Sacred Writings of the Western Religions

Sacred Writings of the Major World Religions,

Western Religions, Part Two

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(Part Two of this article will cover the sacred writings of three western religions. This article should be read in conjunction with two prior articles. "Sacred Writings of the Major Word Religions, Eastern Religions, Part One" describes the sacred writings of the four eastern religions and is in the "Did U Know" section of the March/April 1997 issue. "WHAT WAS ISRAEL DOING WHEN THE WORLD RELIGIONS EMERGED?" provides a historical context and development of each religion and is in the same section of the September/October 1996 issue of the "PLIM REPORT.")

Introduction

The three western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a complicated yet close historical interconnection. The similarities and differences of these religions revolve around three major points: the concept of monotheism, "faith in a single, All-Powerful God who is the sole Creator, Sustainer and Ruler of the universe," introduced by their common father Abraham, the importance of the Mosaic covenant, and the recognition of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. (See "Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: A Common Tradition," by Arshad Khan, The Review of Religions, October 1992 (http://www.alislam.org/ram/articles/00000129.htm)

Who was Abraham?

All three groups recognize Abraham as the founder of their faith. He was called out of a polytheistic, idolatrous world and instructed to worship the one Elohim (Gen. 12:1). The Hebrews, direct descendants of Abraham through his promised son Isaac, are the first recorded people to have embraced one god. Almost 2500 years later, the Arabs, also direct descendants of Abraham through his first son Ishmael, received the same message through the prophet Mohammed (Gal. 4:22-25).

Traditional Jews and Muslims believe in one God to the point that they think Christians compromise monotheism by deifying Jesus. This conviction divides Christianity irreconcilably from the other two religions. [Note: The Messianic Jew, who we will discuss later in this article and who traditional Jews do not consider "real Jews," is the exception to this rule.]. Muslims believe the truth of Deut. 6:4 "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One"but sees the Jewish teachings as limited since they were confined to the people of Israel (The Worlds Religions, by Huston Smith, p. 236). Islam believes its contribution was to bring monotheism to everyone.

Do all three religions recognize the Law of Moses?

The Covenant that God made with Abraham was strengthened in the Mosaic Laws given to Israel. Both the Torah and the Koran provide accounts of this event. Moslems believe in the Ten Commandments, but consider them to be only a portion of what the Koran teaches (Inquiries About Islam, http://www.al-islam.org/inquiries/20.html). Observance of the Mosaic Laws and traditions, on the other hand, are the foundation of Jewish worship.

Although Christianity embraces the Old Testament, it does not stop with Moses vision and his written accounts (Gen.-Lev.) or the writings of the prophets from Joshua to Malachi. Christianity extends to the Messiah, the seed of David, His disciples accounts of His life, and the doctrines taught in the early assemblies. Christians believe that they, not the Jews, are the complete and "true fulfillment of the covenant" described in Jer. 31:31-34 (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 10, "Relation to Christianity," Judaism, p. 299). When Yahweh speaks of writing a new covenant in the hearts and minds of His people, Christians believe He is referring to them: those who believe in His resurrection. [In reality, the New Covenant consists of faith in the principle of resurrection. Belief in the Messiahs resurrection must be extended to apply to deliverance from each adversity or challenge in our lives. Those who truly worship Yahweh in Spirit and in truth under the New Covenant (John 4:24) believes the power to resurrect over difficulties comes from within (Lk. 17:20-21; John 14:16).]

How do Muslims view Jews and Christians?

Muslims view the Koran as the final message from God that culminates and supercedes all prior messages from Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. While the Muslims honor and respect the Hebrew and Christian patriarchs, they say that God revealed Himself to man in four stages. "First, God revealed the truth of monotheism, Gods oneness, through Abraham. Second, God revealed the Ten Commandments through Moses. Third, God revealed the Golden Rulethat we are to do unto others as we would have them do unto usthrough Jesus. ...One question yet remained, however: How should we love our neighbor? Once life became complicated, instructions were needed to answer that question, and the Koran provides them. The glory of Islam consists in having embodied the beautiful sentiments of Jesus in definite laws. (The Worlds Religions, by Huston Smith, p. 243)" Mohammed said that God had called him to restore purity to the religions that the Jews and Christians had distorted. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 10, "Relation to Christianity," Judaism, p. 300)

What is the intent of this article?

The intent of this article is to examine the sacred writings of the three western religions and to highlight some of the more unique points of each faith. These points will be compared with the Bible when appropriate. Because a multitude of authors has written a mountain of books on the three western religions, this article cannot possibly detail every aspect of their sacred writings. It can only capture the essence of the holy books in hopes that the reader will be inspired to research this topic further.

