by Brent Hale

Created on: February 05, 2011   Last Updated: February 07, 2011

The followers of the three Abrahamic faiths make up over half of the population of the world. While all three faiths have their differences, surprisingly, they are very similiar in their beliefs. These three religions, in order of their creation, are: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this article the three Abrahamic faiths will be presented and their similarities and differences discussed.

Judaism

Followers of Judaism, or the Jewish, study the Hebrew Tanakh as their spiritual text. The Jewish prophets are Moses and Abraham, and they consider themselves descendants of King David.  There are 14 million Jews in the world, spread throughout Israel, Europe and the United States.

Christianity

Followers of Christianity study the Jewish Bible, considered the Old Testament, along with the New Testament, which tells of the message of Jesus Christ. Christianity recognizes all of the same prophets of Judaism; however, their main prophet is Jesus, who is considered to be God incarnate. There are 2 billion Christians spread throughout the world. They are mainly concentrated in Europe and North and South America.

Islam

Followers of Islam, or Muslims, study the Qur'an, which is the word of God revealed through the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad is Islam's main prophet, however they do believe in some biblical prophets, including Jesus. There are 1.3 billion Muslims spread throughout the world. They are mainly concentrated in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Similarities

All three religions are strictly monotheistic. While Christianity believes in the Holy Triune, in which God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, they still consider God as one, complex being. All three religions consider God to be just, merciful and caring. Through God's grace and through prayer as means of communication with God, these religions believe we can become better people. Also, the three Abrahamic faiths believe that God has provided humans with the basic guidelines for living.

These three religions are all hopeful towards the future, no matter how bad the past has been, and they all state that evil and suffering cannot prevail. Each believes in a perfect paradise state, to which we can go after we die. In all these religions God communicates to people through revelations to chosen people, who are called prophets. 

Differences

Despite the many similarities between the Abrahamic faiths, there are some differences. For instance, Judaism denies that Jesus

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