
An Abrahamic religion (also referred to as desert monotheism) is a term sometimes used to refer to a religion derived from an ancient Semitic tradition attributed to Abraham, a great Patriarchs (Bible) described in the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur'an. This group of largely monotheistic religions, in which many include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, comprises about half of the world's religious adherents. Muslims refer to adherents of most Abrahamic religions as fellow People of the Book, "the Book" symbolizing divine scripture, such as the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an. They see Abraham as one the most important of the many prophets sent by God. Many Christians generally do not view themselves as part of an "Abrahamic religion," but view Abraham as an early figure of faith. Jews see Abraham as the founder of the people of Israel and the ancestor of their people. Apart from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, a number of other religions in the Semitic tradition are generally, but not universally, considered Abrahamic. Other religions sometimes considered Abrahamic religions include the Bahá'í Faith, Druze, Mandaeanism, Sikhism, and the Rastafari movement. What constitutes an Abrahamic religion varies from each observer's point of view, as a universal classification system cannot be agreed on by everyone. ==Overview== All the Abrahamic religions are derived to some extent from Judaism as practiced in ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah prior to the Babylonian captivity of Judah, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE. Many believe that Judaism in Biblical Israel was renovated and reformed to some extent in the 6th century BCE by Ezra and other priests returning to Israel from the exile. Samaritanism separated from Judaism in the next few centuries. Christianity originated in Palestine, at the end of the 1st century, as a radically reformed branch of Judaism; it spread to ancient Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, and from there to most of Europe, Asia, the Americas, and many other parts of the world. Over the centuries Christianity split into many separate churches and denominations. A major split in the 5th century separated various Oriental Orthodoxy from the Catholic church centered in Rome. Other major splits were the East-West Schism in the 11th century, which separated the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, which eventually gave birth to hundreds of independent Protestant denominations. Islam originated in the 6th century, in the Arabian cities of Makkah and Madinah. Although not a dissident branch of either Judaism or Christianity, it explicitly claimed to be a continuation and replacement for them, and echoed many of their principles. According to Muslim belief, Islam was the final word of God and its message was that of all the prophets, and thus Islam had been around since the beginning. As an example of the similarities between the faiths, Muslims believe in a version of the story of Genesis and in the lineal descent of the Arabs from Abraham through Ishmael. Ishmael was conceived through Abraham's second wife Hagar. ==Origins== The origins of Judaism and the ancestral Abrahamic religion are still obscure. The only documentary source bearing on that question is the Genesis book of the Hebrew Bible, which according to Rabbinic tradition was written by Moses sometime in the 2nd millennium BC, with many estimates arriving at 1500 BC. According to Genesis, the principles of Judaism were revealed gradually to a line of patriarchs, from Adam to Jacob (also called Israel); however the religion was only established when Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and with the institution of priesthood and temple services, after the Exodus from Egypt. Archaeologists so far have found no direct evidence to support or refute the Genesis story on the origins of Judaism; in fact, there are no surviving texts of the Bible older than the Dead Sea Scrolls (2nd century BC or later). However, archaeology has shown that peoples speaking various Semitic languages and with similar polytheistic religions were living in Palestine (region) and surrounding areas by the 3rd millennium BC. Some of their gods (such as Baal) are mentioned in the Bible, and the supreme god of the Semitic pantheon, El, is believed by some scholars to be the God of the Biblical patriarchs. There exist some inscriptions which some scholars believe to confirm the Biblical record, such as the Tel Dan Stele. ==Patriarchs== There are six notable figures in the Bible prior to Abraham: Adam and Eve, their sons Cain and Abel, Enoch and Noah, his great-grandson, who saved his own family and all animal life in Noah's Ark. These people did not however leave any recorded moral code behind — they serve simply as good and bad examples of behaviour without specific indication of how one interprets their actions in any religion. Islam and Judaism consider Adam and Noah to be prophets and recognize that there were possibly other prophets who are unknown today. Judaism historically accepted that each people had its own beliefs, of which theirs was simply the most correct. (Jews who chose another faith, however, are considered heretics). Many strains of Christianity and Islam consider followers of all other faiths to be worshipping false gods. So rather than being the sole "founding figure", Abraham is more correctly described as the first figure in Genesis that (a) is clearly not of direct divine origin such as Adam and Eve are claimed to be; (b) is accepted by the three major desert monotheistic faiths as playing some major role in the founding of their common civilization; (c) is not claimed as the male genetic forebear of all humans on the Earth (as Noah is, in more literal interpretations — Cain by contrast married a woman from the "Land of Nod" who was unrelated to him or Adam); and (d) is quite well-documented. In the Book of Genesis, Abraham is specifically instructed to leave the city of Ur so that God will "make of you a great nation", and his travails thereby are well documented. Burton Visotzky, an ethicist, wrote ''Genesis of Ethics'' to explore the detailed implications of these adventures for a modern ethics. According to the Bible, the patriarch Abraham (or ''Ibrahim'', in Arabic language) had eight sons by three wives: one (Ishmael) by his wife's servant Hagar, one (Isaac) by his wife Sarah, and six by another wife Keturah. Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah, and other prominent figures all claim to be descendants of Abraham through one of these sons. ==The Supreme Deity== Judaism and Islam visualize God in strictly monotheism terms, whereas most Christians believe that God is an indivisible Trinity, with three distinct persons. === Judaism === Jewish theology is based on the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh'', largely the same as the Old Testament of the Christians), where the nature and commandments of the Jewish supreme being are revealed through the writings of Moses and later prophets. Additionally, it usually has a basis in its Oral Law, as recorded in the Mishnah and Talmuds. This supreme being is referred to in the Hebrew Bible in The name of God in Judaism, such as ''Elohim'', ''Adonai'' or by the four Hebrew letters "Y-H-V(or W)-H" (the tetragrammaton), which the Jews do not pronounce as a word, but which Christians generally recognize as "YAHWEH". The Hebrew words ''Eloheynu'' (Our God) and ''HaShem'' (The Name), as well as the English names "Lord" and "God", are also used in modern day Judaism. (The latter is sometimes written "G-d" in reference to the taboo against pronouncing the tetragrammaton). The word "Elohim" has the Hebrew plural ending "-īm", which some Biblical scholars have taken as further support for the general notion that the ancient Hebrews were polytheists in the time of the patriarchs; however, as the word itself is used with singular verbs, this theory is not accepted by most Jews. Jews point out other words in Hebrew that are used in the same manner according to the rule of Hebrew_language#Grammar. Jewish Biblical scholars and historical commentary on the passage point out that Elohim being in the plural points to God in conjunction with the heavenly court, i.e. the angels. === Christianity === Historically, Christianity has professed belief in a single deity, an indivisible Trinity or Godhead, comprising three divine "persons": the Father, creator of the universe; the Son, begotten by the Father, who incarnated in Jesus; and the Holy Spirit, emanating from both. Christians believe that this is the same God worshipped by the Jews, and believe that God's trinitarian nature was not fully revealed until the time of Jesus. This theology is stated in the Christian Bible (which comprises the Old Testament and New Testament Testaments), as in Gospel of John, and was elaborated upon by the early Church fathers and codified in the Athanasian Creed. When referring specifically to God the Father (''e.g.'' in the context of the Old Testament), Christians rarely use the name "Yahweh" (based on conventional pronunciations of the tetragrammaton "Y-H-W-H" or "Y-H-V-H"); more often, they use the title "Father" or "Lord". The Son also bears the divine name (Philippians), but is usually referred to as "the Son of God" or "the Word of God" in his pre-incarnate state, or as "Jesus Christ", "the Lord", the "Savior", the "Messiah", the "Redeemer", or the "Lamb of God" since his incarnation. This "trinitarian monotheism" has been rejected by Nontrinitarianism, such as Arianism, Unitarianism, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Most of these non-trinitarian groups believe or believed that only God the Father is a deity; Latter-day Saints believe that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct personages. === Islam === Allah is the standard Arabic translation for the word "God". Islamic tradition also describes the 99 Names of God. Muslims believe that the Jewish God is the same as Allah and that Jesus is a divinely inspired prophet, but not a divinity. Thus, both the Torah and New Testament are accepted as valid in principle, but Muslims believe them to have been intentionally corrupted. Muslims revere the Qur'an as the final uncorrupted word of God brought through the last prophet, Muhammad, and Islam is viewed as a final correction of Judaism and Christianity. == Lineage == === Explanation === Lineage is covenant between Abraham and God, passed from Father to Son, much as the crown would have been passed from a King to a Prince. === Abraham === In Genesis, Abram entered into a covenant with God, and was renamed Abraham. === Ishmael === The first born son of Abraham. Jewish tradition holds that he was born out of wedlock. Islamic tradition holds that he was the first legitimate son of Abraham born as a result of the marriage of Abraham to Hagar. === Isaac === Born to Abraham's first wife. Isaac was the second son of Abraham. Jewish tradition holds that he was the first son of Abraham born in wedlock. Islamic tradition holds that he was the second son of Abraham born in wedlock. ==== Jacob (Israel) ==== Jacob, descendant of Isaac, renamed Israel. ==== Twelve Tribes ==== The descendants of Jacob(Israel) formed twelve tribes. Before Jacob died he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, two sons of Joseph and formed two more tribes under the house of Joseph. Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph, Joseph/Ephraim, Joseph/Manasseh, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun ===== Jewish Lineage ===== The Jews believe that the covenant was passed from Abraham to Issac, the first son of Abraham to be born in wedlock, and eventually down to Jacob(Israel). The Jews believe they are primarily of the tribes found in the Kingdom of Judah, Judah, Benjamin, and Levi (the ten other tribes were lost after the Assyrian invasion of the Kingdom of Israel - see Lost Ten Tribes). The word "Jew" is derived from Judah. ===== Muslim Lineage ===== Muslims believe that the covenant was passed from Abraham to Ishmael, as he was the first born son. As the Islamic tradition holds that Ismael was born in wedlock no issue of his illegitimacy arises. Jews and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are of the view that Ishmael was illegitimate and this precluded Ishmael from having the covenant passed to him. ===== Christian Lineage ===== Christians do not generally believe in a literal lineage or covenant. They refer to the Old Testament for spiritual lessons, which speaks of the history of Judaism and the heritage and stories of Abraham, son Isaac, and Jacob(Israel). The Old Testiment describes Jacob's descendants as heirs to the Kingdom of Israel, Jacob's son Judah, and his descendant David the King of Israel. Jesus arrives on earth as the son of God and the Messiah of Israel. ===== Rastafarian lineage ===== Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie is God, because he is the ''King of kings'', the ''Lord of lords'' and the ''Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah''. Haile Selassie claimed to have the root of David, and to be the 225th direct descendant of King David, a figure that Mathematics is not credible. This connection to Ethiopia was made through the consummation of King Solomon with the Queen of Sheba. Rastafarians also believe that they, the black races, are the true children of Israel. They accept Jesus as a former incarnation of Haile Selassie. ===== Mormonism ===== The Mormons believe that the covenant was passed from Abraham to Issac, the first son of Abraham to be born in wedlock, and eventually down to Jacob(Israel). The Mormons believe they are primarily of the House of Joseph. ==Religious scriptures== All three religions rely on a body of scriptures, some of which are considered to be the word of God — hence sacred and unquestionable — and some which are the work of religious men, revered mainly by tradition and to the extent that they are considered to have been divinely inspired, if not dictated, by the divine being. ===Judaism=== The sacred scriptures of Judaism are comprised of the Hebrew Bible, a Hebrew acronym which stands for "Torah","Nevi'im" (Prophets), and "Ketuvim" (Writings). These are complemented and supplemented with collected rabbinical writings, ''Talmud''. The Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in particular, is considered holy, down to the last letter: translations or transcriptions are frowned upon, and transcribing is done with painstaking care. ===Christianity=== The sacred scriptures of most Christian sects are the Old Testament, which is largely the same as the Hebrew Bible; and the New Testament, comprising four accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus, traditionally attributed to his apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the Four Gospels); and several writings by the apostles and early fathers such as Paul of Tarsus. Together these comprise the Christian Bible, which are usually considered to be Biblical inspiration in some sense. Thus Christians consider the fundamental teachings of the Old Testament, in particular the Ten Commandments, as valid; however they believe that the coming of Jesus as the messiah and savior of mankind as predicted in the Old Testament, and the fact that Jesus was raised Jewish and became a teacher of Judaism, would shed light on the true relationship between God and mankind — by restoring the emphasis of universal love and compassion (as mentioned in the Shema) above the other commandments, by de-emphasising the more "Legalism (theology)" and material precepts of rabbinical law (such as the dietary constraints and temple rites). Christians generally believe that the link between Old and New Testaments in the Bible describes the fact that Judaism has been superseded by Christianity as the "new Israel" -- and that Jesus's teachings described Israel not as a geographic place but as an association with God and promise of salvation in heaven. The vast majority of Christian religions (generally including Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and most forms of Protestantism, but not Restorationism) derive their beliefs from the conclusions reached by the Council of Nicea in 325 C.E., known as the Nicene Creed. This describes the beliefs that God (as a Trinity of distinct persons with one substance) became human on earth, born as Jesus pursuant to the Old Testament scriptures, was crucified by humanity, died and was buried, only to be resurrected on the third day to then rise to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and "sitteth at the right hand of" (become one with) God. Christians generally believe that faith in Jesus is the only way to achieve salvation and to enter into heaven, and that salvation is a gift given by the grace of God. Unlike the Jews, Christians generally do not consider a single version of their Bible as holy to the exclusion of the others, and accept good translations and re-translations as being just as valid, in principle, as the original. They recognize that the Gospels were passed on by oral tradition only to be set to paper decades after the death of Jesus and his apostles, and that the extant versions are only copies of those originals. Indeed, the version of the Bible which is considered to be most valid (in the sense of best conveying the true meaning of the word of God) has varied considerably: the Greek language Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the English language King James Bible, and the Russian language Synodal Bible have been authoritative to different communities at different times. In particular, Christians usually consult the Hebrew language version of the Old Testament when preparing new translations, although some believe that the Septuagint should be preferred, as it was the Bible of the early Christian Church and because they believe its translators probably knew Biblical Hebrew better than any person living today. In the same sense that the Jewish mystics viewed the Torah as something living and existing prior to any written text, so too do the Christians view the Bible and Jesus himself as God's "Word" (or logos in Greek) that transcends written documents. The Christian Bible sacred scriptures are complemented by a large body of writings by individual Christians and councils of Christian leaders. Some Christian churches and denominations consider certain additional writings to be binding; other Christian groups consider only the Bible to be binding. ===Islam=== Islam has only one sacred book, the Qur'an, comprising 114 Chapters (''surat''). According to the Qur'an itself, these were revealed by the Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad on separate occasions, and preserved as such by his disciples, until they were compiled into a single book (not in chronological order) several decades after his death. The Qur'an includes several stories from the Jewish Bible (chiefly in Sura 17, ''The Children of Israel''), and mentions Jesus many times as a divinely inspired prophet. However the detailed precepts of the Tanakh and of the New Testament are not adopted outright; they are replaced by the new commandments revealed directly by Allah (through Gabriel) to Muhammad and codified in the Qur'an. Like the Jews, Muslims consider the original Arabic language text of the Qur'an as uncorrupted and holy to the last letter, and any translations are considered to be interpretations of the meaning of the Qur'an, as only the original Arabic text is considered to be the divine scripture. Like the Rabbinic Oral Law to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an is complemented by the ''Hadith'', a set of books by later authors that record the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. The Hadith interpret and elaborate Qur'anic precepts. There is no consensus within Islam on the authority of the Hadith collections but Islamic scholars have categorized each Hadith at one of the following levels of authenticity or isnah: genuine (''sahih''), fair (''hasan''), or weak (''da'if''). By the ninth century six collections of Hadiths were accepted as reliable: * al-Bukhari (d. 870) * Muslim b. al-Hajjaj (d. 875) * Abu Da'ud (d. 888) * al-Tirmidhi (d. 892) * al-Nasa'i (d. 915) * Ibn Maja (d. 886). The Hadith and the life story of Muhammad (sira) form the Sunnah, a scriptural supplement to the Qur'an. The legal opinions of Islamic jurists (fiqh) provides another source for the daily practice and interpretation of Islamic tradition. ===Rastafari movement=== The Rastafari movement uses the King James version of the Bible as their main scripture, though they claim that they only have half of it, and that the other half is written in the heart of human beings. Both the teachings of Marcus Garvey and the Holy Piby are also important documents, as are the life and sayings of Haile Selassie. === Mormonism === The Mormon faith uses the Old and New Testaments (usually the King James version of the Bible), The Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants ==The coming== ''Main article: Millennialism'' In the major Abrahamic religions, there exists the await of an individual which will herald the end of the world, and bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth. Judaism awaits the coming of the Messiah. Christianity awaits the Second Coming of Christ. Islam awaits both the second coming of Jesus (in order to complete his life and die, since he is said to have been risen alive and not crucified) and the coming of Mahdi (Sunni Islams in his first incarnation, Shi'a Islam the return of Muhammad al-Mahdi). Rastafari awaits the second coming of Haile Selassie. ==Afterlife== ===Judaism=== Judaism's views on the afterlife are quite diverse. This can be attributed to the fact that Judaism is primarily focused on life, and not what happens after. This is not to say that Judaism has no afterlife, rather it tends to label it as unimportant, and it only shows itself in advanced thought, usually Kabbala in nature. One main agreement is that the Jewish afterlife is a process of purification before admittance to the "world to come". The body will be punished in Sheol, or the grave, and the soul is purified in Gehenna (also Gehinom) or purgatory. In purgatory all souls are purified by reviewing their life and learning from the wrong they have done. This is done with a maximum time of one year as that is supposedly the maximum amount of time to clean the blackest of