Judaism

The sacred writings of the Jews begin with the Torah (i.e., the law) consisting of the first five books of the Bible, the Neviim (i.e., the prophets) containing such books as Joshua, Isaiah, Habbakkuk, and Malachi), and Kethuvim (i.e, the writings) that consist of Psalms, Proverbs, Daniel, and Chronicles.

This entire body of writings that non-Jews refer to as the Old Testament is often called Tanakh, an acronym derived from the Hebrew letters of the three parts that make it up: Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvium. "To Jews, there is no Old Testament. The books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The so-called Old Testament is known to us as Written Torah." Judaism 101: Torah (http://members.aol.com/jewfaq/torah.htm)

The Torah

Moses wrote the Torah after he received a vision from Yahweh at Mt. Sinai 1500 years before the Messiahs birth. The Torah contained 630 laws, including the Ten Commandment Law (ethical laws), such as remember the Sabbath and honor thy mother and father, and laws on worship (seven feast days), such as the Passover, the Feasts of Weeks, and the Day of Atonement.

Obedience to the Torah provided blessings from the creator and freed the Jews "from superstitions and groundless fear (Major Religions of the World, by Marcus Bach, p. 65)." Disobedience to Yahwehs laws brought His wrath and an oppressing fear of punishment (Lev. 26:15-46; Deut. 28:15-68).

Did the Jews have oral traditions?

The Torah was clearly written for a Jewish audience and reads as if the listeners understand their oral tradition. Since many terms and definitions used in the written law are totally undefined, it appears that the writer assumed the reader had common knowledge of them. The Torah refers to, but does not elaborate on, many fundamental Jewish concepts "such as shekhita (slaughtering of animals in a kosher fashion), divorce and the rights of the firstborn.") http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/03-05.html

The Talmud is the oral Torah "in which the immortal men of the synagogue have pooled their wisdom and their revelations (Major Religions of the World, by Marcus Bach, p. 65)." The Talmud takes the Laws of the Torah and applies them to every day circumstances. The Talmud is believed to have been passed down from the time of Moses, restored after the first exile by Ezra and Nehemiah, and finally written down by the academies at Yavne and in the Galilee in the two generations following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. It consists of specific interpretations and elaborations of the Written Law, and some commentary on the principles by which the Written Law can be expounded. The Talmud explains the meaning of the scriptures, their interpretation, and their application to the Laws of Moses.

How do Jewish Rabbi interpret the scriptures?

The Midrash, is a Rabbinical book that interprets scriptures for the purpose of discovering their meaning(s). "Midrash is the art of extending and interpreting Torah by commenting on the text, answering unanswered questions in the text, or deducing laws and traditions from the text." Midrash means "to explain, deduce, ferret out."

There are two basic types of midrashim: Halakhic midrashim deal with legal elements of Torah; Aggadic midrashim deal with moral and spiritual issues and tend to read like stories. (Magical Midrash, http://ezra.mts.jhu.edu/~rabbiars/midrash)

What is the premise of the Midrah?

"One of the premises of midrash is that every word, every letter and even every lacuna in the text of the Torah has significance. Since the Torah is regarded as divine, midrash can be seen as the method by which one deduces Gods intent. Whether midrash is used to explain what is really meant by thou shalt not boil a kid in its mothers milk, or to fill in the details that preceded a story we have in the text, Jewish tradition has used midrash throughout history to interpret Torah." (Introduction to Talmud A Project of the Melton Research Center for Jewish Education of the Jewish Theological Seminary http://www.jtsa.edu/melton/courses/talmuddemo/concept/midrash.html)

What questions do the Kabbalah answer?

The Jews also study the Kabbalah, a book of Jewish mysticism, to explore questions such as: "Why is there suffering, pain and evil? Why does one person suffer misfortune while another person prospers? Why do our prayers seem to go unanswered? What is the real purpose of Judaic practice? ... Kabbalah explains, Who we are, why we are here and, how we can start living a more balanced and rewarding life?" (FAQ about Kabbalah, http://www.kabbalah.com/faq.html)

Is the Kabbalah the mystical side of Judaism?

"Kabbalah is the ancient Judaic wisdom revealing the concealed truths of our universe. The Torah tells us how to practice Judaism while Kabbalah explains why." ... "The Kabbalah is based on the Book of Formation, authored by Abraham the Patriarch, and the holy Zohar, revealed by Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai approximately 2,000 years ago.

