Warm-up

• Briefly summarize the main ideas of Hinduism and Buddhism

Monotheism

Islam, Judaism, and Christianity

• Three religions that don’t realize their similarities

• All three monotheistic• All three started around the same region• All three have similar beliefs– Judaism – begins around 1800 BCE– Christianity – 29 CE– Islam – 622 CE

Judaism• Oldest monotheistic religion in world today• Founded by Abraham – shepherd who led followers from Ur to

Canaan • Abraham chosen by Yahweh to be the father of Judaism• Covenant – agreement between Abraham and Yahweh

– Abraham agrees to leave Ur with his followers, go to the Promised Land, and worship only Yahweh, in return Yahweh will protect his chosen people and their descendants

– The LORD had said to Abraham, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Canaan

Exodus

• Jews eventually leave Canaan for Egypt – driven out by famine

• Once in Egypt, they are enslaved

• Exodus – Jews are led to freedom by a shepherd named Moses

• New covenant made – Moses climbs Mount Sinai to pray, returns with the Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments – the most fundamental laws of Judaism

I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God.

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

Honor your father and mother.

You shall not commit murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Jewish Rituals and Beliefs• Holy book is the Torah – the first

five books of the Old Testament• Believe they are the chosen

people of God – not a religion looking to expand and convert

• Worship is led by a rabbi at a synagogue

• Believe that the Messiah, or savior, has not come back to Earth yet (we will get back to this)

• Many celebrations, holidays and rituals in Jewish life– Passover marks remembrance of

the Exodus, Rosh Hashanah the Jewish New Year, Bar and Bat Mitzvah is the entrance into the adult world, etc.

Christianity – splits off of Judaism

Judaism Christianity

What event would be the cause of this split?

Christianity

• Founded by Jesus around the time of his death – 33 – 36 CE

• Original Christians split off from Judaism– Main difference between Judaism and Christianity

– Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah, or savior, and Jews do not

• Bible is holy book – both Old and New Testament

Who are the first Christians?

• 12 followers of Jesus – preached his message after his death, wrote many of his teachings down in the Bible

• Appealed especially to the poor – focused on good deeds, not wealth and social status

• Promised salvation in afterlife, no matter how bad current life was– “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”– “It is easier for 1,000 camels to pass through the eye of a

needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven.”

Islam• Mecca – trading city in modern-day Saudi Arabia• Trading city and pilgrimage city during the 600s – tribes from all

around the Arabian desert came to trade goods• Temple in Mecca where idols to gods of different tribes were placed –

called the ka’ba• Trader and guardian of ka’ba was named Muhammad

Turn to Islam

• Around the year 610, Muhammad begins to hear voices – “No god but Allah”

• Angel Gabriel brought message to Muhammad – polytheists were worshipping wrong, up to Muhammad to set them straight

• People of Mecca didn’t like monotheistic message, pushed him out of town in 622

• Hijrah – journey by Muhammad and followers from Mecca to Medina

Return to Mecca

• 630 – Muhammad gains followers, returns to retake Mecca

• Takes city, goes to ka’ba, smashes idols in it• Calls entire city to prayer from the roof – first

Muslim call to prayer

• Muhammad considered the main prophet of Islam – his wife Khadijah also very important

5 Pillars of Islam – must practice these in order to be considered Muslim

1. One god – Allah - Shahada2. Go 2 Mecca – Hajj3. No 3 square meals during Ramadan - Sawm4. Alms or charity 4 the poor - Zakat5. Pray 5 times daily in the direction of Mecca – Salat

-Most basic beliefs of Islamic faith -Islamic religious gatherings take place in mosques-Islamic holy book called the Qur’an (sometimes Koran)

A similarity between Shinto in Japan andanimism in African societies is that both(1) use the Torah to establish law codes(2) stress the importance of the Eightfold Path(3) believe that spirits exist in nature(4) base social rank on a caste system

• Which practice is most closely associated with a person of the Islamic faith?

• (1) refraining from eating meat on Fridays• (2) praying five times a day• (3) following the Eightfold Path• (4) worshipping many gods

• Which action is most closely associated with polytheism?

• (1) praying in a synagogue• (2) accepting the Eightfold Path• (3) worshipping many gods• (4) reading the Koran

• Which belief system is most closely associated with the terms Eightfold Path, Four Noble

• Truths, and nirvana?• (1) Buddhism (3) Judaism• (2) Christianity (4) Shinto

• Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are similar in that they all ask their followers to

• (1) believe in reincarnation• (2) strive for nirvana• (3) follow a code of behavior• (4) practice polytheism•

• “Just as a man, having cast off old garments, puts on others, even so does the embodied one, having cast off old bodies, take on other, new ones.”

• Which belief or practice is expressed in this quotation?

• (1) rigid class structure (3) monotheism• (2) reincarnation (4) fasting and prayer

• The caste system in India was characterized by• (1) toleration for various religious beliefs• (2) equality between men and women• (3) a lack of social mobility• (4) the right of people to choose their

occupations