Question for all those theologists out there!?

Question

I am a recent Roman Catholic convert. Before I was an athiest but a person interested in religion and Faith although I never practiced or really believed in the existance of a Deity! Well but to my question during my time as an Athiest I always believed that Chatolics (Christians), Jewish, and Muslims all have the same God the Father! Only with different names! Like the Jewish Faith Called YHVW (I think not 100% sure you tell me), Muslims is Allah, and well Chatolic (Christians) have God the Father also called YHVW! Only difference to me was that they, I don't know if you can say "evolved" into what they are now! Not 100% sure but I think all of them have Abraham as a common Prophet or as an origin to their Faith, no!? Well to my question can you say that all three religions believe in the same God just different names or manifestations?

Well Chucky sorta got me to where I wanted to go yes Ishmael and Isaac are the fathers of Arabs and Israelis, so it makes them followers of Abrahams God! Because well Abraham is Ishmael and Isaac father respectfully. So it can't make either of them non-believers or "Infidels" as the Islam religion puts it! Can it?

Answer 1

Yes, you can make that assumption. However, if you ask a layperson of any of these particular religions whether they have the same God, they will invariably deny that statement. Coming from the outside in, and having done some comparative studies like it seems you have, it is probable that you have a broader and more concise vision of these religious traditions than those who were born into them. These people rarely take the time to really study or analyze their religion. The thing to remember is this; that religion is based on faith and if you do come into a particular religion, go into it with an open mind and an open heart. No religious tradition is without contradiction or controversy. Try to concentrate on the basic message. Love one another. Do no harm. Don't let the details get in the way of the message.
Good luck.

Answer 2

While Abraham is in fact the father of both Arabs and Israelis (through Ishmael and Isaac, respectively), the God that Jews, Christians and Muslims serve/worship really can't be the same. If He is, then He is schizophrenic, since Muslims believe that God (Allah) wants them to eradicate the Jews ("infidels"), whereas Jews and many Christians believe that God (Yahweh) specifically chose to bless the Jewish people. If it is the same God, then He would be pretty sadistic in telling one group of followers to destroy another group.

Answer 3

Judaism, Christianity and Islam all consider Abraham their patriarch.

A story about the late Pope John Paul II, not sure if it is possible to prove exactly, states that he had a childhood friend who was Jewish. One day the Jewish friend was being insulted for his religion, among other things. The future Pope came to his defense by saying "Aren't we all children of the same God?"

Answer 4

Yes & No. Chrisitans believe in the deity of Christ. Muslims and traditonal Jews do not believe in the deity of Christ. Depending on who you listen too, the Muslim God Allah may or may not be the same as the Jewish GOD. Pls remeber this : Judisam & Islam and all other world religions are an example of Man reaching up to God. Christanity is the only religion/example of God reaching down to man.

Answer 5

No.
If three different people claimed to know you, even wrote books about you, but you knew only two of them, which really know you?
The Jews and the Christians.
God chose to go through Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, then etc. through THAT line, NOT through Ishmael.

Answer 6

Abraham is the common denominator.
However, Abraham's God was Jehovah, not Allah.
The Catholic religion has done alot over the centuries to hide that name and make it fall into non-use.
If they think it is really God's name, they have a funny way of showing it.

Answer 7

While there are many world religions, there are only three that call for worship of one God: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. All of the other major religions, from Hinduism to Buddhism to Shintoism, don't really deal with the issues of salvation as we understand it, of heaven and hell. For instance, Buddhism is really more of a philosophy than a religion, primarily concerned with reaching "enlightenment". While Hinduism worships seemingly infinite Gods, and looks at life as a kind of wheel, where we return, time and time again to "try and get it right". If we reach the summit of perfection, we become a "Brahma bull". Conversely, if a man fails to live as he ought, he can expect humiliation in the next life, perhaps returning as a woman (one doubts there are many feminist converts to Hinduism). This "try and try again" idea of life doesn't fit very well with St. Paul's letter to the Hebrews (ch. 9, v. 27): "It is appointed for man to die once and then face THE judgment". Sorry Shirley MacLaine.

As for Judaism, we as Christians believe in the same God and the same revelation they do, plus the New Testament. As the Holy Father once pointed out, Christians are all "spiritual Semites" (spiritually united with the Jews and the faith of Abraham). Basically, Christians are what you could call "Messianic Jews", that is, we are "adopted" Jews who believe Jesus was the long awaited Jewish Messiah…the Savior. We have been grafted into the family tree. Of course, our faith has grown considerably from there as well. While we have significant theological differences with traditional Judaism (primarily revolving around Christ), our understanding of morality is of the same basic cloth.

We should never forget our roots. We should never forget that Jesus was a Jew (who attended synagogue), as were his mother and adoptive father, all the apostles and even the first pope (Peter). Almost all of the first "believers" were Jews, and they all attended synagogue as well. While it is true that some Jews called for His execution (particularly those threatened by Jesus as a potential leader who threatened their hold on power) , the Catechism reminds us that every human who has ever lived bears responsibility for his crucifixion. We are all responsible.

As Christians, we believe that, in rejecting Jesus, most of the Jews rejected their own Messiah, as prophecy foretold (Isaiah 53:3-4, Hosea 11:4). As the apostle Paul points out in Romans 11, this is part of a mystery, wherein God used their lack of faith-response in order to bring the Gentiles (non-Jews) into His family. While there continue to be Jews who come to accept Jesus as the Jewish Messiah throughout history, we prayerfully hope for the day when the Jews will most fully come to accept Jesus and be "grafted back into the tree" (which St. Paul also writes about in Romans 11).

So that leaves us with Islam, the only other major monotheistic religion that deals with final salvation, heaven and hell. While we ought to greatly respect many aspects of Islam (believing in one God, a strong code of shared morality etc), I am very uncomfortable with those who have, with good intentions no doubt, tried to suggest that Islam is practically equivalent to Christianity, and that it is a very peaceful religion; certainly in the sense that Christianity understands "peace", at least. (Here, however, it is important to emphasize an important distinction between the religion of Islam and individual Muslims who may well reject what may be termed the more ancient expression of their faith.) There are some fundamental, irreconcilable differences and problems between Christianity and Islam, as the Church has pointed out since it became aware of this new religion of Muhammad (the 600's A.D.)

Answer 8

All three of those faiths stem from the God of Abraham. All three have adherents that will tell you it is not the same God.
However, all of their origins are in that middle-eastern Abrahamic deity.

Answer 9

Yes.

You face a difficulty of semantics. However, in all three religions, the deity believed in once gave its name to a certain prophet.

"I Am Who Am"

Or, as you abbreviate in referencing the original hebrew, "YHVH."

Ask a Jew, "Do you worship YHVH?" and, assuming they don't slap you for trying to profane HaShem, they will say Yes.

Ask a Christian, "Do you worship YHVH?" and, assuming they know their Bible, they will say Yes.

Ask a Muslim, "Do you worship YHVH?" and, though they might point out they call him Al-lah instead, they will say Yes.


So yes. They worship the same deity, just in different revelations and by different titles.

Answer 10

Yeah. Logically speaking, all of them trace their roots to Abraham (you're correct) and refer to the God of Abraham and the God they believe in. They just have different beliefs regarding more specific concepts.