Post #9 · Religion · Comparison

One family

This is a comparison, not a contest. The loudest arguments are family arguments.

The preconception

The three Abrahamic faiths are separate worlds with little in common.

The root

One God, one ancestor

All three are strict monotheisms that trace their story back to Abraham (Avraham, Ibrahim). They argue about how God is known, not whether He exists. Together they make up more than half of humanity.

Compare

Tap a theme

Judaism: one God. Christianity: one God in three persons, the Trinity. Islam: absolute oneness (tawhid).

Judaism: the patriarch of the covenant, through Isaac. Christianity: the father of faith. Islam: a prophet, through Ishmael, who built the Kaaba.

Judaism: the Tanakh and the Talmud. Christianity: the Old and New Testaments. Islam: the Qur’an, which honours the Torah and the Gospel as earlier revelations.

Judaism: not the Messiah. Christianity: the Messiah and Son of God. Islam: Isa, a prophet born of the Virgin Mary and called the Messiah, but not divine. This is the sharpest point of difference.

Judaism: halakha. Christianity: grace and church tradition. Islam: sharia.

Surprises

Shared ground most people miss

Mary is named more in the Qur’an than in the New Testament

Maryam is named more often there, and Surah 19 is named after her.

Moses is the most-named person in the Qur’an

Musa is named well over 100 times.

Islam calls Jews and Christians "People of the Book"

It is a recognised category for communities that received earlier scripture.

Christianity cannot be told without Israel

Jesus, the apostles and the first church were all Jewish.

Quick quiz

Which faith?

Who believes in the virgin birth of Jesus?

Who forbids pork?

Bottom line

A family dispute

The fights are fierce because the inheritance is shared. Jesus is the sharpest point: one story-world, three incompatible verdicts. You can compare them without picking a winner. All it takes is clear eyes.

Based on the standard texts of each tradition.

Rewritten from the original No Sacred Cows post for the LeonLink blog.

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