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The Great
Abrahamic Religions:
Why are they referred to as
Abrahamic traditions?
The Abraham referenced in the Hebrew Bible
(Torah) IS
the Abraham referenced in the Christian Bible
AND IS
the Abraham referenced in the Quran.
Abraham was the father of each tradition.
Judaism
• ONE GOD KNOWN AS:
•Elohim, Adonai in ancient times
•Modern Judaism:
•Eloheynu (Our God)
•HaShem (The Name)
•MOSES WAS “FOUNDING” PROPHET
• APPROX DATE OF ORIGIN – 2000 BCE
• JERUSALEM IS THE HOLY CITY
•Jewish Symbol:
• Ancient = Menorah
•Modern = Star of David
Jewish Symbols
Ancient = Menorah
The Hanukkah Menorah is lit to commemorate the
Jewish Maccabees' miraculous victory over the
Greek-Syrian army and the one-days-worth of pure oil
that miraculously lasted for eight days in the Temple
Modern = Star of David
The evolution of the six-pointed Jewish star,
the "Magen David," literally the "Shield of David." also
known as the hexagram,
or more rarely, *Solomon's Seal, is long and complex.
Although it is now the most common and
universally recognized sign of Judaism and Jewish identity,
both within and outside of the Jewish community.
Judaism
Largest Forms of Judaism:
•Orthodox
•Oldest
•Most conservative
•Reform
•Liberal
•Conservative
•Newest (19th Century CE)
•Founded in response to Reform movement
JEWISH SACRED SCRIPTURES
The Tanakh (TNK) - known as the Hebrew Bible
(aka the Old Testament by Christians)
3 groups of books:
• the Torah (aka Pentateuch): 613 Commandments
NOT only 10 ( 248 Do’s and 365 Do Not’s )
• the Nevi'im: (the Kings)
• the Ketuvim, (the Writings)
A portion of the 4th C CE
Codex Sinaiticus,
containing Esther 2:3-8.
JEWISH SACRED SCRIPTURES
The Talmud - stories, laws, medical knowledge, debates about
moral choices, etc. and comes mainly from 3 sources:
•Midrash – Critical Interpretation of TNK
•Mishnah - hundreds of chapters
•includes many laws from the Hebrew Scriptures
•compiled about 200 CE.
•Gemara – encyclopedic and evolving
•Includes comments from hundreds of Rabbis from 200 - 500 CE
•Elaborates/reflects on the Mishnah with additional historical,
religious, legal, sociological, etc. material
Jewish
Worship
•Place of worship is a Synagogue
•Day of Worship is Saturday (“the Sabbath”)
•Prescribed Charity (Tzedakah) = 10 %
The interior of the Sadoun Synagogue
Fez, Morocco.
Who is
Jesus of Nazareth
within Judaism?
•Great Moral Teacher
•NOT the Messiah
The Good Life
Rituals and Behavior
•Infant Circumcision (8 days old)
•Reading/studying the Torah
•Observing the Law
•Bar Mitzvah/Bat Mitzvah – 13 years old
•Regularly attending Synagogue
•Regularly observing the Sabbath or
Shabbat as the day of rest (Friday nights to
Saturday afternoon)
Main Jewish Holy Days
•Passover, or Pesach - Jews' deliverance out of slavery in Egypt circa
1300 BCE.
•Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is a day of fasting until sundown.
•Sukkoth (Feast of Booths) is an 8 day harvest festival; a time of
thanksgiving. A reminder of the time when the Israelites lived in huts in the
desert.
•Hanukkah (Feast of Lights) is an 8 day feast of dedication.
•Purim (Feast of Lots) recalls the defeat by Queen Esther of the plan to
slaughter all of the Persian Jews, circa 400 BCE.
•Shavout (Feast of Weeks) recalls God's revelation of the Torah to the
Jewish people through Moses.
LIFE AFTER DEATH?
NO - Ancient Jewish beliefs did not include any
Life after Death
YES – some modern forms of Judaism
•Not immediately following death
•They believe that God breathed life into people
from a clod of Earth so when you die you need to
return to the Earth.(No cremations)
•After the Messiah comes
Christianity
ONE GOD: “FATHER” “LORD” “CREATOR”
•God exists as Spirit (Incorporeal)
•God as a Trinity-a single entity with three personalities:
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit OR
Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer
JESUS WAS “FOUNDING” PROPHET
APPROX DATE OF ORIGIN – 30 CE
JERUSALEM IS THE HOLY CITY
Symbol = CRUCIFIX, CROSS
Many forms of Christianity
Catholic (Oldest)
Eastern/Russian/Oriental Orthodox
Protestant – formed by Martin Luther (a Catholic Priest)
during 16th Century CE Reformation
i.e. Puritans, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Congregational,
Quakers, Episcopal, Latter Day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day
Adventists, and numerous others
Images of Jesus in each.
CHRISTIAN
SACRED SCRIPTURES
The Bible
•Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) – 39 “books”
(up to 10 additional books for Roman Catholic, Orthodox)
•New Testament - 27 “books”
* Exclusive to Latter Day Saints (aka Mormons):
•The Book of Mormon – Joseph Smith
•Pearl of Great Price
•Doctrine and Covenants
•Other scriptures for other denominations…
A fragment of
possibly the oldest copy
of the Gospel of Mark
dated approx 50 CE
•Place of worship
is called Church
(Eklesia in Greek)
•Day of Worship
is Sunday
•Prescribed
charity
(Tithe) = 10%
CHRISTIAN
WORSHIP
a smaller modest sanctuary
Who is Jesus of Nazareth
to Christians?
