Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region VIII – Eastern Visayas
GREGORIO C. CATENZA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Tunga, Leyte

Introduction to World
Religions & Belief
Systems
Abrahamic Religions: Their Uniqueness
and Similarities
Quarter 1- Week 7
Module 7
Most Essential Learning Competency:
Compare and contrast the uniqueness and
similarities of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
 EXPECTATIONS

You will compare and contrast the uniqueness and similarities Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Specifically, this module will help you to:
• Distinguish the commonalities and differences of their belief systems.
• Appreciate the different faith-experiences and outward expressions of their faith;
• Understand the different religious expressions of each religions;
• Appreciate the efforts for common understanding and respect

LOOKING BACK TO YOUR LESSON

Pick -N-Roll
To prove that you have remember something from the past lesson about the three religions, you will do this
task.
Directions: Give the meaning of its symbols and identify which religion they belong. Write your answer on a separate
sheet of paper.

STAR OF DAVID CRESCENT MOON AND THE CROSS

STAR

Religion
Symbol and Meaning

Lesson 1 Abrahamic Religions in Search for the Divine

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

The lesson will guide you in understanding of the commonalities and uniqueness of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in
their belief in God, sin and salvation.

DISCUSSIONS
Belief in God (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
These religions are already discussed in the previous lessons. All three claimed that they came from one ancestor,
Abraham hence they were called Abrahamic religions. The current lesson is not a review but it is a rediscovering of
the spiritual tie between these three Abrahamic religions namely; Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
They are related in terms of genealogy or their lineage. Let us begin with their belief in God.

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 The commonalities are easy to tell. They all believe in One God which means they are all monotheists but vary on
how they address their God. The Jews call them Yahweh or Elohim, Christians have the Holy Trinity or Triune God (God
the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit) while Islam calls their God Allah. For Judaism, the Israelites have great respect of
their God that nobody among the believers is worthy to pronounce even the name Yahweh hence they just write the
consonants “Y H W H.” In contrast, the Muslims are very proud to recite “ Allahu Akbar “ or “God is Great” or “God is
the Greatest” to remind themselves of God’s power. For the Christians it is Jesus himself who reminded them that
…”not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven…” (Mtt.7:21) For the Jews when the
Pentateuch was translated from its original language, and vowels were added to the consonants, translators have
different interpretation of “Y H W H. It became Y a H W e H and J e H o V a H for other translators. Two names but
only One God. Besides Yahweh and Jehovah, the Jews have other names of their God like “Elohim” or “El Shaddai.” It
is their belief that when the names referring to God are written, then it cannot be stricken out from their tradition.
Similarly, Christianity’s belief in One God confuses both the believers and non-believers alike. The “Tri” in the
Holy Trinity or Triune God means three, therefore the Christians believe in “Three Gods.” This is the usual arguments
of non-believers. The Three Persons (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) are not separate Gods but
only One with the same Nature. St. Athanasius explains it clearly in the table below. I remembered the analogy of one
of my professors in Theology using the glass and three droplets of water. He said that the glass represents the nature
of God, the three droplets of water represents the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity. Then he asked, “When you drop
the three droplets one by one into the glass, how many droplets can be seen into the glass? The answer is - only ONE.
This simplistic analogy can be understood easily by ordinary believers but “theological explanation” is also necessary
because for Christians their faith is not a blind faith. It is a ”faith seeking understanding,” as St. Anselm explained. This
is the purpose of theology, to explain the doctrines and beliefs in a rational and systematic manner similar to other
sciences. As an example, St. Athanasius explained the Holy Trinity in a theological manner when he said that ,” The
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" are not names for different parts of God, but one name for God because three
persons exist in God as one entity.(see Table 1). If it’s difficult for you to understand the meaning of the Holy Trinity,
then the church calls it a mystery, because our minds are limited to be able to understand the Nature of God. It is like
the legend told by St. Augustine walking in the seashore contemplating upon the meaning of the Holy Trinity.

