Learn about the term People of the Book and how it relates to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Explore the similarities and differences of these three religions.
Updated: 11/21/2023
People of the Book | Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Table of Contents
- People of the Book
- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- Judaism vs. Christianity vs. Islam
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the differences between Christianity and Judaism?
Christianity began as a sect of Judaism, and Jesus was a Jewish teacher. However, there are many differences between Christianity and Judaism, which include Christian beliefs in heaven and hell, Jesus as a divine messiah and son of God, and original sin.
Who are called the People of the Book?
"People of the Book" refers to people in the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The term "People of the Book" originated in early Islam to refer to people who had similar belief backgrounds because they were all monotheistic and believed the Torah was sacred scripture.
Table of Contents
- People of the Book
- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- Judaism vs. Christianity vs. Islam
- Lesson Summary
Despite the tensions that the practitioners of the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have had over the past two millennia, the three religions share a common history. All three religions began with the ancient Israelites, a nomadic group of people who settled in Canaan and worshiped the god Yahweh. The Israelites were the group of people who created the religious tradition of Judaism, which began around the 10th century BCE. In the 1st century CE, a Jewish teacher named Jesus began the religious tradition that would become Christianity. Six centuries later in the early 7th century CE, an Arab man named Muhammad began the religious tradition of Islam.
What do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have in common? In addition to their shared history, all three religious traditions use the Torah—the first five books of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible—as sacred scripture. This is what has earned the practitioners who are part of of these three religions the term ''People of the Book.'' Although Christians and Muslims have sacred scriptures that they consider more authoritative than the Torah, the Torah and its stories form the basis for all three religions. Early Muslims coined the term ''People of the Book'' and used this to explain why they did not try to convert Jews and Christians—all three religions believed the same thing, just in different ways.
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All three of these religions trace their lineage to Abraham, the ''father of the Jews'' whose story is recorded in Genesis, the first book of the Torah. Because of this and the similarities among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three are often called Abrahamic religions. Many of the stories that Jews believe in are also important to Christianity and Islam as well because of their common heritage. These stories include:
- the creation in Garden of Eden,
- the Flood and Noah's Ark,
- and the Ten Commandments.
Monotheism
In addition to ancestry, one of the central tenets that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a belief in is monotheism, the belief in one god. In Judaism, this god is called Yahweh, meaning ''I am.'' In Christianity, this god is just called God. In Islam, this god is called Allah, the Arabic word for ''god.'' Most people use ''God'' interchangeably for all three religions. In both Judaism and Islam, God is singular. In Christianity, many people believe that God is a trinity, or three-in-one: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Prophets & Beliefs
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all teach that there were prophets who were messengers of God. Prophets played a key role in spreading the messages of these religions to more people as well as receiving messages from God. Judaism has many prophets, including:
- Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt and received the Ten Commandments from God;
- Elijah, who assisted the Israelite kings, worked miracles, and was taken up to the heavens in a fiery chariot;
- Isaiah, who wrote about Israel's conflicts and shortcomings during the 8th century BCE;
- and Ezekiel, who wrote about Israel's return from exile in the 6th century BCE.
Although Christians view these prophets as important figures, they believe that Jesus of Nazareth surpasses them all. In Christianity, Jesus is the messiah who was sent to save God's people. Jesus was a prophet, a miracle worker, a human, a messiah, and the son of God. Most Christians believe that Jesus was crucified to save the world from sin, then rose from the dead to conquer death. Christianity was largely built on Judaism, as Jesus himself was Jewish, but many of the later Christian teachings departed from Jewish beliefs. These especially include belief in heaven and hell, belief in the trinity, belief in original sin (that humans are flawed from birth), and belief in Jesus as the messiah who redeemed the world.
Islam builds on many of the Jewish beliefs while incorporating some of the Christian beliefs as well. The Jewish prophets are considered prophets in Islam; in addition, Jesus is considered a prophet in Islam, though he is not considered divine. Islam teaches that the final prophet, called the ''seal of the prophets,'' was the Prophet Muhammad. Most Muslims believe that the stories of Judaism and Christianity—including those of Jesus, his followers, and Mary—really happened but that the texts were written for religious purposes and misinterpreted some of the facts, such as Jesus's divinity.
Ethnicity & History
Jews trace their heritage back thousands of years to Abraham's second son, Isaac. According to the tradition, Abraham was old and did not think his wife could have a child, so he decided to have a child with his wife's handmaid. This child was named Ishmael. However, in the Torah, Yahweh told Abraham to have faith and blessed him with another son, Isaac, and Abraham sent Ishmael and his mother away. In Judaism, Isaac is the father of Jacob, also known as Israel, who became the father of the twelve sons who were the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. Ancient Jewish ethnicity was primarily Semitic, as the religion was based in the Sinai Peninsula region.
