...Essay on Monotheism With all of the religions in the world, the most conflict seems to arise out of turmoil between three; Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. These are often referred as the Abrahamic religions and are the ones we are most familiar with. Many see them as three separate religions entirely, and forget that they all originate from one source. The religions also share very similar belief systems as well with occasions beliefs differing in sections. To truly understand how all three are connected, you must first travel back in time to the Middle-East. Judaism is the eldest of the three Abrahamic religions and, according to Pg. 251 in the book, was created by the principle prophet of Judaism, Abraham, between 1900-1700 B.C.E. the religion was originally in Egypt but then escaped to modern day Jerusalem, which means, “City of Peace. The religion then grew further under the rule of...
Words: 885 - Pages: 4
...Undoubtedly something Muslim culture and Christian culture have in common is the certainty of monotheism, the belief that there is only one God. Both religions believe that God is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent, knowing everything that can possibly be known. Muslims worship Allah through praying and reciting the Qur’an, the word of Allah conveyed to Muhammad through Gabriel; whereas Christians worship God by praying to him and Jesus, who they believe is the Son of God, and by using the Bible as their guideline for living their life. Although Muslims and Christians both believe in a monotheistic God, there are vast differences in the way these two religions express their monotheism. First for Christians, the Bible clearly states the monotheism of their God through the story of creation. The Hebrew account affirms that one transcendent God, and not many gods, created everything. For Christians, He is to be worshipped as one God, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (New International Version, Deut. 6:4). One can see how Genesis, in presupposing monotheism, rejects the assumption that polytheism can underlie any valid accounts of creation. Genesis 1 in the Bible purposefully portrays a monotheistic God who is the sole creator and transcendent source of all that has been brought into being. In Genesis 1 of the Bible, Christians are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from a standpoint of faith. Genesis 1 reveals...
Words: 1049 - Pages: 5
...study of religion derives from studies of traditional West African religious beliefs, as well as from Voodoo, which in turn derives from those beliefs. 1B. Polytheism - The explanation of things through the use of many Gods. Primitive people believe that each natural force were controlled by different Gods; a few examples would be God of water, God of rain and God of fire, God of air, etc. Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally, but can beHenotheists, specializing in the worship of one particular deity. Other polytheists can beKathenotheists, worshipping different deities at different times. 1C. Monotheism - Monotheism means believing in one God or God in one; attributing all to a single, supreme deity. Monotheism is characteristic of Atenism, Bahá'í, Faith, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sabianism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. Ethical monotheism and the associated concept of absolute good and evil emerge in Zoroastrianism and Judaism, later culminating in the doctrines of Christology in...
Words: 321 - Pages: 2
...THE ANALYTICAL MAP TO MONOTHEIST FAITHS Since ancient times, there has been a controversial issue in religious worshippers and their activities. It mostly involves their beliefs whereby different communities have various opinions, and they worship different gods. Moreover, on this topic let us have a look at monotheism which is an understanding by individuals that there is but one God. These groups believe that they have a single omnipotent God as opposed to those religions that believe in multiple gods. It comprises of three major religious groups, and they are Judaism, Christianity and Islam but after critical analysis and significant advances, mathematics has permitted many to regard science as the fourth greatest monotheistic group. These...
Words: 1818 - Pages: 8
...Judaism is considered to be a monotheistic religion, yet the Hebrew Bible shows unmistakable traces of polytheism (e.g., Genesis 35:2, Exod. 15:11, Psalm 95:3). (1) How can it be explained that Judaism is a monotheistic religion but clearly acknowledges other gods? Judaism is an "ethical monotheistic" religion - meaning that its conception of what counts as moral and ethical behavior is derived from a single deity. (2) What relation does Abraham play in understanding the nature of morality within Judaism? Monotheism means the study of one God. However, there are different interpretations of what that means. Each religion interprets monotheism in a different way. For example, Christianity is monotheistic. It is stated throughout the Old and New Testament that thou shalt not worship any god before me (God/Jesus). In Judaism, the Torah, first 5 books of the bible, specifically states that no other god shall be worshipped other than Abraham’s God. It is also considered an ethical monotheistic religion because all of the ethical and moral behavior is defined by God in the Torah. Just like how Christians read in the Bible that thou shalt not worship any god before me, the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible state the same thing. However, Jews do believe in prophets and messiahs. A prophet is a living person such as Moses. Prophets are not divine so they are not worshipped. Same with messiahs. While Christians call Jesus the messiah, Jews acknowledge Jesus and his teachings but...