The Zohar is the acknowledged, definitive book of Kabbalah. Its holiness and importance have been held in the same high esteem as both the Torah and Talmud by all of the great Rabbinical leaders throughout Jewish history. The Zohar gives us the true meaning behind the stories of the Torah and their effect on our lives today." (FAQ about Kabbalah, http://www.kabbalah.com/faq.html)

Who wrote the Zohar?

"The Zohar is a record of the discourses of R. Shimon Bar Yohai, who lived in the second century of the common era. The Tikune Zohar contains an account of how R. Shimon and his son R. Elazar, to escape the fury of Roman persecution, sought refuge in a cave and were forced to remain there for thirteen years. During this lengthy period of exile, the father and the son gave themselves over to discovering the reality of the universe." (Welcome to the Kabbalah Centre, Parashat Pinhas, Introduction by Harav Berg, http://www.kabbalah.com/parashat.htm)

Does the Kabbalah view the universe as one whole?

The Kabbalah gives a metaphysical view of the universe, its underlying unity, and the dynamic interplay between the creator and man. The Kabbalah teaches that all natural organisms are connected and much of our human suffering stems from disunity with the source. "It embraces so many diverse themes and such a wide range of topics - from physics to metaphysics, medicine, astronomy, astrology, psychiatry, the structure of the cosmos, and the nature of intelligence - that it may appear to espouse views and doctrines which are mutually exclusive and logically irreconcilable, but, ... , these seemingly disparate topics are like the miscellaneous parts of any viable macrocosm. While each may give the appearance of operating as a distinct and separate entity, each, in fact, depends for its existence on all of the other components. When carefully read and correctly perceived the Zohar serves only to add credence to the argument that the universe is a single, vital organism with all of its myriad fragments acting as interrelated elements in a unified design. (Welcome to the Kabbalah Centre, Parashat Pinhas, Introduction by Harav Berg, http://www.kabbalah.com/parashat.htm)

Do the Jews believe that the Messiah fulfilled the prophecies of the future savior?

The Law and Prophets were the biography of a savior to come, written before His birth (Psa. 40:7). The traditional Jew never accepted the New Testament Messiah as the one who fulfilled the scriptures (Matt. 5:17-18). The Jewish concept of the Messiah varies based on the movement you ask. "The traditional opinion was best expressed by Moses Maimonides (RaMBaM, c 1135/1138-1204) best known for his commentary on Jewish law and for his philosophical writings. Born in Cordova, he was distinguished, even when young, for his depth of understanding. Religious intoleration eventually caused the family to leave Spain. They settled finally in Fostat, near Cairo, where Maimonides became known as a physician and as a leader in the Jewish community.

The chief works of Rambam, as Maimonides is also called, are Kitab al-Siraj, a commentary on the Talmud; Mishneh Torah, an exposition of Jewish law; and Dalat al-hasirin (The Guide of the Perplexed), a treatment of seve ral philosophical issues. Maimonides attempts to synthesize Jewish revelation and Aristotelean philosophy influenced St. Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas.

(http://www.wecke.com/webra/rambam.shtml)

He said the following about the Messiah:

"If a king will arise from the House of David who is learned in Torah and observant of the mitzvot [the Torahs commandments], as prescribed by the written law and the oral law, as David his ancestor was, and will compel all of Israel to walk in [the way of the Torah] and reinforce the breaches [in its observance]; and fight the wars of G-d, we may, with assurance, consider him the Messiah.

"If he succeeds in the above, builds the Temple in its place, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah. ...

"If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he surely is not [the redeemer] promised by the Torah. [Rather,] he should be considered as all the other proper and complete kings of the Davidic dynasty who died. G-d only caused him to arise in order to test the many, as [Daniel 11:35] states; "and some of the wise men will stumble, to try them, to refine, and to clarify until the appointed time, because the set time is in the future." Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on Soc.Culture.Jewish, Section 12: Jewish Thought, What is the Jewish concept of the Messiah? (http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/03-05.html)

Besides rejecting the possibility of the creator assuming human form (the deification of Jesus) as was stated in the introduction, Judaism is distinct from Christianity on two other points. Jews do not believe in a "mandatory mediator between G-d and man, although it accepts the idea that one person can petition G-d on behalf of others. Branches of Xianity postulate salvation exclusively through faith, while Judaism requires observance of the commandments, irrespective of ones level of faith." Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on Soc.Culture.Jewish, Section 12: Jewish Thought: How does Judaism differ from Xianity, Marxism, Communism, Humanism, and other -isms? (http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/03-05.html)

Do the Jews have one official Jew?

