Judaism

Judaism

Origins

-          Judaism is one of the three Prophetic Monotheistic religions in the world- the other two are Christianity and Islam

-          It is prophetic as there were numerous prophets who predicted the coming of a messiah, Monotheistic as they believe in one god (mono) and it theology (belief/study of God)

History

-          Jews are an ancient people of around 3000 years old, their history is told in the bible and is traced back to Abraham of around 1900 BC (before common era/BCE)

-          The Jews have been known as Jews, Israelites and Hebrews. Jesus was a Jew, however, Jews accept Jesus as a wise man, but not the chosen messiah as Christians believe, and hence Judaism predates and heavily influences Christianity, but is not part of it.

Abraham:

-          Abraham is one of the first recorded leaders of the Hebrews in the Bible. He was a wealthy man who was called by God to leave his land and move from Ur to Canaan, or Israel as it called today.

-          Abraham heard the call of the Lord to stop believing in the pagan Gods (like God of wind, God of mountain etc.) and he followed God’s request and lead his people Mesopotamia to Canaan. This journey is recorded in the book of Genesis. We can map his journey here:

http://www.biblemap.org/#Haran

Genesis:

Day 1: Day/Night

Day 2: Waters/Earth

Day 3: Plants

Day 4: Light/Dark

Day 5: Fish/Birds/Animals

Day 6: Man

Day 7: Relax

1.       Who is Abraham?

According to Jewish tradition, ‘Abram’ was in Ur, Babylonia 1800 BCE. From a young age, he questioned the beliefs of his people and sought to discover the truth about religion.

2.       What did he believe? How was it different to the people of the time?

He believed that the entire universe was the work of one God and that there was only one God. The people at the time believed there were many Gods that represented places and objects e.g. The God of Water.

3.       What do you think a covenant is, what covenant did God make with Abraham?

A covenant is a pledge, pact, contract and/or agreement, and God made one with Abraham if his people who hearken to God: to make him the father of a great nation and the father of may others, to curse and bless those who did so to him and to give land to his descendants (Israel)

4.       What sacrifice was Abraham requested to make? Why did God ask this of him?

He was asked to sacrifice his son, God asked this so he could test his loyalty to him.

5.       Search the site for the word Patriarchs? What does this mean?...

The Patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who are the spiritual and physical founders of Judaism and their descendants are the Jewish people. A patriarch is man or father who rules a family, clan or nation.