From Chapter 2: “Light About God & Man”

Spanning the years from creation and the origin of man, certain physical evidences including creeds, written accounts, archeology, traditions and scriptures, in various translations, are in evidence and will be advanced in the text of this Digest regarding belief systems. Such a composite will enable the reader to review ‘side-by-side’ belief systems and doctrines, in an effort to arrive at some understanding as it relates to God and man.

Thousands of years ago, about 2,000 B.C.E., a personage named, Abraham, whom more than three billion people—more than half of humanity—venerate him as the father, patriarch, and spiritual ancestor of their faiths: Christians, Jews and Muslims (Islam). Note: that these three represent over 50.6% that worship the God of Abraham. Later, much will be said about Abraham in Chapter 12.

Principal recognition will be given here and in Chapter 3 to the concepts of:
Islamic
Israelites (Judaism)
Christianity:
-Catholicism (Roman & Eastern)
-Protestantism
-The Church of Jesus Christ

These constitute the majority influence in religious dogma in the world today, as noted above.

“What is theology? It is that revealed science which treats the being and attributes of God, his relations to us, the dispensations of his providence, his will with respect to our actions, and his purposes with respect to our end.” Monotheism is the doctrine or belief that there is but one God. If this is properly interpreted to mean that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—each of whom is a separate and distinct godly personage—are one God, meaning, one-Godhead. Professing Christians consider themselves monotheists, as distinguished from polytheists: those pagan peoples who believe in a host of gods whose powers are exercised only in their own fields. Actually, the true knowledge of God was first revealed to Adam and was known to all the believers in God from his day to Abraham. The treatise on this is given in the following chapter.


Islam: Synopsis of origin and belief

Islam is the newest of the three great monotheistic religions. The others are Judaism and Christianity. Islam means “submission” to God or Allah with its etymological roots firmly planted in salaam, or peace. Muslims recognize aspects of the two earlier religions but believe Muhammad provided the final revelation.

Muslims worship with an intimate personal connection with the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians.

“Revelations compiled in the Koran (Qur’an), Islam’s holy book revealed to the Prophet Mohammad in the early seventh century, are seen as the only correct continuation of the ideas as originated by revered figures familiar to Jews and Christians. While Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, an especially esteemed messenger of God but they abhor the Christian belief that he is divinity, as God. The ultimate messenger is the Prophet Muhammad.

“There are five basic tenets, or pillars, of Islam: (1) Affirming there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet; (2) Praying five times a day; (3) giving alms; (4) fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, the lunar month during which the Koran (Qur’an) was revealed to Muhammad; and (5) The pilgrimage to Mecca.

“According to the Muslim Koran, Arabs and Jews are half-brothers descended from the biblical patriarch Abraham, regarded by Christians and Jews as the father of the Jewish people 4,000 years ago.

“In short, Muslims and Jews worship the same God, “Allah” being the Arabic word for “God.” Even Christian Arabs use “Allah” for their deity.


Judaism: A Synopsis of origin and beliefs

Notably, Abraham takes center stage in 1996 B.C.E. along with Isaac and then Jacob who begat the twelve sons, known as the Tribes of Israel. This history begins in the tenth Chapter of Genesis. God spoke to Noah, as he had done with Adam. The record is very brief until we see Abraham appear on the scene. From his day, God spoke to him and he became the prophet of his people with the patriarchal order following him and his children and their offspring. [In Islam, it is the God (Allah) of Abraham (Abrim) and Ishmael.]
They acknowledge God, as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was known as Jehovah. Jehovah was the Son of the Most High God, the creator of the earth under the direction of the Father and was the conduit of God, the Father (Elohim), to His children.
The Jewish Torah contains the records from Genesis to Malachi showing forth the relationship between them and God, except the book of Esther.


Change in Concept of God

They formulated a monotheistic concept of God departing from their past when they worshipped a polytheistic godhead that had human form like unto man. To this day, Jews are prohibited from speaking the name of God. (This is covered in detail in the next chapter.) They created the Torah, the book of scripture, which contains the laws of God to the Jews from Genesis to Malachi.

The above treatise on Islam-Mohammed and Judaism shows the common heritage and doctrine of God that they mutually share. It is interesting that the three major religions all have their foundation in the Middle East.


Christianity: Synopsis of Origin and Beliefs

The birth of Jesus brought forth the New Testament scriptures. Jesus, a descendent of Judah of the lineage of Jesse, born of Mary of the royal line of King David, begins his ministry in 30 C.E. at the age of 30