Abrahamic Religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Essay Sample

Introduction

Western religions, also known as Abrahamic religions, refer to the religions that have origins in Western culture. As such, they are culturally, historically, and theologically different from the Eastern religions. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are Abrahamic religions. Practiced by more than half of the world's population, the three are the most popular religions on earth. Though they are practiced in all the continents, they are mostly concentrated in the Americas, Europe, Western Asia, Australia, and North Africa (Denneby, 2019). The influence of Christianity and Islam has also been growing in sub-Saharan Africa as the natives abandon indigenous faiths. With historically and culturally similar backgrounds, the three religions have several similarities. However, there exist various theological differences among the three. This paper seeks to compare and contrast the three religions. The similarities will be highlighted first, and then the focus will be shifted to the differences.

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Similarities

There exist various similarities between the three religions. First, they have a common ancestry, as will be discussed later. They are believed to have originated from Abraham. Monotheism, which is the belief in one God, is shared among the three religions. Finally, various teachings and messages found in the Torah, Bible, and the Quran are similar. Each of these similarities is discussed in greater detail below.

Origin

All three religions are Semitic. This term refers to the ancestral beginning of the religions Semites, including Mandaeans, Assyrians, Samaritans, Arabs, and Jews. The Bible, Torah, and Quran confirm that Semites are descendants of Shem, the son of Noah. The three religions can, therefore, trace their origins to Abraham and hence, are referred to as Abrahamic religions (Abulafia, 2019). The lineage of Judaism and Christianity can be traced to Isaac, Abraham's son. In several ways, Abraham is the unifying patriarch of the three religions. According to Judaism, he was the prophet who received the covenant between the Jewish people and God on Mount Sinai. Christianity views Abraham as the perfect example for all believers, while in Islam, he is seen as the link between the prophets right from Adam, the first prophet, to Mohammed, the last prophet. In what happens to be the primary difference between the two and Islam as will be discussed in the next section, Muslims trace their lineage to Ishmael, Abraham's son. However, regardless of this, the connection between the three religions to Abraham is clear (Lewis & Kaleem, 2019).

Monotheism

As mentioned above, all the Abrahamic religions are monotheist. They all believe in the divine guidance sent by God through his prophets. The principles of monotheism are found in the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran. They all state that God is the supreme ruler of the universe, and only Him should be worshipped (Vitkovic, 2018). Christianity, as stated in Matthew 28:19, believes in One God, who exists in three persons - the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Judaism believes in One God called Yahweh, as stated in Deuteronomy 6:4. Islam believes in One God who does not exist in a trinity. However, though the three religions are monotheistic, the concepts vary. For instance, though Christians believe in One God, He is made up of three persons, as stated earlier. The Judaists, however, believe that God is not made up of parts. Attempts to divide God are seen as having many gods, as seen in paganism. Islam, on its side, believes in an invisible and omnipotent God who should be feared. Islam also believes that God could not have children or son, as held by Christianity since this could blur the divine/human distinction (Ricca, 2017). This is known as strict monotheism. The three religions also believe that God is omniscient.

Teachings

The ethical teachings of both Moses and Jesus bear several similarities in Christianity and Islam. For instance, the emphasis on dignity, honesty, equality, and decency, as taught by Jesus, is also seen in Prophet Muhammad's message. The three religions also believe in prophets as well as life after death. For instance, Moses is acknowledged as a prophet of God by the three religions. Following the teachings of God, passed through prophets, is also emphasized in the three religions (Vitkovic, 2018).

Differences

Regardless of the similarities discussed above, the three religions are also different in several ways. The Christian and Islamic beliefs have profound differences regarding the spiritual history, the roles of Paul and Jesus, as well as concepts of God. Notably, the claim that Islam is the final truth leads to significant divisions among the religions that are believed to have had the same roots. Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus are believed to have been early Muslims. Their roles, according to Islam, were to pave the way for Muhammad. Islam also holds that God appointed the line of Ishmael to keep God's word as revealed to Muhammad after the Jews and Christians acted unfaithfully towards Jesus (Vitkovic, 2018).