Words: 389 - Pages: 2
... Also, for the view of human nature, Basic Religion emphasizes on the relationship between the living and the dead. For instance, the spirits of the dead will continue to exist, and the living and their ancestors will affect one another. Moreover, Animism is a term that is used to describe the cosmology of Basic Religion. Personal gods, impersonal forces throughout nature, in natural objects, animals, and humans, and spirits in nature are three very important components of Animism. Therefore, Animism is absolutely polytheistic. Monism is a philosophical term that asserts there’s only one ultimate reality that is considered to be the essence of all existing things in the world. As opposed to polytheism that believes in multiple gods, monotheism believes in only one god or the oneness of god. One of the evidence of Indian tradition’s oneness is Upanishads. These texts come at the end of Vedas, providing both monistic philosophy and monotheistic theology. Most of the Upanishads describe nirguna Brahman as mysterious power that is the ultimate reality and moksha as the ultimate goal. Some of the Upanishads describe saguna Brahman as a personal god that creates all things in the world. In reality, most Indians believe that there is no big difference between nirguna Brahman...
Words: 739 - Pages: 3
...Comparing Major Religions With regards to religion, there are many different characteristics across various cultures. One major difference is how they interpret divine beings, or Gods. Some, like Christians, are monotheistic because they believe in a single God. Other religions are polytheistic, because they believe in many different Gods such as India where there are millions of Gods. This influences praying rituals and sub groups that may focus more on one single God rather than others. Rites of passage are also important. These are transitional periods from one social status to another. Within Judaism, the Bar Mitzvah transitions young boys into men where they have to take on other responsibilities and society views the, differently. Within African cultures, each village or tribe may have their own local religious rituals as well. Despite these sharp differences, there are also some similarities. One major similarity is that most religions have some sort of organizational structure. This means that it is an established institution that exists separately of the people involved. Leading these organizations are clerical members and priests. Priests join the ranks by either going through training programs or apprenticeships. While the exact rituals by which religious leaders are initiated or conduct their work may be different, the main element of having a core infrastructure with designated leaders is still present throughout various cultures. Another major set of commonalities...
Words: 1699 - Pages: 7
...not matter as long as one worships him. In the Bible, many names are used to refer to God. This has always caused a contention as to whether Judaism is monotheistic or polytheistic. The Jews believe that each name used in the Bible is with reference to the same one God. This shows that Judaism is purely monotheistic. Although Judaism originally avowed the monotheistic conception of God, this conception later failed to get perfection in the religion. This is because of the Polytheistic practices of the Jewish people. The evidences from the bible therefore only warn them against polytheistic practices. (2).What relation does Abraham play in understanding the nature of morality within Judaism? Judaism customarily emphasizes on ethical monotheism, which entails a moral set of laws of conduct which should be followed by all believers of the religion. The Judaism religion attributes its genesis to Abraham, who is believed to be the first person to...
Words: 440 - Pages: 2
...50 Questions And Answers On Islamic Monotheism Q1 Who is your Rubb? (the Lord,the Creator etc). A. My Rubb is Allah Who has created me and all that exists. He nourishes me and all creatures by His Bounties. Q.2. What is your religion? A. My religion is Islam, which is submission and obedience to the Order oF Allah and His Messenger with love, hope and fear. Q.3. How did you know Allah? I know Him by His signs and creation like the day and night; the sun and the moon; the heaven and the earth, and all that is there in and between them. Q.4. Where is Allah? A. Allah is above the heavens raised over the Throne and separated from His creatures. Q.5. Is Allah with us (in person)? A. Allah is settled over His Mighty Throne, but He is with us by His Knowledge, hearing ,seeing and other attributes. As He said: "Fear not verily! I am with you both hearing and seeing (V,20. :46) Q.6. Who are the friends of Allah? A. Those people are the friends of Allah who are pious and righteous, fear Him much abstain from all kinds of sins and perform all kinds of goods, and holdfast to the Qur`an and Sunnah. Q. 7. How do you worship Allah? A. I worship Allah in a manner in which all my ibadah is dedicated to Him Alone. I do not ascribe anyone with Him in worship. Q-8. Why did Allah send Messengers? A. Allah has sent Messengers so that they call the people to worship Him Alone, not ascribing any partner with Him, and in order that mankind should have no plea against Allah...
Words: 2190 - Pages: 9
...The belief of one God or many gods depends on how one defines and perceives god. Creation is the act of bringing the world into order and existence. Whether it is through creation or evolution all of these religions have a starting point of how they believe the world came to exists. When your life is over, where do you go? That answer depends on faith, religion, and the path one chooses to follow. Even though these religions have different views, they all still share a common ground and believe in something. In religion you have two main beliefs polytheism and monotheism. Polytheism believes in multiple deities called god and goddesses. Monotheism is the belief that only one god exists. Some believers of polytheism include Hinduism, Buddhism, ancient Egyptians, and ancient Mesopotamia. Hinduism believes that all deities are separate entities. Most people believe in different deities expanding from a single God. That one single entity is never defined and for the most part Hindus continue to hold one God above all others. They believe in Brahman he is the universal soul, and it is said that all men are considered Brahmans. Buddhism believes in “the Buddha” Siddhartha Gautama. The Buddha looks with a kind heart equally on all living beings, and they call him father. Buddha can be anything you worship because in Buddhism there is no absolute god. In the ancient Egyptian religion they saw the actions of the gods behind all the elements and forces of nature. However, they...