Jews differ from Christians in that they do not have one governing creed that defines their "official" doctrine or makes them monolithic. "...Judaism is less an orthodoxy than an orthopraxis; Jews are united more by what they do than by what they think (The Worlds Religions by Houston Smith, p. 300)." There is no Pope, college of cardinals, Apostles creed to which all Jews adhere. They can be as Orthodox or liberal as they want.

"A tenet of messianic Judaism," writes Paul Liberman in The Fig Tree Blossoms, "asserts that when a Jew accepts a Jewish Messiah, born in a Jewish land, who was foretold by Jewish prophets in the Jewish Scriptures, such a Jew does not become a Gentile. In fact, he becomes a messianic Jewa Jew who believes Jesus is the Messiah." Have You Hugged a (Messianic) Jew Lately? By: Jonathan Bernis (http://www.charismamag.com/stories/ca197102.htm) Even within Jewish Orthodoxy "beliefs, traditions, and rules" are unique to each community. To be Torah-Observant, for example, may not just mean adhering to the first five books of the Bible, but also the Talmud, and the Rabbinal interpretation depending on the community. (see the Association of Torah-Observant Messianics at http://www.charismamag-.com/stories/ca197102.htm)

Christianity

"Although it [the Bible] is a collection of 66 books, written by 40 or more different men over a period of 2,000 years, it is clearly one Book (Whats New at Christian Answers - Is the Bible True? http://christiananswers.net/at004.html)." The entire Bible tells the story of one man. In prior issues of the "PLIM REPORT," we have provided countless scriptures in the Old Testament that prophesied of the Messiahs coming, birth, life, death. Also the scriptures foretold of the emergence and fate of world kingdoms (Daniel, Ezekiel, and the Book of Revelations). The New Testament describes the Messiah fulfilling the books of prophecy through His life and work and the principles are repeated today.

Unlike the Jews, Christians believe the Messiah did fulfill the prophecies written of Him in the Old Testament (Psa. 40:7; Luke 24:27, 44; Heb. 10:7). They continue certain ceremonies such as baptisms, Lord Suppers and tithing based on tradition and not the scriptures. Although He did not establish a physical geographical kingdom matching the splendor of King Solomons, he set up a kingdom in the hearts and minds of men (Lk. 17:20-21; John 14:6). Because the kingdom is invisible, many Jews missed it and await the day of a Zion. Marcus Bach wrote that "the main point of departure between us Christians and the Jews is that we feel that the Messiah has come in Christ, while they still await the advent of their promised one, Immanuel (Major Religions of the World, p. 69)."

The 40 Hebrew seers and the Messiahs disciples who wrote the chapters in the Bible claimed that they were transmitting the words of Yahweh. Their assertions were confirmed when each messenger gave the same message although they were born at different times and in most instances never saw the writings of the other seers.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls written about 150 years before the Messiahs birth that contained an almost perfect book of Isaiah dismisses any doubt about the authenticity of the scriptures. Some thought the scriptures had been tampered with after the Messiah was born to make them appear as if they prophesied of His birth. The scrolls contained a copy of Isaiah written years before the Messiah was born almost exactly like the one we have now.

Islam

Islam is referred to as the "Religion of The Book." Moslems love the Koran and worship it as Christians do Jesus. "If Christ is God incarnate, the Koran is God inlibriate (from liber, Latin for book) ... (The Worlds Religions, by Huston Smith, p. 232)." Moslems consider every word of the Koran as the true and inspired words of God. They believe the Koran has always existed in a non-material heavenly state until someone came along worthy to receive it.

Moslems maintain that the Angel Gabriel gave the Koran to Mohammed, an illiterate man, at age 40. They believe it is a miracle because how else could an uneducated man write a philosophical, scientifically truthful, and prophetic book. Islams holy book totals 6,666 verses, 114 sutras or chapters. Different from Buddha, Confucius, and the Messiah who did not write a message during their lifetimes, Mohammed received the revelations of the Koran "in manageable segments over twenty-three years" of his life.

Is the Koran orally expressed?

It is the most recited book in the world and many Muslims have memorized it. We must remember that the Arabic language in which the Koran was revealed is still alive today from Iraq to Morocco. Moslems interpret the words in the Koran literally and think of them as inviolable.

