Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are considered the world's oldest monotheistic religions practiced today. Geographically speaking, all of these religions originated in what is now called the Arab world. Abraham, whose story is found in Gen. 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 records the chronology of Abraham around 1800 BC, 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 the Jews to be the first Jew; his repudiation of idolatry for the worship of the one God means that he is sometimes described as the first Muslim in Islam (although formally most Muslims accorded this honor to Adam). Although Abraham was never popularly designated 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, St. Paul writes about Gen. 15:6 ("and Abraham believed the Lord; and the Lord counted it to him as righteousness") to argue that Abraham is the prototype of who he is justified by faith, not just by works of the law, and makes him the progenitor of Gentile Christians. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay As we can see, all three religions believe in the common root and their starting point dating back a thousand years, but there are specific points of history that have importance for each religion. For Judaism that historical event was the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. This brought about the end of the temple-based ceremonial part of the religion and caused the widespread dispersion of Jews to lands far from Israel. In chronology, the founder of Christianity, Jesus was born around 4 BC and lived for 33 years. He was crucified around 29 AD, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven forty days later. According to Molloy M. (2013), the first Jerusalem group was almost entirely Jewish. Its members observed Jewish holidays, prayed in the temple in Jerusalem, and performed 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. Therefore the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem played an important role in the separation between Judaism and Christianity. The important milestone in the history of Islam is the birth of Muhammad around 570 BC. He was born in what is now called Saudi Arabia. When he was 40 years old, 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 submitted 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 have a conception of the jealous God, Yahweh – 'Thou shalt have no other gods but me' – and the notion of 'chosen people'. These conceptions were a response to the vulnerability of the tribes of Israel to foreign domination, problems explained by the prophets asa supreme God who punishes 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 the right popular belief among the Israelites. The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten unsuccessfully attempted to initiate monotheism by worshiping the sun god Aton which influenced the development of monotheism in the Israelites. The Hebrew Bible usually calls the deity by one of two Hebrew names: Elohim (usually translated as the English word "God") and YHWH, which is replaced with the word Adonai (usually translated as "Lord"). Judaism puts pressure on the idea of ​​monotheism and rejects all ideas of trinity, duality or any other form of God. It also denounces the worship of idols in any form. It is considered blasphemy to speak the names of God, and for followers of Orthodox Judaism, speaking any of the above-mentioned names of God outside of prayer or reading the Torah is also blasphemy. Interestingly, this prohibition has crept into the practice of writing God's name in English. Many Jews will choose to write “Do” instead of “God” to avoid blasphemy. As for 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 Messiah and do not believe in the teachings of Islam. They see the Quran as the corruption of the message given in their own scriptures. Compared to Judaism, Christians believe in the Holy Trinity of God. According to Flinn, F.K. (2016), "The Holy Trinity is one of the most fundamental, yet complex, beliefs of Christianity." It states that God is and has always been three distinct persons – Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit – who share a single divine essence or substance. As stated 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 Hebrew 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 central to Christianity. According to AP Iannone, in the Dictionary of World Philosophy, «The divine attributes of the Judeo-Christian God involve, in particular, omnipotence, that is, God is omnipotent; omniscience, that is, God is omniscient; Omni benevolence and absolute justice, that is, God is absolutely benevolent and just; omnipresence, that is, God is everywhere; personality, that is, God is perfect; infinite, that is, God is infinite; eternity, that is, God is eternal; and uniqueness, that is, God is the only God'. Christians believe in all of this, but because they also believe in the Holy Trinity, they believe in Jesus as the mediator between human beings and this almighty God. Christians believe in the New Testament as the new covenant with God in which the debt of original sin was paid through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. And by accepting Jesus as savior, salvation and eternal life can be achieved. Christians believe in the Ten Commandments therefore also understand the concept of blasphemy. However, it is not as strictly enforced as for Jews. Christians do not believe in the worship of idols but usually pray in front of images of Jesus or the cross in memory of Him. Although Christianity originates from Judaism, Christians do not accept Jewish laws. Ritualistic Judaism does not go hand in hand with the heart of Christianity which is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Christianity also had differences with Islam. Christians do not accept Muhammad as a prophet, and the Crusades in the Middle Ages were a failed attempt to reverse the Islamic conquest of the Arab world and the holy sites, especiallyJerusalem. According to Karesh, SE and Hurvitz, MM (2016)', 'of all the world's religions, Islam is the closest theologically to Judaism, and the two share a common ancestry and also many common practices. Both faiths espouse radical monotheism, the belief in a God who must not be represented in any image. Both severely denounce idolatry, impose circumcision for males and have strict dietary laws, which prohibit 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 God as the Jewish scriptures, and Islam's holy scripture, the Quran, contains many of the same stories with slight variations. Muslims, however, see the Quran as a cleansing of human errors in the Jewish scriptures and the New Testament. Allah is said to have ninety-nine names, among which are "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 images or idols of Allah or Muhammad and there are severe punishments for blasphemy. According to Campo, J.E. (2016), “Muslims believe that their religion is related to that of Jews and Christians through God's holy books.” revealed in human history to his prophets. When Muslims met new people, they also used this designation for the Zoroastrians of Iran, Sabians, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. In terms of sharia, the People of the Book enjoyed a special legal status under Muslim rule. Since people have been granted protection (ahl al-dhimma, or dhimmis), they are allowed to have their own religious authorities and follow their own religious laws, as long as they pay the jizya tax, remain loyal to the state, and do not attempt to convert Muslims or otherwise weaken the religion of the State: Islam." In modern Islam, this concept has aided in interreligious dialogues and greater cultural and religious pluralism. Especially after the Renaissance and the Protestant movement, Christianity has been the religion of Love and acceptance. In the United States, conservative Christians show solidarity with Jews and their devotion to Israel. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay To conclude the essay, due to the increase in terrorism in the last decade, in addition to the conflict regarding the State of Israel, a situation of tension has arisen between Jews, Christians and Muslims. It is hoped that, in the years to come, young devotees of all these religions will come to understand the fundamental teachings and help create world peace. References Campo, J.E. (2016). Book people. In J. E. Campo, Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Islam (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Facts on file. Retrieved from https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/fofislam/people_of_the_book/0?institutionId=8802Flinn, F. K. (2016). Trinity in Catholicism. In F. K. Flinn, Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Catholicism (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Facts on file. Retrieved from https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/fofc/trinity_in_catholicism/0?institutionId=8802God. (2001). In AP Iannone, Dictionary of the philosophy of the world. London, UK: Routledge. Extracted from=8802