souls. An alternative train of thought is that the most evil people's souls are completely obliterated in Abbadon. What happens after this process of purification, beside ascending to Gan Edan, or the garden of eden, and closeness with God, is up to debate. ===Christianity=== Afterlife is one of the most fundamental concepts of Christian theology. The most serious ("mortal") sins condemn the immortal soul to terrible punishment (called "Hell", "Damnation", and many other names) and separation from God — often for eternity, or at least until the second coming. Conversely, a just life earns the soul's admittance to an eternal state of bliss, close to God ("Heaven", the "Kingdom of God", "Salvation", etc.). Some Christian theologies also admit a purgatory, analogous to Jewish Gehenna, where souls guilty of lesser sins will spend some time before being admitted to Heaven. The concept of an afterlife where people are rewarded or punished for their deeds in life has had a pervasive influence in Christian thinking and ritual. In many faiths, people can obtain forgiveness for their sins by sincere repentance, accompanied by prayer, good deeds, or physical self-punishment. In Catholicism, forgiveness requires confession of the sin to a priest, who will prescribe prayers as a symbolic punishment; and this is one of the seven fundamental Sacraments of Catholic ritual. In other denominations, public confession may be required. Over centuries, many Christian communities have developed traditional self-punishment ceremonies, ranging from pilgrimage to a holy location to extreme self-mutilation. Many Protestant denominations hold faith to be the key to salvation and that the works stem from this (''sola fide''). The dispensing of forgiveness in exchange of donations to the Church, in late Mediaeval times, was one of the perceived aberrations that led to the Protestant schism. The concepts of afterlife and its eternal salvation or damnation are clearly stated in the New Testament, but only in an abstract sense. The precise nature of Hell and Heaven has been a major subject of theological speculation, and views have varied enormously among sects and epochs. The very literal "Fire and Brimstone" view expressed in Dante Alighieri's epic poem Divine Comedy (14th century), where Hell is a place of intense and continuous physical suffering, has been a very popular one throughout history. Christian theology generally excludes interference of the souls of deceased persons on the living world, e.g. through reincarnation, possession, or ghostly appearances. While several Christian faiths accept the concept of possession by spirits (see exorcism), these are seen as malign demons, never as departed souls. Several sects also admit that the souls of particularly holy deceased people ("Saints") may occasionally appear in visions to the living, to give them advice and support; and they may also be addressed in prayers as intermediaries between men and God. ===Islam=== Islam prescribes a literal, burning Hell for those who disobey God and commit gross sin. Those who worship and remember God are promised eternal abode in Heaven. Heaven is further divided into seven levels (hence the term 'Seventh Heaven') with the highest level reserved for those who die in the cause of faith. Upon repentance to God, any sin can be forgiven as God is said to be the most Merciful. Beyond repentance however, the Qur'an states that God will certainly not forgive Shirk_(idolatry); attributing relationship to God such as the Christian view of Jesus being the Son of God. ==Worship== Worship, ceremonies, and religion-related customs differ substantially between the various Abrahamic religions. Among the few similarities are a seven-day cycle in which one day is nominally reserved for worship, prayer, or other religious activities; this custom is related to the Biblical story of Genesis, where God created the universe in six days, and rested in the seventh. Islam, which has Friday as a day for special congregational prayers, does not ascribe to the 'resting day' concept. Judaism and Islam prescribe infant circumcision as a token symbol of inclusion in the faith. Christianism replaced that custom by a baptism ceremony that varies according to the denomination, but generally includes immersion, aspersion or anointment with water. Judaism and Islam also have strict dietary laws, with lawful food being called kosher in Judaism and halaal in Islam. Both religions prohibit the consumption of pork; Islam also prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages of any kind. Halaal restrictions can be seen as a subset of kashrut dietary laws, so many kosher foods are considered halaal; especially in the case of meat, which Islam prescribes must be slaughtered in the name of God. Christianity originally had prohibitions against the consumption of meat (but not fish) on Fridays and in certain epochs of the year, but those rules have been largely abandoned or subtantially relaxed in many sects. Christianity and Islam encourage proselytism — convincing others to convert to their religion; many Christian organizations send missionary to non-Christian communities throughout the world. While Judaism accepts converts, it does not encourage them, and has no missionary as such. ==See also== * Christianity * Christo-Islamic * Judeo-Christo-Islamic * Judeo-Islamic * dharmic religions * Islam * Judaism * Judeo-Christian * list of religions * major world religions * monotheism * Vedic religions History of religion Jewish history Abrahamic religions fa:دینهای ابراهیمی simple:Abrahamic religion vi:Các tôn giáo khởi nguồn từ Abraham zh-tw:亞伯拉罕諸教
==Other Abrahamic religions== I trimmed this because it seemed a bit out of place in the header section: :At the same time, Sikhism can also be considered to part of the Dharmic faiths, as it, like Hinduism and Buddhism accepts karma and reincarnation. Perhaps there should be a section in this article giving an overview of all the other religions that claim or can be claimed to descend from Judaism, Christianity, or Islam (Sikhism, Bahai, Mormonism, Kardecism, ...). The parag above then would be reinstated there.
User:Jorge Stolfi 05:26, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Arabs vs Muslims== I don't see the relavance of this :Although Mohammed was an Arab, many Arabs are Christian, and most Muslims are not Arabs. ==Why this term?== Well, I think the bigger issue is, "Why have people started talking about 'Abrahamic Religions?'" The article is pretty good so far, but doesn't provide any context for when, how and why this concept developed. I am no expert in this, but my sense is people started using the term to promote something more inclusive than "Judeo-Christian tradition" -- more inclusive meaning, include Muslims -- at least that's what an article in Time magazine suggested (about a year ago, I think). ::That's exactly right. It's an invented term specifically to reinforce what they have in common. But it was used as late as the Middle Ages by thoughtful people with the same intent. ::: As someone from an Muslim bakground I also support using this term, as it insists on what these traditions have in common instead on their difference as many people try to do in these troubled times. Note that the term "Judeo-Christian tradition" is also a coined term which has been invented in the XIX century --User:Khalid hassani 00:31, 31 Jan 2005 (UTC) But why call it "Abrahamic?" This article says it is because Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship the God of Abraham, which makes sense. But to the best of my recollection, the Time magazine article (and it was referring either to a recent book or PBS special) said that it was because Abraham was the father of both Isaac (from whom Jews are descended) and Ishmael (from whom Arabs are descended). ::Either the genetic or ontologic explanation leads back to Abraham, since he was the first to get the instructions from God as to what to do to found the nation of Israel. Maybe this is just too tangential -- I won't argue. But it seems to me that this gets to the issue of why we need to be more inclusive, and who we want to include. What I mean is, I think the very idea of Abrahamic religion -- a term I doubt ''anyone'' (meaning, all the so-called practicioners of Abrahamic religions) used more than twenty or thirty years ago -- is a political response to recent political conflicts. ::Yes, it's use is motivated by that, and yes, that should be mentioned in the article, more or less exactly as you say it. Now, since 9/11 the enemy of "the West" has been "radical Islam" -- with political and civic leaders going to great pains to make clear that they do not mean all Muslims. ::These leaders don't speak for *me*. I have no problem with radical Islam. I have more of a problem with fascists using 9/11 as pretext, and gangsters using religious imagery to get what they want - which is something that all "leaders" in all three of these so-called faiths are guilty of. But prior to 9/11 I think that the villians in most Hollywood moviews were identifiably ''Arab'', not Muslim -- in other words, the enemy was ethnic, not religious; similarly the problems in Israle/Palestine are, or at least have been, most often described as a Jewish-Arab conflict. So I think when people first started using the term "Abrahamic religion," they were trying to include "Arabs," not "Muslims." I am suggesting that the way people in the West have talked about their conclicts with certain people outside of Europe has changed in the past few years, and consequently the way people use the term "Abrahamic religions" has changed too. I may be wrong about the dates -- if anyone can provide a citation using the term "Abrahamic religion" prior to 1900, or 1948 -- or even 1967 -- I would be surprised but grateful for the lesson. ::I'm pretty sure it's a very very old but obscure term used mostly to distinguish from the vedic religions, and often in the context where someone British was trying to get Muslims on their side against Hindus. I may also be wrong that people use the term differently after 9/11. At the very least, I think it would be good if the article said more about when and why people first started using this term (I googled around a bit -- the earliest examples I could find of "Abrahamic" were 2001! Prior to that, even when people wanted to refer to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, they seem to have used "monotheistic." Why the change?) User:Slrubenstein ::For exactly the reasons you state. I think desert monotheism is really the best term actually. It talks about where the faiths originated, not the mythical and maybe fictional figure on whom it is based. One might for instance think all this was inspired by specific mushrooms that grow only in the Sinai. The term may have been created by political motivations, but it seems useful on its own. To the extent that one can trace a "genetic tree" of religions, "Abrahamic religion" would mean simply "a religion that descends from that of ancient Hebrews". "Monotheism" is more generic and ambiguous (isn't Taoism "monotheistic" in some sense?) "Desert monotheism" is still not specific enough (which desert?).
Granted that the genetic tree of religions is nowere as easy to determine as that of amoebas...
