JESUS IN CHRISTIANITY, JUDAISM AND ISLAM

Christianity, Islam and Judaism all recognize Jesus in their writings, the importance of Jesus varies greatly in each religion. In Christianity he is revered as the Holy Savior- the son of God himself born of a virgin mother, Mary. However Islam recognizes Jesus as a true prophet of God, they do not believe he died for our sins. Muslims also believe the Prophecy of Jesus has been severely skewed or corrupted through time. Judaism however do not believe Jesus played a part of any importance- that he was just an ordinary man. Jews do not believe that Jesus was divine, the Son of God, or the Messiah prophesied in Jewish scriptures. He is seen as a "false messiah," meaning someone who claimed (or whose followers claimed for him) the mantle of the Messiah but who ultimately did not meet the requirements laid out in Jewish beliefs. Jesus is viewed as having been the most influential, and consequently the most damaging, of all false messiahs. Judaism has never accepted any of the claimed fulfillments of prophecy that Christianity attributes to Jesus. Judaism also forbids the worship of a person as a form of idolatry, since the central belief of Judaism is the absolute unity and singularity of God. The belief that Jesus is God, any deity, the son of God, or a person of the Trinity, is completely unacceptable according to every tradition of Jewish law, and incompatible with Jewish philosophical tenets. The same applies to belief in Jesus as the Messiah or a prophet of God: those beliefs are also contrary to traditional Jewish views. The idea of the Jewish Messiah is different from the Christian Christ because Jews believe Jesus did not fulfill Jewish Messianic prophecies that establish the criteria for the coming of the Messiah. Authoritative texts of Judaism reject Jesus as God, Divine Being, intermediary between humans and God, Messiah or saint. The belief in the Trinity is also held to be incompatible with Judaism, as are a number of other tenets of Christianity.

While Christianity has had and continues to have a major impact on Jews and Judaism, Jesus is not seen as a major figure in Jewish history. Nevertheless, Jews do not actively seek to refute Christian teachings as Judaism teaches respect for all peoples and their faiths. Over the centuries, the question of why Jews did not and do not accept Jesus as divine has forced Jewish theologians to respond to Christian claims about Jesus, particularly those that use Jewish belief and the Hebrew bible to justify their claims. Christian views of Jesus are based on the teachings and beliefs outlined in the Canonical gospels, New Testament letters, and the Christian creeds. These outline the key beliefs held by Christians about Jesus, including his divinity, humanity, and earthly life. Jesus also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity, whom the teachings of most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God. Christians believe Jesus to be the awaited Messiah of the Old Testament and refer to him as Jesus Christ or simply Christ, a name that is also used by non-Christians. Christians believe that Jesus was a human being who was also fully God, and was the son of only one earthly parent, Mary, never sinned or did anything wrong. Also Jesus was eventually martyred as a religious heretic, was buried in a tomb, and then on the third that Jesus will come back to earth a second time. The five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus are his Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. These are usually bracketed by two other episodes: his Nativity at the beginning and the sending of the Holy Spirit at the categories involving his works and words, e.g., his ministry, parables and miracles. Christians not only attach theological significance to the works of Jesus, but also to his name. Devotions to the name of Jesus go back to the earliest days of and Protestant. end. The gospel accounts of the teachings of Jesus are often presented in terms of specific

day came back to life and eventually ascended back to God the Father. They also believe

Christianity. These exist today both in Eastern and Western Christianityboth Catholic

Christians predominantly profess that through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, he restored humanity's communion with God with the blood of the New Covenant. His death on a cross is understood as a redemptive sacrifice: the source of through the sin of Adam. were his words. Most Christians believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, performed miracles, founded the Church, died sacrificially by crucifixion to achieve atonement, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, who is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. A few Christian groups reject Trinitarians, wholly or partly, as non-scriptural. humanity's salvation and the atonement for sin which had entered human history In Christian teachings, the miracles of Jesus were as much a vehicle for his message as

The Islamic view of Jesus lies between two extremes. The Jews, who rejected Jesus as a prophet, called him an imposter, while the Christians, on the other hand, considered him to be the son of God and worship him as such. Islam considers Jesus to be one of the greatest and most forbearing of prophets, in addition to Noah, Abraham, Moses and Muhammad, may God praise them. Jesus is also considered to be the Messiah as well. This is in conformity with the Islamic view of the Oneness of God, the Oneness of Divine guidance, and the complementary role of the subsequent mission of Gods messengers.

Although the Quran does not present a detailed life-story of Jesus, it highlights the important aspects of his birth, his mission, his ascension to heaven. It also passes judgment on the Christian and Jewish beliefs concerning him. Throughout the Quran, Jesus is identified fundamentally as a prophet of God sent to the Jews who had over time deviated from the teachings of Moses and other messengers.

Like Christians, Muslims believe that Mary, Maria in Spanish, or Maryam as she is called in Arabic, was a chaste, virgin woman, who miraculously gave birth to Jesus. Jesus birth in itself was a miracle in that he had no father. This fact, however, does not necessitate that Jesus is divine in essence or spirit, nor is he worthy of worship, for Adams existence was more miraculous than that of Jesus. If his miraculous birth were a proof that Jesus was God incarnate or His son, then Adam would have more right over this divinity than him. Rather, both are prophets who were inspired with revelation from God Almighty, and both were servants to Him living according to His commandments. Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, was the last in the line of Jewish prophets. He lived according to the Torah, the Law of Moses, and taught his followers to do likewise. Muslims, like Christians believe that Jesus performed miracles. These miracles were performed by the will and permission of God, Who has power and control over all things. As such, Islam denies that Jesus came to this earth with the purpose of sacrificing himself for the sin of Adam, Eve, and the rest of humanity, freeing them from its burden. Islam strictly rejects the notion that any person bears the sin of another. As Christians do, Muslims also believe in the return of Jesus the Messiah to earth, although his role and reason for his return does differ from what the Christians propose. He will return to earth first and foremost to prove his mortality and refute the false beliefs people held about him. He will live a normal life, marry, and also die as any other human. At that point, the matter will be clear concerning him, and all people will have believed that he was truly mortal. All three religions believe that God communicates his word through Prophets. A lot of the Prophets in the religions are shared- Abraham, Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, etc. The main difference is the importance, as before noted, that each prophet plays in the scriptures. For instance, while Jesus is a key player in Christianity, he is less such in Islam, and of no importance or relevance in Judaism.