Abrahamic religion

Abrahamic religions is a term used in the study of comparative religion to describe those religions deriving from a common ancient Semitic tradition and traced by their adherents to Abraham, a patriarch whose life is narrated in the Hebrew Bible, and who is also important in the New Testament, and the Qur'an. This forms a large group of related, largely monotheistic religions, generally held to include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and comprises about half of the world's religious adherents.

Worship

Worship, ceremonies, and religion-related customs differ substantially between the various Abrahamic religions. Among the few similarities are a seven-day cycle in which one day is nominally reserved for worship, prayer, or other religious activities; this custom is related to the Biblical story of Genesis, where God created the universe in six days, and rested in the seventh. Islam, which has Friday as a day for special congregational prayers, does not ascribe to the 'resting day' concept.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Originally, Judaism was a sacrifice-oriented religion, with a caste of priests who were responsible for accepting varying specific sacrifices at the Temple. With the destruction of the temple, Judaism realigned itself to remove sacrificial activities (removing the priesthood to a largely symbolic matter), and substituted formalized prayer rituals and services in its place. Christianity does not have any sacrificial rites as such, but its entire theology is based upon the concept of the sacrifice by God of his son Jesus so that his blood might atone for mankinds sins. The followers of Islam, Muslims, are supposed to pray five times daily (salat) towards the direction (qibla) of what they believe to be the first place of worship, the Kaaba in Mecca. They are also urged to undertake a pilgrimage, known as the Hajj, to Mecca at least once in one's life during which an animal will be killed to comemerate the moment when God (Allah) replaced Abraham's (Ibrahim) son with a sheep.

Related Topics:
Temple - Jesus - Islam - Salat - Qibla - Kaaba - Mecca - Pilgrimage - Hajj

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Judaism prescribes circumcision for males as a token symbol of inclusion in the faith. Islam recommends this practice as well as a form of cleanliness. Christianism replaced that custom by a baptism ceremony that varies according to the denomination, but generally includes immersion, aspersion or anointment with water. Notwithstanding the decision of the Early Church (Acts 15) that circumcision was not mandatory, it continues to be widely practiced by Christians in many countries.

Related Topics:
Circumcision - Baptism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~