User:Jorge Stolfi 05:26, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) ---- ---- ==Lawgiver== Really, we need an article on lawgiver that talks about the various attributes of divinity or prophecy or whatever that they are assigned by people who come later. "Islam ... also considers the wisest lawgivers of other nations (Confucius, Hiawatha) to be prophets as long as they claimed no divinity on their own behalf." I am surprised to read this. Does anybody have a source for this? :I am not aware of this at least not in orthodox Islam, that said Islam recognize all jews prophets as beeing authentic prophets, the official name in Islam is ''nabi'' the same as in Judaism.User:Khalid hassani == Abraham's eight sons== Simple "edit"-note: acc. to the text, Abraham has eight sons, only two are mentioned..are they surplus? Or have you just omitted a sentence? == Abraham?! == The problem with this entry is there is no real discussion of what makes a religion "Abrahamic" other than its genealogy -- if the relationship between these religions is simply familial, why call them "Abrahamic"? And, of course, it is not simply familial, or the various Christian heresies would be considered "Abrahamic" while more distant cousins of Christianity or Judaism or Islam like Rastafarianism, Nation of Islam, or Jews for Jesus might not. It seems to me what these religions have in common is a sense of the centrality of the story of Abraham -- and particularly the Akedah -- to religious belief. The story certainly emphasizes critical themes that are repeated in the Abrahamic religions -- the test of faith, sacrifice, martyrdom, even resurrection and revelation in some readings. Not sure how to put that in the entry though.... --User:Commodore Sloat 10:20, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC) :These religions share in fact a lot of traditions, beliefs, legends, they interpret their own way in a kind of localisation. You might think of them as a kind of localised languages of the same original language, they are related to judaism the same way French, Spanish, or Italian are related to Latin. They also share the same strong and I must say ''debilating'' sens of "Sin" (Christianity), "Haram" (Islam) don't know the term in Judaîsm. Other central common notions if you don't count ''god'', are ''Paradise'', and the ''Devil', Islam has alas the originality of ''martyrdom'' and ''Jihad'', although crusaders have had their fair share of that too !! :csloat: One suggestion is that you do not use the term "heresy" or "heresies", as we do not endorse nor condemn any particular religion, okay? :) - User:Gilgamesh 19:08, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::The term "heresies" was not meant as my judgement on these views but rather as a description of them as deviations from mainstream Christianity -- specific doctrinal deviations that are based on (and sometimes parody) the original -- I have in mind such groups as Anabaptists, Freethinkers, Satanists -- none of these groups follow Christianity (and they even explicitly reject it) but they are nonetheless entirely based on opposition to Christianity; if Christianity did not exist there could be no Church of Satan for example. Yet even though these are more directly related to a major Abrahamic religion than say Rastafarianism, one would be foolish to call them "Abrahamic" because the story of Abraham does not feature prominently in any of them. I still think this point needs to be made more adequately in the article.... --User:Commodore Sloat 19:25, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Invitation for Hebrew linguistics project participation== Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism is trying to decide all Hebrew linguistics issues for Wikipedia by themselves. But Hebrew is not purely the realm of Judaism; it is also the realm of Samaritans, Christians and Abrahamic religion as a whole, and also secular Canaanite languages studies. I'm trying to challenge mono-cultural mono-sectarian dominance over a linguistic field that we all should be sharing together. I invite you to participate in trying to pluralize Hebrew language conventions for Wikipedia. In particular, not only is Tiberian Hebrew transliteration challenged, but also Standard Hebrew transliteration, as some people want to use ''only'' Israeli Hebrew colloquial transliteration or Ashkenazi Hebrew liturgical transliteration. I think these are perfectly valid and worthy of participation, but not at the total expense of every other Hebrew linguistics study concern. Please support a multi-religious multi-cultural scientific NPOV mandate for studying Hebrew linguistics on Wikipedia. - User:Gilgamesh 02:54, 18 July 2004 (UTC) :In case anyone was wondering, I dropped this dispute a long long time ago. It was a challenge against User:Yoshiah_ap, but we made up. :) We're good colleagues now and we cooperate extensively. - User:Gilgamesh 19:14, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Merging Sections == I believe "The Supreme Diety" section of this article should be merged with the section about each religion's scriptures.--User:Yoshiah ap 15:41, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) == Book of Enoch == ''These people did not however leave any recorded moral code behind.'' The Ethiopian Orthodox Church considers the Book of Enoch inspired. Is it a "moral code"? == Catholic Hell == Hi. The section of the article about the Catholic notion of the nature of Hell is somewhat mistaken. The idea that damnation to Hell is either eternal or to last until the Second Coming is neither dominant in modern Catholic Theology nor has it been the official mainstream theory in Catholic history. Religious art, among other sources, from as late as the 17th century clearly depict Hell as a form of purgatory (hence there is no "purgatory" between Heaven and Hell in Catholicism), a place where sinful souls go for a period of time, the duration of which depends on the nature of the sins committed and the willingness to sincerely repent. It is possible to stay in Hell forever, if the soul is uncapable of sincere repentance. In most cases, however, it is completely possible, in Catholic tradition, for a soul to leave Hell and ascend to Heaven, and that is not pending the Second Coming. Furthermore, it has always been stated in Catholic dogmatic that the type of suffering to which the soul is to be submitted in Hell shall vary in accordance with the sins committed and the profile of the sinner. Thus, the suffering may be physical or psychological, depending on those factors. And ''if'' the pain is to be physical, it doesn't necessarily involve "Fire and Brimstone", but rather it varies in accordance with those factors, again. ''That'' is what Dante's Devine Comedy reflects: different punishments for different sinners. That section of the article needs some work. Regards, User:Redux 19:20, 12 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Sorry, but you are incorrect. Hell and purgatory are two distinct things, and this teaching has remained unchanged for many centuries. See [http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art12.htm ''The Catechism of the Catholic Church'' sections 1030-1037] for the offical church's teaching, today. User:Lawrence King 04:37, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Name Change == I think this ought to be called Abrahamic Religions instead of it's current title, as it refers to multiple religous POVs.--User:Yoshiah ap 05:37, Dec 17, 2004 (UTC) ==Mormonism== <>
I am frusterated with the descrimination on this page. Mormon's absolutely have a valid claim time their lineage, and our members exceed the World Jewish Population. Email me back. I am confussed as to how 700 years of time between the two religions can cause the LDS to be considered a minor Protestant faith. We are of a hebrew history, not a Catholic one, and as such, we are not gentiles by Chrildren of Israel. I am tired of gentiles attacking what is a crearly a Hebrew faith, and not a Catholic/Protestant one. Email me, as I am tired of going back an forth on this. Too my knowledge, the only four Abrahamic religions with a claim to lineage are
Islam
Abraham/Ishmael/Muhammad
Jewish
Abraham/Issac/Jacob(Israel)/Tribe of Judah (Judahism)
Mormon
Abraham/Issac/Jacob(Israel)/House of Joseph (Mormonism)
Christian (The Gentiles)
Jesus inherits thrown of David.
My understanding is this is the primary and essential requirments to be considered an Abrhamic Religion.
Mormons apparently had been removed from the page, and were re-added to the page on 13-Jan-05. More emphysis was placed on the fact that Mormons don't originate from The Catholic church or any church from that point on but 700 years earlier as they left the Northern Kingdom fearing an iminate invasion by the Babylonians.
Mormon(Latter-Day Saints) were added, and teh page upgraded to reflect 4 major Arabramamic religions on 9 Jan 2005 around 0500(UTC)
Some text needs to be rewritten here. --User:VChapman 16:20, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:There are other religions that recognize, to a greater or lesser degree, the prophets of the Bible, including the Mormon faith, the various Voodoo faiths (a syncretic blend of Christianity and African pagan religions), and Unitarian-Universalism. These religions may add or subtract other prophets, and in some ways have beliefs and creeds that differ greatly from Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Accordingly, these faiths are generally not classified as Abrahamic religions.
Don't know about Voodoo, but Mormons and Unitarians most
certainly consider themselves Abrahmamic.
:: As a Unitarian Universalist I would dispute this. It is true that UUism derived from Christianity. However, as a creedless religion we have many members whose beliefs do not originate with any of the Abrahamic religions. So what it comes down to is if you're referring to origins of the institution or of the beliefs. --User:Tydaj 01:42, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)
:: The prophet, saint, pre-Abraham complexity is now covered properly I hope. I think we need an article on lawgiver, which is a nice neutral term for all such founding figures without making any claims specific to any religion. Clearly Moses and Confucius are both lawgivers, as are founding figures of Sparta, Athens, etc.
::Are Donmeh too minor to be mentioned?
I feel that the article is unbalanced in regard to Mormonism, with descriptions of it's specific practices taking up too much of the article, and being longer than such descriptions of habits of Christianity and Islam combined. It is not good, especially considering that even minor branches of Christianity (like Easter Orthodoxy) and Islam (Shiism) are much larger than Mormonism.
Links to appropriate pages describing specifics should be used instead. --User:PeterisP 12:53, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:The article is far too unbalanced as is, giving what is essentially a form of Christianity with a following of 20 million people or so its own heading, and huge prominence. As well, it claims that Mormonism is monotheistic, when, in fact, it sees the Abrahamic God as one of several gods (Jesus being another). I'm going to remove this stuff again, and ask that the anonymous inserter keep in mind that edits should be accurate, NPOV, and not give undue prominence to a fairly small modern form of Christianity. User:Jayjg | User_talk:Jayjg 17:48, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
::I disagree with User:VChapman comments above. Most within the faith are adamant about placing the faith squarely within Christianity, not as a separate branch or as a branch of Judaism. Actually, Mormonism is a form of Christian Restorationism, in the same genus as the Church of Christ and the same family as the Millerites. Whether you lump Restorationism together with Protestantism is a matter of debate, but clearly both of them are branches of Christianity. No need for a separate heading. User:COGDEN 00:48, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC)
:I think that Momonism's claim to the Abrahamic lineage is very different than the standard Christianity. And although Mormons (meaning Latter-day Saints and the members of other church's from the Latter Day Saint movement) are clear in that they are ''Christian'' in the sense of believer's that it is only through Christ that we can return to full fellowship with God; they are also equaly adament that they are not a Protestantism of Catholicism. Rodney Stark (and other sociologists) consider that the similarities between Mormonism and Judaism are as significant as those between Mormonism and Christianity. We should have some more discussion on this. Perhaps the material was too long and overpowered the Article (didn't see it when it popoed up before the 13th), but there are enough differences, such as the Godhead vs Trinity, and the importance of ordinances, etc. to justify some discussion. User:Trödel
::Well, of course Mormonism isn't a protest of Catholicism, it's a Christian sect that grew out of previous movements, with a fair bit of new stuff added in by Joseph Smith and his successors; see comment above by COGDEN. And I think the differences regarding beliefs about God are already mentioned, aren't they? User:Jayjg | User_talk:Jayjg 15:16, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:Because Mormonism is associated with Restorationism and makes a claim on Abrahamic religion both by 1) claiming that the teachings of the Book of Mormon are from members of the Tribe of Joseph who left Jerusalem 600 years before the time of Chist, and 2) claiming that the Church has members who are either decendants of Joseph or are adopted into his house by accepting the gospel. Furthermore, the Church teaches that it is instramental in the gathering of isreal. These teachings deserve some treatment here. (As you correctly point out there are articles that clarify the beliefs about God). User:Trödel 15:28, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)
::And you don't think there is enough in there already? How much more do you think needs to be added? I'm hoping the answer is on the order of two or three sentences. User:Jayjg | User_talk:Jayjg 19:59, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:For me it isn't a question of length but one of structure - placing Mormonism under the heading Christianity implies that both have claim on being an Abrahamic religion for similar reasons, when in fact the reasons are much different as Latter-day Saints believe that they are actually members of a tribe of Isreal and under the covenant that God made with Abraham. I agree that the article is getting long - maybe a different structure for all claimants would be helpful. User:Trödel 16:37, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)
::Well, I think that Mormonism should go under Christianity, but I have no objection to subsections listing the differing views of different Christian sub-groups. User:Jayjg | User_talk:Jayjg 01:39, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)
==What about the Samaritans?==
Samaritans have been left off the list. Why? According to the wikipedia's article there are 650 practicing Samaritans who trace their faith back to Abraham. They say they are the descendants of the Israelis who ''weren't'' enslaved in Babylon. So, their doctinal difference with Judaism date back 3,000 years. -- User:Geo Swan 03:17, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:650 people? You don't think these 650 people are being given enough prominence? User:Jayjg | User_talk:Jayjg 17:53, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
There is evidence to suggest modern Samaritianism is more like pre-Exile Judaism than post-Exile Judaism is. It is an important part of the family tree. User:Matturn 15:53, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)
== The Supreme Deity ==
The introductory paragraph to this section is inaccurate in all its parts.
