MINORITY FAITHS IN THE MIDEAST
The following essay touches on several of the minority faiths that impact the lives of many who live in that region. A number of them are ancient belief systems that, having survived for millennia, are now threatened by the rise of ISIS.
-Ed
Read the article: Islamic State's Dire Threat to Ancient Faiths
| Publisher Jeffrey Peter Agnes |
Editor LTC Thomas P. Curtis II |
Contributing Editors Rev. Michael P. Forbes David D. Fautua |
| Readers are encouraged to write in letters to the editor with questions and observations at the following address: tent@smotj.org | ||
Judaism is a monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Mishnah and the Talmud. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God established with the Children of Israel.
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion articulated by the Qur'an, a book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Arabic: Allāh) and by the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah and composed of hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570 BC – c. 8 June 632 AD), considered by them to be the last prophet of God.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and oral teachings of Jesus as presented in the New Testament. Most Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, and the saviour of humanity whose coming was prophesied in the Old Testament. Consequently, Christians refer to Jesus as "Christ" or the Messiah.