The Origins of the Three Major Monotheistic Religions

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The Origins of the Three Major Monotheistic
Religions

• Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

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Judaism

• Founded approximately 5,000 years ago
• Abraham is the father of Judaism
• Father of the descendents of Judaism
• Didnt have children until age 75
• Was willing to sacrifice his first born son,
  Isaac to God
• Moved to Canaan, the Promised Land, and started
  the worship of one almighty God

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Abraham just before God allowed him to spare his
son Isaac
Image found at http//www.foothilltech.org/fpp/abr
aham.html
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Jacob

• One of Isaacs sons
• Jacobs twelve sons became the ancestors of the
  twelve tribes of Israel
• Twelve is a very important number in Judaism
• Received the name Israel from an angel
• Died at 147 years of age
• Buried at Canaan, The Promised Land

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Jacob once dreamed of a ladder that would reach
heaven
Image found at http//demo.lutherproductions.com/b
ibletutor/level1/program/start/people/jacob.htm
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Moses

• When Moses, a Hebrew, was a baby, he was put in a
  basket and sent down the Nile River
• He was found by the Pharaohs daughter and raised
  as an Egyptian
• At this time, Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians
• When Moses reached his late teens, he killed an
  Egyptian who mistreated a Jewish slave
• The Pharaoh spared his life, but banished him
  from Egypt
• He spends the next several decades in the exile
• God visited Moses in the form of a burning bush
  and told him to free the Jews from bondage

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Moses contd

• Moses returned to Egypt and demanded that the
  Pharaoh let his people go
• When the Pharaoh refused, Moses let loose the ten
  plagues on Egypt
• The tenth and most dreadful plague, the killing
  of every first born child convinced the Pharaoh
  to let the Jews go
• Moses leads over 600,000 Jews through the desert
• The Pharaoh changes his mind and decides to send
  his men to bring the Jews back

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Moses contd

• With the Egyptians in hot pursuit, Moses parts
  the Red Sea and the Jews are finally safe
• Years later, Moses is given the Ten Commandments
  by God
• These Commandments become the divine law in both
  Judaism and Christianity
• Moses dies on Mount Nebo at age 120
• Moses is perhaps the most important figure in all
  of Judaism

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Images of Moses
Images found at http//images.search.yahoo.com/sea
rch/images
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Christianity

• Began roughly 2,000 years ago with the birth of
  Jesus Christ (6 B.C.)
• Jesus was divinely conceived by the Virgin Mary
• Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in the
  presence of a great star
• The presence of this star made people believe
  that Jesus was the Messiah

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Christianity contd

• Jesus grew up in Nazareth and learned carpentry
  from his father, Joseph
• At age 12, Jesus preached in the Temple at
  Jerusalem
• At age 30, Jesus started his mission
• He began recruiting disciples to help him spread
  his word
• Performed miracles such as healing the sick and
  curing the blind

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A common representation of Jesus
Image found at http//images.search.yahoo.com/sear
ch/images
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Christianity contd

• Jesus built up quite a following during his
  3-year mission
• He preached love and goodwill towards all people,
  friend or enemy
• He also proclaimed to be the Son of God
• This greatly upset the Jewish High Priests in
  Jerusalem
• They thought Jesus was a blasphemer

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Christianity contd

• Jesus and his disciples went to Jerusalem around
  30 B.C.
• Jesus entered riding a donkey and the people laid
  palms at his feet
• The High Priests saw this as their chance to
  arrest Jesus
• One of Jesus disciples, Judas, betrayed Jesus
  and told the High Priests where he would be

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Christianity contd

• Jesus and his disciples had the Last Supper
  where Jesus of his upcoming demise
• After supper, he prayed in the woods
• Judas led a group of soldiers to arrest Jesus
• He was tried by Caiphas, the Jewish High Priest
  he was found guilty and sent to Pontius Pilate

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Christianity contd

• Pilate sentenced Jesus to be crucified
• When he died, it was been said the sky went
  black, an earthquake occurred, and a great storm
  shook the land
• Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and
  appeared to his disciples one last time
• Jesus disciples carried on his mission and
  helped make Christianity the worlds largest
  religion

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Images found at http//images.search.yahoo.com/sea
rch/images
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Islam

• One of the worlds newer religions, Islam was
  founded in during the 7th Century A.D.
• The founder of Islam was Muhammad
• God spoke to Muhammad near the city of Mecca and
  he recorded Gods words in the Koran
• When Muhammad spoke of what happened in his
  hometown, he was ostracized

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Islam contd

• Muhammad and his small band of followers fled to
  Medina
• There, he found more converts and decided to
  return to Mecca
• His pilgrimage from Medina to Mecca is known as
  the Hajj
• His return to Mecca led to the conversion of many
  to Islam
• Muhammad died in 632 A.D.

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Image of Muhammad
Map showing the distance between Mecca and Medina
Map found at http//www.cia.gov/cia/publications/f
actbook/geos/sa.html
Muhammad Image found at http//images.search.yahoo
.com/search/images/
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End of Presentation Presentation Created By
Mike Trapani