* Many Christians, Muslims, and Jews do not agree that their conceptions of God are sufficiently alike to validly state that they all worship the same God. This might even be the majority opinion.
* Muslims and Jews do not "visualize" God ''at all''.
* Christians do not believe that "the Jewish God is only one aspect" of the Holy Trinity. The Persons of the Trinity are not "aspects", and the name "God" -- meaning one and the same God, not three individual Gods -- applies to all three equally. User:Csernica 09:20, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:Your points are valid. Also, statements about "Jews", "Muslims", and "Christians" tend to be weasel words; it's better to quote official religious positions, as stated in authoritative religious works, or official positions of various movements. User:Jayjg | User_talk:Jayjg 01:38, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)
== Anon comment (by Rife) 24.13.147.214 ==
Note by Rife(elitehackers.com...whoo...)
//Ok, first I'd like to point out that this page is being plagerized throughout the net.//
:GFDL kinda makes wiktionary:plagiarism accusations moot, don't you think?--User:Polyparadigm 21:52, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)
In my tremendously important sunday school, back whenever(2 years) ago, and correct me if this is false, all Abrahamic religeon developed from the tale of Abraham and Sarah, Allah's chosen two (Genesis 12:1-7). This fath then branched off when Sarah, now 90 years old, gave birth to Isaac, or "Laughter".
Later, after Sarah had died, Abraham set out to find his son a suitable wife. So on and so forth. Abraham's niece Rebekah came to a call. And this is how the religeons spread. Sorry for being kinda vague and possibly inacurate, if you would like to correct me, or have anything to say, you can get in contact with me at FreeRevolution[anti-spam]@gmail.[yaknow]com.
//Thanks, just thought I'd point this out, later all!one!!1!//
Yeah it does, it becomes obvios that sopmone copioed text, and for original writings, that's not a good thing. -- User:Dbroadwell 03:04, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)
== Christianity and the Afterlife ==
Most Protestants don't believe in the concept of "mortal" sins (which is here implied as a universal Christian belief). I'm not sure if the Orthodox do either. The usual Protestant line is that if you're submitted to God at the point of death, you'll be saved. Some Pentecostals and Protestants believe that "once saved, always saved" - as long as you've dedicated your life to God at some point, you'll be ok.
I believe the scriptures only mention one mortal sin. It's mentioned two or three times in the gospels and epistles. It is a sin that, despite most theology and the general New Testament themes, cannot be forgiven. And that is denying the existance of the Holy Spirit... User:Matturn 16:11, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)
:You are right that Protestants generally don't accept the distinction between mortal/grave/serious sins and venial/light sins.
:But your second point isn't correct; you are confusing a variety of New Testament texts. Jesus says that anyone who "blasphemes against the Holy Spirit" will not be forgiven, "neither in this age nor in the age to come" (Matt 12:32, Mark 3:29, Luke 12:10). The New Testament does not contain an explicit explanation of what "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" means. It certainly does not mean "denying the existence of the Holy Spirit", as you suggested. Generally, Catholic and Orthodox tradition understand this to mean this is the sin of refusing God's forgiveness. In other words, God's forgiveness is always offered, but God will allow you to refuse this forgiveness. Protestant interpretations of this passage vary quite a bit.
:"Mortal" or "deadly" sin is mentioned elsewhere -- in 1 John 5:16-17. In this text, John writes that "There is such a thing as deadly [mortal ]sin.... All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly [mortal]." However, John does not specify what this mortal sin is. This is a matter of Biblical interpretation. In general, the Catholic and Orthodox churches interpret the Bible the way it was taught in the early church, while the Protestant churches interpret it the way it was taught in the Reformation, and there are thus differences of opinion on what "mortal sin" means. User:Lawrence King 05:23, 16 May 2005 (UTC)
== announcing policy proposal ==
This is just to inform people that I want Wikipedia to accept a general policy that BC and AD represent a Christian Point of View and should be used only when they are appropriate, that is, in the context of expressing or providing an account of a Christian point of view. In other contexts, I argue that they violate our NPOV policy and we should use BCE and CE instead. See Wikipedia:Neutral point of view/BCE-CE Debate for the detailed proposal. User:Slrubenstein | User talk:Slrubenstein 22:55, 15 May 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Abrahamic_religion:
Abrahamic_religion
Abrahamic_religion
Abrahamic_religions
Abrahamic_religions
Abrahamic religion
An Abrahamic religion (also referred to as desert monotheism) is a term sometimes used to refer to a religion derived from an ancient Semitic tradition attributed to Abraham, a great Patriarchs (Bible) described in the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur'an. This group of largely monotheistic religions, in which many include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, comprises about half of the world's religious adherents. Muslims refer to adherents of most Abrahamic religions as fellow People of the Book, "the Book" symbolizing divine scripture, such as the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an. They see Abraham as one the most important of the many prophets sent by God. Many Christians generally do not view themselves as part of an "Abrahamic religion," but view Abraham as an early figure of faith. Jews see Abraham as the founder of the people of Israel and the ancestor of their people. Apart from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, a number of other religions in the Semitic tradition are generally, but not universally, considered Abrahamic. Other religions sometimes considered Abrahamic religions include the Bahá'í Faith, Druze, Mandaeanism, Sikhism, and the Rastafari movement. What constitutes an Abrahamic religion varies from each observer's point of view, as a universal classification system cannot be agreed on by everyone. ==Overview== All the Abrahamic religions are derived to some extent from Judaism as practiced in ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah prior to the Babylonian captivity of Judah, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE. Many believe that Judaism in Biblical Israel was renovated and reformed to some extent in the 6th century BCE by Ezra and other priests returning to Israel from the exile. Samaritanism separated from Judaism in the next few centuries. Christianity originated in Palestine, at the end of the 1st century, as a radically reformed branch of Judaism; it spread to ancient Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, and from there to most of Europe, Asia, the Americas, and many other parts of the world. Over the centuries Christianity split into many separate churches and denominations. A major split in the 5th century separated various Oriental Orthodoxy from the Catholic church centered in Rome. Other major splits were the East-West Schism in the 11th century, which separated the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, which eventually gave birth to hundreds of independent Protestant denominations. Islam originated in the 6th century, in the Arabian cities of Makkah and Madinah. Although not a dissident branch of either Judaism or Christianity, it explicitly claimed to be a continuation and replacement for them, and echoed many of their principles. According to Muslim belief, Islam was the final word of God and its message was that of all the prophets, and thus Islam had been around since the beginning. As an example of the similarities between the faiths, Muslims believe in a version of the story of Genesis and in the lineal descent of the Arabs from Abraham through Ishmael. Ishmael was conceived through Abraham's second wife Hagar. ==Origins== The origins of Judaism and the ancestral Abrahamic religion are still obscure. The only documentary source bearing on that question is the Genesis book of the Hebrew Bible, which according to Rabbinic tradition was written by Moses sometime in the 2nd millennium BC, with many estimates arriving at 1500 BC. According to Genesis, the principles of Judaism were revealed gradually to a line of patriarchs, from Adam to Jacob (also called Israel); however the religion was only established when Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and with the institution of priesthood and temple services, after the Exodus from Egypt. Archaeologists so far have found no direct evidence to support or refute the Genesis story on the origins of Judaism; in fact, there are no surviving texts of the Bible older than the Dead Sea Scrolls (2nd century BC or later). However, archaeology has shown that peoples speaking various Semitic languages and with similar polytheistic religions were living in Palestine (region) and surrounding areas by the 3rd millennium BC. Some of their gods (such as Baal) are mentioned in the Bible, and the supreme god of the Semitic pantheon, El, is believed by some scholars to be the God of the Biblical patriarchs. There exist some inscriptions which some scholars believe to confirm the Biblical record, such as the Tel Dan Stele. ==Patriarchs== There are six notable figures in the Bible prior to Abraham: Adam and Eve, their sons Cain and Abel, Enoch and Noah, his great-grandson, who saved his own family and all animal life in Noah's Ark. These people did not however leave any recorded moral code behind — they serve simply as good and bad examples of behaviour without specific indication of how one interprets their actions in any religion. Islam and Judaism consider Adam and Noah to be prophets and recognize that there were possibly other prophets who are unknown today. Judaism historically accepted that each people had its own beliefs, of which theirs was simply the most correct. (Jews who chose another faith, however, are considered heretics). Many strains of Christianity and Islam consider followers of all other faiths to be worshipping false gods. So rather than being the sole "founding figure", Abraham is more correctly described as the first figure in Genesis that (a) is clearly not of direct divine origin such as Adam and Eve are claimed to be; (b) is accepted by the three major desert monotheistic faiths as playing some major role in the founding of their common civilization; (c) is not claimed as the male genetic forebear of all humans on the Earth (as Noah is, in more literal interpretations — Cain by contrast married a woman from the "Land of Nod" who was unrelated to him or Adam); and (d) is quite well-documented. In the Book of Genesis, Abraham is specifically instructed to leave the city of Ur so that God will "make of you a great nation", and his travails thereby are well documented. Burton Visotzky, an ethicist, wrote ''Genesis of Ethics'' to explore the detailed implications of these adventures for a modern ethics. According to the Bible, the patriarch Abraham (or ''Ibrahim'', in Arabic language) had eight sons by three wives: one (Ishmael) by his wife's servant Hagar, one (Isaac) by his wife Sarah, and six by another wife Keturah. Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah, and other prominent figures all claim to be descendants of Abraham through one of these sons. ==The Supreme Deity== Judaism and Islam visualize God in strictly monotheism terms, whereas most Christians believe that God is an indivisible Trinity, with three distinct persons. === Judaism === Jewish theology is based on the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh'', largely the same as the Old Testament of the Christians), where the nature and commandments of the Jewish supreme being are revealed through the writings of Moses and later prophets. Additionally, it usually has a basis in its Oral Law, as recorded in the Mishnah and Talmuds. This supreme being is referred to in the Hebrew Bible in The name of God in Judaism, such as ''Elohim'', ''Adonai'' or by the four Hebrew letters "Y-H-V(or W)-H" (the tetragrammaton), which the Jews do not pronounce as a word, but which Christians generally recognize as "YAHWEH". The Hebrew words ''Eloheynu'' (Our God) and ''HaShem'' (The Name), as well as the English names "Lord" and "God", are also used in modern day Judaism. (The latter is sometimes written "G-d" in reference to the taboo against pronouncing the tetragrammaton). The word "Elohim" has the Hebrew plural ending "-īm", which some Biblical scholars have taken as further support for the general notion that the ancient Hebrews were polytheists in the time of the patriarchs; however, as the word itself is used with singular verbs, this theory is not accepted by most Jews. Jews point out other words in Hebrew that are used in the same manner according to the rule of Hebrew_language#Grammar. Jewish Biblical scholars and historical commentary on the passage point out that Elohim being in the plural points to God in conjunction with the heavenly court, i.e. the angels. === Christianity === Historically, Christianity has professed belief in a single deity, an indivisible Trinity or Godhead, comprising three divine "persons": the Father, creator of the universe; the Son, begotten by the Father, who incarnated in Jesus; and the Holy Spirit, emanating from both. Christians believe that this is the same God worshipped by the Jews, and believe that God's trinitarian nature was not fully revealed until the time of Jesus. This theology is stated in the Christian Bible (which comprises the Old Testament and New Testament Testaments), as in Gospel of John, and was elaborated upon by the early Church fathers and codified in the Athanasian Creed. When referring specifically to God the Father (''e.g.'' in the context of the Old Testament), Christians rarely use the name "Yahweh" (based on conventional pronunciations of the tetragrammaton "Y-H-W-H" or "Y-H-V-H"); more often, they use the title "Father" or "Lord". The Son also bears the divine name (Philippians), but is usually referred to as "the Son of God" or "the Word of God" in his pre-incarnate state, or as "Jesus Christ", "the Lord", the "Savior", the "Messiah", the "Redeemer", or the "Lamb of God" since his incarnation. This "trinitarian monotheism" has been rejected by Nontrinitarianism, such as Arianism, Unitarianism, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Most of these non-trinitarian groups believe or believed that only God the Father is a deity; Latter-day Saints believe that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct personages. === Islam === Allah is the standard Arabic translation for the word "God". Islamic tradition also describes the 99 Names of God. Muslims believe that the Jewish God is the same as Allah and that Jesus is a divinely inspired prophet, but not a divinity. Thus, both the Torah and New Testament are accepted as valid in principle, but Muslims believe them to have been intentionally corrupted. Muslims revere the Qur'an as the final uncorrupted word of God brought through the last prophet, Muhammad, and Islam is viewed as a final correction of Judaism and Christianity. == Lineage == === Explanation === Lineage is covenant between Abraham and God, passed from Father to Son, much as the crown would have been passed from a King to a Prince. === Abraham === In Genesis, Abram entered into a covenant with God, and was renamed Abraham. === Ishmael === The first born son of Abraham. Jewish tradition holds that he was born out of wedlock. Islamic tradition holds that he was the first legitimate son of Abraham born as a result of the marriage of Abraham to Hagar. === Isaac === Born to Abraham's first wife. Isaac was the second son of Abraham. Jewish tradition holds that he was the first son of Abraham born in wedlock. Islamic tradition holds that he was the second son of Abraham born in wedlock. ==== Jacob (Israel) ==== Jacob, descendant of Isaac, renamed Israel. ==== Twelve Tribes ==== The descendants of Jacob(Israel) formed twelve tribes. Before Jacob died he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, two sons of Joseph and formed two more tribes under the house of Joseph. Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph, Joseph/Ephraim, Joseph/Manasseh, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun ===== Jewish Lineage ===== The Jews believe that the covenant was passed from Abraham to Issac, the first son of Abraham to be born in wedlock, and eventually down to Jacob(Israel). The Jews believe they are primarily of the tribes found in the Kingdom of Judah, Judah, Benjamin, and Levi (the ten other tribes were lost after the Assyrian invasion of the Kingdom of Israel - see Lost Ten Tribes). The word "Jew" is derived from Judah. ===== Muslim Lineage ===== Muslims believe that the covenant was passed from Abraham to Ishmael, as he was the first born son. As the Islamic tradition holds that Ismael was born in wedlock no issue of his illegitimacy arises. Jews and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are of the view that Ishmael was illegitimate and this precluded Ishmael from having the covenant passed to him. ===== Christian Lineage ===== Christians do not generally believe in a literal lineage or covenant. They refer to the Old Testament for spiritual lessons, which speaks of the history of Judaism and the heritage and stories of Abraham, son Isaac, and Jacob(Israel). The Old Testiment describes Jacob's descendants as heirs to the Kingdom of Israel, Jacob's son Judah, and his descendant David the King of Israel. Jesus arrives on earth as the son of God and the Messiah of Israel. ===== Rastafarian lineage ===== Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie is God, because he is the ''King of kings'', the ''Lord of lords'' and the ''Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah''. Haile Selassie claimed to have the root of David, and to be the 225th direct descendant of King David, a figure that Mathematics is not credible. This connection to Ethiopia was made through the consummation of King Solomon with the Queen of Sheba. Rastafarians also believe that they, the black races, are the true children of Israel. They accept Jesus as a former incarnation of Haile Selassie. ===== Mormonism ===== The Mormons believe that the covenant was passed from Abraham to Issac, the first son of Abraham to be born in wedlock, and eventually down to Jacob(Israel). The Mormons believe they are primarily of the House of Joseph. ==Religious scriptures== All three religions rely on a body of scriptures, some of which are considered to be the word of God — hence sacred and unquestionable — and some which are the work of religious men, revered mainly by tradition and to the extent that they are considered to have been divinely inspired, if not dictated, by the divine being. ===Judaism=== The sacred scriptures of Judaism are comprised of the Hebrew Bible, a Hebrew acronym which stands for "Torah","Nevi'im" (Prophets), and "Ketuvim" (Writings). These are complemented and supplemented with collected rabbinical writings, ''Talmud''. The Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in particular, is considered holy, down to the last letter: translations or transcriptions are frowned upon, and transcribing is done with painstaking care. ===Christianity=== The sacred scriptures of most Christian sects are the Old Testament, which is largely the same as the Hebrew Bible; and the New Testament, comprising four accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus, traditionally attributed to his apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the Four Gospels); and several writings by the apostles and early fathers such as Paul of Tarsus. Together these comprise the Christian Bible, which are usually considered to be Biblical inspiration in some sense. Thus Christians consider the fundamental teachings of the Old Testament, in particular the Ten Commandments, as valid; however they believe that the coming of Jesus as the messiah and savior of mankind as predicted in the Old Testament, and the fact that Jesus was raised Jewish and became a teacher of Judaism, would shed light on the true relationship between God and mankind — by restoring the emphasis of universal love and compassion (as mentioned in the Shema) above the other commandments, by de-emphasising the more "Legalism (theology)" and material precepts of rabbinical law (such as the dietary constraints and temple rites). Christians generally believe that the link between Old and New Testaments in the Bible describes the fact that Judaism has been superseded by Christianity as the "new Israel" -- and that Jesus's teachings described Israel not as a geographic place but as an association with God and promise of salvation in heaven. The vast majority of Christian religions (generally including Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and most forms of Protestantism, but not Restorationism) derive their beliefs from the conclusions reached by the Council of Nicea in 325 C.E., known as the Nicene Creed. This describes the beliefs that God (as a Trinity of distinct persons with one substance) became human on earth, born as Jesus pursuant to the Old Testament scriptures, was crucified by humanity, died and was buried, only to be resurrected on the third day to then rise to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and "sitteth at the right hand of" (become one with) God. Christians generally believe that faith in Jesus is the only way to achieve salvation and to enter into heaven, and that salvation is a gift given by the grace of God. Unlike the Jews, Christians generally do not consider a single version of their Bible as holy to the exclusion of the others, and accept good translations and re-translations as being just as valid, in principle, as the original. They recognize that the Gospels were passed on by oral tradition only to be set to paper decades after the death of Jesus and his apostles, and that the extant versions are only copies of those originals. Indeed, the version of the Bible which is considered to be most valid (in the sense of best conveying