Differences Regarding Jesus Christ

The divinity of Jesus, his death, as well as his resurrection, are viewed differently in the three religions. Judaism does not believe in the divinity of Jesus since there is only one God. By rejecting the Trinitarian God, believed in Christianity, Islam rejects the divinity of Jesus also. Instead, both Judaism and Islam hold that Jesus was a great prophet, and hence quashes his divinity. Islam does not acknowledge the resurrection of Jesus, which forms the basis of the Christian faith. This is arguably the most significant difference between Islam and Christianity.

Differences in Monotheism

As intimated earlier, the monotheism practiced by Christians is different from that practiced in Judaism and Islam. In Islam, God is taken to be an incorporeal deity. His unity is supreme, he is a sovereign judge, and all-powerful. Judaism also believes in one God who cannot be divided into parts. However, as mentioned earlier, Christianity holds that God exists in three persons. This is also a major difference between the three religions (Vitkovic, 2018). Though all the three religions can be traced to Abraham, they hold different views of him. For instance, the promise by God to make Abraham a great nation is interpreted differently. Judaism holds that the promise will be accomplished through the descendants of Abraham, who are the Jews. Christians, on the other hand, believe that anyone who believes in Jesus is a descendant of Abraham. In Islam, the passage is interpreted to mean that Abraham was made an imam of humanity, and hence, the promised blessings come through Abraham himself (Lewis & Kaleem, 2019).

Differences in the Teachings of the Old Testament

Though the Old Testament bears various similarities in the three religions, their interpretations are very different. Christians use Christology lens, implicitly or explicitly, to understand the Old Testament. Moreover, since both the Old and New Testament are of the Word, the New Testament is viewed as a continuation of the Old Testament (Culp, 2012). However, Judaism does not believe in the Incarnate Word. Resultantly, they do not read the Old Testament with Christ in mind. Instead, they take it as a collection of documents inspired by God that help understand their existence. The reading of the Old Testament in Islam is different from both Judaism and Christianity reading. To some extent, Islam sees the Old Testament as defective, and Koran, which is taken to be the true word of God, supplants the Old Testament.

The versions of punishment in the three religions are also different between the three religions. Judaism believes in Gehenna, a place where both sinners and non-believers go to repent and learn from the mistakes they made on earth. Eternal punishment does not exist according to Judaism. Islam, on the other hand, speaks of 7 levels of Jahannam. The level where one goes depends on their reasons for being in Jahannam. Christianity holds that all sinners will be punished in hell for eternity (Gbadegesin, 2018).

Conclusion

Western Religions are practiced by more than half of the world's population. Though the three religions have similar cultural and historical beginnings, they also have several deep differences. Abraham being the unifying patriarch, is arguably the primary similarity between the two. Monotheism, as well as belief in prophets and their teachings, is another similarity. However, as shown in the discussion, the concepts of monotheism vary between the three religions. The Trinitarian concept of God held by Christians is rejected in Islam and Judaism. The divine nature of Jesus and his resurrection, which forms the basis of Cristian faith, is also rejected in Judaism and Islam. Finally, the versions of punishment for sinners is also different between the three religions.

References

Abulafia, A. S. (2019, September 23). The Abrahamic Religions. Retrieved from British Library: https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/the-abrahamic-religions

Culp, D. (2012, November). What are the Differences among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? Retrieved from faithmag,com: https://faithmag.com/what-are-differences-among-judaism-christianity-and-islam

Denneby, J. (2019, September 23). What are the Abrahamic religions? Retrieved from The National: https://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/what-are-the-abrahamic-religions-1.913816Gbadegesin, E. O. (2018). The Qur'an and The Bible: Common Themes for Peaceful Co-Existence. Religions, 11, 150-155. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/openview/e90870109f2f72e69d7fba368377d5aa/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=736334

Lewis, M. K., & Kaleem, A. (2019). The three Abrahamic religions. Religion and Finance. Retrieved from https://www.elgaronline.com/abstract/9780857939029/chapter02.xhtml?&pdfVersion=true

Ricca, M. (2017). The Ambivalent Roots of Charity and Their Consequences in a Secularized World: A Survey Across the Three Monotheistic Religions of the Abrahamic Strain. Calumet-Intercultural Law and Humanities Review. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3059906

Vitkovic, S. (2018). The Similarities and Differences between Abrahamic Religions. International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences, 455-462. Retrieved from https://philpapers.org/rec/VITTSA-4