Abraham:

Correcting the

Misconceptions of Abrah

Andy Bui

Honors English 12

Multi-genre Research Project

Mrs. Livingston

Abraham:

Correcting the

Misconceptions of Abrah

Introduction

Dear Reader,

The following contents within this collection of media and literature pieces cover the subject

of the three Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. To many, these three religions are

three completely separate denominations and are just as different as any other respective religion.

This project serves as a gateway to understanding that not only do all Christians, Jews and Muslims

originate from the same concept, but they all worship the same God and other major Abrahamic

figures. From Moses and the exodus of the Hebrews to the Great Flood and Noah’s Ark, these three

religions are legitimate sister religions.

The misconception that each of these religions is completely different faiths has led to the

abuse of discrimination and alienation due to affiliation of religion. After 9/11, Americans were

looking for a group to blame and with the 19 hijackers being of Muslim faith; Islam was targeted as

the enemy religion. Americans, many who are Christian, began to deface Allah, branding him as a

god of violence. What most of them didn’t realize was that Allah is actually the Arabic word for ‘god’

and that this ‘Allah’ was their God also. Muslims believe that Abraham, Moses and Jesus were all

prophets of God before the prophet Mohammed, whom they believed carried the true and final

message of God.

I’ve brought upon this topic because I myself am a Catholic and I find all of this argument and

bigotry from one religion over another is just plain childish, so please enjoy as I discover the truth

behind the relationship between these three sister religions of the Abrahamic faith.

Table of Contents

I. Timeline –

Explore the chronological history of the Abrahamic faiths from the

formation of Judaism all the way to the Christian Crusades

II. Informational Comparison Chart –

This chart will allow you to compare and contrast the three faiths

under several categories and see how they stand side by side, from

their books to the meaning of their names

III. Comic Strip –

A humorous depiction and explanation of why the three faiths even

formed

IV. Poem –

A poetical piece covering my view on the subject matter at hand.

The three Abrahamic sisters at war

Timeline of the Abrahamic Religion

2000-1700BCE – Abraham and his successors establish the Jewish faith. 1280BCE – Within this time, the exodus from Egypt of 600,000 Hebrews occurs and Judaism becomes the first major monotheistic religion.

4BCE – Jesus of Nazareth is born

30BCE – Jesus is crucified by Pontus Pilate under pressure by top Jewish figures.

35CE – Saul of Tarsus becomes the Apostle Paul and begins to spread the word of Jesus

60-68CE – Paul is executed by the Romans and Saint Peter is crucified

312-324CE – Emperor Constantine of the Eastern Roman Empire becomes the first Christian monarch

570CE – Muhammad is born in Mecca to a noble and rich family

610CE – Muhammad is ‘visited’ by the archangel Gabriel and claims to be a prophet of God.

630CE – Muhammad returns to Mecca with a huge amount of followers and Islam is established as religion within the city

633CE – Muhammad passes away and his father in law becomes the caliph of the Muslims.

Footnote: This comic depicts the basic explanation of each faith’s beliefs. The Jews believe

Moses was the messenger of God and that everyone after him was a heretic. The Christians

believe that Jesus was the messenger of God and that Moses was just a predecessor to Jesus.

They also believe those after Jesus was a false prophet. Finally, the Muslims, who believed

that Moses, Jesus and Mohammad were all prophets of God, but denounced Jesus as a son of

God or embodiment of God. Evidently the last slide depicts a man who doesn’t see a big deal

over who the messenger was, but rather focuses on the idea of their common God.

Judaism Christianity MuslimDate of Origin 1800BC, formed

under Abraham, Father of Isaac

30CE, during and after the birth and death of Jesus Christ

622CE, during the lifetime of Mohammed.

