Abrahamic religion test :)

Question 1

What do all three religions agree on?

Answer 1

Abraham was the father of monotheism, first person to believe there is one god, he’s a prophet and speaks directly to God.

Question 2

Christian/Jewish story of Abraham

Answer 2

Christians and Jews believe that Abraham was the first Jew
In the old testament Ishmael and Hagar are the ones who are vanished and are not living with Abraham
Issac, and Ismael - Abrahams Son
-Isaac’s mother is Sarah, Ishmael’s mother is Hagar
-Issac is the sacrificed son, In the last minute, a lamb is sacrificed instead of Issac
-Story teaches to trust God and have faith in God

Question 3

Islamic story about Abraham

Answer 3

Ibrahim is not seen as the first muslim
Ibrahim and his son Ishmael built the kaabah in Mecca
Ibrahim has a son named Ishmael
Ibrahim is instructed by allah to sacrifice in son Ishmael to show is devotion
In the islamic story he is old enough, where he is asked to sacrifice his son
Both willingly know they should follow Allah’s word
The end up sacrificing a lamb so they don;t need to go through the sacrifice but this shows how they trust Allah and show faith to Allah
Ibrahim has a wife named Hagar
In the quran ibrahim has a wife sarah who doesn’t live with him, instead she is exiled

Question 4

Is there a God (Judaism)

Answer 4

• there is one main god who chose the Jews as his favorites
  -He would protect the Jews and sustain them with everything they needed.
  Those who chose to worship god and obey his laws, in return God believed to bless the descendants of god forever.

Question 5

Is there a God (Christianity)

Answer 5

• Jesus is the one God that Christians believe in
  -people worship Jesus or go to a church and pray
  -They believe Jesus is the creator.

Question 6

Is there is a God (Islam)

Answer 6

-Allah is the god that they worship and they worship him by praying every day 5 times, showing love and devotion
-The practice of the five pillars also play a big role in Islam and the worshiping of Allah

Question 7

Where does evil come from (Judaism)

Answer 7

-People have free will, able to choose their own will
-evil comes from not following God’s commandments (similar to Islam)

Question 8

Where does evil come from (Christianity)

Answer 8

-Concept called original sin, human nature is bound to be tempted to the wrong choice (all humans are bound to make bad choices)
-Original sin refers to adam and Eve, they didn’t follow God’s rules which originates the concept of original Sin
-Satan and the other evil can tempt you to do the wrong thing,
-When you listen to the angel and follow God, you will be a good person and will not commit evil deeds

Question 9

Where does evil come from (Islam)

Answer 9

-Evil comes from not following the rules and laws from Allah and Muhhammad.

Question 10

What happens when you die (Christianity)

Answer 10

-Those who are saved are promised life in the presence of god in heaven
-Hell is a place where you get separated from God

Question 11

What happens when you die (Islam)

Answer 11

At the end of time, as the quran teaches, the faithful jinn will be resurrected before the world is destroyed

Question 12

Mezuzah

Answer 12

-Made with parchment
-Worn on hand, arm, doorpost
-Has the phrasing from the bible, famous part of Torah
-Made to remember the commandments

Question 13

Tefillin

Answer 13

-Won’t be seen on saturday prayer, only worn on weekdays
-Torah states keep the commandments in your mind
-Worn on arms, head, doorposts
-Inside the tefillin has the 4 mentionings sewed in it

Question 14

Star of David

Answer 14

-No biblical significance
-Referring to king david from the bible, meaning shield of david
-Warding off evil spirits,
-On synagogue decorations

Question 15

Tallit

Answer 15

-Described in torah, required to wear garment with fringes at the bottom
-Mostly worn when praying, Always worn at morning prayers
-Worn by men and women
-A way of remembers the commandment is to count the knots on the Tallit, which shows 613

Question 16

Hamsa

Answer 16

-Amulet bracelet design, shape of hand, decoration/trinket, has prayer in the middle of hand
-Hand of fatima/meriam (islam word), safardi jews
-Symbol to ward off bad luck, scare off evil eye
-No requirement to have a hamsa

Question 17

Chai

Answer 17

-Means “life” in hebrew, using 2 Hebrew Letters
-Symbol of faith
-Lucky number 18
-No requirement but more symbolic in the belief system

Question 18

Menorah

Answer 18

-Symbol of light, Hebrew word menorah means lamp
-2 menorahs, came from bible, described in torah
-Housed in ancient temple where it came from
-Original menorah has 7 candles, hanukkah menorah consists 9 candles

