MonotheismJudaism, Christianity, and Islam

Ancient Hebrews/Israelites•The Hebrews were an ancient tribe who lived

in Canaan (area between the Jordan river and Red Sea)

Patriarch (next to Monotheism)

•Abraham is the patriarch (father) of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam▫According to holy scripture G-d told

Abraham to move his people from Mesopotamia to Canaan around 1800BC.

▫Go from your country and your kindred and your fathers house to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great.

Abram lived long ago in the land of Canaan and one day the Lord came to Abram and said,“Abram, get out of your country, and out of your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.” The Lord promised him, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing.”

The Story of

Abraham

So Abram packed up all of his belongings; took Sarai, his wife, Lot, his nephew, all of his servants and all of his cattle and left for a new land.

Abraham and his family traveled a long way passing through towns and villages.

When they reached the land the Lord appeared to Abram again and said, “I will give this land to your children.”

And Abram said, " God, what will You give me?I am childless..."And the Lord said, "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars; if you are able to number them: so your children will be."Abram didn’t really know what G-d meant because he had no children of his own, but he trusted G-d and knew G-d would give him children.

Now, Sarai Abram's wife did not have any children. So Sarai suggested Hagar give him a child.But as soon as Hagar bore him a child, she did not respect Sarai anymore.

•And just as the G-d had said, Hagar had a son.Abram called his son Ishmael.Years passed quickly and before long Abram was ninety-nine years old.The Lord appeared to Abram again like so many times before.

G-d said, “I am almighty G-d ; I have promised that you will be the father of many nations. From now on you will be called Abraham and your wife Sarai will be called Sarah. I will bless her with a son.”

Later the Lord visited Sarah as He said he would, and Sarah had a son.They named their son Isaac.

Sarah and Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away, and they allowed Isaac to rule their land. Isaac’s people were the Hebrew tribes.

Ishmael had his own land. His people were the Arab tribes.

Monotheism

•Believing in only one G-d•Hebrews call G-d Yahweh

▫They do not believe he is a “person” but something higher

▫They do not create paintings or other depictions of him

The Covenant – Wherever you have room•Jews believe that they have made

a covenant (or agreement) with G-d. ▫As long as they remain faithful to

G-d, G-d will always protect them. This was believed to be a deal that G-d made with Abraham.

Moses•Hebrews left Canaan because of a drought and

went to Egypt.•The Egyptians did not welcome them and

forced them to work for many years as slaves.•A man named Moses lead them out of Egypt

and claimed he was guided by G-d.▫This was called “The Exodus”

Jews leaving Egypt, guided by G-d. This remembered in the Jewish holiday of Passover.

The Ten Commandments – Sacred Text • Moses was contacted by G-d on Mt. Sinai.• Set of laws for the Israelites to follow.• G-d gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the basis for

both Judaism and Christianity. 1. I am the Lord your G-d…You shall have no other G-d but me.2. You shall not make yourself a sculptured image.3. You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your G-d. 4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 5. Honor your father and mother.6. You shall not murder.7. You shall not commit adultery.8. You shall not steal.9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.10. You shall not covet your neighbors wife.

Sacred Text•Hebrew Bible

▫Torah First five books of the Bible Origins of humanity

▫Prophets Stories about and written by Jewish

teachers Explains Jewish history

▫Writings A collection of various writings

Practices•Jews believe that that

you serve G-d by studying the Torah (first five books of the Bible) and following its teachings.

• Jews worship G-d in Synagogue.• Services are lead by Rabbi’ on Saturdays• Jewish men are not supposed to leave their head uncovered, so they wear a Yarmulke out of respect for G-d.

Kosher•No beef or pork.•Any meat must be killed in accordance with

Jewish law. •All blood must be drained from meat and

poultry or broiled out of it before it is eaten. •Certain parts of permitted animals may not be

eaten. •Fruits and vegetables are permitted, but must

be inspected for bugs (which cannot be eaten) •Meat cannot be eaten with dairy. •Utensils that have come into contact with meat

may not be used with dairy, and vice versa.

