Christianity, Islam, and Judaism / Elisabeth Vincent

All three of these religions are based upon ethical monotheism, and they each have their own respective sacred texts, founders, and (apart from Judaism) creedal statements.

In Judaism, the human condition is exile from Paradise. Islam considers pride and willfulness to be the human disease, and Christianity states that original sin is the cause of our condition. All of these religions share that the basic human condition is separation from God that is caused by human/not God-like traits, such as pride. Specifically, Christianity and Judaism share the belief that the beginning of our human condition was when Adam ate of the tree of knowledge in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Also, part of the human condition is that a transcendent God is too distant without an avatar. All three of these religions also have an avatar, in which humans can better relate to and emulate.

The solution to this condition in Islam is to surrender to the will of Allah. This is done by following the teaching of the Quran, which was dictated by the angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammed. Their creedal statement is to follow the Five Pillars of Islam, which are contained in the Hadith of Gabriel. The Hadith of Gabriel also contains the Six Articles of Faith. The first of the Five Pillars of Islam is Shahada. This is done by reciting ašhadu an lā ilāha illá l-Lāhu (wa ashhadu 'anna) Muḥammadan rasūlu l-Lāhi, which roughly translates from Arabic to mean”there is no god except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." The second Pillar is Salat, which is the utterance of five prayers five times daily. They wash before each recitation, and when the prayers are said they face towards the Ka’ba in the holy city of Mecca. Ritual fasting during Ramadan is the third Pillar. In this month of fasting, Muslims must abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk, and are instructed to be especially mindful of their sins. The fourth of the Pillars of Islam is Zakat – donation – or what Christians call tithing. This is that Muslims should give 2.5 percent of their total wealth to their community in order to benefit those who are less fortunate. This money is then distributed throughout the community in order to benefit those who are in need. The last of the Five Pillars of Islam is hajj. This is a pilgrimage that occurs during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hjjah, in which Muslims travel to the holy city of Mecca. This should occur at least once in a person’s lifetime if he or she can afford it.

Judaism believes that the cause of the human condition of exile from Paradise is disobedience, and that the way out of this is to follow the Halakha, or “Jewish Law.” This includes following the Torah and the Talmud, and teshuva -- repentance. The Halakha centers on the 613 Mitzvot, which could be considered the prescription, or way to move from problem to solution. Mitzvah means “commandment”, and these are similar in some respects to Christianity’s Ten Commandments. Jews believe that they are the chosen people. Two focus points of Judaism are justice and a commitment to learning. I appreciate the latter, because religion is not something that should be committed to without great knowledge, direction, and commitment. There are four types of Judaism: Rabbinic, biblical, Prophetic, and Temple. Today all Judaism is Rabbinic (apart from secular and humanisitic Jews), which is a philosophical type of Judaism that borrows from the Bible by using it as symbolism. I think it’s great that Judaism encourages its followers to immerse themselves into learning about their religion. Judaism is widely considered non-creedal, but the closest it has to a creed is Genesis 12:1. They avoid saying the name of God aloud, and they believe that once the name is uttered, it is inherently limiting God. They instead typically spell it as HVHY, who is masculine and hierarchal.

In Christianity, the human disease is original sin. This was created when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, even though they were instructed by God not to. The cause of this sin is carnal nature, and the path from this problem to solution is salvation through Jesus Christ, who is considered to be the son of God. Christians have to recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and to believe that he died on the cross to save them from their sins, rose again three days after he was buried, and now exists inside each person as the Holy Spirit. They also believe in the Trinity of God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son. The Bible consists of the Ten Commandments, which each Christian adheres to. They celebrate Chrismas as Christ’s birthday and Easter as the day that He was resurrected. Christians try to live each day to emulate God, and pray for forgiveness often from their shortcomings.

Zakat is where I feel the most compassion shows in Islam, and is something that I feel is starkly different from the Christian faith. One of the things that repels me away from Christianity is the indulgence of their members’ hard-earned money into lavish buildings and paychecks. My parents’ church spent $20,000 on a stage in their (newly-remodeled!) youth facility. They have plasma flat screens mounted on the walls of each small group room. Yet my parents are struggling financially, and continue to faithfully pour their monthly allotment of tithing into the offering plate. One of my good friends was told she could not sing in the choir if she did not wear shoes. That last one has nothing to do with Christianity as a whole, but this is what I feel pushes so many people away from Christianity as an establishment and religion altogether. Every community has those who are hungry, unsheltered, and lacking medical attention but are unable to afford to do so. Islam recognizes this and shares the money, which is an aspect of Islam that I greatly respect.

Thank you for teaching this class and for allowing all of us to learn and ask questions. It is one of the most informative and definitely one of the most important classes that I have ever taken.

