Islam

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God (Allah) and Muhammad is a messenger of God. It is world’s second largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers. Followers of Islam are called Muslim. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique and the creator of the world and all life within it. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran and the Hadith. The Quran is viewed by Muslims as the verbatim word of God. The Hadith is an account of the teachings, actions and habits of Prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE).

Acts of Worship

There are five basic religious acts in Islam, collectively known as “The Pillars of Islam” which are obligatory for all believers. They are:

1-The creed (Shahada),

“I testify that there is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God”. Muslims must repeat the shahada in prayer.

2-Prayer ( Salat)

When possible all Muslims should pray five times a day.

3-Charity (Zakat)-alms

It is considered religious obligation (as opposed to voluntary charity) that the well–off owe to the needy 2.5% of annual capital asset.

4-Fasting

Fasting from food and drink, among other things must be performed from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan. Fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to God.

5- Pilgrimage

Every able-bodied Muslim who can do it must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in her/ his lifetime.

Christianity

Jesus and His world

Jesus (4BCE-30/33CE), also known as Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Christ, was a Jewish preacher and religious leader, who is the central figure of Christianity. Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah (Christ) prophesized in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament.

Jesus was a Galilean Jew, who began his ministry, preaching his message orally. Jesus debated fellow Jews on how to follow God, engaged in healing, taught in parables and gathered followers. Jesus taught with simplicity in Aramaic, the dialect spoken by ordinary Jews in those days.  He used stories, aphorism, similes and metaphors. The parable form that he used was customary in the East. His teachings were models of clarity, brevity and force. He was seen as a trouble maker and a rebel by the Jewish authority in Jerusalem. He was arrested and tried by the Jewish high priests and subsequently crucified by the Roman authority.

Christian doctrines include the belief that Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary, performed miracles, founded the Church, died by crucifixion as sacrifice to achieve atonement, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven, from where he will return.

Judaism rejects the idea of Jesus being God or a mediator to God. It holds that Jesus is not the Messiah. In Islam, Jesus is considered to be a messenger of God (Allah) and a Messiah. While the Quran acknowledges the virgin birth of Jesus, he is considered to be neither the incarnation nor the son of God.

Christian Bible

A Christian Bible is a set of books that Christians regard as divinely inspired and thus constituting Scripture. The Christian Bible has two Bibles- the Old and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the first part, and is based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible.

The New Testament is the name given to the second and the final portion of the Christian Bible. Jesus is its central figure. The term “New Testament” came into use in the second century CE. The New Testament presupposes the inspiration of the Old Testament. It is a collection of 27 books.

Denominations of Christians

There are two main denominations among Christians-Catholic and Protestant. The Catholic are further divided into- The Roman Catholic Church, The Eastern Orthodox Church, and The Assyrian Church of the East etc. The Protestants are divided into more than fifty different churches like: Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, Evangelical, and Quakers etc.

Teachings of Jesus

The four canonical gospels of the New Testament (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) are the foremost sources for the life and teachings of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings of Jesus which emphasizes his moral teachings found in the Gospel of Mathew. It is generally considered to contain the central tenets of Christian discipleship.

The Sermon on the Mount

And seeing the multitude, He (Jesus) went up on the mountain, and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

For they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the poor in heart,

For they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called the sons of God.

Blessed are those who persecuted for righteousness sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mathew 5:2-10

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Mathew 5:44

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn on the other to him also.

Mathew 5:38-39

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Mathew 5:9

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Mathew 7:1

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Mathew 19:24

Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.

Mathew22:39

Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.

Luke 6:37

Brief Summary of Major Religions

Abrahamic Religions

Judaism, Christianity and Islam, trace their lineage to the tribal patriarch Abraham, and are called Abrahamic religions or Abrahamnism. Judaism was founded around 7th century BCE, Christianity in the 1^st century CE, in the area present day Israel. Islam was founded in the 7^th century CE in the present day Saudi Arabia.

The civilization that developed in Mesopotamia influenced the Hebrew Bible and the book of Genesis in particular. Abraham is said to have originated in Mesopotamia. All Abrahamic religions claim to be monotheistic, worshipping one exclusive God, although one known by different names.

Judaism (Hebrew-Yehuda, Latin-Judah)

Judaism regards itself as the descendants of Jacob, a grandson of Abraham. The followers of Judaism are called Jews. In Jewish theology, God is strictly monotheistic. The Hebrew name of the God is YHWH (Jehovah). The sacred scriptures of Judaism are the Torah (Hebrew Bible). It was composed between 1400 BCE and 400 BCE. The text is considered holy down to the last letter. The practice of Judaism is guided by the interpretation of the Torah and the Talmud (legal ruling by the Rabbis). There are about 13 million Jews in the world and 82% of them are in Israel and the United States. Based on their practice, Jewish people are divided into; Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist.

