Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Essay by reemstrinCollege, UndergraduateA, March 2004

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In all cultures, human beings make a lifestyle out of interacting with and pledging their devotion to what are thought to be spiritual powers. Humans connect themselves with these spiritual powers which give their lives purpose and meaning. Religion is simply used to guide its followers through this complicated and diverse realm of human experience. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, religion is, "the belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe." In the case of western civilization, the three religions in question; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the building blocks of the world as we know it today. The total number of followers for these main religions makes up more than 50% of the entire world's population. The differences and the origins of them essentially wrote history. Judaism is one of the world's oldest continuing religious traditions. It is argued that Judaism is seen not only as a single religion but, but as a group of similar religions.

Judaism originated in the land of Israel in the Middle East. Judaism is a complex religious tradition. In the first two chapters in the first book of the Torah, Genesis, God created the heavens and earth, light and dark, man and woman.... The Jews also believe that this same transcendent God gave Moses and the Israelites the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. They committed themselves to following this code of law that regulates how they worship and how they treat others around them. Judaism has no formal set beliefs that one must hold to be a Jew. For instance, when a child comes to a certain age, they must "confirm" themselves in the Jewish religion. "Bar Mitzvah means "son of the commandment," and Bat Mitzvah means "daughter of the...