“As he was walking along the beach, he saw something a bit odd and he stopped to take a look.
A boy was running back and forth from the ocean to a spot on the beach, carrying water in a
seashell, and dropping the water in a little hole in the sand not too far off.
“My boy,” said St. Augustine. “What are you doing?”
“I am trying to bring all the sea into this hole!” the boy said with a big smile.
St. Augustine looked at the hole, which was tiny, and said, “But that is
impossible, my dear child. The hole cannot contain all that water. It is too small.”

“It is no more impossible than what you are trying to do — comprehend the
immensity of the mystery of the Holy Trinity with your small mind!”
St. Augustine stopped at his words and glanced away from the boy, surprised
by the boy’s response. When he turned back to the boy, he had vanished.”
(https://illustratedprayer.com/2017/08/08/st-augustine-seashore/)

In the same way that our minds cannot contain the mystery or the essence of
God because of our minds are limited.
Seemingly, it’s only Islam who clearly has one name of their God who is Allah.
The first of the Five Pillars express this belief. It says, “There is no God, but Allah.”
Islam was the last religion that was founded among the three, around 700 BCE.
Though Islam has sectarian believers (Shiite and Sunis), their understanding of
Allah remains constant. The division is more of political succession and religious
practices.
When these religions embraced different cultures, they adapted to the new
cultural milieu where they belong, as discussed in earlier modules. For example,
the God for the Jews is a real God in solidarity with the people.
Yahweh is a historical God who accompany them from their liberation from
Egypt as found in the Exodus story. The same God who delivered them to the HEAVEN AND HELL FROM
Promised Land. The same God who continues to reveal to the prophets and MIDDLE AGES
THEMORGAN.ORGAN
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Kings of Israel. Hence, during the period of their captivity, they were longing for a Messiah. A Messiah from their
mindset is a warrior with a sword who will liberate them for their enemies. They are expecting that the God of Moses
and Abraham would liberate them from their enemies.
This is the departure point for Christians and Muslims alike. The God of the Christians is very far from the people
as with the Muslims. While the Jews believe that God is with them accompanying them in their journey, the God of
the Christians is an idea, a Transcendent God, Omnipotent? Where do the Christians get these concepts? Christianity
was greatly influenced by the Greco-Roman culture since it became the official religion during the time of Emperor
Constantine in the 4th century C.E. Moreover, the prevailing cosmology about the Universe mainly by the Greek
philosophers hinted the idea of heaven and hell. The cosmology that the world is flat and fix and it is the center of the
Universe was influenced by Plato’s two worlds (the World of Ideas and World of Matter). The picture above is a classic
painting of this belief. The lower part depicts the souls suffering from hell while heaven is above the world with the
souls and angels rejoicing. These two concepts are not mentioned by the Jews. When Moses received the Ten
Commandments, Yahweh was not in heaven. He was in Mt. Sinai.
Sin and Salvation
According to Joseph Campbell, “…in the beginning, God was simply the most powerful god among many. He was just
a local tribal god. And in the sixth century BCE, when the Jews where exiled to Babylon, the notion of the word Savior
started…” (Campbell, 1988). The Savior that they were expecting is the Messiah. The Jewish helplessness in the hands
of their enemies enabled them to expect a Messiah who would liberate them. They are longing for a Messiah like King
David who defeated his enemies. In contrast, the Christian belief of a Messiah, is the one that will liberate them from
their personal sins not from their enemies. This is the reason why until today, the Jews do not believe in Jesus Christ
as their Messiah.
How about salvation? Is there a difference between salvation for the Jews and salvation for the Christians? The
difference in perspective of these two religions sprouted from their contextual experiences. All throughout history,
the Jews or Israelites or Hebrews were colonized by several nations. They were marginalized as a nation in fact they
were called “Wandering Jews” because they have no country of their own. They always look up to the time of Moses
where God was actively present. Every year the Jews celebrates their big feast which is the Passover feast to
commemorate their deliverance from Egypt by Moses as God’s representative. They also long for the prosperous years
during the time of King David so the restoration of the holy nation and the re-establishment of Jerusalem. God for
them is the supreme ruler. Kings ruled their nation as representatives. God gave them Kings to lead the nation in
which justice, equality, abundance and well-being reign. We Filipinos can identify with their experiences. We were
also colonized by the Spaniards, Japanese and Americans. We can feel the pain as we read books in history
how our ancestors suffered from the hands of our colonizers.
While the Jews talk about the physical and temporal salvation from their enemies, on the contrary, for Christians
the enemy is themselves. Sin is the real enemy. Hence salvation for the Christians is turning away from our sins in
order to be saved. It was Jesus Christ who is their Savior and Messiah. In our Filipino parlance, Jesus Christ brings
“Ginhawa.” The term was first used by a famous theologian Jose De Mesa to mean salvation. “Ginhawa” is actually
freeing us not only from personal sin but from structural sins like poverty, injustice, and inequality. Kaginhawahan –
should not only be experience in heaven but also here on earth.
For ordinary Filipinos Ginhawa is rice and fish on the table. For Christians Jesus
Christ is the “Ginhawa-bringer.”
Similar to Christianity, Islam also believes in heaven and hell. Like the Bible, the Quran teaches that people are
descendants of Adam and Eve and are imperfect sinners. However, the Qur’an also teaches that their god, Allah,
inspired sin in humankind (Quran 4:88; 7:16–18; 9:51; 14:4; 16:93; 35:8; 57:22; 74:31; 91:7–9). Muslims believe that
humans are sinners because Allah has willed it. They have no understanding similar to the Bible’s teaching that
humans, not God, caused sin through rebellion against God (Romans 5:12, 5:18–19).
Qur’an’s teachings regarding salvation are inconsistent. On the one hand, the Qur’an teaches that salvation is
based on purification by good deeds (Qur’an 7:6–9). A Muslim can become righteous through prayer, almsgiving,
fasting, and living according to the Qur’an. On the other hand, Qur’an also teaches that Allah has predetermined every
person’s destiny, and one’s righteous acts may or may not affect Allah’s decision (Qur’an 57:22). It teaches that
everyone, both the righteous and the unrighteous, will be led into hell by Allah, before the righteous will enter heaven
(Qur’an 19:67–72). Therefore no Muslim can know his or her eternal destiny in this life. Even Muhammad himself was
unsure of his salvation (Qur’an 31:34; 46:9).(https://answersingenesis.org/world-religions/islams-view-of-sin-
andsalvation/)

