Abrahamic Religions Exam I

Tanakh

It is the thrity nine books of the jewish bible that contain all three sections

Torah

The first and main 5 books - the law

Nevi’um

The prophets - contains the messages of certain prophets as well as history books.

It points people back to the Torah

Ketuvim

The writings - poetry, literature, songs, history

It ends with the chronicles

Talmud

A collection of commentary, debate and intrepretation of Jewish law

It combines the Mishnah and the Gemara

Moses

He was the greatest of all prophets who freed the jewish slaves from Egypt

On Mt Sinai he recieved a new covenant from God where he told him the 10 commandments

Shema

The basic jewish prayer that Jews recited three times a day in a group of at least ten jews

Tikkun Olam

Repairing the world - contributed to acts of social justice and improving the quality of human life

K’lal yisrael

The Jewish Community

Mikvah

A ritual cleansing

Tefillin

Pouches that have passages of scripture that are strapped to the arm and forehead during weekday morning services

Fufills commandment to bind them to our hands and between our eyes

Circumcision

At 8 days old - an eternal covaent

Passover

Exodus from Egypt

Pharisees

A movement of Judaism that encompasses basically all the practices and beliefs that judaism has today

Minyan

A group of 10 people that is required for public worship

Kashrut

Keeping kosher

Abraham

The first jew and basically the dude who is the root of all the main three religions

Isaac

Abrahams second son, the father of jacob and a patricarch of Judaism

Nazareens

A sect of people who followed Jesus (Messiah) and adhered to jewish law

Canon

Authoritative texts for a community

Canonization

A process by which texts come to be seen as authoritative

They revere the scriptures

Jesus

Son of God/Messiah (Christianity)

Icthus

The fish thing that stands for Jesus, Christ, God, Son, Saviour

Trinity

The doctrine that there is one god who consists of three person’s - God, Son, and Holy Spirit (don’t question it)

Baptism

A religious rite of addmission into the church

Communion

Lord’s Supper

New Testament

A collection of 27 books that Christains added to the Hebrew Bible to convey their understanding and significance of Jesus

Gospels

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

History (Acts)

The fifth book of the New Testament that records how the early Christian Church began and spread across the Roman Empire

Synopotic Gospels

The first three books of the new testament

Christmas & Easter

Birth of Jesus; Ressurection of Jesus

Ishmael

The firstborn son or Abraham and the the ancestral patriarch of the Arab peoples from which Muhammad descended from

Muhammad

Final prophet of God - is credited with spreading Islam

Al-Fatiha

The first and opening chapter of the Qu’ran

Also known as the opening

Surah & Ayah

• A is a chapter of the Quran

• An individual verse within that chapter

Hijrah

The journey that Muhammad and his followers made from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE to escape religious persecution

Five Pillars of Islam - Shahadah

There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet

Five Pillars of Islam - Salat

Praying five times daily

Five Pillars of Islam - Zakat

Giving charity to those in need

Five Pillars of Islam - Sawm

Fasting during the month of Ramadan

Five Pillars of Islam - Hajj

Making pilgrimage to Mecca

Six Articles of Faith

Belief in one God

Belief in Angels

Belief in the Holy Books

Belief in the Prophets

Belief in Day of Judgement

Belief in God’s Predestination

Wudu/Ablutions

The procedure of washing body parts to achieve ritual purity before prayer or reading the Quran

Mecca

The birth place of Muhammad; the holiest city

Medina

The second holiest city; where Muhammad migrated to when facing religous persecution

Kaaba

The great Mosque, and the direction that all Muslims face when praying

Iman

Absolute faith, trust, and inner conviction in the spiritual truths of Islam

Ramadan

The ninth month in the Islam calander, observed by Muslims worldwide as a holy period of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community

Hadith

The traditions that record what Muhammad said and did

Eid al-adha

Religious festival - the Feast of the Sacrifice or the Greater Eid,

Eid al fitr

Marks the end of Ramadan

Mt Hira/Night of Power

Marks the time and location of when Muhammad recieved the first relevation of the Quran from the angel Gabriel

Ummah

Community

Dating System - Scholarly Dating

2026 CE (Common Era)

Uses BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE

Dating - Christian

2026 AD (the year after the birth of Jesus Christ)

From Jesus: Uses BC and AD

Dating - Judaism

5786 AM

Frrom creation of the world

Dating - Islam

1448 AH (year of Hijra)

From Hijra - uses BH/AH

Modern Divison - Judaism

Orthodox, Conversative, Reform

Modern Divison - Christainity

Roman Catholicism - believes the Pope is the supreme leader of the worldwide church and cannot err on official teachings

Protestanism - there is no global leader or strict hierarchy.

Eastern Orthodoxy - views the Pope as only "first among equals" with no final power over other bishops. Authority rests on councils and tradition.

Modern Divison - Islam

Shia - believe leadership must stay within the Prophet's bloodline. They believe the Prophet designated his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, as his true successor

Sunni - believe the new leader should be chosen by the community, They accepted Abu Bakr, a close friend of the Prophet, as the first leader

Relative Size (U.S/Globally) - Christainity

United States - 62%, Globally - 31%

Relative Size (U.S/Globally) - Judaism

United States - 2%, Globally - 0.2%

Relative Size (U.S/Globally) - Islam

United States - 1%, Globally - 23%

Scared Day of Prayer - Islam

Friday - God completed the creation of Adam on a Friday, Adam entered Paradise on a Friday, and the Day of Resurrection will also happen on a Friday.

Scared Day of Prayer - Judasim

Friday to Saturday Night - God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. Observing Shabbat imitates God's example

Scared Day of Prayer - Christianity

Sunday - Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week

Differences between the Jewish Bible and Christian Old Testament

Different number of books (JB - 24, OT - 39), JB is organized into three sections, the OT is organized by genre, they have different religious messages.

Water Rituals

Islam - you wash your body before prayer or reading the quran

Christianity - cleansing, baptism

Judaism - cleansing - mikvah

Similarities between Religions

Monothesim - they all worship a single God

They recognize many of the early prophets like Abraham, Moses, and David

Core ethical values - prayer, charity, fasting, and preforming good deeds

Differences between religions (1)

Nature of god:

• Judaism - Emphasizes absolute divine unity and transcendence

• Christianity - holy trinity

• Islam - Emphasizes strict, indivisible oneness (Tawhid), rejecting any partners or physical incarnation of God

Differences between religions (2)

Identity and role of Jesus

• Judaism - Views Jesus as a historical teacher/rabbi, but not the Messiah or divine

• Christianity - Regards Jesus as the incarnate Son of God, the Savior, and the Messiah who died and resurrected

• Islam - Reveres Jesus (Isa) as a major prophet and the literal Messiah, but denies his divinity or crucifixion

Differences between religions (3)

Sacred texts

• Judaism - Centers on the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh/Torah), and the Talmud

• Christianity - Centers on the Old Testament and the New Testament.

• Islam - Centers on the Quran, alongside the Hadith.