Abrahamic Tradition and Prophet Abraham - Coursework Example

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ADHERE AN "ABRAHAMIC TRADITION"; AS WELL AS 2) A TRADITION THAT IS HISTORICALLY, TEXTUALLY, AND THEOLOGICALLY INTERCONNECTED TO 2 OTHER RELIGIONS? 1. Abrahamic Tradition Abrahamic Tradition is a historic religion, which follows the monotheistic faiths of the three prime religions including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Abrahamic traditions share the similar values of the aforementioned religions. The culture and theology of Judaism gave birth to the Abrahamic Tradition. The reason behind the three religions together was known as Abrahamic Tradition is related with the fact that the history clearly identifies the traces of Abraham in the Hebrew Bible in the Israelite Culture. The followers of the Abrahamic Tradition across the globe are huge as compared to other religions as the traditions reflects upon a few of the common facts followed in the three mareligionsion of the world as mentioned above1. The essay reflects the significant aspects of Abrahamic Tradition and explains the core similarity with the other two religions. Prophet Abraham is said to be the ancestor of the people of Israel by the Jews. On the contrary, Ishmael son of Abraham is claimed to follow the Muslim tradition of the ancient people of the Arabs. However, from the perspective of the Christian religion, Abraham is pronounced as a "father in faith". Thus, as per this analysis, it can be ascertained that these three major religions are the branches of a single tree. Abrahamic Tradition as mentioned is the combination of all the three schools of thoughts, with a few major differences. In order to get a better understanding about Abrahamic Tradition it is of significance to get a better insight regarding the history of the Abraham and His faith2. It is a common belief that Abraham was asked to migrate along with his family by the supreme power God. From the perspective of theology, it is stated that Abraham is considered to be the ancestor of many, majorly of the people of the Semitic origin. People belonging from the communities of Hebrews, Arabs and Ethiopians are the main decedents of the Semitic origin. As per the history, it is observed that people believed the regions around Mesopotamia and Egypt, where Abraham lived as a “Holy Land”. The same information is inscripted in the holy book of Bible and Quran. In the present context, the regions mentioned above include the major parts of Palestine, Syria and Jordan. In order to adhere the Abrahamic Tradition means to believe on One God and values the basic principles of humanity, which are preached in the modern three religions Christianity, Judaism and Islam3. 2. Tradition That Is Historically, Textually, And Theologically Interconnected To 2 Other Religions Contextually, the basic preaching that are followed in the Christianity, Islam and Judaism is quite similar. The common preaching of Abraham is that individuals should worship and have faith in only One God. Abraham strongly discouraged the concept of worshiping several idols, which as stated was followed by the ancestors. Abraham had a strong notion that God is one and preached the same to the people of that era. Monotheism is a concept, wherein Abraham reflected that God can be named in different ways, but He is one, who will serve the people and think good about them. As noted the Christian, Islamic and Judaism community follow this preaching of Abraham and value the other thoughts. As noted in the history, it is believed by the Abrahamic religion people that God expressed Himself to few knowledgeable individual better known as prophets, such as Abraham. Abraham and the followers of Abrahamic religion had the faith that there are angels who acts as a messenger of God for the well-being of the people in need. From the aspect of theology, it is evident that the common factor that the Abrahamic tradition believes is regarding the existence of God. All the above mentioned tradition follows the same perspective that during the Iron Age God appeared in front of a person Abraham. This gave rise to the fact that Abraham is a prophet, who is born to serve the people of the society. The preaching of Abraham is that God is one, but with different names. Abraham preached that people should worship the Creator and not the creations. The creations are divine in nature yet, Abraham was against the worshiping of the divine parts but valued the source i.e. Creator. Abraham spread the notion the creator of this world and earthy is the supreme power God. Every human is part of this creation and thus is divine in nature, but are not the same as the supreme power. Abraham preached every individual to work for the development of humanity and asked to purify their thoughts and spirituality4. This will make the universe a better place to live with good souls and peace throughout. Abrahamic Tradition shares the basic spiritual aspects of monotheism and prophet tradition, which states regarding the role of the prophet. Abrahamic tradition in relation to another religion such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, believes in the ethical orientation. Theology depicts that there is always a scope between a good and a bad that individual can follow. Every religion preaches good over evil for divinity and effective humanity. Abraham also depicts about the beauty of the Creator and His divine power. From the evaluation of the history, and the teachings of Quran, Bible and Torah shares the same teaching regarding the existence of one God with Divine power. Believes and faiths imbibed in these religions is same to a certain extent as the values and the principles followed are the same with the preaching’s of the Prophet Abraham. The theology of these religions is interconnected as per Abrahamic tradition. As mentioned above, the three religions are linked as they consider Abraham to be the forefather. The religions believe in one holy soul, i.e. God as per the preaching of Abraham. However, the Christian community has a strong faith that “Jesus is the son of God”. Contrary, Islam value the thought that Prophet Muhammad was the founder of Islam. These three religions, not only share the same theology, but also the same principles and morals to a considerable extent5. Moreover, the common teaching of these religions is regarding high morals along with ethical living for a better future and dignity. It is evident from the preaching’s that Allah and God, have the same values and faith, which is to serve the humanity and to enrich the understanding of dignity and love. However, the Muslims decipher the Jews along with the Christians as “People of the Book”. The biggest similarity amid these religions on the basis of theology is that they believe that God is one and he is the supreme power, to serve the humanity at large. The concept of heaven and hell is believed by the followers of Islam and Christianity but not Judaism. However, with regard to Judaism the concept of devil or hell is not practiced. As per the theological aspect that Satan is to examine the faith of the people of God and His supremacy. Moreover, teachings and faiths of the Abrahamic tradition are related to the modern day preaching of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as they value the aspect of angels. Another, strong aspect that helps in connecting the religions is the Holy city of Jerusalem. From the perspective of Islam, in the city of Jerusalem, the Prophet Muhammad saw his way to heaven. Moreover, as per the Judaic religion, Jerusalem is considered as a Pilgrimage destination for the Jews. Likewise, Christian has religious faith and believes in the city of Jerusalem as the other two religions. The basic concept, moral values and faiths of religion is same as the Abrahamic Tradition, which deals with peace and humanity for a better future with cordial relations amid the people of every community. Bibliography Coogan, Michael D. A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2011. Hughes, Aaron W. Abrahamic Religions: On the Uses and Abuses of History. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2012. Mandelbrote, Scott. Nature and Scripture in the Abrahamic Religions: Up to 1700. Netherlands: BRILL, 2008. Nasr, Sayeed Hossein. “Sacred Words of the Abrahamic Religion: Judaism, Christianity, Islam” Faith Traditions, (2011): 44-56. Ochs, Peter and William Stacy Johnson. Crisis, Call, and Leadership in the Abrahamic Traditions. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. . Read More