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 The table below summarizes the Abrahamic Religions’ belief in God, their idea of sin and salvation and the number
of followers each have. (Source:Wikipedia.com)
Table 1
Religion Judaism Christianity Islam
Projected adherents as 14 million (0.18 %) 2.3 billion (29 %) 1.9 billion (24 %)
of April, 2020 in millions
Common Ancestor Abraham Abraham Abraham
Belief in God (name of Monotheist Monotheist Monotheist
their God) Yahweh, Jehovah, Triune God (God the (Allah ) Allah says in the
Elohim, El Shaddai.. God Father, The Son and the Quran: "Remember Me,
said, “ I AM WHO I AM. Holy Spirit ) - As stated in and I will remember you.
You must tell them. The the Athanasian Creed, Be thankful, and do not
one who called I AM has the Father is uncreated, be ungrateful." He is
sent me to you. Tell the the Son is uncreated, and described with the most
Israelites that I, the Lord, the Holy Spirit is beautiful names. The
the God of their uncreated, and all three Loving, the Forgiving, the
ancestors, the god of are eternal without Highest, and many more.
Abraham, Isaac, and beginning. "The Father
Jacob has sent you to and the Son and the Holy
them. This is my name Spirit" are not names for
forever, this is what all different parts of God,
future generations are to but one name for God
call me.” (Exodus 3:14- because three persons
15) exist in God as one
entity.
Sacred book Pentateuch ( The Five The Bible (Old and New Qur’an
books of Moses) Testament)
Place of worship Synagogues Churches Mosques
Sin Man and woman is not All men and woman are Sin is a failure to do one’s
born in original sin. born in sin. religious duties as
Human beings are born outlined in the 5 Pillars of
free. faith.
Salvation Anyone, Jew or not may Salvation is secured by Man or woman earns
gain salvation through faith plus good works. his/her salvation; pays
commitment to one God for his/her own sins.
and moral living.