Christianity does not have a strong tie to history or ethnicity. When Christianity began, the earliest followers were Jewish but later followers joined who were Gentile, or non-Jewish. Because of Christianity's relationship with the Holy Roman Empire, the primary ethnicity of Christianity over the last millennium has been Caucasian. Islam, however, began and continues as a religion based in the Arab Peninsula. Muhammad was from an Arabic tribe, but there is debate over what the Arab ethnicity is or if it even exists, as "Arab" is often considered to be the same as Semitic. Today, the primary ethnicities of Muslims today are Arabic or Semitic as well as African, since early in Islamic history the tradition spread into the African continent. Unlike Jews, most Muslims trace their ancestry back to Ishmael, Abraham's first son. They believe he settled in the Arab Peninsula, which is where Muslim trace their cultural heritage.
Holidays
Despite their commonalities, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam do not share any holidays. Judaism has a wealth of holidays, including Passover (celebrating the escape from Egypt), Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), and Hanukkah (celebrating the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple). Christianity primarily consists of two holidays: Easter (celebrating the resurrection of Jesus) and Christmas (celebrating the birth of Jesus). The most important holiday in Islam is the month of Ramadan, which celebrates the revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad. The end of Ramadan is celebrated on Eid al-Fitr.
Major Books
The Torah, meaning ''law'' or ''teachings,'' is the primary sacred text for Judaism. The Torah contains the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The texts describe the journey of the Israelites from their beginnings into the ''Promised Land'' of Israel. While the Torah is an important text in Christianity, the New Testament surpasses it in importance. The New Testament contains the Gospels, which detail the life and teachings of Jesus, as well as various letters by early Christians that include the beliefs and practices of the tradition. Islam uses both the Torah and the New Testament. However, unlike the other ''People of the Book,'' the Qur'an is the primary sacred text in Islam. According to the tradition, the Qur'an is the final revelation of God, which was given to the Prophet Muhammad to write down. It includes stories of early Islam, Islamic beliefs, and even pre-Islamic religion, like stories of Jesus and Mary. Regardless of the tradition, all of these sacred texts focus on prayer, submission to God, charity, and non-violence.
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As Abrahamic religious traditions, the ''People of the Book'' have many similar belief systems. However, there are also plenty of differences among the traditions and their beliefs as well. The following chart summarizes many of these similarities and differences for easy comparison.
| Judaism | Christianity | Islam | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Origin | Around the 10th century BCE | 1st century CE | 7th century CE |
| Key Figure(s) | Abraham, Moses, other prophets | Jesus | Muhammad |
| Name of God | Yahweh | God | Allah |
| Primary Ethnicity | Semitic | Caucasian (after early Christianity) | Arabic/Semitic (depending on approach), African |
| Important Holiday(s) | Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah | Easter, Christmas | Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr |
| Sacred Text | Torah | New Testament | Qur'an |
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There are many differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three religions that are called the ''People of the Book.'' However, all three religions share three common traits:
- they all use the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, as sacred scripture;
- they all trace their lineage to Abraham, the ''father of the Jews'';
- and they are all monotheistic, meaning they believe in one god.
All of the religions have an emphasis on prophets, or messengers of God, as well. In Judaism, there are many messengers throughout the Torah who are important. In Christianity, these prophets are surpassed by Jesus, the messiah who is the son of God. In Islam, Jesus and earlier Jewish figures are considered prophets, though Jesus is not considered divine. Instead, the Prophet Muhammad is considered the ''seal of the prophets'' for Islam. While Judaism's primary sacred text is the Torah, Christianity's primary sacred text is the New Testament, which describes the life and teachings of Jesus and his followers. In Islam, the most sacred text is the Qur'an, which is the direct and final revelation from God to Muhammad.
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Video Transcript
World Religions
The religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - three of the world's most popular faiths - have engaged in centuries of bitterness, rivalry, and bloodshed while sharing many things in common. They are considered 'people of the Book' - a designation coming from the Islamic tradition denoting that the three religions share a common heritage and ultimately worship a common God.
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To the outsider giving a cursory glance, they do seem different - even dramatically so in their orientation and creeds. Yet, a summary investigation into their basic tenets reveals they have much in common. Let's examine these similarities in greater detail.
Judaism
First, let us look at the religion of Judaism, the religion of the Jewish people. It's not the largest, but certainly the oldest of the three traditions. The date of its founding is unknown - that's how old it is - and some believe it may be the world's oldest organized religious tradition. There are debates among historians about when exactly Judaism first emerged into known history, but it is believed to be during the Bronze Age. Many scholars believe it was between 2000 and 1800 BCE, with its main religious text being the Torah.