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism Madeline Burford

All three religions are very similiar in character but differ in details. They all are monotheistic in that they either believe in God or Allah. The human condition is that we are all sinful creatures in need of salvation. In Christianity, believers are saved by believing in Jesus Christ, the savior, as well as having a relationship with God and most believe in the Trinity and follow the Bible as a main instruction to life from God. In Judaism, believers trust in the Torah for instruction and are still waiting for the acclaimed Messiah. In Islam, believers trust in the Qu'ran as their book of instructoin which is based off the dictation from Gabriel to Muhammad. All believe in talking and communicating with God through prayer, even though the methods and types of prayers differ. All three have afterlifes, have commandments, and have a connection to God through relationships.

While all of these religions are similar, they do have some serious differences. Judaism believes that the Messiah is still to come while Chrisitanity and Islam believe that the prophets and Messiah have come back already. Islam has added pilgramages as well as has a call to prayer on top of the added Five Pillars of Islam. Chrisitainity has the Trinity which has God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit but has many difffering denominations and views on issues like baptism and divorce. Judaism observes alot of the old laws and festivals from the Old Testament that Chrisitans tend to ignore.

It was really interesting to learn about the different Abraham religions, the main three in the world. Its crazy how similar they all are but how much they have fought each other when all three promote peace in their doctrine. However, I am a firm believer in Christianity. I appreciate the Jewish tradition and how it adds to the history and background of the Christian faith.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are some of the oldest institutions of religion in the world.

The one aspect that all three have in common, yet they all have a different opinion on, that I found most interesting is God. In Christianity, for example, God serves as the Alpha and Omega, the end all/be all, the creator and the ultimate judge we will have to answer to one day. He is the one who created man, and He is the one who sent down his physical self in the form of Jesus Christ. In Christianity, God as Christ is the Messiah—the one man who was appointed to deliver His message of salvation through Christ. Most Christians, from what I gathered in class, believe that unless a person chooses to accept Christ as the savior of all sins, they will suffer the consequence of going to Hell. I honestly believe that whatever God may be in charge and responsible for everything we as a human race are exposed to, would have a better reason to send someone to eternal damnation. I can’t speak based on extensive research or knowledge on the topic, but I can speak based on experience in the church. Granted, my exposer to Christianity was through the Catholic Church, but it was exposure to the Christian God and the Christian religion nonetheless. The only problem or concept that I can’t really wrap my brain around when it comes to Christianity is the exclusivity. Unlike some of the other religions we’ve learned about, Christianity seems to put its followers on a pedestal that only those who have heard and understood “the word” can reach. However, what if what they believe isn’t true? And why does the religion insist upon trying to reach out to others based on a set of stories compiled in one book? What if the person doesn’t believe like you? Are they really automatically condemned to a place congregations of Christians are taught to fear? To me, Christianity serves as a comfort mechanism for certain human being, like most other religions do; however, Christianity was never said to be the one and true religion—therefore, I wish that some would try and approach it not as such.

In Judaism, I found it interesting that the Maimonides said that one couldn’t say God exists—as soon as someone does, a limit is placed on God. The best a person can do is to say that God doesn’t exist. I also thought it was interesting that in Judaism, God is amoral. I can relate a little better with Judaism simply because I do think there is a divine being, but I don’t necessarily believe that divine being sent himself down in the form of a human. I liked learning and hearing about the history of Judaism and how many of the traditions haven’t changed from the time it started. Learning about the 613 mitzvot was interesting—especially how those 613 were supposedly only given to the Jews. I think it’s very commendable and admirable that studying is everything in the religion. Learning about the true nature, history and tradition of whatever religion a person associates themselves with is so crucially important, in my opinion, because it shows that the person isn’t just jumping on a bandwagon, but that they also value the religion itself.

Islam has always been a part of the Muslim culture that I’ve wanted to learn more about, simply because it has always interested me. I must admit that after September 11, my interest rose. I wanted to know why certain people from that religion and culture would kill in the name of their God or religion. That concept seemed so foreign to me, and then, I thought about how many radical Christians there were, and are, here in the U.S. There are members of the Ku Klux Klan, for example, believe that the actions and mentality are totally justified based on their interpretation of the Bible and other Christian theology. However, anyone who knows better should understand that their hatred and violence has no merit or is any kind of representation of Christianity. There is a quote that always comes to mind when I think of how people misunderstand Islam. It’s from a show that used to run called The West Wing. There’s a scene where one of the characters on the show asks a group of students an analogy. “Islam extremists are to Islam as _____ is to Christianity. No one knew the answer the man who asked the question answered with “the KKK.” I think it’s so important for people to have an open mind and learn about whatever it may that they fear or resent. Islam is in fact a religion, just like any other religion. In fact, Islam is one of the three great religions. I disliked seeing how the religion itself was being challenged in the video we saw in class. Islam has a god, a message, a “bible” (the Qur’an) and a prophet. When looked at like that, one could say that the religion’s structure isn’t that much different than Christianity. Sure, Jesus may not be the one and only messiah or prophet but the religion even recognized him.

