Looking around the world, we would not be surprised to find a wide variety of people with different beliefs and cultural traditions depending on the history of the culture and geographical location. But what might seem strange is a great similarity even among most of those people: the belief in God. And not just any God, but a unique God who has divine knowledge and power over humanity. However, with these commonalities, the three traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each have a unique approach to what they believe is the correct belief about God. But with so many commonalities, one might think that the three traditions are more related than it seems. Could these three faiths all have a common source beyond simple monotheistic beliefs, but rather a common belief in the same deity? For this article, through the lens of divine revelation, I wish to research the connection between the three monotheistic traditions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism with respect to the identity of the Supreme Being (God, Allah, YHWH) and discover whether these three identities are found in the same being. Divine Revelation in the Traditions If we want to understand the connection between the three traditions, then we must first understand the lens through which we are looking. By divine revelation we mean a way in which God reveals himself, whether through supernatural means or in ways more directly related to humanity. In this way, God can reveal His Self in ways that are sometimes called horizontal or vertical. In his book Claiming Abraham, Michael Lodahl closely examines the traditions of Islam and Christianity (with Judaism as a point of reference) in a side-by-side analysis of their beliefs and narratives. At some point,... middle of paper... different styles, and allows for flexibility of faith. For just as God is equally revealed in different ways to different people, so too is God equally glorified in different ways by people who worship in their own unique way. Works Cited Hick, John. Controversial issues in theology and philosophy of religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993. Print.Lodahl, Michael. Claiming Abraham. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2010. Print.Timpe, Kevin. "Introduction to Neoclassical Theism". Models of God and alternative ultimate realities. Ed. Jeanine Diller and Asa Kasher. New York: Springer, 2013. 197-206. Print.Mann, Mark Grear. “Religious pluralism”. Philosophy of religion. Ed. Thomas Jay Oord. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2003. Print.Wainwright, William. "Monotheism". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 6 September 2013. Web. Accessed 31 March, 2014.
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