In examining the concept of monotheism in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, two
major points of reference need to be remembered. First, and foremost, that all three of these
religions worship the same God, that being the God of Abraham. . Second, it is equally
important to understand that although these three religions fundamentally acknowledge scripture
as the foundation of that monotheistic concept, their individual interpretation of that scripture is
quite different. Many diverse contexts such as philosophy, history, ethnicity, and gender have
kept scholars aware of the fact that monotheism is not an abstract concept, but an ideal that was
formulated from the particular experiences of each individual community. Monotheistic doctrine
can then be interpreted as reflections of the experiences of religious communities. Also
important to note before we explore each religion individually is that these beliefs were formed
from extensive debates and that those debates continue even into the 21st century.
Judaism is by far the longest existing religion of the three that we are to evaluate. Although
older, Judaism and it concept of monotheism is quite different than its younger counterparts.
First, Judaism has evolved from the symbols and idioms of Canaanite and Mesopotamian
cultural traditions. These two ancient cultures influences allowed and provided a means for
Judaism to continuously reinterpret biblical images in terms of cultural traditions that the Jews
themselves did not create . In other words, because the Jewish people were displaced so many
different times over their history, they were forced to adapt their beliefs about their scriptures in
consideration of the cultural circumstances that surrounded them at the time. It is in these
reinterpretations that we see the two main theological preoccupation's of Judaism, monotheism
and the concept of...