Guest: Sheikh Igsaan Taliep - Muslim Judicial Council
Guest: Reverend PP Molehe - He pastors Uniting Reformed Church in Middleburg for 12 years now. He is also a Theology lecturer.
Guest: Rabbi Naftali Silver - Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Cape Town
This past week marked major holidays for three different religions across the world — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For the second year in a row Ramadan, Passover and Easter Sunday occurred during the same weekend. Typically, this event happens three times a century or once every 33 years.
Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, Passover celebrates freedom and liberation from slavery in Egypt, and Ramadan is a commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation. All three holidays are observed differently, which opens up a conversation and dialogue.
Questions: We will talk about the intersectionality of the three Abrahamic faiths and ask, "Why are they divided, and yet they all claim Abraham as their father?" How do they differ from one another?
All three of these religions trace their lineage to Abraham, the ''father of the Jews'' whose story is recorded in Genesis, the first book of the Torah. Because of this and the similarities among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three are often called Abrahamic religions. Many of the stories that Jews believe in are also important to Christianity and Islam as well because of their common heritage. These stories include:
Monotheism
In addition to ancestry, one of the central tenets that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a belief in is monotheism, the belief in one god. In Judaism, this god is called Yahweh, meaning ''I am.'' In Christianity, this god is just called God. In Islam, this god is called Allah, the Arabic word for ''god.'' Most people use ''God'' interchangeably for all three religions. In both Judaism and Islam, God is singular. In Christianity, many people believe that God is a trinity, or three-in-one: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Prophets & Beliefs
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all teach that there were prophets who were messengers of God. Prophets played a key role in spreading the messages of these religions to more people as well as receiving messages from God. Judaism has many prophets, including:
Although Christians view these prophets as important figures, they believe that Jesus of Nazareth surpasses them all. In Christianity, Jesus is the messiah who was sent to save God's people. Jesus was a prophet, a miracle worker, a human, a messiah, and the son of God. Most Christians believe that Jesus was crucified to save the world from sin, then rose from the dead to conquer death. Christianity was largely built on Judaism, as Jesus himself was Jewish, but many of the later Christian teachings departed from Jewish beliefs. These especially include belief in heaven and hell, belief in the trinity, belief in original sin (that humans are flawed from birth), and belief in Jesus as the messiah who redeemed the world.
Islam builds on many of the Jewish beliefs while incorporating some of the Christian beliefs as well. The Jewish prophets are considered prophets in Islam; in addition, Jesus is considered a prophet in Islam, though he is not considered divine. Islam teaches that the final prophet, called the ''seal of the prophets,'' was the Prophet Muhammad. Most Muslims believe that the stories of Judaism and Christianity—including those of Jesus, his followers, and Mary—really happened but that the texts were written for religious purposes and misinterpreted some of the facts, such as Jesus's divinity.
While all three share some beliefs about the ancestor Abraham, they also have various interpretations of the texts that are written about him. As an illustration, God assures Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 that he would be "a great nation," "a blessing," and that "in him all the families of the earth will be blessed." The "blessing" will be wrought through Abraham's offspring, the Jews, according to the Jewish interpretation of the verse. For Christians, Abraham is the ancestor of both Jesus and everyone who follows him. Islam's interpretation of this verse holds that God designates Abraham as a leader of humanity, or an imam, and that Abraham himself is the conduit through whom the "blessing" is bestowed.
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By SAfmGuest: Sheikh Igsaan Taliep - Muslim Judicial Council
Guest: Reverend PP Molehe - He pastors Uniting Reformed Church in Middleburg for 12 years now. He is also a Theology lecturer.
Guest: Rabbi Naftali Silver - Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Cape Town
This past week marked major holidays for three different religions across the world — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For the second year in a row Ramadan, Passover and Easter Sunday occurred during the same weekend. Typically, this event happens three times a century or once every 33 years.
Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, Passover celebrates freedom and liberation from slavery in Egypt, and Ramadan is a commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation. All three holidays are observed differently, which opens up a conversation and dialogue.
Questions: We will talk about the intersectionality of the three Abrahamic faiths and ask, "Why are they divided, and yet they all claim Abraham as their father?" How do they differ from one another?
All three of these religions trace their lineage to Abraham, the ''father of the Jews'' whose story is recorded in Genesis, the first book of the Torah. Because of this and the similarities among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three are often called Abrahamic religions. Many of the stories that Jews believe in are also important to Christianity and Islam as well because of their common heritage. These stories include:
Monotheism
In addition to ancestry, one of the central tenets that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a belief in is monotheism, the belief in one god. In Judaism, this god is called Yahweh, meaning ''I am.'' In Christianity, this god is just called God. In Islam, this god is called Allah, the Arabic word for ''god.'' Most people use ''God'' interchangeably for all three religions. In both Judaism and Islam, God is singular. In Christianity, many people believe that God is a trinity, or three-in-one: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Prophets & Beliefs
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all teach that there were prophets who were messengers of God. Prophets played a key role in spreading the messages of these religions to more people as well as receiving messages from God. Judaism has many prophets, including:
Although Christians view these prophets as important figures, they believe that Jesus of Nazareth surpasses them all. In Christianity, Jesus is the messiah who was sent to save God's people. Jesus was a prophet, a miracle worker, a human, a messiah, and the son of God. Most Christians believe that Jesus was crucified to save the world from sin, then rose from the dead to conquer death. Christianity was largely built on Judaism, as Jesus himself was Jewish, but many of the later Christian teachings departed from Jewish beliefs. These especially include belief in heaven and hell, belief in the trinity, belief in original sin (that humans are flawed from birth), and belief in Jesus as the messiah who redeemed the world.
Islam builds on many of the Jewish beliefs while incorporating some of the Christian beliefs as well. The Jewish prophets are considered prophets in Islam; in addition, Jesus is considered a prophet in Islam, though he is not considered divine. Islam teaches that the final prophet, called the ''seal of the prophets,'' was the Prophet Muhammad. Most Muslims believe that the stories of Judaism and Christianity—including those of Jesus, his followers, and Mary—really happened but that the texts were written for religious purposes and misinterpreted some of the facts, such as Jesus's divinity.
While all three share some beliefs about the ancestor Abraham, they also have various interpretations of the texts that are written about him. As an illustration, God assures Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 that he would be "a great nation," "a blessing," and that "in him all the families of the earth will be blessed." The "blessing" will be wrought through Abraham's offspring, the Jews, according to the Jewish interpretation of the verse. For Christians, Abraham is the ancestor of both Jesus and everyone who follows him. Islam's interpretation of this verse holds that God designates Abraham as a leader of humanity, or an imam, and that Abraham himself is the conduit through whom the "blessing" is bestowed.