All in all, the class taught me so much more than what I thought I knew. I appreciate how open everyone was (maybe not so much towards the end), but I am happy to say that I think everyone respected each other as much as one could hope. I’m glad that I went into this class not knowing how to feel about religion. Now I can look at them all (at least the ones we learned about) and have some knowledge behind my argument of each one holding some truth. I don’t subscribe myself to any one religion, simply because I think that’s doing a disservice to my capacity to learn. I can’t express how really glad I am that I took this class.

Christianity / Judaism / Islam - Keith Songer

Christianity / Judaism / Islam

What is the human condition?

The human condition for these religions can mostly be summed up with one of the most universal words spanning Abrahamic religions: sin (or the act of “sinning”). In Christianity, original sin began when Adam/Eve ate the forbidden fruit, thus starting humanity on its course through history. Comparatively to the other two, this isn’t too far from what they think, but it’s not the central focus from where we’ve come, mainly because this is the teaching of Jesus, the messiah of Christianity, whereas Abraham and Moses are more well regarded in Judaism, and Muhammad in Islam. Jesus is viewed as a prophet and the Christ in Islam, but he’s not the key figure; in Islam, Muhammad more or less said to his fellows that Christians got it wrong, so he was talked to by Allah and Gabriel to try and remedy this fact and to try to get the world back on track.

Problem -> Solution:

Act how God / YHVH / Allah wants you to act (treat others, yourself, worship, etc...), thereby you’re working on your problems by using His (Her/Its’?) solution(s). The NT is primarily the focus on what to do for Christians, the OT and Torah for Jews, and the Qur'an for Muslims on pleasing their respective God and to attain salvation. Because they’re all Abrahamic religions, they root of each and every one of them is basically the same: have peace towards one another, love each other, and love God before all else.

Apply in daily life:

For Christians, love is the core/root of daily life in relation to what Christ wants of each Christian, to show how he is towards others. For Jews, study and understanding are above others for pleasing YHVH and to attain his approval. For Muslims, worship, respect others, and love others is above all. For all three, things like theft, pride, lying, cheating, etc... are all considered to be morally wrong, and should be avoided because of such.

So which is right? Depends on the flavor of ice cream you’re most interested in. (Or you could mix and match flavors for an interesting combination!)

Judaism, Christianity, Islam/ Angela Hooper

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are “the big three” religions. They are all monotheistic and stem from a form of the bible. Judaism believes they are the chosen people and refer to their books of laws known as the Torah which was given to Moses on Mt. Siani. They believe that the Christ has not yet come and so they live each day waiting for the Savior of the world and living to reach God. There are different types of Judaism; Biblical, Prophetic, Temple and Rabbinic. Biblical Judaism is considered the Mother of all and refers to the Jews in the Old Testament. They believe we have been disobedient and must return to God and follow the Mitzvot in order to reach God.

Christianity is stemmed from Judaism after the coming of Jesus and they believe is the the Son of God who came to earth to live a sinless life, to die on the cross to cover our sins for forgiveness from God, he was buried and arose again three days later. After his resurrection we were given the Holy Spirit who lives among us until the second coming of Christ. Christians believe in one God in the form of the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe that we are born with sin and that the Bible consists of the Old and New Testament which is the Word of God as a guide for how to live life sacrificially, to share the love of God with all we encounter. We are to study Gods word, pray, give through tithe which is 10 percent of what you make, be disciples to all nations to share that Christ is the one way to heaven.

Islam also believes there is one true God but also that Muhammad is his prophet. They refer to the Qu’ran which was given to Muhammad when the angel Gabriel came to him and had him write the Qu’ran as a more relevant version of the bible. They follow the five pillars which are Shahada, affirmation of faith, Prayer, 5 times daily as submission to Allah (God) which is what is means to be a Muslim. Third is Charity, to give 2 percent of all your wealth and not just your income. Fourth, is Ramadan which is a 30 day fast from sun up to sundown but not just from food. It is a fast from all things evil, that within these 30 days you are to try to live as perfectly as possible as if you could really live without sin. The fifth is Hajj which is to take a pilgrimage to Mecca considered the center of Allah.

All three religions believe that we are created and live with sin and the solution is to follow guidelines given by God which most all include loving others, sacrificing, and submitting. As a Christian I was not moved by the religions of Judaism or Islam though I was very interested to learn what it is they truly believe. It is disturbing but also neat to know that these three religions are so close in nature but there are a few basic truths that are distinctly different to completely change the significance of each religion compared to the others.