The Bible

The Bible (from Greek ta tiblia “the book”) is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures that both Jews and Christians considered to be inspired by God. The Bible is not just one book. It is a library of books, put together in one volume. The authors of these books are unknown. These books were composed at different times. All kinds of literary form: history, historical novels, parables, allegories, poems are intermingled.

Hebrew Bible

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible are called Pentateuch or Torah or the law by the Jews. It includes: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It contains the story of the formation of the people of God: Abraham and patriarchs, Moses and the oppressed Hebrews in Egypt, their migration from Egypt to the Promised Land and the discourses of Moses. The Hebrew Bible is not only law: it is history, poetry and philosophy of the highest order. The Hebrew Bible was greatly influenced by the Babylonian literature, going back to 3000 BCE. The Hebrew Bible has total of 39 books. Christians call it the Old Testaments.

Jewish Ethics

The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue, are the set of biblical laws relating to the ethics and worship of Judaism. They play a fundamental role in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They were likely been influenced by Mesopotamian laws. Nobody knows when they were written or who wrote them. They are:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
5. Honour thy father and thy mother
6. Thou shalt not kill
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
8.  Thou shalt not steal
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
10. Thou shalt not covet neighbor’s house, neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Hebrew Bible, Exodus20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:4-21

The Ten Commandments form the basis of Jewish laws. Most traditions of Christianity hold that the Ten Commandments have divine authority and continue to be valid. Judaism and Islam also share the central practices of fasting, almsgiving and dietary laws. Lawful food is called Kosher in Judaism and Halal in Islam. Both practice the circumcision of males.

Religion is a particular set of beliefs and practices.                                                                                                                                            World Council of Religion

Introduction

Fear as Lucretius said was the first mother of the Gods. Primitive life was beset with a thousand dangers and rarely ended with natural death. Early men attributed death to the operation of supernatural agencies.

One of the first objects to be worshipped was probably the moon. He was believed to cause the menstruation of women. We don’t know when the sun replaced the moon as the Lord of the sky in the primitive religion. Then the earth became a goddess, fertilized by the hot rays of the sun. Almost everywhere the earth was great mother-Ishtar, Cybil, Demeter, Aphrodite and Mata. The sky became a great god, worshipped as the holder and giver of rain.

All the ancient cultures were polytheistic (worshipper of many gods). In many parts of the world-Egypt, Judea, Persia, India, China, the priestly class with the warrior class has ruled the society. According to Will Durant the priest did not create religion, he merely used it. He wrote most of the religious Scriptures around the world. He became a broker between the supernatural god and the man.

All faiths claim their god is the only god and their Scriptures to be divinely revealed. However, most religious thoughts have evolved over times. The Scriptures are the products of their times and place. The authors have interpreted oral traditions considered appropriate for their times. Except for the Quran, most Scriptures have multiple authors of different times. They have been edited and re-edited. There is no proof that any of them were divinely revealed. The Mosaic codes of the Hebrew Bible came from the codes of Hammurabi. The idea of monotheism of the Hebrew Bible came from King Ikhnaton (1380 BCE) of Egypt and Zarathustra of Persia.

The Hebrew prophets were predecessors of Jesus and Muhammad. The Asceticism of the Christian monks and the Muslim Sufis came from the Hindu Ascetics. The Aryan gods of the Hindus came from Persia. Indian Buddhist thoughts influenced Chinese Confucianism and Taoism. Greek influence can be found in the Old and the New Testaments. It also influenced Indian thoughts and culture. Indian thoughts and culture influenced Greece, Persia and Judea.

The world’s principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups. The modern meaning of the phrase “world religion” began with the 1893 Parliament of World’s Religions in Chicago. Swami Vivekananda of India represented as a delegate of Hinduism at the conference.

Classification:

Religious traditions fall into super-groups, arranged by historical origin and mutual influence.

• Middle Eastern Religions:

Abrahamic religions are the largest group, and they are Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha’i Faith.

• Iranian Religions:

They are Zoroastrianism, Yezidism, and Gnosticism.

• Indian Religions:

They include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

• East Asian Religions:

They are Confucianism and Taoism (Chinese), Shinto (Japanese and Korean).

• African Religions:

The religions of the tribal people of Sub-Sahara Africa.

• Indigenous Ethnic Religion:

These religions are found on every continent, now marginalized by the major organized faiths.

Size of Major Religious Groups in the World -2012

Christianity            31.5%

Islam                       23.2%

Unaffiliated            16.3%

Hinduism                 15%

Buddhism                7.1%

Folk Religion               5.9%

Other                           0.8%

Judaism                        0.2%