Judaism , Christianity and Islam - Essay Example

Knowledge of God and certain religious practices have been handed down from one generation to another even before the age of written history. In the case of the three monotheistic religions, oral traditions have been documented in scriptures, and for which the claim to divine inspiration and revelation had become a common basis of faith and devotion. The Hebrew bible detailed the story of Israel in the light of the covenant between God and His people, and depicts a continuing saga of that relationship and of the saving acts of God.

Christians, on the other hand refer to the Old Testament (sourced out from the same Jewish bible) as historical documentation of salvation and prophesies over the coming messiah. The fulfillment of such prophesies and salvation, however is contained in the New Testament which detailed the teachings of Christ, His death and resurrection, and ascension to heaven, including the spread of Christianity shortly after He went up to heaven. For Muslims, the very word of Allah, was revealed to the prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel.

According to Muslim tradition, after this ecstatic experience Muhammad was able to recite exactly what he had been told. The term Qur’an, which means recitation,” occurs several times in the text itself; the term refers either to a fragment of the revelation or to the entire collection of revelations that are known as the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam (Microsoft Encarta) . All scriptures, each creed uses, tells us the story of the promise God made to Abraham, “I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17 - JB).

There and then, the verse became the basis as to why the three religions are collectively referred to as “Abrahamic.” Both “Jews and Muslims, as well as Christians, trace