Size(population) 15 million 2 billion 1.5 billionHoly Text Torah (Old

Testament)Old and New Testament (Holy Bible)

The Quran as well as the Old and New Testament are relevant

Day of Prayer Saturday Sunday FridayHouse of Worship

Synagogue Church/Chapel

Mosque

Different Groups

Reform/Orthodox Catholics/ Protestants/Orthodox

Shia/Sunni/Sufi

View on Prophets/Messengers

Moses was prophet, Jesus was not

Jesus was the son of God, Messiah and true Prophet

Both Jesus and Moses were prophets but Mohammed is the true and final messenger

Three Rooms

I once knew three brothers,

Comparison Chart

Who all shared the same house.

With the oldest brother living in the basement, refusing to ever come out,

Criticizing his brothers for building higher levels to this one united house.

His name was Jude and he was adamant against his brothers.

Truly believing that God did not have an immaculate born son Jesus or mother

Nor did he ever descend down to Earth.

His brother Christian believed otherwise.

He said, ‘Jude trust me for all that I am worth’.

Jude shut him down and denounced the son of God and rushed back to his home.

Isaiah stepped into the picture.

He said, ‘Christian, forgive Jude for that is all that he has known.’

Christian stared at him, questioning his youngest brother’s stance

Isaiah told him, ‘Jude might be right; God did not have a son. Rather Jesus was only God’s prophet, like a soldier with his gun’.

For the next few years, appliances were broken, glasses were shattered and the house just fell apart.

The windows are stained, the wood is chipped and the lights flickered like a slowly dying heart.

The three sat at the dinner table on night, timid as always,

Until their niece stood up and had something to say.

She told them, ‘Why do you guys argue like every other day?

Always trying to force your belief on one another and never letting the situation go away.

Do you see what’s happened to this House? Nobody wants to visit us because of the mess that we have made.

Doesn’t that seem odd?

That your petty differences destroyed something that was supposed to be the tangible representation of God?

I once knew three brothers.

Notes:

Jews believe that Abraham was the founder of Judaism and that he had made a covenant

with God

Jews reject the idea of Jesus being a prophet of God and do not see him as the son of

God. He is a normal Jew to them

The Jews believe that Hebrews are the holy people of the Torah, whom Moses led out of

Egypt in the mass exodus.

Jesus was born in 4BCE.

BCE stands for ‘Before Common Era’.

Jesus was crucified in 30CE by the Roman governor Pontus Pilate.

Saul of Tarsus later changed to Paul the Apostle

The Christian faith bases their beliefs in both the Old and New Testament, with the Old

Testament basically being the holy book of the Jews

Muhammad was born in 570CE

Muhammad did not claim to be a prophet until he was 40 years old where he was

supposedly visited by the arch angel Gabriel.

Mecca was established as the Islamic capital when Muhammad returned to the city with a

plethora of followers.

Muslims do believe in the teachings of the Holy Bible and the Torah but incorporate

them into the Koran, which they believe is the truly revised account of God’s message

Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet but his message was corrupted so Muhammad

was sent to spread the true word of God.

Christians, Jews and Muslims have had several military conflicts with one another such

as the Jewish uprisings, the Crusades and the Spanish Reconquista.

In 1948, the state of Israel was created, which sparked huge controversy and tensions

flared up between Muslims and Jewish communities.

MLA Works Cited Page and Etcetera"A People Is Born." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 6 May 2015.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/heritage/timeline.html

"Chronology." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 6 May 2015.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/cron.html

"Religion: Three Religions, One God." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 6 May 2015.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/themes/religion/

"Timeline of Islam." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 6 May 2015.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/teach/muslims/timeline.html

Comic made on ToonDoo.com

"Compare Christianity vs. Islam vs. Judaism - Compare Christianity Islam

Judaism." Compare Christianity vs. Islam vs. Judaism - Compare Christianity

Islam Judaism. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2015.

http://www.religionfacts.com/compare/christianity-islam-judaism

Clemmons, Nancy. Exploring the Religions of Our World. Notre Dame, IN: Ave

Maria, 1999. Print.