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam tend to be some of the most understood and easily accessible because they are so popular among the western countries. Each one has clear problem and solution. With Christianity, the problem is Original sin, from which came from the original story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Judaism the “Chosen People” are waiting on the Messiah and which will ultimately lead to the Promise land. Islam uses the Quran as their solvent giving them 5 main standards of living.

Unlike most eastern religions, all three of these have clear deities, afterlives, and clear definitions of what’s wrong and right. In Christianity, the Bible teaches of Jesus Christ’s life and the Hebrew Law. Judaism abides by the Torah and the Talmud. Islam follow the teaching of the Quran, which was dictated by the angel Gabriel and written by the prophet Mohammed.

These religions definitely spoke to me, most likely because Christianity is what I’ve been raised up in. I think I enjoyed them also because I got a lot of questions answered that I never knew or was never able to get a complete answer on. Judaism has always been a mystery to me just because I always knew it had a lot of historical connections to Christianity but never quite knew what they were.

In the end, I choose truth. My truth is that Jesus Christ is my savior and that He is the way the truth and the life. God is my supreme Lord and takes upon my fears, worries, and uncertainties.

Islam / Judaism / Christianity - Kait Scharringhausen

The human condition in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity is pride. What is the solution to this condition? How do we move from problem to solution? and how is best to live the solution in our own lives.

In Islam, it was told that the angel Gabriel came and spoke to Muhammed producing the Koran, which Muhammed called the Standing Miracle. To be saved, Muslims live by following the Koran. The principles or rules that regulate the private life of Muslims in their dealings with God coincide and surround the Five Pillars of Islam. The first of the Five Pillars is Islam's creed, or confession of faith is known as Shahada. The second pillar of Islam is the canonical prayer, in which the Koran adjures the faithful to "be constant." The third pillar of Islam is charity. The fourth pillar of Islam is the observance of Ramadan, Islam's holy month. As the Muslim calender is lunar, Ramadan rotates around the year. Islam requires fasting to teach self-discipline. "Only those who have been hungry can know what hunger mean." Smith, Huston Pg.247 "one who can endure its demands will have less difficulty controlling the demand of appetites at other times. Islam's fifth pillar is pilgrimage. Once in a Muslim's lifetime every Muslim is expected to journey to Mecca, where God's climactic revelation was first disclosed.

In Judaism, Halakha is the pathway. The Jewish view of the world is rooted in the Lord's original blessing with Abraham in the Old Testament. Jews are a people whose central concerns of God are justice and compassion. Jews also celebrate Rosh haShanah, the anniversary of Creation, and Yom Kippur, celebrating forgiveness and Atonement. Judaism believes that following the Ten Commandments is just the minimal standard to make the collective life possible. There are also different Judaism's practiced: Biblical, Prophetic, Temple, and Rabbinic. In the Rabbinic different texts are looked at such as the Pirke Avot, Mishnah, Gemara, and the Talmud - teachings and commentary on rabbinic ethical teachings. Judaism believes Jesus was merely a prophet and not necessarily the Messiah they were looking for.

In Christianity, the human condition is the way we are as human beings: prideful, arrogant, lazy, ignorant, slothful, and selfish. What is the solution to this condition? When Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan and disobeyed God, partaking of the tree of knowledge, they were able to see the separation that caused them shame apart from God. Because of one man's disobedience, we as humans are now born into a fallen world. You see the brokenness all around us: Pain, separation, anxiety, disease, and tears. God spoke the world into existence, gave us the Old Testament, and then decided to send down himself as Jesus - fully God, fully human, to get down to our level. We are with limitations but God is not. God chose to meet us here on earth and befriend sinners and show them the way. Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the life. Whoever knows me, knows my father (God). I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. (John 12:47). Jesus was beaten, bruised, persecuted, and nailed on the cross in complete humility knowing he had to die to fulfill the law for everyones sake. Only his blood could wash away the sin we were born into. Why did he choose to do it? Love. No greater love than to lay down ones life for ones friends (John 15:13). We are sick, we need a healer. Jesus is the Healer, He is the Messiah the Jews hoped for and set aside running in disbelief. He resurrected in three days to bring forth his power and Life to everyone. Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28). How do we move from problem to solution? Faith. But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have Life in his name. (John 20:31). How best to live the solution in our own lives? (Ephesians 6:10-18) A final word, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power, put on all of God's armor so you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil, for we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places; therefore put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil, then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground putting on the belt of truth, and the body armor of God's righteousness, for shoes put on the peace that comes from the good news so you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit in all times and in every occasion, stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for the believers everywhere.

God is God. He is the beginning and end to it all. He is the Creator of the universe and he sent himself as Jesus in the form of perfection to die and take our place of death upon the cross which was deserved from Adam's disobedience when Eve was deceived. He so loved the world, he gave up his only Son. God is Love. He set things up the way they are to reveal himself and his Glory. He wants to be chosen because he chose everyone upon the cross.

