Judaism, Christianity, & Islam Followers of Judaism are called Jews It is the earliest of the monotheistic religions Monotheistic = belief in one God These people believe in one God— the God of Abraham Abraham lived in the Middle East 4,000 years ago at a time when people believed in many Gods Abraham believed that only one, all- powerful God had created the world Jews believed that God made an agreement, or covenant, with Abraham The agreement said that Abraham and his future descendants would be God’s chosen people (Hebrews) in return for their faith

Jewish Holy Book Jews base their religion on their holy book, called the TeNaKh It is written in Hebrew, the sacred language of Judaism TeNaKh comes from the books three parts: Torah, Nevi’im, & Ketuvium Torah is the most important book, because it includes laws of God Jews believe God gave the Torah to Moses, Judaism’s most important prophet Prophet = Messenger from God The Torah includes 613 laws called commandments Torah law requires Jews to keep a Sabbath day, in which from Friday evening to Saturday evening they must rest and pray

Jewish Worship On Friday evening & Sat. morning, Jews gather to pray at a holy building called a synagogue During the worship service, a teacher, or rabbi, leads the congregation (worshippers) The Torah directs many aspects of Jewish life It commands Jews to fast by not eating or drinking during the holiday of Yom Kippur Yom Kippur is a sacred holiday set aside for atonement (being sorry for bad acts) Jews can only eat “kosher” foods that are clean in preparation Forbidden foods include pork, shellfish, and meat prepared with dairy products The three main sects (divisions) of Judaism are Orthodox, Conservative, & Reformed

Christianity Like Jews, Christians believe in one God—the God of Abraham However, Christians base their religion on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. AKA: Jesus Christ Jesus was a Jew who is said to have been born in Bethlehem around 4 BC During his life he traveled around teaching about the new covenant (agreement) between God and the Jews. Those who followed Jesus’ teaching broke away from other Jews and became Christians. They worshipped God in a new way that focused on Jesus’ teachings

Christian Beliefs The Christian idea of God is called the Trinity because they believe God has 3 parts: God the Father God the Father God the Son (Jesus Christ) God the Son (Jesus Christ) And the Holy Spirit (God’s presence on Earth) And the Holy Spirit (God’s presence on Earth) Most Christians believe that Jesus was a part of God and he was both human and divine (God-like) Christians believe Jesus died on a cross, was buried, and rose from the dead three days later. They believe Jesus then ascended to heaven to be with God the Father The story of Jesus’ life is recorded in the Bible. Bible = Christian holy book

Old & New Testament Christian Bible has two parts, the Old and New Testament. Old Testament = History of the law and stories of prophets, the ancient messenger of God’s word. Old Testament has psalms, prayers written in song or poem form New Testament has four Gospels. Gospels = Stories of Jesus’ life Also includes letters and stories about early Christians The Bible has no sacred languages It has been translated into thousands of languages

Heaven & Hell The goal of Christianity is to achieve salvation The state of salvation is the eternal (never ending) life of one’s soul with God in Heaven Opposite of salvation is damnation Damnation = eternal suffering in hell Christianity hold that those who sin without being sorry will suffer damnation Christians believe that a person achieves salvation in two ways 1 st = Follow Jesus’ teachings about living a moral (good) life 2 nd = Participate in sacraments Sacraments = sacred ceremonies in which Christians experience the Holy Spirit

Baptism & Communion Baptism is the ceremony of introduction into Christianity Communion recreates Jesus’ breaking of bread and sharing wine before his death, at the Last Supper. Christian ministers—also called priests or pastors—lead worship in holy buildings called churches During worship, Christians receive sacraments, recite beliefs, pray, and read from the Bible. The minister delivers a religious speech, or sermon, related to the Bible readings Christianity has three main groups, or sects: 1. Roman Catholic 1. Roman Catholic 2. Orthodox 2. Orthodox 3. Protestant 3. Protestant All Christian sects consider Jerusalem the holiest city because that is where they believe Christ died and rose from the dead

Foundations of Islam Followers of Islam are called Muslims Muslims also believe in one God, the God of Abraham, called Allah in Arabic Abraham had a son named Isaac by his wife Sarah and a son Ishmael by his wife Hajar Muslims believe that the Hebrews, or Jews, descended from Isaac, and that Arabs descended from Ishmael Islam is based on God’s teachings and the example of the life of Muhammad Muhammad was born in Mecca, located in the Arabian Peninsula, around 570 AD Muslims believe that when Muhammad was 40, he had a vision In this vision, the angel Gabriel appeared and told him to repeat a message from God

Islamic Holy Book God’s message was revealed over the next 23 years During this time, Muslims learned to accept all the Hebrew messengers of God’s word (prophet) including Moses & Jesus However, Muslims did not believe that Jesus was divine (God-like) Muslims consider Muhammad to be God’s final prophet After Muhammad’s death, God’s teachings, as revealed to Muhammad, were written down in the Koran The Koran is the holy book of Islam Arabic is the sacred language of Islam The Koran contains revelations (teachings) God made to Muhammad

Five Pillars of Islam These revelations include the many ideas from the history of Hebrews (Jews) and their prophets, as well as the story of Jesus’ life Koran outlines the goal of Islam: salvation or eternal life in paradise with God The opposite is damnation To achieve salvation, Muslims must participate in 5 basic practices known as the “five pillars” 1. Public declaration of faith (shahada) 2. Prayer five times a day facing Mecca 3. Giving to the needy (Zakat) 4. Fasting during Ramadan (30 days)— going with out food/drink 5. Each Muslim must make a hajj, or journey, to Mecca

Islamic Rituals Acts that are allowed are called halal, not allowed = haram Haram include laws against eating pork or drinking alcohol Muslims worship in mosques Prayers held on Friday at noon are the most important A imam, or leader, leads prayers read from the Koran and gives a religious speech (sermon) The imam has the same relationship with God as any other Muslim Muslims hold Jerusalem as the sacred city The two major sects (divisions) of Muslims are Sunni and Shi’I They share similar beliefs, but differ mainly over leadership in the community