The Abrahamic religions are the most popular in the world. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the three most famous of them. The word “Abrahamic” comes from the name of the biblical prophet Abraham, who lived about 4 thousand years ago. According to the Abrahamic tradition, Abraham was the first person who believed in the one and true God. Abraham was the first prophet to whom God promised great offspring. The Jews began the history of their people with Abraham. In Christianity, he was the spiritual ancestor of all believers in one God. It was thanks to Judaism that Christianity and Islam appeared. Abraham had a large family and subsequent prophets appeared among his offspring, including the prophet Moses, whom Jews considered the founder of Judaism.
There are many similarities between Christianity, Islam and Judaism. They all have holy places of worship, that is, a Church, a Mosque and a synagogue for Christians, Muslims and Jews, respectively. They all believe in monotheism and have Holy Books, the Bible for Christians, the Hebrew Bible and Torah for Jews and the Koran for Muslims. All three religions believe in prophets; Jews believe in Moses, Abraham and their descendants as messengers of God, Christians believe in Jeremiah and Isaiah, while Muslims believe in Jesus and Muhammad as prophets of God.
However, over time there appeared some differences too. Thus, Islam, Judaism and Christianity perceive marriage and family differently. Polygamy is forbidden in Christianity, while it is legal in Judaism and Islam. Christians believe in the Holy Trinity, while Judaism and Islam believe in God as one. Muslims pray at a certain time, while Christians pray of their own free will. Jews pray in synagogues led by prayer leaders; Muslims pray facing Mecca as the source of their religion, while Christians believe in the universality of God’s presence, and therefore they do not look in any particular direction when praying, while Jews pray facing the sacred altar, usually in front of the synagogue. All three religions were rapidly spreading during the fourteenth century and had a significant impact on the development of people’s potential, defining acceptable norms and rules.
Work Cited
Hunt, Lynn, et al. The making of the West: Peoples and cultures. Value Edition, vol. 1. [MBS Direct]. Web.