the true meaning of the word of God) has varied considerably: the Greek language Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the English language King James Bible, and the Russian language Synodal Bible have been authoritative to different communities at different times. In particular, Christians usually consult the Hebrew language version of the Old Testament when preparing new translations, although some believe that the Septuagint should be preferred, as it was the Bible of the early Christian Church and because they believe its translators probably knew Biblical Hebrew better than any person living today. In the same sense that the Jewish mystics viewed the Torah as something living and existing prior to any written text, so too do the Christians view the Bible and Jesus himself as God's "Word" (or logos in Greek) that transcends written documents. The Christian Bible sacred scriptures are complemented by a large body of writings by individual Christians and councils of Christian leaders. Some Christian churches and denominations consider certain additional writings to be binding; other Christian groups consider only the Bible to be binding. ===Islam=== Islam has only one sacred book, the Qur'an, comprising 114 Chapters (''surat''). According to the Qur'an itself, these were revealed by the Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad on separate occasions, and preserved as such by his disciples, until they were compiled into a single book (not in chronological order) several decades after his death. The Qur'an includes several stories from the Jewish Bible (chiefly in Sura 17, ''The Children of Israel''), and mentions Jesus many times as a divinely inspired prophet. However the detailed precepts of the Tanakh and of the New Testament are not adopted outright; they are replaced by the new commandments revealed directly by Allah (through Gabriel) to Muhammad and codified in the Qur'an. Like the Jews, Muslims consider the original Arabic language text of the Qur'an as uncorrupted and holy to the last letter, and any translations are considered to be interpretations of the meaning of the Qur'an, as only the original Arabic text is considered to be the divine scripture. Like the Rabbinic Oral Law to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an is complemented by the ''Hadith'', a set of books by later authors that record the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. The Hadith interpret and elaborate Qur'anic precepts. There is no consensus within Islam on the authority of the Hadith collections but Islamic scholars have categorized each Hadith at one of the following levels of authenticity or isnah: genuine (''sahih''), fair (''hasan''), or weak (''da'if''). By the ninth century six collections of Hadiths were accepted as reliable: * al-Bukhari (d. 870) * Muslim b. al-Hajjaj (d. 875) * Abu Da'ud (d. 888) * al-Tirmidhi (d. 892) * al-Nasa'i (d. 915) * Ibn Maja (d. 886). The Hadith and the life story of Muhammad (sira) form the Sunnah, a scriptural supplement to the Qur'an. The legal opinions of Islamic jurists (fiqh) provides another source for the daily practice and interpretation of Islamic tradition. ===Rastafari movement=== The Rastafari movement uses the King James version of the Bible as their main scripture, though they claim that they only have half of it, and that the other half is written in the heart of human beings. Both the teachings of Marcus Garvey and the Holy Piby are also important documents, as are the life and sayings of Haile Selassie. === Mormonism === The Mormon faith uses the Old and New Testaments (usually the King James version of the Bible), The Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants ==The coming== ''Main article: Millennialism'' In the major Abrahamic religions, there exists the await of an individual which will herald the end of the world, and bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth. Judaism awaits the coming of the Messiah. Christianity awaits the Second Coming of Christ. Islam awaits both the second coming of Jesus (in order to complete his life and die, since he is said to have been risen alive and not crucified) and the coming of Mahdi (Sunni Islams in his first incarnation, Shi'a Islam the return of Muhammad al-Mahdi). Rastafari awaits the second coming of Haile Selassie. ==Afterlife== ===Judaism=== Judaism's views on the afterlife are quite diverse. This can be attributed to the fact that Judaism is primarily focused on life, and not what happens after. This is not to say that Judaism has no afterlife, rather it tends to label it as unimportant, and it only shows itself in advanced thought, usually Kabbala in nature. One main agreement is that the Jewish afterlife is a process of purification before admittance to the "world to come". The body will be punished in Sheol, or the grave, and the soul is purified in Gehenna (also Gehinom) or purgatory. In purgatory all souls are purified by reviewing their life and learning from the wrong they have done. This is done with a maximum time of one year as that is supposedly the maximum amount of time to clean the blackest of souls. An alternative train of thought is that the most evil people's souls are completely obliterated in Abbadon. What happens after this process of purification, beside ascending to Gan Edan, or the garden of eden, and closeness with God, is up to debate. ===Christianity=== Afterlife is one of the most fundamental concepts of Christian theology. The most serious ("mortal") sins condemn the immortal soul to terrible punishment (called "Hell", "Damnation", and many other names) and separation from God — often for eternity, or at least until the second coming. Conversely, a just life earns the soul's admittance to an eternal state of bliss, close to God ("Heaven", the "Kingdom of God", "Salvation", etc.). Some Christian theologies also admit a purgatory, analogous to Jewish Gehenna, where souls guilty of lesser sins will spend some time before being admitted to Heaven. The concept of an afterlife where people are rewarded or punished for their deeds in life has had a pervasive influence in Christian thinking and ritual. In many faiths, people can obtain forgiveness for their sins by sincere repentance, accompanied by prayer, good deeds, or physical self-punishment. In Catholicism, forgiveness requires confession of the sin to a priest, who will prescribe prayers as a symbolic punishment; and this is one of the seven fundamental Sacraments of Catholic ritual. In other denominations, public confession may be required. Over centuries, many Christian communities have developed traditional self-punishment ceremonies, ranging from pilgrimage to a holy location to extreme self-mutilation. Many Protestant denominations hold faith to be the key to salvation and that the works stem from this (''sola fide''). The dispensing of forgiveness in exchange of donations to the Church, in late Mediaeval times, was one of the perceived aberrations that led to the Protestant schism. The concepts of afterlife and its eternal salvation or damnation are clearly stated in the New Testament, but only in an abstract sense. The precise nature of Hell and Heaven has been a major subject of theological speculation, and views have varied enormously among sects and epochs. The very literal "Fire and Brimstone" view expressed in Dante Alighieri's epic poem Divine Comedy (14th century), where Hell is a place of intense and continuous physical suffering, has been a very popular one throughout history. Christian theology generally excludes interference of the souls of deceased persons on the living world, e.g. through reincarnation, possession, or ghostly appearances. While several Christian faiths accept the concept of possession by spirits (see exorcism), these are seen as malign demons, never as departed souls. Several sects also admit that the souls of particularly holy deceased people ("Saints") may occasionally appear in visions to the living, to give them advice and support; and they may also be addressed in prayers as intermediaries between men and God. ===Islam=== Islam prescribes a literal, burning Hell for those who disobey God and commit gross sin. Those who worship and remember God are promised eternal abode in Heaven. Heaven is further divided into seven levels (hence the term 'Seventh Heaven') with the highest level reserved for those who die in the cause of faith. Upon repentance to God, any sin can be forgiven as God is said to be the most Merciful. Beyond repentance however, the Qur'an states that God will certainly not forgive Shirk_(idolatry); attributing relationship to God such as the Christian view of Jesus being the Son of God. ==Worship== Worship, ceremonies, and religion-related customs differ substantially between the various Abrahamic religions. Among the few similarities are a seven-day cycle in which one day is nominally reserved for worship, prayer, or other religious activities; this custom is related to the Biblical story of Genesis, where God created the universe in six days, and rested in the seventh. Islam, which has Friday as a day for special congregational prayers, does not ascribe to the 'resting day' concept. Judaism and Islam prescribe infant circumcision as a token symbol of inclusion in the faith. Christianism replaced that custom by a baptism ceremony that varies according to the denomination, but generally includes immersion, aspersion or anointment with water. Judaism and Islam also have strict dietary laws, with lawful food being called kosher in Judaism and halaal in Islam. Both religions prohibit the consumption of pork; Islam also prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages of any kind. Halaal restrictions can be seen as a subset of kashrut dietary laws, so many kosher foods are considered halaal; especially in the case of meat, which Islam prescribes must be slaughtered in the name of God. Christianity originally had prohibitions against the consumption of meat (but not fish) on Fridays and in certain epochs of the year, but those rules have been largely abandoned or subtantially relaxed in many sects. Christianity and Islam encourage proselytism — convincing others to convert to their religion; many Christian organizations send missionary to non-Christian communities throughout the world. While Judaism accepts converts, it does not encourage them, and has no missionary as such. ==See also== * Christianity * Christo-Islamic * Judeo-Christo-Islamic * Judeo-Islamic * dharmic religions * Islam * Judaism * Judeo-Christian * list of religions * major world religions * monotheism * Vedic religions History of religion Jewish history Abrahamic religions fa:دینهای ابراهیمی simple:Abrahamic religion vi:Các tôn giáo khởi nguồn từ Abraham zh-tw:亞伯拉罕諸教
Abrahamic religion
==Other Abrahamic religions== I trimmed this because it seemed a bit out of place in the header section: :At the same time, Sikhism can also be considered to part of the Dharmic faiths, as it, like Hinduism and Buddhism accepts karma and reincarnation. Perhaps there should be a section in this article giving an overview of all the other religions that claim or can be claimed to descend from Judaism, Christianity, or Islam (Sikhism, Bahai, Mormonism, Kardecism, ...). The parag above then would be reinstated there.