Question 19

Yarmulke

Answer 19

No requirement, but common for women
Sign of respect
Reminder of the commandments from god that you follow
Remind of god’s law
Idea that covering is a sign of respect to God
Any material, decorations

Question 20

Uncertainties of who is a Jew:

Answer 20

Used to be a law if your mother is Jewish you are a Jew automatically
Now it has changed because of how time has changed, how being defined as a Jew has been complicated
More confusion on the actual definition of being a Jew, who practices, if you particpate in the religion, but nowadays has become a question that is still being determined
There is a wide range of how being a Jew is defined, because of how the rules and peoples opinion has changed over the years

Question 21

Trinity concept:

Answer 21

Three parts of the trinity, the father, the son, and the holy spirit)
God is not three different persons, but is a way of explaining the attributes of god
god is the father, more judgmental creator who you rely on to help you out, authoritative figure, created the universe, wiser, gets more respect
God the son (Jesus) is the person living among human beings, showing compassion to Jesus
God the holy spirit, the idea of bringing faith, power, devotion
The reason thats its confusing is that we can’t fully appreciate the value and power, being of god (example is moksha, can’t look at the universe unless in that mindset)

Question 22

Orthodoxy

Answer 22

-called eastern orthodoxy, or orthodoxy
-no central authority, each individual community makes decisions for themselves,focus on personal connection to God
-Local wised, not one way to practice orthodoxy: depends on area where the church takes place
-Differences in rules, for example some orthodox priests can marry, while others can’t

Question 23

Catholicism

Answer 23

-Central authority: The Pope, (in charge of all roman catholic church, part of all decisions)
-A roman catholic service has multiple rituals, some being communions, attending confession
-The clergy (people in charge of community: popes, bishops) have large amounts of power in that community

Question 24

Protestant denominations

Answer 24

-What they tend to have in common is the large belief they have on faith, meaning,in comparison catholic church where to be forgiven from sins you have to participate in confessions, many protestant believe if you recognize your own sins you are foreign, no spiritual leader to forgive you
-again, personal connection to god in your heart, less about the rituals and rules)

Question 25

Jehovah’s Witness

Answer 25

-Reject the traditional cross and trinity
-Baptism is a symbol of dedicating yourself to god
-The bible is god’s words
-Jehovah’s Witnesses use their own bible “The New World translation of the Scriptures”
-God’s name is Jehovah and he is the only god.
-Jesus is Jehovah’s son

Question 26

Shahadah

Answer 26

“There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God’’
-means that there is no other god except Allah, meaning you worship that one and only god

Question 27

Salat

Answer 27

-praying 5 times a day
-showing love for God, and getting closer with God

Question 28

Zakat

Answer 28

-deed where muslims give extra money (2.5% from what they earned) to the poor
-This is an act of giving to charity which shows kindness during the month of Ramadan.

Question 29

Hajj

Answer 29

-where you travel to Mecca to the Kabbah with family/friends
-many practices that happen on the Hajj, some consist of circling the mosque 7 times on the first night, and wearing specific clothing to symbolize many things.

Question 30

Sawm

Answer 30

-act of fasting on Ramadan because of the reason for forgiveness and thanking god for what you have
-Ramadan mainly focuses on obeying god, learning self discipline, appreciating god’s gifts, and giving thanks. It means a lot of Muslims to fast because it shows thanks and gratefulness for everything that God has given them, which is why most take it seriously.

Question 31

Hijab

Answer 31

-Hijabs are head coverings such as a veil, or headscarf.
-There are many colors, styles or variation depending on the country or belief.
-When you wear a hijab, one reason for the use of it is that people believe that god has instructed women to wear it as a sign of modesty.
-It is not a requirement to wear a Hijab.

Question 32

Sunni

Answer 32

-Sunnis choose abu bakar(leader) , Not related to muhammad, but good friend of prophet Muahmmad
-Leads them more politically, not necessarily revising Islam
-Majority of people who identify as muslim identify as 85-90% percent as sunni

Question 33

Shia

Answer 33

-Shias have leader who is related to Muhammaed, their name is Ali Ibn abi talib (second most popular leader in Islam)
-Not only was he a political leader but religious leader
-Believes that scholars can interpret Quran

Question 34

Sufism

Answer 34

-Sufifam is separate from sunni shia divide
-Sufism is a mystical form of islam, big part of their belief is having personal relationship with god through meditation practices
-Express the personal devotion through song, chants, dance poetry, ect
-Still participate in the five pillars, but focus on spiritual element
Performing arts, whirling dervishes are some examples of getting a personal relationship with God