The Arabic language itself defies translation as so much of its flavor is lost when put into another language. "Crowds in Cairo, Damascus, or Baghdad can be stirred to the highest emotional pitch by statements that, when translated, seem banal. ... the power of the koranic revelation lies not only in the literal meaning of its words but also in the language in which this meaning incorporated, including its sound (The Worlds Religions, by Huston Smith, p. 233-234)." In contrast to Christians who have translated the Bible into every known language, Muslims prefer for followers of the Koran to learn Arabic.

Has the Koran ever changed?

Unlike other holy books, the Koran had never been changed or revised. The book has been handed down in its complete and original form without one word being deleted. To confirm that the Koran had not been tampered with over time, in the last century, an Institute of Munich University in Germany collected 42,000 copies of the Koran including manuscripts and printed texts from the first century to the 14th century that covered various parts of the Islamic world. After about 50 years of work, "researchers concluded that apart from copying mistakes, there was no descrepancy in the text of these forty-two thousand copies&" (History of the Quran, http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/about/scriptur/scriptq.htm). Moslems believe the book was so meticulously preserved because it is a book of instruction and guidance for living the good life and obtaining salvation (Major Religions of the World, Marcus Bach, p. 99).

Scholars outside the Islam culture often say the book is endless, wearisome, repetitious, confusing, and impenetrable. In short, not many would curl up on a rainy weekend to read the Koran. Carlyle confessed that "nothing but a sense of duty could carry any European through the Koran." Sir Edwards Gibbon said "The European will peruse with impatience its endless incoherent rhapsody of fable and precept and declamation, which seldom excites a sentiment or an idea, which sometimes crawls in the dust, and is sometimes lost in the clouds."(The Worlds Religions, by Huston Smith, p. 233). The Koran outlines Five Pillars to keep Muslims on the straight path: confession of faith, regular prayer, charity, observance of Ramadan (Islam holy month), and pilgrimage.

The Koran speaks in first person, not as messages describing an experience. When reading the Bible "Muslims express disappointment in finding that those texts do not take the form of Divine speech and merely report things that happened." (The Worlds Religions, by Huston Smith, p. 235) Muslims believes that the Koran does not talk about or describe the truth, it is the truth. "In this Book, the Holy Prophets life, the history of the Arabs and the events which occurred during the period of the revelation of the Quran have not been mingled with the Divine Verses, as is the case with the Bible." (History of the Quran, http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/about/scriptur/scriptq.htm) Mohammed began his ministry by carrying these transcribed words of God in the form of the Koran to the inhabitants of Arabia.

Who is Jesus?

Muslims view Jesus as a great prophet and reformer, but do not believe He was God incarnated in the flesh who resurrected from the dead.

When Moses wrote Deut. 18:18-19 that "I will raise up for them (the Israelites) a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not give heed to My words which he shall speak in My name, I, Myself, will require it of him," Islam says that Prophet was Mohammed. (Inquiries About Islam, http://www.al-islam.org/inquiries/18.html). Likewise, they say the Messiah in John 14:26, meant Mohammed when he says that the Father will send another comforter or messenger to the people.

Conclusion

I hope that this brief summary of the three western religions stirs your pure mind to investigate them further and expand your understanding.

Bibliography

Abul Aala Muadoodi, Syed, From a speech "Message of Prophets (saw) Seerah," History of the Quran, http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/about/scriptur/scriptq.htm

Bach, Marcus, Major Religions of the World, (ã 1989 Graded Press)

Bernis, Jonathan, Have You Hugged a (Messianic) Jew Lately? (http://www.charismamag.com/stories/ca197102.htm

Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 10, "Relation to Christianity," Judaism, p. 300

Faigin, Daniel P., (ã1993-1996) Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on Soc.Culture.Jewish, Section 12: Jewish Thought: How does Judaism differ from Xianity, Marxism, Communism, Humanism, and other -isms? and Section 3: Torah, What is the Oral Law? (http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/03-05.html

FAQ about Kabbalah, http://www.kabbalah.com/faq.html)

Judaism 101: Torah (http://members.aol.com/jewfaq/torah.htm

Khan, Arshad, "Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: A Common Tradition," The Review of Religions, October 1992 (http://www.alislam.org/ram/articles/00000129.htm)

Smith, Huston, The Worlds Religions, (ã 1991, HarperSanFrancisco)

Whats New at Christian Answers - Is the Bible True? Christian Answers Network, http://christiananswers.net/at004.html

(Welcome to the Kabbalah Centre, Parashat Pinhas, Introduction by Harav Berg, http://www.kabbalah.com/)

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