#7: People of the Book
Who are the people of the book?
With the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - three of the world's most popular faiths and three that have engaged in centuries of bitterness, rivalry, and bloodshed while sharing many things in common. They are considered 'people of the Book' Why are they called the people of the book?
They are considered 'people of the Book' - a designation coming from the Islamic tradition denoting that the three religions share a common heritage and ultimately worship a common God.
Approximately how many years ago does Judaism emerge onto the world's stage?
It emerges into known history around 5000 BCE in the land of Palestine, with its main religious text being the Torah.
What is the Torah?
The Torah is a collection of the books of Moses and the stories of Abraham, Noah, and many other prophets and men of great renown that are so familiar to Christians and Muslims. Both Christianity and Islam view the Torah as sacred and part of the revelation of God to humankind. The Torah is sacred to which three religions?
Christianity, Islam, and Judaism
The Garden of Eden appears in which of the Abrahamic religions?
Judaism also teaches that humans need God due to our sinful nature, a nature that starts at the very beginning of our species in the Garden of Eden - a story also shared by Christianity and Islam.
What is the source of forgiveness to the Abrahamic religions?
God is the only source of forgiveness After death what is the place of punishment to Christians, Muslims and Jews?
The place of punishment to Christians, Muslims, and Jews after death is Hell
Identify the names of the religious buildings used by the three Abrahamic religions.
The places of worship in Judaism are known as synagogues and sometimes commonly referred to as temples. Here, men and women often worship separately, and the synagogue maintains a cultural and political leadership in more conservative and traditional Jewish communities. This role is matched by churches in the Christian world and mosques in Islam.
From which city does Christianity have its origins?
It originates out of the city of Jerusalem
What is the origin of the name Jesus?
Jesus Christ, was a Jew whose name was Yeshua ben Yosef, or Joshua, son of Joseph. It was only later, when Christianity spread to the Greek-speaking world, that the name Yeshua became Iesous and found its way to the English-speaking world as Jesus.
What does Christianity say about the messiah?
The one major modification, that of Jesus being the Messiah (God incarnate) still builds upon earlier traditions in the Torah. Throughout the Torah, the idea of a redemptive figure who will come to save the Jewish nation and uplift the populace is a frequent theme.
What does Judaism say about Jesus being the messiah?
They believe this messiah will be a strong religious and political as well as social figure. So it's written in the Torah that the messiah will come - it's just that the Jewish faith does not accept Jesus to be that promised figure.
What do Jews and Muslims think about the idea of Jesus?
Christians, on the other hand, took Jesus to be this Messiah and went a step further, assigning him the qualities of a deity. This includes considering him the son of God and a savior of all humankind. The essence of the faith is found in the Book of John 3:16. Such a notion is unacceptable to Jews as well as Muslims, who view the concept of God as inviolate, one that could never include God becoming man. However, this is not to say they condemn Jesus or his teachings. Quite the contrary, Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet of God, in the same way Moses, Elijah, and others were prophets. They simply believe Christians have ascribed qualities to Jesus that he himself did not possess or even promote and view the New Testament as a misinterpretation of God's true message to humanity.
How do Muslims approach the concepts and figures of the other Abrahamic religions?
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam is a monotheistic faith with origins in the Middle East - in fact, just East of Palestine in what is now Saudi Arabia. Islam holds the teachings of Judaism and Christianity in high esteem and respects what these religions teach but feels the revelations in the Torah and the Gospels are incomplete.