Islam had Muhammed as the founder and does now have the Koran as text to be followed for salvation. Judaism had Moses, original blessing, and the ten commandments to follow. Christianity has Jesus who gave his blood to wash away our brokenness, heal our disease, and the free gift of salvation. We don't deserve it and cannot do anything to earn it but He wants us that much, he give up his only begotten son to adopt us into his majesty. His death and resurrection was the only way for us to have eternal life with him, to have real relationship with him, to see who he is, who we are, and why he did what he did on the cross for all to see. thank you Father. Experience that the lord is good, taste and see for yourself. He has done a wonder in my life personally, healed me from addiction, pain, abuse, and anger. I have only known the Lord for 2 almost 3 years now and it has been a process learning and growing with him in prayer and study time with him in his word. I've learned much about who I am, who he is, and why he has me here on this earth. I challenge and invite all readers to ask the Lord to reveal himself to you, to ask him if he says who he says he is then show you his trues apart from lies. Knock and the door will be answered, seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you. We are all looking for Truth, and I'm only a witness to Him who has found me and has called me his own to tell you that Jesus is the truth not just for me or your neighbor but for all. And He died for all, that those who live will no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:15.)

Judaism/Christianity/Islam/Christy Robinson

What is the human condition in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity? In Christian religion there is three parts of the God known as “The Trinity”. The trinity is made up of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. The condition for the salvation of Christianity is giving servant-hood to the Messiah and God. Tithing in Christianity is ten percent of the weekly or biweekly income to give more is known as a sacrifice and not as a tithing. Judaism is the first religion known as the “people” through this religion; the Jews were called to be the chosen people in both Judaism and Christianity. The book of Jews is the Torah which is the books of the law. Jews studied the Torah and learn to live by the law to grow closer to their God and fulfill the laws. The Tithing of Jews is the same in Christian rituals being at ten percent.

Islam studies the Qur’an which teaches of the five pillars to become closer to their God. These five pillars are Shanada, Prayer, Charity, Ramadan, and Hajj. Shanada is a testament of ones faith in the teaching and God of Islam, Prayer is for the five times a day one must pray to the God, Charity speaks of their tithing once a year of two and a half percent of all money the person owns, Ramadan is a monthly fasting for food or drink till the sun goes down, and finally Hajj which is the holy trip of pilgrimage to the city of Mecca.

In these “big three” religions that continue to dominate the amount of people throughout America, they all share some factors dealing with the entity of there being a God. Servant-hood also plays a factoring role in all three showing each person focuses on being a better person and living for something greater then ones self. Every breathe that’s breathed, and every step taken is thanks to the God of each religion.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam... Heather Mathis

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all very similar religions, yet very different. They are the three biggest religions in the western world. They all believe in God, or Allah in Islam. The human condition is sin. In Christianity we have sin because of Adam and Eve and must accept Jesus Christ by being babtized and recognizing him as the Son of God. Christianity believes in the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirt. Christians use the bible made up of the Old and New Testement. In Judaism they dont believe in Jesus and instead of the bibe, believe they were the chosen people to have the God's word in the Torah. In Islam the angel Gabriel dictated the Qu'ran to the prophet Muhammad. All three religions believe in prayer to God. Chirstians think that you shouldn't question God or the things he is doing in your life, while in Judaism you can. All three have the same basic rules to follow about how to live a good life according to God. In Christianity they are the ten commandments like dont believe in any other god, dont cheat, dont lie, dont steal. Islam has the 5 pillars, the first pillar is the confession of faith known as Shahadah. The second pillar is prayer, they pray throughout the day to keep their life in perspective. the third is charity where they must give 2.5% of their wealth. The fourth pillar is the observance of Ramadan, and the fith pillar is pilgrimage where if they are able must travel to the city of Mecca. Thought they all have differnt beliefs all three religions share the belief that if you live right according to God when you die you will have an afterlife with Him. I enjoyed learning about all these religons, especially Islam because of the controvery going on in Murfreesboro right now. I am glad I can have more of an educated opinon now.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam- Justin Wesson

