¶ … Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
When you first consider different religions, it can seem that they have little in common. Only Christianity believes that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Only Islam believes that Allah is the one true God and that Mohammed was his prophet. Only Judaism believes that the Jewish people were God's chosen race. These are the critical differences and the elements that define each religion. However, if you go beyond these differences, it can be seen that the three religions also have much in common. While they may consider themselves and their God's differently, there are some shared elements. This will now be considered by looking at the three religions and considering both their differences and their similarities.
Judaism is based on three elements. These are God, the Torah, and the people. God refers to the belief that in a personal God and the way that a Jewish person has a personal relationship with God. The Torah is made up of five books of the Jewish Bible and contains what Jewish people consider as God's laws. The people refers to the Jewish belief that the Jewish people are a chosen race, set apart from everyone else because of their obedience to God. Judaism has something in common with Christianity in the way that the Jewish people have a personal relationship with God. This is related to the Jewish belief in Yahweh. Yahweh includes the idea of the one and only God as well as the idea of God as a loving God who is interested in his people. This is similar to the Christian idea of God, where Christians also think of God as good and have a personal relationship with God via prayer. Another aspect that shows some similarities relates to the way that Jewish people have rules to follow, with this part of their worship. The Jewish worship is constant, where all the events of daily life are blessed. This occurs because every experience is seen as being a gift from God that should be appreciated. Christianity has a similar way of expressing thanks and appreciation. For example, people say grace to thank God for the food before they eat. People also pray to thank God for what they have received. In the Jewish religion, giving thanks is more constant and part of daily life than it is in the Christian religion. The idea of thanking God and appreciating what He has given you remains the same in both religions; it is just expressed slightly differently. The Jewish faith is also based on accepting God's law and trying to live as required by God. This also includes accepting the Torah as the law. Jewish individuals then have a set of rules and standards that define the way they live. This is similar to the way that Christians following the Ten Commandments, accepting these as rules for living. It is also similar to the Five Pillars of the Islamic faith, which are accepted by Muslims as their rules for living. The difference is that the Jewish religion has more extensive guidelines and follows them more closely. The Jewish religion is also stricter in relation to the rules for living. For example, the Jewish religion does not include the Christian idea of forgiveness, where you can just say sorry for your sins. Instead, Jewish people believe that you first have to make amends for your sins and right your wrongs before you can be forgiven for them. The Jewish faith also includes a stronger commitment to following the rules, as if following the rules and showing discipline is part of showing your devotion to God. This is related to the Jewish experience of Exile, where the rules became more important, because continuing to obey the rules was a way of continuing to be Jewish when the society around them did not support the religion. The commitment to the rules is also part of the Jewish belief that they are God's chosen people. They consider this a gift from God and show their appreciation by following God's plan for them.
The Muslim religion is based on the four fundamental beliefs in the Koran: that the world was created by Allah, that man is subject to the wills of Allah, that man must perform the tasks of Allah, and that Allah will reward good and punish evil after a man's life. These four fundamental beliefs suggest a life that is based on being devoted to...
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