The Torah is a collection of the books of Moses and the stories of Abraham, Noah, and many other prophets and men of great renown that are so familiar to Christians and Muslims. Both Christianity and Islam view the Torah as sacred and part of the revelation of God to humankind.
What is more, Judaism teaches there is but one god, as well as angels, demons, and other supernatural forces at work in the world - all beliefs shared by Christians and Muslims. Judaism also teaches that humans need God due to humanity's sinful nature, a nature that starts at the very beginning of the species in the Garden of Eden - a story also shared by Christianity and Islam.
Moreover, in Judaism, God is the only source of forgiveness, as is the case in the other two faiths, and only those who follow the righteous path, those faithful to God and his laws, go to Heaven after death. Those who are not are believed to end up in a place of punishment - once again, a set of beliefs shared by the adherents of Islam and Christianity.
The places of worship in Judaism are known as synagogues and are sometimes commonly referred to as temples. Here, men and women often worship separately, and the synagogue maintains a cultural and political leadership in more conservative and traditional Jewish communities. This role is matched by churches in the Christian world and mosques in Islam.
Christianity
Christianity is the largest of the three faiths, with over 2 billion followers, and builds upon the traditions already established in Judaism. It originates out of the city of Jerusalem.
First and foremost, Christianity considers itself monotheistic, just as the other two, with a religion built upon the revelation of God to his creation. They believe the Torah to be the word of God. What is more, the central figure in Christianity, Jesus Christ, was a Jew whose name was Yeshua ben Yosef, or Joshua, son of Joseph. It was only later, when Christianity spread to the Greek-speaking world, that the name Yeshua became Iesous and found its way to the English-speaking world as Jesus.
As a Jew, this central figure in Christianity would have been well-versed in Judaic customs, laws, and stories from the Torah, and we can see from the teachings and stories of Jesus, compiled in what Christians call the Gospels and other books that make up the New Testament, that the basic elements of the Jewish faith remain intact, with some modifications.
The one major modification, that of Jesus being the Messiah (God incarnate), still builds upon earlier traditions in the Torah. Throughout the Torah, the idea of a redemptive figure who will come to save the Jewish nation and uplift the populace is a frequent theme. They believe this messiah will be a strong religious and political, as well as social, figure. So, it's written in the Torah that the messiah will come - it's just that the Jewish faith does not accept Jesus to be that promised figure.
Christians, on the other hand, took Jesus to be this Messiah and went a step further, assigning him the qualities of a deity. This includes considering him the Son of God and a savior of all humankind. The essence of the faith is found in the Book of John 3:16. Such a notion is unacceptable to Jews as well as Muslims, who view the concept of God as inviolate, one that could never include God becoming man.
However, this is not to say they condemn Jesus or his teachings. Quite the contrary, Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet of God, in the same way Moses, Elijah, and others were prophets. They simply believe Christians have ascribed qualities to Jesus that he himself did not possess or even promote, and view the New Testament as a misinterpretation of God's true message to humanity.
Islam
Islam is the youngest of the three faiths, but is second to Christianity in the number of followers, with over 1.3 billion. Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam is a monotheistic faith with origins in the Middle East, in fact, what is now Saudi Arabia.
Islam holds the teachings of Judaism and Christianity in high esteem and respects what these religions teach but feels the revelations in the Torah and the Gospels are incomplete. To Muslims, their prophet Mohammed provided the last and most complete set of revelatory expositions from God, all collected in their holy text known as the Qur'an.
What might surprise many non-Muslims is that the teachings in the Qur'an are not so different from those found in the other holy texts. There is an emphasis on charity, prayer, submission to God's will, and on the golden rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Jesus and Mary are also featured in the Qur'an, both held in high esteem, though not given divine status.
Their holy places are found alongside the holy places of Judaism and Christianity, and this often causes conflict among the more orthodox and conservative elements in all three religions.
Lesson Summary
Followers of three of the world's most popular faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are considered 'people of the Book' - a designation coming from the Islamic tradition denoting that the three religions share a common heritage and ultimately worship a common God. The three faiths share many similarities including details surrounding the origin of creation, the location of holy places, monotheism, life after death, and the existence of Jesus and his mother Mary. Differences pertain to the divinity of Jesus as the Messiah as well as Islam's final revelation given from Mohammed the Prophet.
Learning Outcome
You will be able to describe the similarities between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as between the Torah, the Gospels, and the Qur'an, after reviewing this lesson.
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People of the Book | Judaism, Christianity & Islam
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