...Student’s Name Instructor Name Class Monotheistic Religions Over the years religion and political issues have coincided, one influencing the whole result of the other as it is evident presently. In line with this pattern, every day political decisions run parallel to the people's religious convictions. The results of the interaction between religion and politics can be seen reflected through the news and different media outlets. It should be noted that no nation has been spared of the effects of religious politics because religious legislative issues inside of a nation might significantly influence issues in another nation with a totally diverse point of view toward religion, governmental issues, and the issues being referred to. Thus, there is an ever-increasing need to make a global "analytic map of faith," with the capacity to adequately explain the location and influence of these religions on human behavior. Such map proves to be a significant tool to explain why a particular religion is associated with specific behaviors or actions. Religious beliefs are diverse across the globe. Although majority of people are of the belief in the presence of one supreme God (Monotheism) others believe that there are multiple gods. Another sect believes in no God at all (atheism). Owing to this diversity, setting up a global analytical map of faith proves to be a challenging task. Nevertheless, the three popular monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are a superb benchmark...
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...essential tenant of Judaism that separates it from other religions we have studied, is its monotheism faith in a singular all powerful and knowing God who created the Heavens and Earth, man, and every living thing. Smith stated, “where the Jews differed from their neighbors was not in envisioning the Other as personal but in focusing its personalism in a single, supreme, nature-transcending will”. (Smith, 1991, p. 273) Were Buddhism and Hinduism worshiped numerous God’s and perceived all things in nature to be sacred or having the potential for sacredness the Jews saw nature as an expression of a single Lord of all that human being would never be able to fully comprehend the nature of God’s fullness. (Smith, 1991, pp. 273-274) An influential scholar in Judaism during Medieval times was Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, under the guidance by Torah presented 13 principles that Jews strive to live by; many of these tenets address God’s oneness, other tenets speak to the Jewish belief in God speaking to and though prophets with Abraham being most prominent among the prophets, and the last few principle address their believe in God being able to see the deeds of man, punish and reward those deeds, the return of a messiah and the resurrection of the dead....
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...Bible. Their belief systems contrast each in various ways like there practices, celebrations, beliefs, and history each faith leads to similar ideologies and regulations through the sense of morality and society. The Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible has three main divisions: the Torah (meaning “teachings” or “instructions”) which were given to Moses on the stone commandments, Nevi’im (known as the Prophets), and Ketuvim (which is the Writings). The Prophets has subdivisions, the first subdivision is the Torah that’s written in the eyes of the Jewish people and tells their history. Vast topics are referenced throughout the remaining sections; the Writings, is a collection of hope from the people of Israel through the use of poetry, psalms, proverbs, and prayers (Gill, 2011). But, regardless of the section, “Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself,” which is the golden rule is the primary concept portrayed through the Hebrew Bible. The text used by Judaism is called the Torah. The Torah is sometimes referred to as the Five Books of Moses they are Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy; the Written Torah can also be referred to as the complete Jewish Bible which is considered as the Old Testament to the Christians. The followers of the Jewish religion do not believe in an Old Testament and New Testament of the Holy Bible as the Christians do, the Jewish text only sees the Old Testament as valid and only as a part of the text for their guide. The Written Torah is also...
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...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...
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...5 Influences of Christianity in America Christianity is the largest religion in the United States, with around 78% of those polled identifying themselves as Christian, as of 2009. This is down from 86% in 1990 and slightly lower than 78.6% in 2001. Christianity was introduced to the Americas as it was first colonized by Europeans beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today most Christian churches are Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, or Roman Catholic. Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, claiming over a billion members. Its spiritual and administrative head is the Pope. The Church's leadership body in the United States is the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, made up of the hierarchy of bishops and archbishops of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands, although each bishop is independent in his own diocese, answerable only to the Pope. Catholic beliefs and worship are detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (or CCC) is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" with his apostolic constitution, Fidei depositum. The new Catechism was first published in 1994 in French and was then translated into many other languages. Catholic tradition and doctrine holds that...
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...Contemporary Issues in Western Religions LaKeisha Davenport Rel/134 University of Phoenix Sammy Frailey July 26, 2010 Contemporary Issues in Western Religions One of the ways to understand people of a diverse society is to understand their religious beliefs and practices. In the western world there are three major religions. These religions are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Each of these religions is monotheistic and is practiced by more than half the people in the world. Monotheistic religion is the belief in one God. Although Judaism, Christianity and Islam religious practices are each monotheistic, some of the religious traditions are different. Judaism believes there is one God who cannot be made up of parts; Islam embraces an immaterial, invisible God, one to be intensely feared in His omnipotence; Christians hold fast to the trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The differences mentioned are but a few of the differences between the three religions that could very well be reasons for some of the struggles believers faced during the early biblical days. To better the religious traditions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, one must study the early traditions and struggles of each religion. The writers of this paper will discuss the similarities, differences, theological and historical connections between the three religions. Historical Connections Judaism is historically connected to Christianity through Jesus...
