Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
I. Introduction
Presently, Christianity stands as the monotheistic religion with most converts; Islam is the fastest developing; whereas Judaism stands as the second most widespread religion behind Christianity. The above mentioned monotheistic religions were each established in separate areas, but all possess many dissimilarities and similarities. The dissimilarities and similarities between the above mentioned religions are their sacred cities and holy books. There also exists a squabble among these three religions that is still continuing.
II. Discussion
First off, Christians, Jews, and Muslims all have holy books which all have different contents. Each religion has different places where they go to read their holy books and worship their God. Christians worship in church and read the Bible; Muslims worship in mosques and read the Koran; Jews worship in synagogues and read the Torah. Each religion’s holy book professes something different concerning their God, but all the above religions potentially believe in one God. The religions above believe only one God exists and he cares for all who believe in him. The Christian God is called “God,” the Muslim God is called “Allah,” and the Jew God is called “Yahweh.” One might deem that each religion has its own separate, individual God, this is false. In reality, the religions mentioned above worship one God “The God of Abraham,” however, each religion views him differently. Christians firmly believe Jesus (God’s son) descended from heaven to free humankind by dying for them. Muslims strictly view Jesus as a prophet whereas Jews concur with the fact that Jesus was neither a teacher nor a prophet. He plays no role in Judaism. At length, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam worship one God, but each believes their idea of God is more logical compared to the other.
The most obvious and compelling similarity between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity is where they all derived from. Each religion was established and begun in the Middle East. They all share a holy city which is Jerusalem. The above monotheistic religions believe the Messiah will descend back to the region they derived from which is the Middle East. But each religion will have its own Messiah. Other observable similarities between the above monotheistic religions are the fact that all three believe in the existence of one God, all three share the Old Testament, and all three originate from Abraham along with his sons Isaac and Ishmael. Lastly, all the above faiths worship the god of Abraham, Adam, and Moses. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the only monotheistic religions worldwide.
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all suggest the belief of salvation. Each religion’s followers firmly believe that following their norms and rules combined with worshipping their God results in salvation on judgment day. Thus, each religion asserts that the world will end and individuals will return to a particular religion. This signifies that faith in and adhering to either religion paves the way to salvation of its followers. Each religion asserts that only chaste believers, who sincerely believe in God and cachet religious rules and norms, can obtain salvation. In fact, the notion that the world will end is crucial for all religions because the concept of an ending world makes followers search for ways of attaining salvation and each religion assures salvation to its followers. Consequently, each religion encourages its followers to lead upright lifestyles and also enhance their faith.
On the whole, there are various logical reasons why the above religions would have incongruity amongst them. Before all else, Christianity and Judaism are the most widespread. Islam falls between the Judaism and Christianity. Christians believe there is a hell, heaven, the devil, the conceptualization of “sin,” and the conceptualization of perdition. These teachings candidly oppose the Judaism teaching hence the reasons behind the conflict between Jews and Christians. Because Christians highly regard the existence of heaven, hell, damnation, and sin; whereas Jews do not, results in discrepancy. Muslims believe in the existence of hell, the devil, and heaven but none of the other things believed by Christians. Islam stands in between Judaism and Christianity, seeing the way Muslims believe in some teachings believed by Christians, but also disregard other ideas like the Jews do. The problem does not end with the above monotheistic religions, but the problem further exists within some of them. For instance, Islam has two separate sects, Sunni and Shiite, both Sunni and Shiite follow and believe in one god, but have split opinions on other matters, for example, who cannot and who can be a caliph. Apparently, this begets conflict because the different sects hold different views which further separate them.
III. Conclusion
Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are all diverse religions, even though they all share many similarities between them. The three main similarities shared between the three are the faith in one God, their origin, and each has its own holy book and holy place. There are numerous differences, but the most significant one is how each views Jesus. With all the evidence acquired, it is apparent that many conflicts exist between these monotheistic religions, even within them. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are very popular and widely practised, and each holds its own worldview that should be respected by all, regardless of which religion they are.