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Leal

Question 1: Write an essay which explores what Judaism, Christianity and Islam have in common and how they differ.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are amongst the most followed religions in the world. Islam has about “1.6 billion Muslims living in the world today… second only to Christianity in numbers of adherents” (Brood, 471). These three religions are considered “Abrahamic religions” because they all descend from the prophet Abraham. Up until that point in history, we can consider that they were all one and the same. However, now a day they are very different from one another. Still, they share many similarities in their doctrines and ideals. In this essay, I will further discuss a few things that they have in common and how they differ from one another.

First of all, one of the most fundamental common things that these three religions have is the fact that they believe in one single God – they are monotheist religions. In the case of Islam, they believe in Allah. Jews, also believe only in one God, who is the creator of everything that exists. And even though Christians believe in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – they believe that they share one single divine nature, and therefore believe only in one God.

Another thing that is similar amongst all three religions is the belief that God has sent prophets to send messages to humanity. Within the line of prophets, these three religions share important figures such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and even Jesus. However, Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah – or “anointed one” – sent by God who came “to save the Jewish people from [the] oppression” of sin (Brood, 414). Ironically, not all Jews believed in Jesus and those who did not, are still waiting for the Messiah to come and save them. Similarly, Muslims believe that Muhammad was the final prophet who received “the message of the Qur’an from God” (Brood, 471).

Furthermore, what is a religion without written sacred texts? This is another thing that Christianity, Islam and Judaism share: although they have different texts, they all have what they believe to be a book of the Word of God. For Christians, the Bible is their Sacred Scripture. The Bible is divided into different chapters – called books –, but most importantly it is divided into the Old and the New Testament – the second which includes the new teachings of Jesus Christ in what they call the Gospel. The Qur’an is the holy text of Muslims considered the word of God that consists of 114 chapters, called surahs. For Jews, the Torah is “the totality of God’s revelations to the Jewish people” (Brood, 408), separated into five books of the Hebrew Bible.

Finally, all three religions believe that there is an afterlife and that there will be a Judgment Day, in which every person will be judged by God for the deeds that he or she made during their life. In this day, all human beings will be either sent to paradise, or condemned to hell. This is why all three religions abide by their religion and try be righteous and follow God’s commands.

In conclusion, Islam, Judaism and Christianity are all religions that come from the prophet Abraham. Even though they have many differences, they also share many similarities. Some of which are that they are all monotheists, they share prophets and the hope for a Messiah, they all have sacred scriptures and they all believe in Judgment Day. All in all, they try to follow God’s commands and be righteous during this life, hoping to win the grace to merit the next one.

References

Brood, Jeffrey. Invitation to World Religions. 2013. Oxford University Press. Print.