The Quran, or Koran, is the central religious text of the Islamic faith. Its followers consider it to be a revelation from God. Many Muslims, or followers of Islam, refer to other religious texts, such as the Hadith, a collection of prophetic traditions. Quranists, a subset of Muslims, adhere only the Quran.
The three faiths have a lot more in common than many people realize. All have their foundation in the same family, the family of Abraham. This is the story of Abraham as it is written in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It is meant to be used as a source of information. It is not an evangelistic tool.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He planned to create a home where mankind could live and He could enjoy relationships with each and every one of them. Adam and Eve were intended to live in the Garden of Eden and be the parents of all humanity. He gave them the complete freedom of Paradise; the only thing he told them they were not to do was to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
Satan, originally one of God's three archangels, was jealous and hated mankind. One day, Eve was walking alone in the Garden of Eden. Taking the form of a serpent, or snake, Satan convinced her that nothing bad would happen to her if she ate the forbidden fruit. So she did, and she gave some to Adam.
When God discovered that his beloved creatures had disobeyed is only rule, he cast them out of Eden. Mankind fell deeper and deeper into sin, breaking God's heart. He decided to destroy the world and all its inhabitants, apart from a man named Noah and his family. He commanded Noah to build an ark, a giant ship, and to save his family and a breeding pair of each of the animals.
Generations later, God noticed that Abraham, one of Noah's descendants, was a righteous man. God loved him so much, that he told Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that their children would outnumber the stars. They were getting on a bit and, childless, Sarah grew impatient that God might not fulfill His promise. She arranged for Abraham to have a child with her maid, Hagar. They had a boy named Ishmael.
Then Sarah and Abraham had a son of their own, Isaac, and Sarah lost interest in the 13 year-old Ishmael. She cast them onto the street. God sent an angel to Hagar to comfort her and assure her that her son, Ishmael, would be the father of a great nation. This nation became the arabs, who established Islam.
So there it is, the story of Abraham. That is why Judaism, Islam and Christianity are called the Abrahamic religions, because they all have their roots in this one man's family. While there are some major fundamental differences, there is more to unite them than there is to divide them.
The three faiths have a lot more in common than many people realize. All have their foundation in the same family, the family of Abraham. This is the story of Abraham as it is written in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It is meant to be used as a source of information. It is not an evangelistic tool.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He planned to create a home where mankind could live and He could enjoy relationships with each and every one of them. Adam and Eve were intended to live in the Garden of Eden and be the parents of all humanity. He gave them the complete freedom of Paradise; the only thing he told them they were not to do was to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
Satan, originally one of God's three archangels, was jealous and hated mankind. One day, Eve was walking alone in the Garden of Eden. Taking the form of a serpent, or snake, Satan convinced her that nothing bad would happen to her if she ate the forbidden fruit. So she did, and she gave some to Adam.
When God discovered that his beloved creatures had disobeyed is only rule, he cast them out of Eden. Mankind fell deeper and deeper into sin, breaking God's heart. He decided to destroy the world and all its inhabitants, apart from a man named Noah and his family. He commanded Noah to build an ark, a giant ship, and to save his family and a breeding pair of each of the animals.
Generations later, God noticed that Abraham, one of Noah's descendants, was a righteous man. God loved him so much, that he told Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that their children would outnumber the stars. They were getting on a bit and, childless, Sarah grew impatient that God might not fulfill His promise. She arranged for Abraham to have a child with her maid, Hagar. They had a boy named Ishmael.
Then Sarah and Abraham had a son of their own, Isaac, and Sarah lost interest in the 13 year-old Ishmael. She cast them onto the street. God sent an angel to Hagar to comfort her and assure her that her son, Ishmael, would be the father of a great nation. This nation became the arabs, who established Islam.
So there it is, the story of Abraham. That is why Judaism, Islam and Christianity are called the Abrahamic religions, because they all have their roots in this one man's family. While there are some major fundamental differences, there is more to unite them than there is to divide them.
No comments:
Post a Comment