Kosher (permitted)

Trayf (forbidden)

Ritually slaughtered beef, sheep, goats and deer with

no flaws or diseases

Pork, camel, rabbit, rodents, reptiles, and any animal that

died of natural causes Chicken, turkey, quail, geese Eagle, hawk, vulture

Salmon, tuna, carp, herring, cod

Crab, lobster, octopus, clam, swordfish, sturgeon

Meat eaten separately from dairy

Meat with dairy (e.g., cheeseburger, burger with milkshake, chicken cordon bleu, wiener schnitzel, etc.)

Wine or grape juice made under Jewish supervision

Any other wine and grape juice

Soft cheese and kosher hard cheese

Most hard cheese

Kosher Kitchen

Types of Judaism

Judaism

Conservative Reform Orthodox

Those who are the most strict

in their practices.

Those who are the less strict

in their practices

Islam•After Ishmael left Abraham he established his

own group of people, The Arab Tribes.•They continued to worship the monotheistic G-

d as taught to him by his father Abraham.▫They call this G-d Allah

Muhammad•Muhammad is the founder of Islam.

▫He was a spiritual man who prayed and meditated often.

•One day-while praying-the Angel Gabriel came to Muhammad and reaffirmed to him that he should only worship the One G-d. Gabriel also had him write down the revelation in the Quran. ▫Gabriel wanted Muhammad to spread the

word of G-d to the polytheistic Arabs.

•Those who followed the word of Muhammad were called Muslims

Islam=Someone who follows G-d (Allah) Muslims=Someone who practices Islam

Basic Beliefs: Five Pillars of Islam (next to Hajj) •Faith: Muslims begin prayer with the

phrase “There is no G-d but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”

•Prayer: Muslims pray five times a day•Alms: Giving money to the less fortunate•Fasting: During the holy month of

Ramadan, Muslims fast between dawn and sunset.

•Pilgrimage: All Muslims (who are able to) must travel to Mecca once in their lives.

Way of Life•Muslims do not eat pork or drink alcohol•Friday afternoons are sacred and set aside

for worship•There are no priests or central religious

authority▫Imam (the community religious leader)

•All Muslims are encouraged to communicate with G-d directly through prayer and Faith

Sacred Text

•The Qur’an▫G-ds teachings and history of Muslims

Christianity • Jews always stated

that they believed that one day G-d would send a Messiah (savior) to earth

• When Jesus of Nazareth was born, some Jews believed he was the Messiah (by Christians) and some did not think he was

Rise of Christianity – Next to Simon Peter/New Testament •Embracing all people•Gave hope to the hopeless•Appealed to those who were disgusted

with the wealth of Rome•Offered a personal relationship with G-d•Promised eternal life after death

Constantine

•One of the last emperors (Constantine) claimed that he had a vision of a cross.

•Constantine made Christianity the official religion of Rome ▫Ended persecution of

Christians▫Put crosses on the shields of

soldiers

The EARLY Christian Church

Pope

Priest Priest Priest

Bishop

Bishop

Christianity

Divisions of Christianity

Protestant

LutheranEpiscopal

MormonAfrican

Methodist Episcopal

Presbyterian

Methodist

Pentecostal

Baptist

Catholic

Eastern Orthodox

Roman Catholic

Catholic Protestant

• Pope is the leader of the church (for the world)

• Also pray to and recognize the Saints

• Salvation by faith and sacraments (holy rites of passage)

• Church and bible tradition are sources of truth

• Worship service is based on ritual

• Priests interpret Bible and Church for believers

• Ministers lead congregations ▫ No world leader

• Salvation is by faith alone• Bible is the sole source of

truth• Worship services is

focused on preaching and ritual

• Believers interpret the Bible for themselves.

Write Catholic beside Clergy and Protestant beside laity

Basic Beliefs – by New Testament •Sacred Text: The Bible •Jesus was the Messiah •All can reach salvation through prayer

and devotion •One should follow the teachings of the

Bible including the Ten Commandments