Monotheistic Religions - Jacqueline Huang

Annotations:

• Judaism was, according to the Torah, introduced by a man named Abraham, who was later known as the "Father of the Hebrews." There are four important Hebrew leaders in the Jewish religion: Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon. The Jewish religion was the first time a monotheistic ideology was introduced to the world, which caused controversies across the world for centuries later. Although Judaism faced many conflicts from the ancient world till now, people still worked hard to preserve the Jewish thinking and honor the ancient religion. The Jewish people are still searching for their Messiah today because they do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah that God sent on Earth to help them.

1. Important Leaders

   Annotations:

   • Abraham - Abraham is still known as the "father of the Hebrews" today. God gave Abraham missions that he wanted him to accomplish, and Abraham eventually did. God promised Abraham a great nation, and Abraham's descendants became known as the Jewish people. David - King David united the Israelites into the modern country of Israel, and established Jerusalem as its capital and holy city. Solomon - Solomon was David's son, and he built the first great temple, which became a powerful symbol to the Hebrews and their faith in God. Moses - Moses was the greatest leader of the Hebrews, and he had led his people out of slavery in Egypt. When Moses visited Mount Sinai, God told him 10 important laws that he wanted Moses to pass down to his people. The ten fundamental laws were later known as the Ten Commandments.
2. Holy Writings

   Annotations:

   • The Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible tells about the lives and events of important Jewish leaders, such as Abraham, David, Moses, and Solomon. The Hebrew Bible is also known as the Mikra or Tanakh, and acronym referring to the Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim.  The Torah - The Torah was a holy history book of the Jewish people written down by the ancient Jews. Historians use the Torah for sources for information about the early Jewish history. The Torah is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, which has 24 books. The Ten Commandments - The Ten Commandments was received by Moses from God. The Ten Commandments were a series of laws that God wanted the Jews to follow, including only worshipping one god. By obeying the commandments, the Hebrews would fulfill their covenant from God. The Ark of the Covenant - The Ark of the Covenant was a wood and gold chest that held the Ten Commandments, which was the Jews' most sacred object. The Ark of the Covenant was the most physically important thing to the Jews, because it stands for the Jewish faith and God on earth. The construction of the Ark was commanded by God to Moses, while the Jewish people were still camped on Mount Sinai. The Ark was built by Bezalel, the son of Uri.
   1. Tenth Commandments

      Annotations:

      • 1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. 2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments. 3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 6. “You shall not murder. 7. “You shall not commit adultery. 8. “You shall not steal. 9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”
3. Concept/Ideas

   Annotations:

   • The concept of Judaism is that they had a contract with God, and if they obeyed the contract, which was the covenant, God, in return, will give them a stable life, good land, and help the citizens. One thing that the Jews had to obey was only worshipping one God, and honoring him. 
4. Architectures

   Annotations:

   • The Great Temple of Jerusalem - David's son, Solomon, built a temple in Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant and for people to worship. However, because of building the temple, Solomon taxed his people heavily to buy materials such as gold, cedar wood, and copper, which angered his people. Near Solomon's death, resentment exploded and destroyed his temple. Now, there is only a wall of the temple left, and people still go to the wall to worship it. The Jews believed that women and men should be seperated, so there is a fence separating women and men from worshipping with each other.

Annotations:

• Christianity is another monotheistic religion founded after the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Christianity comes from Judaism. Like Judaism, Christianity was at first, not accepted by people and was seen by the Romans as a threat. At first, Christians were killed in mass murders in every possibly way the Romans could think of, however, Christianity was later accepted by more citizens. At last, in 380 CE, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. 

1. Jesus Christ

   Annotations:

   • The Christians believed that Jesus was the Messiah that God sent to Earth to help them. Jesus was born in 6 BCE in Bethlehem, Judea. Jesus had his own beliefs and spread them, eventually gaining many followers whom he called disciples. Jesus taught his followers through parables, or stories with morals/lessons. Jesus was seen as a threat to the Romans, so he was eventually crucified in 26 CE. Jesus resurrected 3 days after his death. 
   1. The Crucification and Resurrection

      Annotations:

      • Jesus was seen as a threat to the Romans. During his last supper, a traitor betrayed him, and Jesus was nailed to a cross in 26 CE. He told his followers that he will rise from the dead three days after his death, and, as a miracle, he actually resurrected exactly three days after his death. To this day, Jesus's resurrection is celebrated on Easter Sunday.
   2. Parables

      Annotations:

      • Jesus's way of teaching include telling his disciples parables, or short stories with a moral or lesson. Some famous parables told by Jesus were: The Parable of the Good Samaritan, The Parable of the Lost Sheep, and The Parable of the Two Sons. 
2. People Associated With Christianity

   Annotations:

   • Paul of Tarsus - Paul of Tarsus was originally not for Christianity. After he claimed that he saw a blinding light, he became a missionary for the Christians. Paul urged non Jewish, called Gentiles, to convert to Christianity and claimed that there was only one god in the universe. Paul's journey took him throughout most of the Roman Empire, and much of Europe too. At last, in 65 CE, Paul was beheaded. Constantine - Constantine was an emperor who was in favor of Christianity. He went to war with the first to letters of the word 'Christ' and won the battle. Constantine wanted his Christian citizens to practice their religion openly, so he issued the Edict of Milan in 313 CE. In 380 CE, Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire.
3. Holy Writings

   Annotations:

   • Jesus did not write any of the holy writings himself, instead, his disciples kept track of his life and wrote the sacred writings for him. The Bible - The Bible is a collection of sacred texts to both Christianity and Judaism.  The Gospels - The Gospels were four canonical writings written by four of Jesus's disciples, Mark, Luke, Matthew, and John after the death of Christ. The Gospels were accounts of Jesus's life written and kept track of in the books. They were written about 30-70 years after his death.
4. Judea

   Annotations:

   • Judea was the hometown for the Jewish people, and was where Jesus Christ was born. Judea is the modern name of the mountainous southern part of Palestine.