Judaism, Christianity, and Islam contribution to Western political thought

Judaism Judaism was developed by the Hebrews People are the children of God according to the Hebrew Bible (the Hebrew Bible is the Old Testament in Christianity) They believed God gave peole the freedom to choose between good and evil Each person was responsible for choices he/she made

The Hebrews came to be known as the Jews They developed the Ten Commandments, a written code of law These laws focused on morality and ethics than they did on politics The Hebrews felt the community should help the less fortunate The prophets of Judaism hoped for a world without poverty

Christianity Jesus was born during 6 to 4 BC, when the Romans ruled Judea, homeland of the Jews At the age of 30, he began preaching many ideas fro Jewish tradition, including the 10 Commandments He stressed the importance of people’s love for God, their neighbors, their enemies and themselves

When Jesus’ teachings threated the power of Jewish priests and the Romans, they put him to death His followers started a new religion, Christianity, based on his teaching around 1 AD The apostle Paul preached that all human being were equal

Islam Monotheism-belief in one God Started in southwest Asia in early 600s The religion taught that all people were equal It also believed in the worth of the individual and the responsibility of the community to help the unfortunate members

Several beliefs of these 3 religions helped to shape democratic ideas: The duty of individuals and the commnity to help oppressed people The worth of the individual The equality of people before God