User:Jorge Stolfi 05:26, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Arabs vs Muslims== I don't see the relavance of this :Although Mohammed was an Arab, many Arabs are Christian, and most Muslims are not Arabs. ==Why this term?== Well, I think the bigger issue is, "Why have people started talking about 'Abrahamic Religions?'" The article is pretty good so far, but doesn't provide any context for when, how and why this concept developed. I am no expert in this, but my sense is people started using the term to promote something more inclusive than "Judeo-Christian tradition" -- more inclusive meaning, include Muslims -- at least that's what an article in Time magazine suggested (about a year ago, I think). ::That's exactly right. It's an invented term specifically to reinforce what they have in common. But it was used as late as the Middle Ages by thoughtful people with the same intent. ::: As someone from an Muslim bakground I also support using this term, as it insists on what these traditions have in common instead on their difference as many people try to do in these troubled times. Note that the term "Judeo-Christian tradition" is also a coined term which has been invented in the XIX century --User:Khalid hassani 00:31, 31 Jan 2005 (UTC) But why call it "Abrahamic?" This article says it is because Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship the God of Abraham, which makes sense. But to the best of my recollection, the Time magazine article (and it was referring either to a recent book or PBS special) said that it was because Abraham was the father of both Isaac (from whom Jews are descended) and Ishmael (from whom Arabs are descended). ::Either the genetic or ontologic explanation leads back to Abraham, since he was the first to get the instructions from God as to what to do to found the nation of Israel. Maybe this is just too tangential -- I won't argue. But it seems to me that this gets to the issue of why we need to be more inclusive, and who we want to include. What I mean is, I think the very idea of Abrahamic religion -- a term I doubt ''anyone'' (meaning, all the so-called practicioners of Abrahamic religions) used more than twenty or thirty years ago -- is a political response to recent political conflicts. ::Yes, it's use is motivated by that, and yes, that should be mentioned in the article, more or less exactly as you say it. Now, since 9/11 the enemy of "the West" has been "radical Islam" -- with political and civic leaders going to great pains to make clear that they do not mean all Muslims. ::These leaders don't speak for *me*. I have no problem with radical Islam. I have more of a problem with fascists using 9/11 as pretext, and gangsters using religious imagery to get what they want - which is something that all "leaders" in all three of these so-called faiths are guilty of. But prior to 9/11 I think that the villians in most Hollywood moviews were identifiably ''Arab'', not Muslim -- in other words, the enemy was ethnic, not religious; similarly the problems in Israle/Palestine are, or at least have been, most often described as a Jewish-Arab conflict. So I think when people first started using the term "Abrahamic religion," they were trying to include "Arabs," not "Muslims." I am suggesting that the way people in the West have talked about their conclicts with certain people outside of Europe has changed in the past few years, and consequently the way people use the term "Abrahamic religions" has changed too. I may be wrong about the dates -- if anyone can provide a citation using the term "Abrahamic religion" prior to 1900, or 1948 -- or even 1967 -- I would be surprised but grateful for the lesson. ::I'm pretty sure it's a very very old but obscure term used mostly to distinguish from the vedic religions, and often in the context where someone British was trying to get Muslims on their side against Hindus. I may also be wrong that people use the term differently after 9/11. At the very least, I think it would be good if the article said more about when and why people first started using this term (I googled around a bit -- the earliest examples I could find of "Abrahamic" were 2001! Prior to that, even when people wanted to refer to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, they seem to have used "monotheistic." Why the change?) User:Slrubenstein ::For exactly the reasons you state. I think desert monotheism is really the best term actually. It talks about where the faiths originated, not the mythical and maybe fictional figure on whom it is based. One might for instance think all this was inspired by specific mushrooms that grow only in the Sinai. The term may have been created by political motivations, but it seems useful on its own. To the extent that one can trace a "genetic tree" of religions, "Abrahamic religion" would mean simply "a religion that descends from that of ancient Hebrews". "Monotheism" is more generic and ambiguous (isn't Taoism "monotheistic" in some sense?) "Desert monotheism" is still not specific enough (which desert?).
Granted that the genetic tree of religions is nowere as easy to determine as that of amoebas...
User:Jorge Stolfi 05:26, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) ---- ---- ==Lawgiver== Really, we need an article on lawgiver that talks about the various attributes of divinity or prophecy or whatever that they are assigned by people who come later. "Islam ... also considers the wisest lawgivers of other nations (Confucius, Hiawatha) to be prophets as long as they claimed no divinity on their own behalf." I am surprised to read this. Does anybody have a source for this? :I am not aware of this at least not in orthodox Islam, that said Islam recognize all jews prophets as beeing authentic prophets, the official name in Islam is ''nabi'' the same as in Judaism.User:Khalid hassani == Abraham's eight sons== Simple "edit"-note: acc. to the text, Abraham has eight sons, only two are mentioned..are they surplus? Or have you just omitted a sentence? == Abraham?! == The problem with this entry is there is no real discussion of what makes a religion "Abrahamic" other than its genealogy -- if the relationship between these religions is simply familial, why call them "Abrahamic"? And, of course, it is not simply familial, or the various Christian heresies would be considered "Abrahamic" while more distant cousins of Christianity or Judaism or Islam like Rastafarianism, Nation of Islam, or Jews for Jesus might not. It seems to me what these religions have in common is a sense of the centrality of the story of Abraham -- and particularly the Akedah -- to religious belief. The story certainly emphasizes critical themes that are repeated in the Abrahamic religions -- the test of faith, sacrifice, martyrdom, even resurrection and revelation in some readings. Not sure how to put that in the entry though.... --User:Commodore Sloat 10:20, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC) :These religions share in fact a lot of traditions, beliefs, legends, they interpret their own way in a kind of localisation. You might think of them as a kind of localised languages of the same original language, they are related to judaism the same way French, Spanish, or Italian are related to Latin. They also share the same strong and I must say ''debilating'' sens of "Sin" (Christianity), "Haram" (Islam) don't know the term in Judaîsm. Other central common notions if you don't count ''god'', are ''Paradise'', and the ''Devil', Islam has alas the originality of ''martyrdom'' and ''Jihad'', although crusaders have had their fair share of that too !! :csloat: One suggestion is that you do not use the term "heresy" or "heresies", as we do not endorse nor condemn any particular religion, okay? :) - User:Gilgamesh 19:08, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::The term "heresies" was not meant as my judgement on these views but rather as a description of them as deviations from mainstream Christianity -- specific doctrinal deviations that are based on (and sometimes parody) the original -- I have in mind such groups as Anabaptists, Freethinkers, Satanists -- none of these groups follow Christianity (and they even explicitly reject it) but they are nonetheless entirely based on opposition to Christianity; if Christianity did not exist there could be no Church of Satan for example. Yet even though these are more directly related to a major Abrahamic religion than say Rastafarianism, one would be foolish to call them "Abrahamic" because the story of Abraham does not feature prominently in any of them. I still think this point needs to be made more adequately in the article.... --User:Commodore Sloat 19:25, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Invitation for Hebrew linguistics project participation== Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism is trying to decide all Hebrew linguistics issues for Wikipedia by themselves. But Hebrew is not purely the realm of Judaism; it is also the realm of Samaritans, Christians and Abrahamic religion as a whole, and also secular Canaanite languages studies. I'm trying to challenge mono-cultural mono-sectarian dominance over a linguistic field that we all should be sharing together. I invite you to participate in trying to pluralize Hebrew language conventions for Wikipedia. In particular, not only is Tiberian Hebrew transliteration challenged, but also Standard Hebrew transliteration, as some people want to use ''only'' Israeli Hebrew colloquial transliteration or Ashkenazi Hebrew liturgical transliteration. I think these are perfectly valid and worthy of participation, but not at the total expense of every other Hebrew linguistics study concern. Please support a multi-religious multi-cultural scientific NPOV mandate for studying Hebrew linguistics on Wikipedia. - User:Gilgamesh 02:54, 18 July 2004 (UTC) :In case anyone was wondering, I dropped this dispute a long long time ago. It was a challenge against User:Yoshiah_ap, but we made up. :) We're good colleagues now and we cooperate extensively. - User:Gilgamesh 19:14, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Merging Sections == I believe "The Supreme Diety" section of this article should be merged with the section about each religion's scriptures.--User:Yoshiah ap 15:41, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) == Book of Enoch == ''These people did not however leave any recorded moral code behind.'' The Ethiopian Orthodox Church considers the Book of Enoch inspired. Is it a "moral code"? == Catholic Hell == Hi. The section of the article about the Catholic notion of the nature of Hell is somewhat mistaken. The idea that damnation to Hell is either eternal or to last until the Second Coming is neither dominant in modern Catholic Theology nor has it been the official mainstream theory in Catholic history. Religious art, among other sources, from as late as the 17th century clearly depict Hell as a form of purgatory (hence there is no "purgatory" between Heaven and Hell in Catholicism), a place where sinful souls go for a period of time, the duration of which depends on the nature of the sins committed and the willingness to sincerely repent. It is possible to stay in Hell forever, if the soul is uncapable of sincere repentance. In most cases, however, it is completely possible, in Catholic tradition, for a soul to leave Hell and ascend to Heaven, and that is not pending the Second Coming. Furthermore, it has always been stated in Catholic dogmatic that the type of suffering to which the soul is to be submitted in Hell shall vary in accordance with the sins committed and the profile of the sinner. Thus, the suffering may be physical or psychological, depending on those factors. And ''if'' the pain is to be physical, it doesn't necessarily involve "Fire and Brimstone", but rather it varies in accordance with those factors, again. ''That'' is what Dante's Devine Comedy reflects: different punishments for different sinners. That section of the article needs some work. Regards, User:Redux 19:20, 12 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Sorry, but you are incorrect. Hell and purgatory are two distinct things, and this teaching has remained unchanged for many centuries. See [http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art12.htm ''The Catechism of the Catholic Church'' sections 1030-1037] for the offical church's teaching, today. User:Lawrence King 04:37, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Name Change == I think this ought to be called Abrahamic Religions instead of it's current title, as it refers to multiple religous POVs.--User:Yoshiah ap 05:37, Dec 17, 2004 (UTC) ==Mormonism== <
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