Words: 1280 - Pages: 6
...Michael. 4. Theophany. This term has been used to refer to appearances of the gods in the ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in the Classical tradition 5. Religion. A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. 6. Atheism, is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[1][2] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. 7. Polytheism. refers to the worship of or belief in multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. 8. Monotheism, as belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God. 9. Mysticism. is "a constellation of distinctive practices, discourses, texts, institutions, traditions, and experiences aimed at human transformation, variously defined in different traditions."[web 1]...
Words: 257 - Pages: 2
...Monotheistic Religions Paper HUM/130 Dr. Donald Howard David Carradine June 10, 2012 Describe how Judaism understands God. “The term "God" which is used in reference to the Creator is considered sacred, thus according to Orthodox Jews at least, all care and respect should be undertaken towards any paper or scroll which has the term printed upon it. In obedience to Gods Commandment the Jewish faith does not allow any image or icon of God. Consequently the only way that is left to "see" God is through verbal imagery. The issue of conflict between God's Commandment and the use of images within the Torah, which is regarded as God's word, can be explained satisfactorily by Jewish teaching in my opinion. Also it is acceptable within reason to use imagery regarding God, so long as proper decorum, respect, reverence and strict guidelines and understanding are followed by believers. It must be understood however that although the Jewish understanding of God may permit the use of imagery, God must never be represented by any direct image. The roots of this belief, predominant in Jewish beliefs, stems from the book of Exodus, "You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth”. You shall not bow down to them or serve them" (Exodus 20: 3-5). This is an absolute vital Commandment in God's eyes. His law is not to be taken lightly for fear of the consequences; later in Exodus we are sufficiently...
Words: 1334 - Pages: 6
...Akhenaton was the first pharaoh to introduce the concept of monotheism, the worshipping of only one god, as opposed to polytheism, the worshipping of many gods. The people of Egypt had usually depicted gods in either animal or human form in their paintings and sculptures in order to help give them a physical form that they could worship. However, under Akhenaton's new ideas, the only god was Aton, which was represented with the form of a sun disk. Artwork also changed in sync with this change in religion. The statue of Akhenaton incorporated these new changes, and the statue itself acts like a symbol for Akhenaton's revolutionary ideas. The statue has many interesting and defining characteristics. The statue of Akhenaton is made of sandstone and is approximately 13 feet high. Upon seeing it for the first time, the first thing that becomes apparent is that one of the arms is broken off. Aside from this, the statue has almost perfect symmetry. Because of the position of the hands, it can be safely assumed that both arms mirrored each other. The statue has good balance. It does not vary much in width. The headdress is almost twice has tall as the face, and the headdress surrounds the entire face, almost acting like a frame for it. This gives importance and draws focus towards the face. This is significant because the entire statue, especially the face, uses many feminine characteristics. In this statue of Akhenaton, the thighs are wide, the hips are narrow, the face is elongated...
Words: 301 - Pages: 2
...comparison to Judaism, hold different beliefs on theism. Back in the earlier days, polytheistic religions (the worship of many gods) were the only religions that were known. The Yoruba faith has developed over the worship of many gods, using these different deities to communicate with the supernatural. Followers of the faith can agree that Yoruba’s early polytheistic developments are clear since it is believed that, “… Olorun told the eldest god to climb down from the sky and create other gods,”( ). Thus, it is through the creation of these other gods, that polytheism was established, allowing the Yoruba to worship more than one god. On the other hand, unlike the Yoruba faith, Judaism holds a sole individual as God through the concept on monotheism. This idea of...
Words: 1049 - Pages: 5
...that God is the creator of this world and that because of Him, life exists. They believe that God has a plan for you, and if you follow him, you will live a good life. All three of these religions also believe in this idea of “paradise,” a place to go after death and be with God. Each religion may have a different name for this place in the future, for example, the Christians call it Heaven, but it is a common place all three religions believe in and they believe you will get there only if you believe and ask God for forgiveness of your sins. They are all known as Abrahamic religions because they all believe in the story of Abraham and believe our history traces all the way back to Abraham. Abraham is the one who brought the idea of monotheism, and his followers passed this down generation after generation. Although Muslims saw Abraham as a prophet, while Jews saw Moses and Christians saw Jesus as their prophet, all three religions believe that Abraham was real and that his story with God was real. All three religions share the idea that God has left a written message on this planet for us, which can be thought of like a holy book, since it is called the Hebrew Bible for Christians, but the Quran for the Muslims. They still are both scriptures, with the belief that it is the word of God, just different interpretations and beliefs of some sort. Muslims still acknowledge what is written in the Old and New Testaments of the...
Words: 472 - Pages: 2