Jews, Christians, and Muslims - Assignment Example

Jews, Christians, and Muslims In what ways has divine revelation come to Jew, Christians, and Muslims? 1A. Divine revelation to the Jews Jews believe that divine revelation came in the form of written Torah, which God gave them on Mount Sinai on their way from Egypt to Canaan (Denny et al, 23). They term it the Torah of truth, which will never change. According to the Jews, all the verses in the Torah are equal and important since they originated from God. Therefore, there should be no modification or interference with the Torah, as doing that amounts to committing of sin. Apart from the written Torah, God revealed himself through the Oral Torah, otherwise known as the teachings (Melton & Martin, 45). He communicated to Jews through the Oral Torah or law, which was passed through the prophets. Consequently, the Jewish law has enactments as well as decrees developed by sages and rabbis throughout the Jewish history. Therefore, Jews regard the Torah as holy, true, and perfect word from God and must be obeyed and passed from one generation to another (Melton & Martin, 47). Divine revelation to Muslims Muslims consider the Quran as a means through which God (Allah) revealed Himself to man. God revealed every word and letter in the Quran. According to them, the Quran is the last and flawless means by which God revealed Himself to humankind until the Day of Judgment (Smith & Huston, 15). Muslims also believe that the message of Islam is similar to other messages delivered by God’s prophets to humanity since the time of Adam. Moreover, Muslims consider Islam as the oldest monotheistic religion since it integrates both the original as well as the final revelation of Allah to His prophets (Smith & Huston, 15). Divine revelation to Christians Christians believe that God revealed Himself through various collection of books referred as the Bible. The Bible is authoritative and was drafted by human authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit (Denny et al, 49). However, the mainstream tradition considers Jesus Christ as the ultimate revelation of God and the Bible as a revelation in the context of a witness to Him. Moreover, Christians consider the Bible as inerrant thus, free from errors, all manner of contradictions and infallible (Melton & Martin, 54). B. What personages have served as mouthpieces for divine revelation? Jews believe that both the oral and written Torah of truth was given to Prophet Moses on Mount Sinai on their way from Egypt (Melton & Martin, 59). According to Judaism, Moses was the greatest of all the prophets in the history of Israel. Unlike the oral Torah, Moses wrote down everything God revealed to Him, thus forming the written Torah. In addition to Moses, other prophets, sages, and rabbis have served as mouthpieces of divine revelation in Judaism. God inspired the rabbis, prophets, and sages to make enactments and decrees (Smith & Huston, 35). Muslims believe that God revealed the Quran through Angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad (Smith & Huston, 40). Thus, he was the last prophet sent by Allah to preach and teach the world on His will. Muslims also believe that every prophet received revelation in their life since God sent them to lead humanity to His will. Muhammad began receiving revelations when he was 40 years of age. Unlike in the Torah, which was written by Moses, Muhammad never recorded God’s revelations (Denny et al, 67). His followers memorized and recorded the Quran from various hafiz and parchments immediately after his death. Moreover, since Islam recognizes and promotes equality of God’s prophets, making comparisons of the prophets is sinful. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the greatest revelation of God while the Bible is a revelation through witnessing to Him (Smith & Huston, 64). Christians believe that Christ is the Son of God who came to redeem the world from the bondage of Satan. Therefore, he died on the cross to save humanity from the sins of the world (Smith & Huston, 64). Christians also believe that confessing that Jesus is the Son of God and having faith and believing in His teachings is the only way to receive salvation. C. What sorts of things are revealed by a revelation? Revelations entail God’s message to humanity with regard to leading a sin free life and respecting God as well as caring about one’s neighbor (Melton & Martin, 54). Therefore, both the Bible, the Quran and the Torah contains God commandments or laws to be followed, observed and obeyed by man in order to live as per His will. All of the three religions believe in one God, and punishes the sinners who disobey Him while rewarding those who respect Him and protecting them from harm or misfortune (Melton & Martin, 54). 