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...judgment in these religions may have been directly or indirectly derived from Zoroastrianism. Founded by the Iranian prophet and reformer Zoroaster in the 6th century BC, Zoroastrianism contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. Its concepts of one God, judgment, heaven and hell likely influenced the major Western religions. History of Zoroastrianism The origins of the Zoroastrian religion are shrouded in mystery. The prophet Zarathustra, later referred to by the Greeks as Zoroaster, founded Zoroastrianism roughly between the 16th and 10th centuries BCE. Zoroaster's birth date is also uncertain and modern scholarship currently suggests he lived in northern or eastern Iran or nearby such as in Afghanistan or southern Russia. In Zoroaster’s thirties he had a revelation in which he saw an angel who told him that there is only one true god and that God’s name was Aura Mazda (Clark, 1998). It is certain that by the year 549 B.C.E., Zoroastrianism had become a major world religion. It was Cyrus the Great, first ruler of the Persian Empire, who ordained Zoroastrianism as the official religion of his state. It was this same Cyrus that liberated the Jews from the occupation they had suffered under the Babylonians, and, when the Jews returned to Judaea, they took back with them the elements of Zoroastrianism that can today be found in all three of the monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Dinshaw, 2003). Zoroastrianism remained a major world religion for over 1...
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...Being one of the main world’s religions, Judaism takes a highly significant place along with Christianity and Islam. In fact, all three monotheistic religions demonstrate similar principles of faith and the origins, which lead to Abraham. However, despite similar origin, written experience, and spiritual background, there are sharp differences between Judaism and Islam. The differences between Judaism and Christianity are less distinct, since Christianity is based purely on the Judaic tradition. Despite these similarities, Judaism appears to be a unique religion with numerous interesting and puzzling features, which are necessary to investigate thoroughly. Such valuable aspects of Judaism as the variety of directions, the essence of Judaic...
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...Islam and Judaism Islam and Judaism share a common origin in the Middle East and share many cultural and philosophic aspects between themselves. The similarities in the two religions derive largely from the influence of Muslim culture and philosophy on the practitioners of Judaism and Islam. In the Middle East Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are the three great religions. They all share similarities, especially in their origin, but also hold their differences. Judaism is a monotheistic religion, as is with Islam. It originated from the Hebrews, who believed that God was their special protector and was everything, the most powerful, and is present everywhere. Like Islam, Judaism has a holy book called the Torah, a sacred recording of laws and events in the Jewish history. The Jewish faith believes that God gave them the Ten Commandments through Moses, “the Lawgiver”. According to the Jewish tradition, God made a covenant, or agreement with Abraham, the founder of Judaism. Islam was strongly influenced by Judaism. Islam was founded by Mohammad and also holds a monotheistic approach to religion. Just like Judaism it has a holy book similar to Judaism’s Torah, called the Koran. The Koran contains the sacred text as spoken to Muhammad from God. The Koran not only teaches about God, but about how to lead a good, faithful life. Muslims believe in one all-powerful, compassionate God, known in Arabic as Allah. Similar to the Ten Commandments given by Moses in Judaism...
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...2 Practices of Judaism and Christian 2 Similarities between Judaism and Christianity 4 Differences between Judaism and Christianity 4 Conclusion 5 References 6 Introduction Religion is a sacred entity in many cultures. Throughout the history and even today we see the practice of religion in all the places of the world. Religion is defined as an organized system of belief, ceremonies, practices and worship that centers on one or more gods. Religion continues to be a dominant force around the world, affecting everything from what people wear to how they behave. There are thousands of religions in the world and from that Judaism is the religion of more than fourteen million Jews throughout the world and it was first major religion to teach the existence of only one god. The basic laws and teachings of Judaism come from Torah, the first five books of Hebrew Bible. Christianity is the largest religion in the world with about two billion followers. It is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Most of the Christians are member of one of the three groups: Roman Catholic, Protestant or Eastern Orthodox. The following pages concentrate on Judaism and Christianity and their history, practices, similarities and differences. History Judaism began about 4,000 years as the religion of small Middle Eastern group of people called Hebrews or Jews. Hebrew or Jews belief they were protected and kept strong by powerful gods. In time they started developing and revolutionized...
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...Comparative Analysis: 1. Differences between Jewish denominations, which are more commonly known as "movements," reflect varying responses to changing times and cultures. The historical Jewish movements (Pharisses, Sadduccees, and Essenes) were responses to the Roman rule of Israel, while the major modern movements (Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative) are responses to the modern, secular culture of Europe and America. Jewish denominations differ from one another primarily with regard to practice. Orthodox Judaism is the most traditional expression of modern Judaism. Orthodox Jews believe the entire Torah - including "Written," the the Pentateuch, and "Oral," the Talmud) was given to Moses by God at Sinai and remains authoritative for modern life in its entirety. Reform Judaism is the most liberal expression of Judaism. In America, Reform Judaism is organized under the Union for Reform Judaism (known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations until 2003), whose mission is "to create and sustain vibrant Jewish congregations wherever Reform Jews live." About 1.5 million Jews in 900 synagogues are members of the Union for Reform Judaism. Conservative Judaism may be said to be a moderate position between Orthodox and Reform Judaism. It seeks to conserve the traditional elements of Judaism, while allowing for modernization to a less radical extent than Reform Judaism. The teachings of Zacharias Frankel (1801-75) form the foundation of Conservative Judaism. Hasidic...
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...Lee 10/14/2013 There are many different religions in the world today, all of which worship and practice differently. Most of the traditions, beliefs, and rituals these religions are consisted of our exclusive to only on religion. Some common traits of most religions are that most of them have sacred areas, sacred times, and the worshippers usually have a relationship with a divine presence. The relationship the practitioners have with what is divine consists mostly with an understanding of what is divine and what or who is sacred. Some religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are considered monotheism because they have only one god. Other religions, such as Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and many other ancient religions are considered polytheism because they have many gods involved in their belief and worship. A third kind of religion is pantheism, referring to religions that worship nature. These religions see their god as existent beings. Many of the polytheistic belief systems include worship of people, animals, or idols. Many monotheistic belief systems see the single deity as a spirit that cannot be touched or seen. All these religions believe that the deity or deities can observe the worshipper and deliver rewards and punishment according to the believer’s behavior. Some examples of sacred times that can be found in religions are feasts or fasts and special days or times of worship. One example is that Christians...
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...Kia Sosa The Islamic religion is one of the largest religions in the world, with over 1 billion followers. It is a monotheistic faith based on revelations received by the prophet Mohammed in 7th century Saudi Arabia. The followers of the Islamic people are called muslims. The islamic tradition believes that the angel Gabriel appeared to the prophet over the course of 20 years, revealing to him many messages from God. Muslims recognize earlier Judeo-Christian prophets like Moses and Jesus as messengers of the same true God. But in Islam, Muhammad is the last and greatest of the prophets, whose revelations alone and pure and uncorrupted. The prophet dedicated the remainder of his life to spreading the message of monotheism in a polytheistic...
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...to make one think about it in-depth. These questions dealt with our perception of reality and our thoughts concerning life and its meaning. It challenged our religious faith and made us declare not only what we believed, but why we believed it. We read “An Atheist’s Values”, a statement of secular humanism. We then wrote a paragraph describing the views of this type of naturalist. Although brotherly love, courage, cheerfulness, and dignity are promoted in the statement, no basis or foundation upon which these virtues should come is given other than the author’s opinion. We read and discussed in class the three basic world views. By studying these views, we will be able to understand the mindset of those whose world views differs from ours. Second Week – Overview of World Views Theism is the belief in one superior being, a creator or god. This can be broken down even further into monotheistic and polytheistic beliefs. Monotheistic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, believe in one god. Polytheistic religions, such as those practiced by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, believe in more than one god. Theists believe in a revealed law from a greater being (god). Transcendentalists believe that god is in everything from the least to the greatest. A good example of a major religion of this type is Hinduism. All things are the same, for example, the chair, the table, and oneself. There is no distinction between good and evil....
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...There are many different types of religions in this world. Some of them are monotheistic, meaning that they only believe in one God, and some are polytheistic. Some examples of world religions are Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Confucianism. Most of these religions have been practiced for years and they are still practiced today. Judaism is oldest known monotheistic religion still practiced in the world today. Its fundamental teachings have been influential and are the basis for more recently developed religious such as Christianity and Islam. Abraham is generally recognized as the founder of Judaism due to his covenant with God. However, Moses is also considered a founder due to his role in the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt, and his delivery of the Ten Commandments from Mount sometime around 2000 BC. Judaism was developed in the Middle East in and around the area that is currently Israel. The Holy Scriptures in the Jewish religion are the Torah and the Talmud. Jews worship in temples called Synagogues and mass is conducted by Rabbis. Islam, which when translated from Arabic, means "to submit to the will of Allah," is the youngest of the world's major religions. Worshippers of this monotheistic religion are know as Muslims, which means "one who submits to the will of Allah." Islam is currently the second most practiced religion in the world, and experts predict that it will overtake Christianity as the most popular religion in the world sometime in the future....
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