Monotheism
Many societies around the world were founded upon the premises of religious belief. In this course we have read and studied several texts that directly address religion and its relevance to the world today. Three major religions that we have focused on in class are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. These religions have many differences, but they also share quite a few similarities. The most evident parallel between each of these religions is the practice of monotheism. The belief in one God is what separates Christianity, Judaism and Islam from many of the other religions that either believe in many gods or do not believe in any god at all, such as Taoism. Several of the texts we have read for this class address the notion of monotheism and its importance to all three of these religions that dominate our global population today.
Having faith in a higher form of being or existence is definitely not an exclusive concept, but the belief in an almighty, powerful and omnipresent God is something that pertains mainly to the religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is what links these three religions together. Monotheism, as opposed to polytheism and atheism, is the belief that there is only one supreme God and can be defined as "the religious conception of a single and transcendent God." Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, as I have previously mentioned, are the principle monotheistic religions in the modern world and are based upon the idea that there is only one God, the Creator of the universe and all that exists.
Throughout this course, both this semester and last semester, we have read parts of the Holy Bible and the Quran. The Old Testament of the Bible is the holy text for Christianity and for Judaism as well, and the Quran is the sacred book for the religion of Islam. These religious texts speak of one God who is superior to all that exists. In the Islamic religion, Allah is their God. Allah is the High God of the Arabian pantheon who was...
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