Three Monotheistic Faiths

The city is holy for Christians because it has the Church of Holy Sepulchre, it is “located on a site which in central to the story of Jesus, his death, crucifixion and resurrection.”(bbc.com) in other words, it is believed that Jesus was crucified there. Jerusalem is of importance to the Muslims as it contains the shrine of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in islam. “It is believed that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) travelled here from Mecca during his night journey and prayed with the souls of all the prophets. A few steps away, the shrine of the Dome of the Rock is where the Prophet then ascended to heaven.”(bbc.com) The western Wall, a “remnant of the retaining wall of the mount in which the Holy temple once stood,” is the most sacred site in Judaism. Jews believe that this was where the foundation stone which created the world, and where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. “Today, the Western Wall is the closest place Jews can pray to the Holy of the

Moses: Some of the basic beliefs in my religion are there are commandments and a Sabbath. My religion shares some beliefs with the other two such as believing in only one god and having an afterlife. Just like Muhammad, my religion has food taboos.

Religious thinkers usually believe that their religion is superior or correct when compared to others. To some this may be true, but to others not so much. In the world, there are many types of polytheistic religions and monotheistic religions. Most religions are similar, but yet, so different. The Islamic God. The Christian God. The Jewish God. Which is superior?

Before going into the rise of monotheism it is important to understand polytheism. Not in the standard dictionary sense, but in the context of the time. Our meaning of religion today compared to the meaning of religion back then are two totally different things. This same conclusion was made when famed egyptologist Jan Assmann while recalling writing a book about the religious practices of ancient Egypt,” … I consciously avoided using the term “religion” because I felt very strongly that there was a major difference between the term “religion” as it was understood in the Western tradition, with all of its biblical implications, and I was about to describe with regard to the ancient Egyptian world.” ( Assmann, Jan. Of Gods and Gods: Egypt, Israel, and the Rise of Monotheism. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2008., 10). Because in ancient times the way the gods were worshiped was more in style of a cult than how we think of a religion. So comparing monotheistic practices to polytheistic practices would distort the whole meaning of

“Klieg, Klieg, Klieg-Du bist a Nar. You are smart, smart,smart – but you are not so smart!” – a Yiddish saying

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and is known as one of the Holiest places in the world. It holds some of the most significant history and landmarks for many religions. It is a sacred and holy place that people may go to for worship and prayer. The three major religions that view Jerusalem as an important location are: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each religion views Jerusalem as a holy and spiritual location due to all of the history that has occurred within their religious beliefs. All three religions have different views of Jerusalem and why it is significant to their worship. A sacred place that is shared between all three religions is the Temple Mount. They believe that God told Abraham to find a place for sacrifice

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic faiths. The Qur’an says that Allah is the identical God that Jews and Christians praise. Muslims perceive Judaism and Christianity as religions that came beforehand, and led up to, Islam. Muslims consider Muhammad the last prophet in a line that contains figures from the Jewish and Christian traditions, such as Abraham and Jesus. Muslims are educated to respect Jews and Christians as individuals who share the tradition of God’s revelation to the prophets. Whether you are religious or not, it would very eye opening to see how these people were raised up, rather, what environment did they grow up in. What impact did their beliefs have on their houses, buildings etc.

The third world monotheistic religions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, do share this imperative about loving God/Allah with all the mind, heart, soul, and strength, and love one’s neighbor as oneself, which do indeed run contrary to the adversarial processes of managing conflict in the American legal system. It is evident in a litigation situation in a courtroom or in a dispute resolution forum, may it be negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, the two parties locked in argument, debate, and discussion are not applying this principle of unconditional love required by these religious belief systems. In fact, they are posturing, strategizing, and figuring out what advantages they can seize, and what opportunities arise, to win over their opponents and adversaries in these disputes whatever the venue may be or what dispute resolution process it may be.

Religion and History, one is a touchy topic that is avoided at many costs in conversations. The other, usually puts people to sleep or bores them out of their mind. However boring or sensitive they may be, religion and history can be interesting subjects of conversation, in the right crowd. I have always had a fascination for ancient civilizations such as the Egyptian culture and have studied their religious beliefs. Egypt was at one time polytheistic, like many societies around that time. In Egypt they had gods for the dead, sun god, magic, wisdom, etc. If this religion worked for many thousands of years, why then did Egypt make the transition to a monotheistic religion?

Reproduced, with permission, from THE FUTURIST, Published by the World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote a fictional account of a madman who went about the town proclaiming that "God is dead." Nietzsche's story is illustrative of a wave of atheism that spread through the intellectual circles of Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but that never caught on in society at large. The idea of the divine demise, however, did not die: A movement by theologians resurrected Nietzsche's thesis in the 1960s, amidst the other forms of radical thinking that characterized that decade.

Faith, which is a strong attachment of man’s heart to God, is one of the most important concept in monotheistic religions. In this paper, two passages are selected in order to study two opposite way to perceive faith in those religions. One of the writings is from the Doctrine of Monotheism（The World of Islam, 178-179, Islamic readings from Williams book.pdf）, which is observed by the Ibadi Muslims, and another is taken from Preface to Romans ( MARTIN LUTHER--Selections From His Writings, 23-25, Luther.pdf), one of the writings of the religious reformer Martin Luther. Although a few similarities exist, the two passages differ significantly in the definition of faith, the attainment

When discussing monotheism as a type of religion, we are talking about religion as the act of worship by man, not the origin of God. The former is something that could theoretically be proven based on anthropology and other earth sciences; the latter can only be revealed through God himself or the supernatural world. Because of my bias as a devout Christian, I believe that in the beginning there was one true God who created all. However, as Winfried Corduan pointed out in his book, Neighboring Faiths, the theory of original monotheism provides space for its own evolution through decay and ritual. It is within the evolutionary regression from original monotheism and the process back that we are shown God’s gift of freewill in humankind and God’s unending desire to redeem us.

In the deepest depths within the self of man, there is the first evidence of Allah; rather, the first evidence of His monotheism and glorification, in addition to the personal motive of man for turning to Him. It is there in his innermost thoughts even if he shut his eyes to cosmic wonders and turned away from reflecting deeply on them and their laws.

Since development of the Church, Christians have had the belief of Monotheism and that there is One God. Christians also believe in the Holy Trinity, meaning God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all equal and all powerful. To a newly developing Christian, learning about Monotheism and the Trinity can be confusing and hard to understand.

Monotheism can be defined as the idea of one single God (Richter 28). Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic religions which follow one transcendent Creator of all things. Monism, on the other hand, refers to belief in an ultimate reality that is single and unique, like God, but not personified (Richter 31). Monism is evident in aspects of Hinduism such as the idea of Brahman in the last of the early Hindu writings. While both terms have more differences than similarities, they share the belief in one God or divine being. Also, they are both considered forms of theism.