world history honors

1) In what ways is the Holy Land an important site for all three monotheistic faiths?
ANSWER: The Holy Land is an important site for all three faiths for the following reasons: it is where something special has happened that belongs in the beliefs of the faith. For christianity, it is where Christ was crucified. For Judaism, it is the promised land and for Islam, it is where Muhammad ascended to heaven. All of them are in Jerusalem though.

2) The three major monotheistic religions are sometimes described as branches of the same family tree. If this is true, how would you describe the trunk of the tree?
ANSWER: I would describe the trunk as being the religion that started first and was grown out to have the other two branches. The first religion was the Judaism faith. All three faiths have a common patriarch. So it started any other trends and beliefs, thus Judaism should be the trunk. Christianity then came after and changed the way Judaism worked and made it their own way. Islam followed after, also changing to what they thought was the correct belief. Judaism is the trunk and the basis of the other two branches, Christianity and Islamic.

3) How are the three major holy books of the monotheistic faiths both similar and different?
ANSWER: Some of the similarities between the Bible, the Qur’an and the Torah are that they are all viewed by the people in each faith to give spiritual guidance to understand the history of their faith. They also talk about God and the history of their faith. Their differences are that the Torah writes talks about the “old testament” which talks about the revelations of moses. The Bible talks about the “old testament” found in the Torah and also what the Christians call the “new testament” which talks about the history and teachings of Jesus. The Qur’an talks about what is to be considered the literal word of Allah. It also has Muhammad’s teachings.

4) How are the basic beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike?
ANSWER: All three beliefs have multiple things alike, such as Sabbath. A Sabbath is a day of religious observance and abstinence from work, kept by Jews from Friday evening to Saturday evening, and by most Christians on Sunday. They also all have Fasting in common, although they don’t share the same times and dates. All three also honor the commandments, the ways one should live. Also each faith believes that one has a soul and that when one dies, that soul will be judged. They all have some kind of afterlife, whether it be a paradise or a dream. They all believe in one God, but Jews believe that their God has not arrived yet. They all consider Moses as a prophet of God and a very important one too.

5) What types of internal differences and divisions exist within each religion?
ANSWER: The Christianity faith itself has thousands of divisions such as, Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Roman Orthodox. The Judaism faith, as well, has many divisions such as, Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. The Islamic faith, on the other hand, has only two divisions which are the Sunnis, and the Shias. In the Islamic faith there have been some internal differences with the Sunnis and Shias. The Shias are a minority in South Asia, while the Sunnis rule mostly everything since they are the majority, which means they make the laws, orders, and control most of the government without the Shias having much to say.

6) What characteristics and beliefs of the three religions make them different?
ANSWER: The Christian faith believes in Sacraments, there are seven sacraments, but each church uses the ones they please. One of them that is used in all churches is Baptism. The Christians also believe that Jesus rose from the dead in the resurrection. The Jewish faith believes that they are not allowed to eat pork. They also have certain ways to prepare food properly, such as what is called Kosher. The Islamic faith has the five pillars, which are the declaration of faith : shahada, salat, zakat, sawm, and hajj. They also believe that Mohammad is the prophet of God and the founder of Islam.

-Why did all the holy lands happened to end up in Jerusalem?
Because that is where all three groups were located at the time.
-Why do all three religion have things in common?
Because they all started with the first religion, Judaism.