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the three Abrahamic religions. Each traces their heritage back to Abraham. All three also trace back to the garden and Adam and Eve. Judaism is the first of the Abrahamic religions historically. Judaism begins with the exile from the Garden which begins the problem with humans. After the garden scene God chooses the Jews starting with Abraham, calling him out of his homeland to go to a land he promised. The human condition, according to Judaism is exile. We see it in the Torah, exile from the garden, exile in Egypt, wondering the wilderness for forty years, etc. In Judaism, one is trying to get out of exile and back to God. You do this through following the commandments. The Jews are waiting on a Messiah to come and return them to the Promise Land. Christianity comes along and says they have the Messiah, a Jewish carpenter’s son. Christianity finds the problem in original sin, when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. Instead of exile, there is condemnation. Sin enters the world and no one can be made right with God. The only way to be made right is the need for a perfect sacrifice. In comes Jesus who preaches the Kingdom of God is near, repent. After roughly three years of ministry, he is crucified and buried. Now come the part that loses people, three days later he is risen, wonders the earth for forty days appearing to his followers and crowds before ascending to heaven. The resurrection is seen as God accepting the sacrifice. Christianity solution is now to have faith in the work of Christ and to follow God and live righteously in expectation of Jesus’ return. Islam comes along though and claims that the Jews and Christians have messed up God’s word and that they are the true way to follow God. Islam splits from Judaism at the bonding Isaac, Islam teaches that it is instead Ishmael. They see the problem is pride. Pride is the reason for the human condition; we are only concerned about ourselves. The way to fix the problem is to submit to Allah and obey his Commands. Islam was founded by the prophet Muhammad when Allah sent Gabriel down to give the Qur’an to Muhammad. A Muslim must submit themselves to Allah’s will and follow the teachings and commandments found in the Qur’an.

I am a Christian. Do I believe my way is the right way? Yes, but what Jew or Muslim wouldn’t say they believe their way is the right way. I am not one of those, however, that rejects aspects from other religions just to look like an idiot, I believe all truth is God’s truth and he can use any means to reveal it. I found things in Judaism and Islam that I found fascinating. One of them being the devotion to prayer, I think Christians can say we pray but do we? Do we set aside scheduled time to get away and pray to God?

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam; Ashlyn Chadd

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the three main world religions as well as some of the most well known. Here, we will take a look at all three and how they are similar and how they are different.

What is the human condition? Sin. This was all caused by Adam and Eve not listening to God and eating fruit from the tree. God became angry with them and banished them to the Earth we all know and love today. Just so you know though, Muslims call him Allah while Christianity and Islam call him God. Christians believe that by following the things that Jesus Christ said they will be delivered to God once they die. For Muslims it's the same thing only they believe that Allah sent Muhammad to earth to deliver his message, not Jesus. Jews, however, say forget Jesus and just listen to the word of God himself. After all, what better way to make God happy then to follow the big guy himself?

What is the solution/how do you move from problem to solution? They all believe roughly the same thing for a solution: do what God/Allah wants you to do and he will reward you once you die by allowing you to enter his kingdom. Christians do what Jesus told them they should do in order to make God happy; things such as helping others, don't lie, cheat, steal, but mostly a person must truly believe in God and have faith in his word. Most Christians also go to church and read the Bible and pray and ask for forgiveness for their sins. Jews do what God wanted them to do; believe in him, study the Old Testament, and believe in God. They do most of the same things as Christians do in that respect only they don't acknowledge the New Testament at all. Muslims do what Allah wants them to do. They pray five times a day, they fast during Ramadan, women only marry men in the same religion. Also, of course, all of these religions follow the same basic principle of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

How best to live this solution in our lives? Pretty much the same as I said before. All of them pray, follow the word of God/Jesus/Allah in order to make them happy so hopefully the will get into heaven once they die. Jews don't eat pork cause they don't think God wants them to. Muslims fast during Ramadan. Christians eat like cows. They all believe its wrong to lie, cheat, steal, or kill. They mainly just try to be nice, humble people who follow the word of their repected savior.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam~Shari Scott

I found the study of Islam to be so interesting. The “human disease” for Islam is pride. They believe sin is when you put your will above God. I so agree with this and I thought I would not agree with a whole lot but this intrigued me. Just like the misconception about people believing all Christians believe “all homosexuals will go to hell” (that was a lot of absolutes), is not true. On the surface, yes, it is a sin and we die because of sin but homosexuality is not above any other sin and it is not what is sending you to hell. It is the fact that you believe you are better than God. You believe your thoughts and your righteousness is more than God’s. This is the sin, not the action. That is where Islam differs. Islam is more connected with the doing than the heart. The concrete, this is what I did, this is the action I took that is sin. Muslims do believe in what the intentions were but if you were to hate someone but not act on it that is not a sin. Within Christian belief, the hating of someone is the same as killing them.
Judaism was so new to me because the only Judaism I knew about was Old Testament Judaism. Hearing the interpretations of stories I have always heard was difficult. For example, the story about Abraham asking God if there was only 50 righteous men, would God still destroy the city. Then, he keeps going to 5 people and God says He would not destroy the city if he could find 5 righteous men in the city. The story was interpreted by most Jews as Abraham calling God out on being a just and moral. In Christian belief it was like a theological lesson and also pointing towards Jesus. I do not think this proves the bible can be interpreted in any way possible. I believe it’s the mind set behind how you study it that makes it seem that way.
We are usually asked in class if whatever religion we just learned about had spoken to us or moved us in anyway. Well, I’m not converting anytime soon but I did learn a lot. My mind was opened more to respect for these religions more than anything else. In one class, we had talked about abortion. Rabbi Rami talked about how he understood people protesting it but they crossed the line when they used pictures of the holocaust to get their point across. He said something on the lines of, “You want to protest abortion fine, but don’t use pictures of the corpses of my people to do so.” I can’t imagine that. I can’t imagine the pain or even the thought of having a people. Being Jewish means something, something powerful and something I won’t understand. The Rabbi also talked about how most Jews do not believe in God the way they used to but as far as I can tell they still practice the same traditions and restrictions as the people that came before them (maybe not so much sacrificing lambs but still, a lot of laws still practiced). They are still bound together even though they go through torture and disbelief. Respect is so different today in America. Our version of respect looks like either pluralism or tolorance, but respect of ancestors and your family name is not even a thought to most Americans (this is just my assumption through observation). It is just amazing to me that that still exists in a very real way today. Also, talking about a conscious decision made daily to be obedient and eat what you are told to eat is something I wonder about. Is this practice made habit or disbelief wanting to believe or something completely different? I don’t have an answer or a thought for an answer just excited to finally see more depth in the beliefs and traditions of other religions.
This might not be true but is interesting enough for me to think about. I have heard that Islam came from Muhammad searching for religion and went to Christianity but thought they were polytheists because of the trinity belief. This is how he was turned off to Christianity because he was sure God was one and then the Qur’an came. Listening to the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish views on sexuality in my other class also greatened my respect for religions. Just being with people who are fighting to be selfless and wanting to love our creator is awesome to listen to.
My reaction to these different religions is one of respect and one of conviction. I have more respect because of a greater knowledge of the people and their beliefs but also that I should not hide my beliefs. I’m not trying to convince people that I am right but I want to tell the truth I have found and have been changed by. I believe when “…you will seek the LORD your God - you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” I believe Jesus is the only way to God. I honestly do not believe this is my truth but the truth. Thank you for your classes, Rami. I learned more about people and myself than any other class I’ve taken in college. I truly appreciate your ability to make students think and your genuine interest and excitement for religion. I’ve learned a lot.

Christianity/Islam/Judaism- Ricki Uselton

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are some of the most recognized and followed religions in the world. So what is the human condition? Within all of them we can recognize that we all are living in a world where a God provides for our life. They all have a similar history and some beliefs are parallel, but they are 3 different religions that have many differences. They all believe in an ever lasting God, but in Christianity we have the God, Son, and Holy Spirit, in which we call “The Trinity.” We must go through them all to reach the ultimate spirt. We can also get there by using the sacred texts that each religion has, such as the Torah, Bible or Koran. Each of these books are filled with statements that assist in your learnings of God, and consist of creedal statements, that re-affirm what you believe.

Islam must also go through steps to reach God. We call these the five pillars. They consist of Shanada (affirmations of faith), Prayer ( 5 times a day), Charity ( Islam must donate 2 and 1/2 percent of their acquired wealth to the church. The fourth is Ramadan ( to observe a month by fasting from sun up to sun down). And Lastly there is Hajj, which is the pilgrimage they must make to Mecca which is the holiest town in the Islam faith. If they are wealthy they must travel and pay respects to this country. By following all of these steps they can reach the ultimate fulfilling relationship with God.

Through Judaism we can follow our God by reading the Torah ( the first 4 books of the ten commandments). After reading this and believing it we can fulfill ourselves and know who is God. Christianity is a bit different because of the Human Condition, which is to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior, and realizing that we must go through the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirt to reach the ultimate Heaven after death. This is the major difference in Islam and Judaism as they do not believe that Jesus is the way to the life of God.

What we all can agree upon within these three religions is that they all must work day to day for the greater good of humanity. This God we worship believes that we should all love and protect each other instead of harming each other. I believe that these religions are similar in retrospect and shouldn’t be religions that fight against each other but instead embrace the fact that we are all living in a world where we are just waiting to go to another heavenly world with our Creator. As someone who isn’t religious, after taking in all these different religions I have realized that out of all of them, I really truly can identify more with these three, because of what I want to believe. I think that we should celebrate this amazing life that someone has given to us, and give thanks. I believe in a greater Human being, and that is why some other religions do not do anything for me. As a person in this world, I do want to believe that I am here for a reason, and I should give thanks to the God who sent me here. I believe if we think too much into it, we lose any real meaning in anything, and I think we should just go with how we feel, and sometimes we just know which religion is meant for us.