2. A. What is a religious creed? Religious creed refers to a concise assertion of faith used in public worship (Smith & Huston, 41). Therefore, it is a short proclamation of one’s religious beliefs. All of the three faiths have different creeds even though they arose from the same region. B. To what extent does each religion emphasize "correct belief" and "correct practice"? Christianity emphasizes on correct practice of Christian virtues and confession of Jesus Christ as personal savior sent by God to die for our sins in order to receive salvation (Smith & Huston, 48). Consequently, Christians must believe that Christ existed long before the creation of the universe and will return in the future to judge both the living and the dead. Moreover, Christianity emphasizes on recognition of Christ as God and the need for baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Denny et al, 69). Therefore, any person who is not baptized will go to Hell, as he does not practice according to Christ teachings. Moreover, those who do not believe according to the teachings of Christ will also perish in eternal fire. In addition, Christianity emphasizes on the belief in the Holy Spirit as the provider of life, which spoke through the prophets and is to be worshiped (Smith & Huston, 47). Islam strongly empathizes on correct belief in Allah’s Divinity in that He is the Creator, the Lord, the Sovereign, as well as the manager of all things in the universe (Denny et al, 69). Moreover, Muslims believe in Allah’s names, His Godship and Attributes. Unlike Christianity that believes in Holy Trinity, Islam believes in Allah’s Oneness. Islam emphasizes that Allah is the most Gracious and Merciful, the Sustainer, and the most Powerful (Denny et al, 74). Consequently, it emphasizes that Allah is the True and only God who is to be worshipped and that Muhammad is His prophet. Finally, Islam emphasizes on whole submission to Allah by all his creatures and that He will come and judge humankind on the Day of Judgment (Smith & Huston, 77). In addition, Islam emphasizes on correct practices such as performance of salat, fasting during the month of Ramadan, going for pilgrimage to Mecca for those who can afford, confession of Islamic faith and payment of zakat (Denny et al, 67). Therefore, every Muslim has an obligation to observe the practices in his lifetime. Moreover, Judaism emphasizes on the observation of important holidays such as Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot and Chanuka among others (Melton & Martin, 58). It also emphasizes on prayer and devotion to only one God, observation of the temple as a Holy place as well as the observation of temple rites. Moreover, it emphasizes on the observation of ritual practices such as circumcision, marriage, and burial (Smith & Huston, 76). Like Islam and Christianity, Judaism emphasizes on the belief of the existence of God who is eternal. However, Jews believe that God is incorporeal, He is one, and unique, prayers to be directed to Him alone, and that He knows the deeds and thoughts of man (Melton & Martin, 62). Moreover, they believe that Moses was the greatest of all the prophets sent by God and that the Torah was given to him (Melton & Martin, 63). Consequently, they emphasize that there will be no other Torah and that the Messiah will come. Just like Christians and Muslims, Judaism emphasizes on the resurrection of the dead on the Day of Judgment (Smith & Huston, 83). C. What is the role of faith in each religion? Faith refers to the belief in God or in the doctrines and teachings of a given religion (Melton & Martin, 67). Christian faith demands a belief in Christ’s resurrection from the dead. God did that through the Holy Spirit. According to the teachings of Jesus, people should have faith in God, trust His words and not relying on individual strength as well as policies, but give themselves to the guiding word and authority of God (Smith & Huston, 86). In Islam, faith helps in recognizing and asserting that Allah is the only Creator of the universe and who alone is to be worshiped. Moreover, faith enables one to develop willingness as well as a commitment to submitting in the existence of God and to His laws guiding on the manner humankind is to live on earth (Smith & Huston, 87). However, in Judaism, faith is not common like in Christianity and Islam. This is because Judaism emphasizes on practicing religious Jews instead of having faith (Denny et al, 80). Therefore, Jews are less expected to clearly identify God, but need to respect the thought of God. It only recognizes the negative value of faith (Denny et al, 93). This is revealed when a thief cries out to God for help when going to steal. Therefore, the thief has faith in God who hears his prayers, but he does not recognize that God provides for his needs without stealing from other people. Therefore, all of the religions promote monotheistic religions with reverence and obedience to God. Moreover, every individual needs to observe all the rules pertaining to his respective religion in order to avoid going into the Hell. References Denny, Frederick M, Carlos M. N. Eire, Martin S. Jaffee, and John Corrigan. Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print. Melton, J G, and Martin Baumann. Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print. Smith, Huston, and Huston Smith. The Worlds Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. New York: HarperOne, 1998. Print. Read More