One True God - Abrahamic Religions

Abrahamic Religions

The major source of monotheism in the modern Western World is the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, the scripture of Judaism. The text of the Bible states that Judaism began with divine revelations from "God most high" to Abraham and to the people of Israel at mount Sinai . The understanding of the transmitters of the biblical text was that the Bible uniformly presents one God as creator of the world and the only power controlling history. In their understanding, references to other "gods" are to non-existent entities or angelic servants of God, to whom humans mistakenly ascribe reality and power. e.g. Babylonian Talmud, Megilla 7b-17a.

Early Christianity, originally one of many sects within Judaism, emerged as a distinctive faith around the beginning of the second century when some believe followers of Christ refused to join the Bar Kokhba revolt. There are strong indications that the difference between the new testament that Christians believe and Jewish covenant is one of spiritual Life within the believer rather than ones of religious traditional difference or historic separation. Christ's leaving of the physical temple in Jerusalem and to establishing of God's dwelling in the spirit of man is an example of this. Most Jews believe that Jehovah's presence dwelt in the physical temple whereas most Christians maintain that Christ (the second of the Holy Trinity) makes his dwelling in believers through the Holy Spirit (the third of the Holy Trinity). Christianity's form of monotheism was distinctive from that of Judaism in that there was a concept that the Godhead was revealed to be three "persons" known today as the Holy Trinity. Islam emerged in the 7th century CE as a reaction to both Christianity and Judaism, drawing from thematic elements of Gnosticism and stating that the Christian and Jewish scriptures were corrupted, but with a version of monotheism based on that of Judaism. Jewish and Islamic scholars each recognize the other faith as being pure monotheists as opposed to the rest of the world's religions having corrupt monotheism or polytheism. Since they share a common theology, their differences are in that Judaism sees Islam as a closely related Gentile monotheistic faith, and Islam sees Judaism as incomplete due to a lack of recognition of Jesus as the messiah and the prophethood of Muhammad.

As they traditionally profess a concept of monotheism with a singular person as God, Judaism and Islam reject the Christian idea of monotheism. Judaism uses the term Shituf to refer to ways of worshiping God not believed to be monotheistic. Muslims deny the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, considering it to be polytheism.