Paper3JudaismChristianityIslam - Amanda Mungcal REL-101-205...

Amanda Mungcal
REL-101-205
Fall 2015
What a world it is we live in that we should have entire wars over religion… Though most
would agree that the primary purpose of religion is to unite and provide some semblance of
sanity for humankind, the three faiths which trace their lineage from Abraham (the first prophet) -
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - still find a way to butt heads with one another. What is most
ironic about these three religions is how little they really differ from each other. All of their
practices and rituals are put in place to guide practitioners in a lifestyle that is pleasing to their
one personal god. While there are certainly distinctions in which prophet said what or which god
is actually God, taking a closer look at the Abrahamic faiths reveals that they possess far more
in common than most people realize.
The first of these three religions, Judaism, arose from a covenant between God and
Abraham. Abraham is believed to be the first Jew and passed his teachings on to his
descendants, the people of Judah, otherwise referred to as the Jews. God spoke to Abraham
and promised him many descendants, as well as the land of Canaan (271). Aside from
Abraham, one of the most significant prophets of this religion is Moses, the receiver of the law
from God. Judaism is practiced as both a religion and a cultural lifestyle. There are several
forms of practice, such as Orthodox, Reform or Conservative Judaism, but all are based upon
the Tanakh and its three parts: the Torah, the Nevi'im, and the Ketuvim. Jewish law, presented in
the Torah, embodies many aspects of human life, such as diet, marriage, inheritance, etc (276).