Evolution of Abrahamic Religions

Islam originated in present day Saudi Arabia where the prophet, Muhammad, had been born. Islam would later be able to spread quickly through trade, the appealing nature of the Islamic faith, and military campaigns.

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have similar origins, development, beliefs, and sacred texts. Contrary to popular belief all three of these religions share more common ground than one would think. The differences are present of course, but the similarities help one understand where all three were derived from and why. All of the religions share the common ground as to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the belief of monotheism, and “ethical standards required social justice for individuals and for the community” (144). Judaism is the oldest religion out of the three, then falls Christianity, and lastly Islam.

Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are all considered Abrahamic religions. Abraham was the Hebrew son of the polytheistic High Priest of Sumer, and he is the origin of monotheistic practice. Abraham had a son named Issac, to whom the Jews trace their ancestry to. However, Muslims would claim that they descended from another son of Abraham, Ishmael. The name of Abraham and his two sons is mentioned in the Bible, the Torah, and the Qur’an. When Jesus was born, he claimed that he was the Messiah that would deliver Israel from their enemies that the Jews had long waited for. However, Jesus did not meet the expectations of the Messiah that the Jews had. He was not a military leader and was not like a high priest, and he had no particular desire to defeat the Romans. Because of this, the majority of the Jews did not accept him as the Messiah sent by God. This split the population of Jews and created the religion of Christianity. Islam came to be because Pre-Islam Arabia was made up of scattered polytheistic tribal faiths. Muhammad, however, managed to unite most of these tribal faiths under Islam, and

Egypt is considered the birthplace of many world religions. It contains some of the oldest religious artifacts, texts, and art that can be traced to modern religions. Signs of early Egyptian religion date back to the Predynastic period, beginning with evidence of polytheistic worship. Many scholars have researched the development of Ancient Egyptian religion over the centuries and have studied the direct correlation between it and the modern religions of Judaism and Christianity. Questions arise as to whe Judaism developed because of social and political conditions of Ancient Egypt or rather through conscious adaptation of Egyptian stories, values, and traditions. Was it through divine inspiration that the faiths formed, or was it simply

A. FOUNDING: Islam was founded by Muhammad when he received word from Allah in a prophecy (or vision). He began life in Mecca where idolatry was a main fact of life but had to flee to Madinah to escape prosecution in what has come to be known as the Hijrah. Islam spread through his family and friends at first but later his companions known as sahabat continued his work by a number of successful conquests which spread Islam to most of the middle east. Islam reached it high point when Muhammad and his army from Madinah conquered Mecca which was later deemed to the the Holy City.

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are called the Abraham religions. They share common history and traditions, a strong faith that there is one God, a firm belief in revelation and prophets, among other things. However,

Hebrew is the major foundation for other Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Islam; and Hebrew has been a major force in shaping the world. The term “Abrahamic religion” refers to Abraham being considered the founder of the Hebrew people.

After Martin Luther decided to stand up to the Catholic Church in the 1500's, Protestant religions began to multiply extremely quickly. This explosion of new faiths began all because of one man, who believed that what the Catholic Church was doing was wrong. Martin Luther defied the church, wrote of ninety-five theses, got excommunicated, and triggered a Protestant Revolution. Even though this man stood up for his beliefs, not everything he did was right, and it's important to point this out, to show that everything, no matter how good, has its flaws.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are three of the most distinct and well known religions in the world.  They have persisted for generation upon generation and have by far the largest number of followers of all religions in the world.  They also share some interesting similarities in their foundational stories.  Where did these faiths originate, and why do they share many aspects while differing on still more?  Carol Bakhos lays this out very well in The Family of Abraham and explains her thoughts on the similarities and differences the influential figure of Abraham shares within these three faiths.  Abraham is recognized globally

Starting with Judaism we see Abraham is regarded by his people as the first Jew, however a better case can be made for regarding Moses as the founder of Judaism. Born in roughly the 14th century B.C.E., Moses was raised in anonymity in the court of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I, having been saved from a decree ordering the death of all new-born Hebrew males. Moses thus had an Egyptian upbringing, and the basic belief in a universal God that some say may have been related to the experimental monotheism of an earlier pharaoh, Akhenaton:

The beginning of Islam can be traced all the way back to Saudi Arabia in the 7th century. It is believed that Islam was actually introduced 610 A.D. (A.D. stands for the Latin phrase anno domini, which means ¨in the year of our Lord¨). Muhammad introduced Islam after claiming that he experienced what he believed to be an angelic visitation. Muhammad then dedicated the holy book of Islam known as Qur´an. This is the beginning of Islam according to Secular History.

Abrahamic religions are the monotheistic religions of West Asia that trace their common origin to Abraham. The three largest Abrahamic religions are Judaism (1000s B.C.E.), Christianity (30s C.E.) and Islam (600s C.E.) In the Qur’an, Christians and Jews are referred to "People of the Book" because they are followers of monotheistic Abrahamic religions. All the Abrahamic religions were established in current-day Middle East.

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are referred to as the three Abrahamic religions, this means that in addition to being monotheistic religions that worship the same God, these three religions feature Abraham in a foundational role (Gilman 15). Today’s government structures, traditions and laws of social behavior find their origin in the development of these three main beliefs. Although there has been the development of other religious movements throughout the years, Judaism, Islam and Christianity have had the greatest impact on human civilization (Peters 23). These three religions, though sharing a common origin and having a number of

This essay will compare the similarities and differences in the vital role of Abraham as a leader of the Christian faith and Judaism. The two holy books, including the Bible, and the Tanakh cite different stories of Abraham’s journey as a messenger of God and a messiah for the religious people. His lineage is what sets Hinduism and Buddhism, the two polytheistic religions apart from the monotheistic beliefs. Similarities amongst some religious stories, including the birth of Isaac, the sacrifice, and the first revelation help prove that Abraham was the founding father of the two faiths.

Islam, Judaism and Christianity are three of the world’s great monotheistic faiths. They share not only many of the same holy sites, such as Jerusalem, and prophets and patriarchs, such as Abraham; but also the many practices and beliefs such as prayer, ablutions, and strong familial ties of the patriarch and others before him. Collectively, scholars refer to these three religions as the Abrahamic faiths, due to the fact that Abraham and his descendants are dynamic protagonists in the founding of these religions.