3 major world religions

Do you recognize these symbols?

Have you ever seen this bumper sticker?

These are the 3 main religions…

Christianity

Islam

Judaism

Did you know…. they all started….

with the SAME STORY?

Do you remember the “old stories”?

God creating the world in 7 days?

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?

Noah and the Ark?

Abraham and Sarah?

The HISTORY of the 3 RELIGIONS

…. begins with Abraham and Sarah

According to these religions….

God told a man named Abraham to leave the city of Ur and go to a new land. Abraham didn’t know where he was going, but God was going to show him. God told him that he and his wife Sarah would have children and that their descendents would make a new nation.

BUT…

Abraham and Sarah were old and Abraham didn’t believe that Sarah could have children so he got another wife, named Hagar. Hagar DID have a baby boy and named him Ishmael. Later, Sarah had a baby boy, too, and his name was Isaac. THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF 2 NATIONS AND 2 RELIGIONS!

Sarah’s son and Hagar’s son!

Sarah Hagar

Isaac

Jews

JUDAISM

Arabs

Ishmael

ISLAM

The bottom line…

The Arab people came from Ishmael and eventually the majority of them converted to Islam through Mohammed.

The Jewish people came from Isaac and held the same beliefs (Judaism) or converted to Christianity.

Timeline

Today…

Each religion LOOKS very different!

Which is this?

Yes….Islam.

The building: a mosque

Islam…

The book: the Qur’an (or Koran)

Islam…

The leader: imam

Islam…

Believes in the same God as Judaism and Christianity, but they call him, “Allah”

Believes Jesus was the “perfect” man, but not God

Believe that the words of a prophet called Mohammed are holy.

Islam…

The belief… “The 5 Pillars of Islam” 1. the profession – “There is no God but

Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet.”

2. prayer – 5 times a day, facing Mecca 3. fasting – during Ramadan 4. zakat – giving to the poor 5. make the Hajj- journey to Mecca

Which is this?

Yes….Christianity.

The building: a church

Christianity

The book: the Bible

Christianity

The leader: pastor, priest

Christian people/ Christianity

Believe in the same God as Judaism

BUT, they believe Jesus was God’s son

…. AND that he is the Savior (Messiah)

Which is this?

Yes…. Judaism

The building: a synagogue

Judaism

The book: the Torah

Judaism…

The leader: a rabbai

JUDAISM

Believes in God, and his holy name is, “Yahweh”.

Believes Jesus was a prophet

Believes a Savior or “Messiah” is still coming one day.

Today

The largest religion is Christianity.

Islam is the 2nd largest, but it continues to grow and get bigger.

There are far fewer people now who believe in Judaism.

The 3 major world religions..How did they start/ originate?

How are they similar?

How are they different?

What would you like to learn more about?