1. Southwest Asia: Land of 3 Faiths
August 25, 2014

2. 3 of the world’s most prominent religions originated in SW Asia
Judaism (started circa 2000 BCE)
Christianity (started circa 1 CE)
Islam (started circa 600 CE)
BCE = before the year 0
CE = after the year 0

3. Judaism The oldest of the three faiths
Traces its origins back to Abraham, a man living in an ancient area of Southwest Asia called Mesopotamia, around 2000 BCE
He was the first to profess a belief in only one God, instead of many different Gods
He had a son named Isaac and a grandson named Jacob
He, Isaac, and Jacob are seen as the founders of the Hebrew nation, who worship Yahweh, the Jewish God

4. The Exodus
Abraham’s descendants, the Hebrews, were forced into Egypt, where the Egyptians made them slaves
The story goes that a man named Moses came and led them out of Egypt
The Jewish escape from slavery in Egypt is called the Exodus

5. The Torah The Jewish holy book is the Old Testament of the Bible
It is called the Torah by Jews
It contains the teachings of Moses and the Ten Commandments

6. Christianity’s Beginnings
Christianity grew out of the Jewish religion in the early part of the first century in the Common Era
The founder of Christianity is a man named Jesus, who was born to a Jewish family
While he followed Jewish law and belief, he spoke of a different relationship with God than most Jews had and people began to follow his beliefs
These people were called disciples and their writings make up the first four books of the New Testament, the Christian holy book

7. Problems with early Christianity
Many people worried about the attention that Jesus attracted
Jewish leaders believed he was guilty of crimes against Jewish teachings for having some different beliefs
As a result, Jesus was sentenced to death by the Romans
His death sentence was by crucifixion

8. After Jesus’s Death
After Jesus was executed, his followers believed that he was able to rise from the dead and walk among them
They called him “Christos”, which is Greek for “Messiah”
This was later shortened to “Christ” and is where the word “Christianity” comes from

9. Islam’s Beginnings
Islam was founded around 600 CE in Mecca, a city in present-day Saudi Arabia
The religion was founded by a man named Muhammad, who heard a voice telling him to rededicate himself to one God, known as Allah
He and his followers, called Muslims, eventually relocated 200 miles north to a city called Medina to escape threats of violence

10. The Quran
After Muhammad’s death, his followers collected his teachings and organized them into the Quran, which is the holy book of Islam
The Quran also includes much of the Old Testament and New Testament
The religion spread rapidly through the Arabian Peninsula and other parts of Southwest Asia because Muslim armies conquered other areas and many people began converting to the new religion that lived in these conquered areas

11. After Muhammad’s Death
After Muhammad died, there was a disagreement over who should lead the Muslim community
One group thought leadership should go to whoever was most able to keep the Muslim community together
This group became known as the Sunni
Another group felt leadership should go to a direct descendant of Muhammad
This group became known as the Shia
These divisions remain in the Muslim community today, with the Sunni being the majority

12. Questions: 1. In what order did the 3 religions begin?
2. Who founded Judaism?
3. What is the name of the Jewish God?
4. What is the Exodus?
5. What is the name of the Jewish holy book?
6. What is contained in the Jewish holy book?
7. Who is the founder of Christianity?
8. What is the Christian holy book?
9. Why was Jesus sentenced to death by the Romans?
10. Where does the word “Christianity” come from?
11. Where was Islam founded?
12. Who founded Islam?
14. What is the name of the Islamic God?
14. What are followers of Islam called?
15. What is the holy book of Islam?
16. Why was Islam able to spread so rapidly?
17. Who do the Sunni believe should be the leader of Muslims?
18. Who do the Shia believe should be the leader of Muslims?