Download One focus of Unit one is on the development and expansion of the

Georgia Performance Standard
SS7G8c
• Compare and contrast the prominent religions in
Southwest Asia (Middle East): Judaism, Islam,
and Christianity.
Jerusalem: a holy city to all three religions
One focus of Unit Two is on the development
and expansion of the world’s three major
monotheistic religions.
• What is monotheism?
• The belief in just one
God
Hale Bopp Comet over the Pyramids
of Giza
• So . . . What do you
think polytheism is
(remember your stem
words!)?
Judaism
SS7G8c: Compare and contrast the prominent
religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East):
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
• Judaism is the oldest
monotheistic religion
• Began around
1800BC.
• Abraham is
regarded as the
founder and father of
the Jewish people.
Abraham is the
father of the
Israelites. It is with
Abraham that God
makes his
covenant and
promise. This is a
stained glass
window at St.
Anne’s Belfast
Cathedral in
Northern Ireland.
SS7G8c: Compare and contrast the prominent
religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East):
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
The Torah scrolls that are read in a
synagogue are unpointed text, with
no vowels or musical notes, so the
ability to read a passage from a scroll
is a valuable skill, and usually
requires a lot of practice.
•
Jews believe God made a
covenant with Abraham that his
descendants would be God’s
chosen people. In return they
would have to keep God’s laws.
•
God gave the Jewish people the
10 Commandants and other
rules to live by (contained in the
Torah, the first five books of the
Bible), marking the beginning of
Judaism as a structured
religion.
• Holy Book - Torah
•
•
The main religious text of the
Jewish religion.
Official Language is Hebrew
SS7G8c: Compare and contrast the prominent
religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East):
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
• Moses led the Jews
out from captivity in
Egypt.
• Moses, Abraham,
and David are all
heroes and
prophets in the
Jewish faith
What it may have been like fishing
with Moses. 
Jewish beliefs cont.
• The Torah consists of the
five books revealed to
Moses, also called the
Pentateuch, and is the
most important part of the
Hebrew Bible.
• The name for a Jewish
place of worship is a
synagogue.
• The Hebrew word for God
is Yahweh.
The magnificent Great
Synagogue of Budapest,
Hungary.
Jewish Beliefs
• Jews do not recognize Jesus as the
Messiah. They believe he was just a man
who claimed to be a prophet but was not.
• Jews are still waiting on the Messiah
• There are about 14 million Jews
worldwide
Has anyone heard of these
Jewish Holidays?
• Rosh Hashanah: The
beginning of the Jewish New
Year
• Hanukkah: An eight day
festival which commemorates
the re-dedication of the temple
in Jerusalem.
• Passover (Pesach): Week
long memorial retelling the
Israelites’ release from Egypt
• Yom Kippur
At the age of 13, a Jewish boy
reads the Torah for the first
time and promises to keep
God's commandments
Christianity
SS7G8c: Compare and contrast the prominent
religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East):
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
• Christianity takes its name
from the Greek word ‘Christ’,
meaning Anointed One, whom
Christians believe was Jesus,
the son of God.
• Jesus was born in Bethlehem,
near Jerusalem (both
considered holy cities by
Christians) and grew up as a
Jewish boy.
• At about the age of 30 he
began three years of traveling
and teaching. He taught a new
way of drawing upon the
Jewish tradition.
Important Info
• Christian Holy Book is
the Bible
• Jesus Christ – is
considered the
founder of Christianity
• Christians worship in
a church
• The disciples
began to spread
Christianity upon
the death of Christ
• Beginning Date –
1 AD
• Heores and
Prophets –
Abraham, Moses,
12 Disciples
• There are about 2.1
Billion Christians
worldwide
SS7G8c: Compare and contrast the prominent
religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East):
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
• He revealed himself to
be the Son of God.
• He claimed to be the
Messiah.
• The holy book of
Christianity is the Bible.
• The place of worship for
Christians is a church.
The yellow areas show the spread of Christianity
from 200 CE to 400 CE.
Have you heard of these
Christian holidays (Holy Days)?
• Christmas (December 25): The
celebration of Jesus’ birth
• Easter: The holiest period of the
Christian calendar. It begins with
Good Friday, which solemnly
commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion,
and continues until Easter Sunday
which celebrates the resurrection
of Jesus.
Islam
SS7G8c: Compare and contrast the prominent
religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East):
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
• Islam means submission to
Allah (God). Islam was
revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad (the founder of
Islam).
• Mecca is the holy city.
Location of the holy city of Mecca in
Saudi Arabia
Islam continued . . .
The Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Islam continued . . .
The Qur’an, holy text of Islam.
• Muhammad continued
receiving messages from
God throughout the later
part of his life. He
memorized these
messages and passed
them on to his followers.
After his death they were
collected and written
down in the Qur’an
(Koran).
The Big Three
Religion &
Symbol
Major
Leader/
Founder
Holy Book
Place of
Worship
Basic Belief
System
View of
Jesus
Synagogue
By following God’s
laws, Jews believe
they will have
peace with God
and each other
Jesus was an
ordinary Jewish
man and preacher
Judaism
Abraham
Torah
YahwehGod
Christianity
Jesus
Bible
Church
God
Islam
Mohammad
Allah- God
Quran
(Koran)
Mosque
Jesus, the Son of God,
was sent to earth, died
on the cross, and rose
again to save
humanity. By having
faith in Jesus and
through God’s grace,
believers are saved
from the penalty of sin
and receive eternal life
with God.
Muslims believe in one
god, Allah, and follow
the teachings of the
Quran. By following
the five pillars of faith:
belief, prayer, charity,
fasting, and pilgrimage
it will lead to an
eternal paradise.
Christians view
Jesus as God
himself in human
form. He is
considered a prophet
(teacher sent from
God) and the
Messiah or Savior of
the world.
Muslims believe
that Jesus was a
prophet, but not
the Son of God
The Big Three
Religion &
Symbol
Major
Leader/
Founder
Holy Book
Place of
Worship
Judaism
YahwehGod
Abraham
Torah
Synagogue
Christianity
Jesus
Bible
Church
God
Islam
Mohammad
Allah- God
Quran
(Koran)
Mosque
Basic
Belief
System
View of
Jesus
By following God’s
laws, Jews believe
they will have
peace with God
and each other
Jesus was an
ordinary Jewish
man and preacher
Jesus, the Son of God,
was sent to earth, died
on the cross, and rose
again to save
humanity. By having
faith in Jesus and
through God’s grace,
believers are saved
from the penalty of sin
and receive eternal life
with God.
Christians view Jesus
as God himself in
human form. He is
considered a prophet
(teacher sent from
God) and the
Messiah or Savior of
the world.
Muslims believe in one
god, Allah, and follow
the teachings of the
Quran. By following
the five pillars of faith:
belief, prayer, charity,
fasting, and pilgrimage
it will lead to an
eternal paradise.
Muslims believe
that Jesus was a
prophet, but not
the Son of God
SHIA AND SUNNI MUSLIMS
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

The split came with the death of Muhammad
SUNNI VS. SHIA

Who should be the Caliph?

Sunni - Leadership should go to whoever is
most able to keep the community together

Shia – Leader must be a descendant of
Muhammad through his son in law Ali
Understanding Political Cartoons
In this political cartoon, why is
this man’s question silly?
Hey, Jack!
Which way's Mecca?