Judaism, Islam, Christianity - Comparison

QUESTION: Judaism, Islam, Christianity comparison - Are there similarities?

ANSWER:

Judaism, Islam, Christianity comparison - Are there similarities? You are given the choice of learning to play one of three instruments: violin, oud, or piano. Most individuals are familiar with two of the choices. An oud is a short-necked fretless lute with five (or six) double-courses of strings tuned in fourths and traditionally played with an eagle's quill. The oud is valued as the "prince of instruments" by the Arabs. All three instruments have strings, are classical by design, and produce melodic results when mastered. Could you select an instrument based on these similarities? Judaism, Islam, or Christianity -- all believe in an omniscient God, prophets, and life after death. Again, what similarities would affect your choice?

Let us examine these three monotheistic religions which are based on faith in God. Judaism believes there is one God who cannot be made up of parts. To attempt to divide God's oneness is seen as a pagan throwback to many gods. Islam embraces an immaterial, invisible God -- one to be intensely feared in His omnipotence. God could not have children (or a Son) for this blurs the divine/human distinction of an Ultimate God. Christians hold fast to the trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To Christians, God gives a revelation of Himself through the flesh, Jesus Christ, God Incarnate.

Judaism, Islam, Christianity comparison -- Are there similarities in their prophets? All three religions acknowledge that Moses was a prophet of God. The prophets of Israel and Judah are one of the most amazing groups of individuals in all history. The Islamic faith eagerly awaits the return of the Prophet Jesus born by a miracle of God without a father. The Prophet Mohammed's words give an account of the signs that will precede the coming of Jesus. Through Christianity, the prophets confirmed that God is sovereign over history and is working out His purposes in accordance with an overall plan, sometimes indiscernible, but always in the hands of the Lord.

Judaism, Islam, Christianity comparison-- Are there similarities in their holy books? In Judaism, the people saw God's initiative at work in every step of their corporate existence. Yahweh (God) had called Abraham to father a chosen people of destiny. In Exodus, God used the Prophet Moses to affirm His power, goodness, and concern for history. The Ten Commandments established the moral foundations for human behavior. For traditional Jews, the commandments (mitzvoth) and Jewish law (halacha) are still binding. Judaism places the emphasis of serving God upon the Torah. In one sense, the oral Torah can never be regarded as completed, for with the changes in civilization there are always new situations to which it has to be applied. The Torah is generally considered to have received its definitive form in the Talmud and the Midrashim, the official, main devotional expositions of the Old Testament books.

If a Muslim were asked to summarize the way Islam counsels people to live, the answer might be: It teaches them to walk the straight path. God's revelation to humankind, they say, has proceeded through great stages: God revealed the truth of His oneness through the Prophet Abraham; God revealed the Ten Commandments through the Prophet Moses; God revealed the Golden Rule through the Prophet Jesus. The Books of God include the Jewish Torah, David's Psalms, the New Testament, and the Qur'an. All four are revelations from God, but each replaces the previous one. The Qur'an is the last, and therefore, the final and best word from God.

In Christianity, the Bible (Old and New Testaments) is the only book that reveals the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the consequences of sin, and the origin and destiny of all things. The first person whom the Bible calls a prophet was Abraham. But Moses established the standard of comparison for all future prophets, having received a specific and personal call from God (Exodus 3). In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus Christ reveals that He is fulfilling the prophet Isaiah's words (Isaiah 61:1-2). Both Judaism and Islam are similar in that they do not recognize Jesus as the Son of God or His sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin (crucifixion).

Judaism, Islam, Christianity comparison -- Are there similarities or one main difference? The prophet Isaiah paints a prophetic portrait of Jesus Christ, the Messiah (Isaiah 53). All the other prophets' remains have decayed. Only Jesus Christ's tomb remains empty (Luke 24:25-27, 44). What choice is there indeed?