Similarities Between Religious Texts

Religious differences have been a cause for war and a source of turmoil for thousands of years. It is easy to find differences among religions different from your own and immediately dismiss the religion as wrong. However when analyzing certain aspects of religious texts, it is clear some striking similarities exist. For instance Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have unique perspectives on the Day of Judgement, but have some commonalities.
One common thread between the texts is the emotional response it causes the reader to have. Specifically, the passages are intended to both terrify and elicit hope. This can be seen in the holy text of Islam, the Koran. For instance in Sura LVI there is a verse that reads “Then the people of the right
Daniel chapter 9 opens with a prayer of Daniel acknowledging that they, the Jewish people, have sinned and not lived up to God’s law. An angel named Gabriel answered Daniel’s prayer and said God would give the Jewish people a probationary period of 70 weeks, in which Jerusalem would continue to have trouble to atone for their sins. This can incite both fear and optimism in readers. There are different interpretations as to what exactly 70 weeks means, however they all agree it is a substantially longer time than 70 weeks. This obviously is intended to cause some fear and drive the people to of Jerusalem to better themselves. However, it also predicts that after the period of atonement God will send the Messiah who will die for everyone’s sins, which should give sinners hope that they have a chance for
The two passages from the Koran, Sura LVL and Sura LXIX, open by addressing God as both compassionate and merciful. Additionally, both Sura LVL and LXIX end by saying “Praise, then, the name of thy Lord, the Great.” Starting and concluding the passages with these specific attributes of God demonstrates how important Islam believes these characteristics are. In Daniel’s prayer to God, Daniel views God, the judge, as just. This is evident when Daniel acknowledged that the punishments God gave to the people of Jerusalem were deserved. Daniel proclaimed, “Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice” (Daniel 9:14). This demonstrates the Jewish faith understand God to be fair and just. The book of Revelation shows how Christians regard God as powerful, as the passages are about God defeating Satan. Two verses in particular from Revelation 19 demonstrate this. “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation