Judaism
The Hebrews were the first people to develop the concept of monotheism, or a belief in one god, around 2000 BCE, in the Mesopotamian city of Ur. The foundation of Judaism is the Torah, which includes the scriptures of the Old Testament of the Bible, which are a set of documents that tell the stories of the founders and early followers of Judaism, and also explains their beliefs. The Torah is believed to have been written by Hebrew leaders over several centuries, beginning in the tenth century BCE, when the Hebrews lived in Palestine.
Judaism involved an abstract concept of God as being limitless, yet also loving and compassionate toward his people, based on the condition that hey obeyed the Ten Commandments, a set of rules that guided relationships both between people and between people and God. Judaism had a huge influence on the development of both Christianity during this period, and later, in the 7th century, on Islam.
Judaism involved an abstract concept of God as being limitless, yet also loving and compassionate toward his people, based on the condition that hey obeyed the Ten Commandments, a set of rules that guided relationships both between people and between people and God. Judaism had a huge influence on the development of both Christianity during this period, and later, in the 7th century, on Islam.
Christianity
The founder of Christianity was Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, in Judea, at the beginning of the first century. At the time, Judea was a providence of the Roman Empire. Jesus was raised according to Judaism. The apostles, were a group of twelve men who were Jesus' original disciples. Jewish scholars and priests strongly opposed and even feared Jesus because of his interest in the common people and his criticisms of established Jewish society. They viewed him as a threat to their authority. Therefore, Jesus was arrested and executed by Roman officials. After his death, the apostles continued to spread Jesus' teachings and the Christian religion. They wrote and gathered the scriptures that form the New Testament of the Christian Bible, which also includes the Old Testament of the Jews.
Although Christianity grew steadily throughout the Roman Empire, it continued to create conflicts with the Roman authorities. Christianity was not legal in the Roman Empire and Christians were persecuted and often executed. However, in 313 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and established a new capital in the eastern city of Byzantium, which was later renamed Constantinople. Constantine viewed Christianity as the key to solidifying his power in the empire. Christianity therefore continued to expand, west and north from Rome, as well as east from Constantinople. Christianity would later dominate European culture and politics and eventually become the religion with the most followers in the world.
Although Christianity grew steadily throughout the Roman Empire, it continued to create conflicts with the Roman authorities. Christianity was not legal in the Roman Empire and Christians were persecuted and often executed. However, in 313 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and established a new capital in the eastern city of Byzantium, which was later renamed Constantinople. Constantine viewed Christianity as the key to solidifying his power in the empire. Christianity therefore continued to expand, west and north from Rome, as well as east from Constantinople. Christianity would later dominate European culture and politics and eventually become the religion with the most followers in the world.
Islam
Islam emerged in the Arabian Peninsula, just east of Egypt and across the Red Sea, among the Bedouins, nomads who controlled the caravan routes across the vast Arabian desert. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina were trade centers for the caravans and formed links along the trade route that extended from the Mediterranean Sean to eastern China. Mecca, was also a religious center. Many people made pilgrimages to the city to vista a polytheistic temple called the Ka'aba.
Islam was founded in Mecca by Muhammad, who had been born in 570 A.D. He became extremely dissatisfied with the materialistic and polytheistic life of Mecca. At the age of 40, he went up to the mountains in Mecca There he stayed in prayer, solitude, and meditation for six weeks. During this time he was said to be visited by the archangel Gabriel, who conveyed to him, in the form of a recitation, revelations from Allah from Allah (the Arabic word fro "lord"), the one true God. These recitations, which Muhammad recited to others, became the Qur'an. The Qur'an contains the fundamental beliefs of Islam, expressed in the Five Pillars. It is one of the great works of medieval literature and is written in Foosha, the official dialect of the Arabic language shared by all Muslims.
Islam was founded in Mecca by Muhammad, who had been born in 570 A.D. He became extremely dissatisfied with the materialistic and polytheistic life of Mecca. At the age of 40, he went up to the mountains in Mecca There he stayed in prayer, solitude, and meditation for six weeks. During this time he was said to be visited by the archangel Gabriel, who conveyed to him, in the form of a recitation, revelations from Allah from Allah (the Arabic word fro "lord"), the one true God. These recitations, which Muhammad recited to others, became the Qur'an. The Qur'an contains the fundamental beliefs of Islam, expressed in the Five Pillars. It is one of the great works of medieval literature and is written in Foosha, the official dialect of the Arabic language shared by all Muslims.
Buddhism
Siddhartha, was the privileged son of a Hindu prince who lived during the sixth century BCE. While still a young man, he became dissatisfied with Hinduism because it offered him no answers to the meaning of life. He left home to become an ascetic, or a person who led spiritual life of self-discipline and disregard for material things. However, Siddhartha soon came to reject extreme asceticism and found his own way to salvation. It was he who began Buddhism, in the Ganges River area of India. Siddhartha, who later became known as the Buddha, meaning the "Enlightened One," achieved his own enlightenment while sitting under a tree. The revelations that came to him then form the basic tenets of Buddhism:
The Four Noble Truths
The Eightfold Pat to Enlightenment
The ultimate goal of Buddhism is for a person to follow the path to nirvana, the state of contentment that is achieved with the unification of the person's soul with the universal spirit. The eight steps of the path are taken one by one in succession, being with a change in one's thoughts and intentions, followed by changes in lifestyle and actions, all of which lead to higher level of thought through the practice of meditation.
The Four Noble Truths
- All of life is suffering
- Suffering is caused by desires and cravings for things that do not bring satisfaction
- Suffering is cured by removing desires
- Desire is eliminated by following the Eightfold Path of conduct, which is the middle way between worldly pursuits and extreme asceticism
The Eightfold Pat to Enlightenment
The ultimate goal of Buddhism is for a person to follow the path to nirvana, the state of contentment that is achieved with the unification of the person's soul with the universal spirit. The eight steps of the path are taken one by one in succession, being with a change in one's thoughts and intentions, followed by changes in lifestyle and actions, all of which lead to higher level of thought through the practice of meditation.
Hinduism
Hinduism is based on the eternal existence of a universal spirit that guides all forms of life on Earth. The atman, a part of this spirit, is trapped within people and other living things.
Reincarnation - When one person dies, his or her atman is reborn in a different body. Reincarnation has no beginning or end, being part of the universal spirit that encompasses all life.
Dharma - Can be loosely translated as "virtues" or "duties." A person's status in the caste system determines what virtues that person has and thus what cuties that person must fulfill.
Karma - Whether or not a person fulfills his or her dharma in one life governs what happens in his or her next life.
The universal spirit is represented by Brahman, a god that has countless forms and unites them all. Two of Brahman's major forms are the gods Vishnu, the Creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer. Because of its principle of a universal spirit and its different manifestations as gods, it is difficult to categorize Hinduism as being either polytheistic or monotheistic.
Reincarnation - When one person dies, his or her atman is reborn in a different body. Reincarnation has no beginning or end, being part of the universal spirit that encompasses all life.
Dharma - Can be loosely translated as "virtues" or "duties." A person's status in the caste system determines what virtues that person has and thus what cuties that person must fulfill.
Karma - Whether or not a person fulfills his or her dharma in one life governs what happens in his or her next life.
The universal spirit is represented by Brahman, a god that has countless forms and unites them all. Two of Brahman's major forms are the gods Vishnu, the Creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer. Because of its principle of a universal spirit and its different manifestations as gods, it is difficult to categorize Hinduism as being either polytheistic or monotheistic.