Christianity Islam and Judaism /Clacey Farley

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are very similar religions. It’s impossible not to be when they built directly on top of each other’s religious views and texts in the same place. Judaism was the original, Christianity came along triumphing the savior of the Jewish people, Jesus, however, the Jews did not accept him as the messiah, because the Jews who did became the Christians, if they hadn’t this blog would only be about the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam. Then after Jesus and Christianity comes Islam with, who they consider to be the last prophet of Allah, Muhammad. That’s something else they all have in common, they all believe in the “one true god.” Each may advertize a slightly different supporting cast with slightly differing opinions on the characters importance in the whole production. Moses is recognized by all faiths as is Noah but Jesus is only a player in Christianity as the son of god and the Messiah and by Muslims as merely a prophet, albeit a very important one. But essentially, be big star, the one who steals they show is the same. All hail the spirit in the sky.

The human condition present in these religions seems to that of sin. Eve, a character in the common creation story, ate of the tree of life, gave it to her mate, Adam, and both were then able to see as god sees. This was the one act forbidden by god so they were cast out of the beautiful lush all providing garden he had provided for them and forced to populate the planet with their sinful spawn. Each of these religions holds the same solution to our sinful nature, respectively of course. Christians believe you must accept their lord and savior Jesus Christ, because he is the way, the truth, and the light, and the only way to the father is through him. Simple as that open up you heart to Jesus and you’re in. Judaism doesn’t ascribe to the jesus-as-the-messiah notion so for them you must live by the word of God. Do your best to live a good life as his chosen people. Islam takes on a similar idea of Christianity except they believe Allah is the one true god and Muhammad is his prophet. Now this was the problem/solution cut and dry, moving from problem to solution involves more legwork. The goal is to act like God, love like god, provide like god. Giving tithing to the church to help out with problems seems to be a reoccurring theme. Just as reaching out to those less fortunate than you either spiritually, financially, or without them even asking. God wants his children to spread his name so that more may come to know him and spread his name even further. The Bible, the Torah, and the Quran are the blueprints set out by these faiths to help people live better lives, to do better by their neighbors and families. However, this “us” mentality is pretty sweeping and brings to light another universal and that is the “us and them” idea. “We” are going to heaven and “you” are not because you don’t believe in “my” god!”

I think the best way to execute the solution in our lives is to remember that at the heart of everything is being a good person. Personally I do not consider myself religious. I renounced church and the biblical version of god a long time ago. But one thing that stuck with his heretic is that being good is intrinsic. True there are bad people in the world, but I couldn’t accept that religions just offer them a prayer and bing bang boom, no questions asked, all sins forgiven one way ticket to the land of milk and honey. Then I started to question whether there even was a heaven and hell. The more I thought about it the more it becomes clear to me that they are concepts, tools, simply put in place to keep people operating efficiently without disruption and with as much love as possible. So that’s what I think is most important. And I don’t think religion is needed for the moral basis of society. I think the golden rule; treat people the way you want to be treated has been around as long as homo has lived in bands, beyond sapiens and Neanderthal. I have read about indigenous tribes who worshiped nature entities essentially and they have moral compasses. True their society is much more relaxed and egalitarian than the large metropolises of ancient Middle East, but if someone killed someone they were shunned and cast out of the group for the trouble they caused. Do unto others. Don’t kick children or puppies; don’t take things that aren’t yours, help your fellow human being out.

Judaism, Christianity, Islam/ Caleb Hoey

In Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, the human condition is very similar in that we are all Gods creations living in the universe God created. We all have the laws of God to abide by and God punishes us if we do not. In Judaism, the Jews are the chosen people of God to receive the Torah. They are waiting for their messiah to come rescue them and take them to the Promised Land. In Christianity, we are all born with original sin that comes from Adam and Eve being banished from the Garden of Eden. In order to be saved by Jesus we have to become baptized in holy water and proclaim faith in him as the saviour and Son of God. In Islam, we all must submit to God and recognize him as the only god at all times. All three religions have a similar solution to their conditions. In Judaism, the solution is to be saved by the messiah after a life of following the Torah and the Ten Commandments. In Christianity, the solution is to accept Jesus Christ as your saviour and follow his teachings in the New Testament. If you do that, then you will be rewarded by going to heaven when you die. In Islam, the solution is to live a live of submission to God and he will reward you with an eternal paradise when you die. All three religions have similar texts guiding how to live. Judaism and Christianity both use the Torah, or Old Testament. Christianity adds the gospels to create the New Testament, which is the story of Jesus. Islam has the Qu’ran, which is God’s word given to the prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. It teaches you how to go about life and the nature of God. All three religions have a similar way to get from our human condition to the solution. They all involve a lot of prayer and religious study. Good deeds and the golden rule are very important in all three to solving our condition, also. Each religion has its own specific rituals and ceremonies, although. Judaism has temple services that involve a lot of chanting and some holidays based on fasting. Christianity has communions and baptisms that represent events in the life of Jesus. Islam has the Hajj, prayer facing towards Mecca and also has fasting in many holidays. All three religions have pretty much the same way to live the solution in our lives, and that is to accept the respective text and consistently worship God as the only God.