To date, the table reveals that Christianity is so far the largest adherents in terms of population, followed by Islam
and Judaism in that order. There are predictions that Islam would overtake Christianity for the next decades. In fact
Islam is currently considered as the world’s fastest growing religion in the world. One of the reasons is the higher birth
rate with 3.1 children per woman, Muslims have higher fertility levels than the world's overall population between
2010 and 2015. (www.wikipedia.com). Another reason could be their strict law in terms of marriages. Arranged
marriages are very common in Muslim societies even to very young children. They also practice concubines wherein a
husband can have more than one wife. In addition, when there are intermarriages with different faith, they see to it
that the spouse or husband should be converted to Islam. This is the most important compromise. Finally, the three
Abrahamic religions show us different paths towards one destiny. They are trying to prove that belief in God is primarily
based from own experience and context. They are not presenting us different kinds of God but only different faith-
expressions in showing their faith. There is only One God who creates everything. He could be Yahweh, God the Father,
Allah, The Force, Pure Energy, or Formless Entity. No doubt that divine power is the source of everything. Whatever
names they call their God, whatever their faith-expressions and religious beliefs, they influenced almost half of the
world’s population.

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 Judaism, Christianity & Islam: Towards Religious
Lesson 2
Dialogues

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

The lesson focuses on the principle of unity being proselytized by religions. If there is only one God, then there
is no reason for religions to compete with each other. If there is One Creator, then all creations including humans
have the same origin. It is imperative then that all religions should initiate a dialogue. An interreligious dialogue.

DISCUSSIONS
To begin with a happy note, it was just reported on GMA news, July 09, 2020 that our very own Bishop Cardinal
Antonio Tagle has an additional assignment in the Vatican. He was appointed as a member of the Vatican Council
for Inter-Religious Dialogue. What a coincidence. His additional mission is very relevant to the lesson at hand,
“Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Towards Religious dialogue. It is an irony that religion is conceived to bring unity
among the believers, but the contrary is true, religion became an exclusive and zealous organization ….” Campbell,
1988).

Family Tree

The picture reveals that indeed the three

religions belong to one family. Abraham has a
legitimate son from his wife Sarah. Ismael was the
son of Abraham from their maid. How did it
happen? It is interesting to know that it was
Sarah, the wife of Abraham who gave permission
to her maid to sleep with her husband, Abraham.
She was afraid that in her late age she cannot
bear a child of her own. The offspring of Abraham
and his maid was Ismael, whom the Muslims
traced their lineage. Ismael was the half-brother
of Isaac, the latter being the direct descendant of

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the Jews and Christians alike. It should be noted that in the Bible, the generations was mentioned in the Gospel of
Luke 3:23-31.(See picture at the side). Dr. Paul Dejillas, the source of the picture vividly enumerated the important
names from David to Jesus Christ. If you noticed it seems that the bible is bias since most of the names mentioned
are men. We have to understand that there was no gender sensitivity during those times. Historically, the three
religions at any point have their share of the discrimination for women. It is more of cultural and religious beliefs.
Even today, the practice is still observable particularly for Muslims.
Towards the Spirit of dialogue
Just like a family, communication is very important to thresh out differences and appreciate the uniqueness of
its member. The post pandemic social and religious world hopefully could usher the spirit of understanding and
openness towards each other. It can be remembered that all throughout history nations against nation waged wars
for the sake of religion. Within Christianity itself, religious wars between Catholics and Protestants had happened
in Europe. Among Muslims, Sunnis and Shiite can’t agree on some political and religious succession. The rivalry
climaxed during the regime of Saddam Hussein. For Judaism, we should remember how Hitler massacred millions
of Jews during holocaust. We have seen enough. It is necessary that we set on the table and talk.
The proponents of Creation Spirituality observed that all religions are founded by men so they venerate their
founder and stagnate. It is important that the three Abrahamic religions should learn from creation spirituality.
This kind of spirituality departs from anthropocentric religions which rallied among their founders. For creation
spirituality, all creations are equal and should be respected.
There are already efforts on the ground initiated by local communities in terms of having a DIALOGUE. For
example in Mindanao, there are already Christian-Muslim organizations that calls for unity which were organized
during the height of wars in 1970’s up to the present. I have also attended numerous religious summits attended
by Muslims, Buddhists, different Christian sects, discussing about religious unity. Fr. Lode Wostyn, CICM laid down
the “principles of dialogue,” a guidelines on how to go about this process. Although his perspective is the dialogue
between Christians, this could be useful and applicable in our interaction with different religious groups.
Principles of Dialogue
1. Dialogue begins when people meet each other.
2. Dialogue depends upon mutual understanding and mutual trust.
3. Dialogue makes it possible to share in service to the community.
4. Dialogue becomes the medium of authentic witness.
Three Phases of Dialogue
1. We unlearn more disinformation about each other and begin to know each other as we truly are.
2. We begin to discern values in our partner’s tradition and wish to appreciate them into our own tradition.
3. Together we begin to explore new areas of reality, meaning and truth of which neither of us had even been
aware of.
Ground Rules of Dialogue
1. The primary purpose of dialogue is to learn e.g. to change and to grow in the perception of reality, and then
to act accordingly.
2. Dialogue must be a two-sided project: Intra-religion and Inter-religion. The former is a dialogue within each
religion itself and the latter between different religions.
3. Each participants must come to the dialogue with complete honesty and sincerity.
4. We must not compare ideals with our partner’s practice.
5. All participants must define themselves: conversely, the interpreted must be able to recognize themselves in
the interpretation of others.
6. All participants must come with no hard and fast assumptions as to points of disagreement. Dialogue can take
place only among equals.
7. Dialogue can take place only on the basis of mutual trust.
8. A person entering into the dialogue must be at least minimally self-critical of both himself and his own
tradition.
9. Each participant must attempt to experience the partner’s tradition from within.