•The Son of God – the “only” Son of God, the 2nd personality in
the Trinity, sinless, immortal
•The Jewish Messiah referenced in the OT
•The Final Sacrifice
•Exemplar(example of how you live your life)
•God Incarnate
The Good Life
The Sacraments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Catholic
Baptism
Reconciliation
Communion
Confirmation
Holy Orders
Marriage
Anointing of the Sick
Protestant
1. Baptism
2. Confirmation
3. Communion
Life after Death
Day of Judgment followed by Heaven or Hell*
Heaven = eternity with God, Jesus, saints, loved ones who passed
before you
Second Coming of Christ - Crucial to Resurrection of the
Dead
(Often referred as when the last judgment/End of days will take place)
* Hell may be thought of as a place or a state of being…depending on various Christian
beliefs
Main Christian Holy Days
•Christmas – celebrates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth
(aka Jesus Christ)
•Easter – commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus
of Nazareth (aka Jesus Christ)
•Pentecost – commemorates the first time the Holy Spirit
was recognized via “speaking in tongues”
Who knows why “Good Friday” is called “Good Friday?”
ISLAM
•Allah – means “God” in Arabic
•Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
•did not completely reject Judaism and Christianity, but said that he had been
sent by God in order to complete and perfect those teachings…”God’s final
prophet”
•Date of Origin = 622 C.E.
•Holy City is Mecca
•Symbol = Crescent and Star
Legend holds that the founder of the Ottoman Empire,
Osman, had a dream in which the crescent moon
stretched from one end of the earth to the other. Taking
this as a good omen, he chose to keep the crescent and
make it the symbol of his dynasty. There is speculation
that the five points on the star represent the five pillars of
Islam.
Actually during the time of Muhammad all flags flown
where solid color. No symbol was good enough to
represent Allah.
Forms of Islam
•Sunni 25%
•Shiite 70 %
•Sufi – 5% mystic based Islamic sect
•The Sunni/Shiite split is based on disagreement over the
successor of Muhammad (pbuh)
SACRED SCRIPTURES
Quran - Muslims also call the Qur'an the "Final
Testament", "The Book", "Book of God" and "The
Revelation.“
•Received by Muhammad (pbuh) from Archangel
Gabriel on Mountain
•“Read!” “Read!” “Recite!”
•Literal words of God
•114 Suras (chapters)
•Includes several stories from Hebrew Bible
•Arabic text is ONLY divine scripture
•The written Quran was compiled and recorded
several decades after the death of the Prophet (pbuh)
Page from a Quran
'Umar-i Aqta'
Iran, present-day
Afghanistan,
Timurid dynasty,
circa 1400 CE
Additional
SACRED SCRIPTURES
Sunnah
•Hadith – deeds and sayings of the
Prophet (pbuh)
•Siras - biography of the Prophet (pbuh)
Muslim mosques
Idriss mosque Seattle
Muslim Prayer Room
Who is
Jesus of Nazareth
to Muslims?
•Second to last Prophet and Messenger of God
before Muhammad (pbuh)
•One of God’s most beloved messengers
•NOT the Son of God
•Human, NOT Divine
The Good Life
~ The 5 Pillars ~
1. The Shahadah – “There is no God but Allah and
Muhammad is His Prophet.”
2. Salat (Prayer) – 5 times per day
*preceded by Ablution
3. Zukot (Charity) –
2.5% for the wealthy working man
10 – 20 % for farmers
The poor do not have to pay Zukot
4. Sawm – Ramadan fasting
5. Haj – pilgramage to Mecca, once in ones lifetime, if
possible
The Good Life
~ The unofficial 6th pillar ~
Jihad - Most misunderstood tenet of Islam by nonMuslims
• Greater – the internal struggle toward living a holy
life according to the Quran
• Lesser – “holy war”-primarily observed by
fundamental radical Muslims
Life after death
Day of Judgment followed by Heaven or Hell
•Various levels of both
•According to greater/lesser deeds/sins
The only sin beyond repentence is “Shirk”:
Worshipping anything/anyone other than Allah
Muslims believe that anyone with
“one atom of faith”
will eventually reach Heaven.
Main Islamic holy days
Friday is the Muslim day of Worship!
•Mawlid al-Nabi: celebration of Muhammad’s (pbuh) birthday
•Laylat Al-Isra wa Al-Miraj (Isra wa Al-Miraj): to commemorate “the
night journey and ascension”- Muhammad’s (pbuh) ascension to Heaven
and prayed with Abraham, Moses, and Jesus in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa
mosque
•Ramadan – holiest time of year, fasting all day for a month
•Eid Al-Adhha: ”feast of sacrifice” to commemorate Abraham’s attempt to
sacrifice his son Ishmael upon God’s orders – typical time of year to make
Haj
•Yom Arafat: Muslims gather in local mosques for prayer and solidarity
•Laylat Al-Baraa: “night of repentance”
Killing in the name of God
in your lifetime
Judaism – Dr. Baruch Goldstein’s attack at the Tomb of
the Patriarchs on February 24, 1994
29 DIED
Christianity– Timothy McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma
Federal building on April 19, 1995
168 DIED
Islam – Radical Muslims attack New York’s Twin Towers
on September 11, 2001
2986 DIED
The Ethic of Reciprocity is Universal
“The Golden Rule”
Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you.
Christianity
No one of you is a believer until
he desires for his brother that
which he desires for himself.
Islam
What is hurtful to yourself do
not do to your fellow man.
Judaism