthodox Judaism, pronouncing any of the above names of God outside of prayer or Torah reading is also blasphemy. Interestingly, this prohibition crept into the practice of writing God's name in English. Many Jews will choose to write "G-d" instead of "God" to avoid profanity. Regarding the relationship with Christianity and Islam, Jews do not believe in prophets other than the Jewish prophets, including Jesus or Muhammad. They do not accept Jesus as the Messiah and do not believe in the teachings of Islam. They see the Quran as a corruption of the message given in their own scriptures. In relation to Judaism, Christians believe in the Holy Trinity of God. According to Flinn, FK (2016), “The Holy Trinity is one of the most fundamental, yet complex, beliefs of Christianity. It states that God is and always has been three distinct persons – the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit – who share a single divine essence or substance. As noted in our textbook, Jesus was born a Jew and believed and trusted in God the same way the Jews did. He accepted the fearful authority of the Law and the Prophets (described in the Torah of the Jewish Scriptures). But while Jesus thought of God as the creator and sustainer of the universe, he also thought of God in a very personal way, like his father. It is Jesus' extremely special relationship with God that is at the heart of Christianity. According to AP Iannone, in the Dictionary of World Philosophy, “The divine attributes of the Judeo-Christian God notably imply omnipotence, that is, God is all-powerful; omniscience, that is to say that God knows everything; Omni-benevolence and absolute justice, that is, God is absolutely benevolent and just; omnipresence, that is to say that God is everywhere; personality, that is, God is perfect; the infinite, that is to say, God is infinite; eternity, that is, God is eternal; and oneness, that is, God is the only God.” Christians believe in all of this, but as they also believe in the Holy Trinity, they believe in Jesus as mediator between humans and this omnipotent God. Christians believe in the New Testament as the new covenant with God in which, through Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross, the debt of original sin was paid. And by accepting Jesus as savior, salvation and eternal life can be obtained. Christians believe in the Ten Commandments and therefore also understand the concept of blasphemy. However, it is not as strictly enforced as among the Jews. Christians do not believe in idol worship but generally perform prayers in front ofimages of Jesus or the cross in his memory. Although Christianity originated from Judaism, Christians do not accept Jewish laws. Ritual Judaism does not go hand in hand with the heart of Christianity which is “love your neighbor as yourself.” Christianity has also had differences with Islam. Christians do not accept Muhammad as a prophet and the Crusades in medieval times were an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the Islamic conquest of the Arab world and the holy sites, particularly Jerusalem. According to Karesh, SE and Hurvitz, MM (2016) “Of all the world's religions, Islam is theologically closest to Judaism, and the two share common ancestry as well as many common practices. Both religions espouse radical monotheism, a belief in a single God who is not to be represented by any image. Both severely denounced idolatry, imposed circumcision on men and imposed strict dietary laws, prohibiting the consumption of pork. According to the book of Genesis, Abraham had two sons, Ishmael with his servant Hagar and Isaac with his wife Sarah. Ishmael became the ancestor of the Arabs, including Muhammad, and Isaac became the ancestor of the Jews. The two religions can therefore be considered cousins. The God of Islam, Allah, is the same as the God of the Jewish scriptures, and Islam's sacred scripture, the Quran, contains many of the same stories with slight variations. Muslims, however, view the Quran as a purification of human errors contained in the Jewish scriptures and the New Testament. Allah is said to have ninety-nine names, including “the Merciful,” “the Just,” and “the Compassionate.” These demonstrate that Allah is not just a force but has the characteristics of a personal being. These attributes are called sifat. Islam does not allow any images or idols of Allah or Muhammad and there are severe penalties for blasphemy. According to Campo, JE (2016), “Muslims believe that their religion is linked to that of Jews and Christians through God's holy books.” revealed human history to his prophets. As Muslims met new people, they also used this designation for the Zoroastrians of Iran, Sabians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Under Sharia law, the People of the Book enjoyed a special legal status under Muslim rule. As people enjoy protection (ahl al-dhimma, or dhimmis), they are allowed to have their own religious authorities and follow their own religious laws, provided they pay the jizya tax, remain faithful to the State and have not attempted to do so. convert Muslims or otherwise undermine the state religion – Islam.” In modern Islam, this concept has contributed to interfaith dialogues and greater cultural and religious pluralism. Especially after the Renaissance and the Protestant movement, Christianity became the religion of love and acceptance. In the United States, conservative Christians demonstrate solidarity with Jews and devotion to Israel. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay To conclude the essay, due to the rise of terrorism Over the past decade, in addition to the conflict over the State of Israel, there has been a tense situation between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Hopefully in the years to come, young followers of all these religions will come to understand the fundamental teachings and help create peace in the world. References Campo, JE (2016). People of the book. In JE Campo, Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of=8802