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 ACTIVITIES
Acrostic
How are you now? Are you ready to continue? Now that you understand that religions are teaching us
different paths towards the same destiny, different religious expressions but the same God, your task now is to
make and ACROSTIC POEM using the word DIALOGUE depicting the efforts of these religions to reach out to each
other.
-D-
-I-
-A-
-L-
-O-
-G-
-U-
-E-
Critical Thinking Questions:
1. Based from the activity, what is/are your realizations?
2. Why should there be a need for religions to unite?
3. If you are going to choose a religion, which one will you choose and why?

ASSESSMENT

Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer and write it in the space provided.
____1. The half-brother of Ismael whom the Christians trace their lineage.
a. Isaac b. Esau c. Ismael d. Joseph
____2. Dr . Paul Dejillas traces the genealogy from David to Jesus Christ as shown in the picture. One of them was
the father of Jesus. Who was he?
a. Jacob b. Levi c. Judah d. Joseph
___ 3. He was the son of Abraham from his maid whom the Muslims recognize as their direct descendant.
a. Isaac b. Esau c. Ismael d. Jacob
___ 4. The effort done by leaders from different religion to enter into a dialogue for a common understanding and respect.
a. inter-religious dialogue b. intra-religious dialogue c. secular dialogue d. religious dialogue
___ 5. It’s the same as the effort or initiative by religious leaders to enter into a dialogue between sects and denominations
within a particular religion.
a. inter-religious dialogue b. intra-religious dialogue c. secular dialogue d. religious dialogue
___ 6. The Ten Commandments is for Judaism while ____________ is for Islam.
a. Five Pillars b. Five books of Moses c. Ten Commandments d. Bible
___ 7. Which principle of dialogue expresses humility and respect?
a. Dialogue begins when people meet each other.
b. Dialogue depends upon mutual understanding and mutual trust.
c. Dialogue makes it possible to share in service to the community.
d. Dialogue becomes the medium of authentic witness.
___ 8. The kind of spirituality which considers all creation as equal. It could be the unifying factors for all religions. What
spirituality is this?
a. Dominican Spirituality b. Creation Spirituality c. Vincentian Spirituality d. Franciscan Spirituality
___ 9. The God of Islam is Allah while the God for the Christians is ______.
a. Yahweh b. Jesus c. Triune God Christ d. Jehovah
___10. The three religions namely; Judaism, Christianity and Islam traced their beginnings from Asia then spread all over
Europe? What is the popular term for these religion today?
a. Asian religions b. Western religions c. Eastern religions d. Abrahamic reli