Religion and Theology

They are said to have the same religious heritage with very few common elements and roots (Los Angeles Chinese Center for Learning, par 2). They are among the main religions in the world with huge following. Are their any similarities and differences among the three religions One similarity is that all the three religions are monotheistic but the difference comes in on how they view God. The Judaism God is a one being who can never be divided into parts and for them dividing God is an act of paganism. For Muslims, their God is regarded as invisible and immaterial. This God must be held with a lot of awe where by He must be really feared by the faithful. Another characteristic of the Muslim God is that he is omnipotent. Islam rules out the idea of God having a son and for them the idea goes against the divine nature of God and this is like giving God human qualities which according to them, He is not. For Christians, they believe in the holy trinity of God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. They also believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that He is a revelation of God through the human flesh (All about Religion, par. 2).

The three religions also regard God as the author of everything in the world and everything originates from Him. They also believe that God is very caring and He always looks after the well being of the people. He is also just, merciful and gracious. He has given guidelines to His people on how to lead righteous lives that may please Him (Los Angeles Chinese Center for Learning, par 2).
I do not think all the three religions worship the same God even through they are monotheistic. This is because the Judaism God is one and they do not believe that He can be divided into parts. In other words, they do not believe in the holy trinity and the same applies to Islam. For Muslims, they do not believe God can have a son. All these go against the Christian belief in the holy trinity of God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. For me, these are very different concepts about God and thus may not refer to the same God.

The other similarity is that the three religions have their own holy books that have some similarities but also differences. Torah is Judaisms holy book and this one is regarded the original book that contained the Old Testament. Torah is very important when it comes to Judaism worship because it is believed that it received its definite form from the Old Testament. It also contains the Ten Commandments which are very crucial in Judaism for they regard them as foundation or basis of human beings behavior (All about Religion, par. 4). For Muslims, the Quran is the last book from God and thus it is the best. First it was the Ten Commandments which were given to Prophet Moses. It was followed by the golden rule that was given to Prophet Jesus. Muslims regard the Torah, Davids psalms, the book that contains the New Testament and the Quran as the holy book but the Quran is the best. For Christians, the bible which contains both the old and the new testaments is the holy book. They believe that God reveals himself and his thoughts through the bible. The bible is also very important to them because it outlines the beginning and the end of all things including the way one can achieve salvation, and also sins consequences (All about Religion, par 4-5).

The three religions also emphasis on regular prayers and the difference comes in on how they conduct the prayers. For Judaism, there is so much recitation involved and they also have prayer book called Sidder (Religious Facts, par 1). For Muslims, they are supposed to pray 5 times a day (Diversity Planner, par 4). The Christians meet every Sunday to pray and worship (Woodruff, par 1).Those religions emphasize that people should show concern to others and respect other peoples dignity (Los Angeles Chinese Center for Learning, par. 7).

Another similarity is that, they all have holy places of worship but also different. For Muslims, the mosque is a very holy place where one is required to remove shoes and carry out a washing ritual before stepping into the mosque to pray (Diversity Planner, par. 1). In Judaism, synagogues and temples are regarded as holy. The male faithful must cover their heads either with a dress or kipa. They are also required to bow at some point during prayers (Religious Facts, par. 5). For Christians they have various churches where they do their worshipping every Sunday with worship practices varying (Woodruff, par. 1).

In conclusion, the three religions seem to have similarities in regards to the worship of one God but the difference comes in on how they view Him. The same applies to their beliefs about the prophets and the holy books, their places of worship and prayers. They all have prophets, holy books, places of worship and regular prayers but very different or are practiced differently.