The Connection between the Monotheistic Traditions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam with Respect to Divine Revelations within the Traditions

In looking at the world, one would not be surprised to find a great variety of people with varying beliefs and cultural traditions according to the culture’s history and geographic location. But what might strike one as odd is a great similarity across most of those people as well: a belief in God. And not just any God, but a single God who has divine knowledge and power over humanity. Yet with these commonalities, the three traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each have a unique take on what they feel is the correct belief about God. But with so many commonalities, one might think the three traditions would be closer linked than they appear. Could these three faiths all have a common source beyond simply monotheistic beliefs, but rather a common belief in the same deity? For this paper, through the lens of divine revelation, I wish to research the connection between the three monotheistic traditions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism with respect to the identity of the Supreme Being (God, Allah, YHWH) and discover if these three identities are found in the same being.

Divine Revelation within Traditions

If we are to understand the connection between the three traditions, then we must first understand the lens through which we are looking. Divine revelation is understood be to an avenue in which God reveals God’s self, whether through supernatural means or in manners more directly related to humanity. By this, God can reveal God’s self in modes which are sometimes referred to as either horizontal or vertical. In his book Claiming Abraham, Michael Lodahl closely examines the traditions of Islam and Christianity (with Judaism as a reference point) in a side-by-side analysis of their beliefs and narratives. At one point, ...

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... different styles, and allows for flexibility of faith to occur. For just as God is equally revealed in different ways to different people, so too is God equally glorified in different ways by people who worship in their own unique way.

Works Cited

Hick, John. Disputed Questions in Theology and the Philosophy of Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993. Print.

Lodahl, Michael. Claiming Abraham. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2010. Print.

Timpe, Kevin. “Introduction to Neo-classical Theism.” Models of God and Alternative Ultimate Realities. Ed. Jeanine Diller and Asa Kasher. New York: Springer, 2013. 197-206. Print.

Mann, Mark Grear. “Religious Pluralism.” Philosophy of Religion. Ed. Thomas Jay Oord. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2003. Print.

Wainwright, William. “Monotheism”. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Sept 6, 2013. Web. Accessed 31 March, 2014.