presented by Mr. E. Taus

1. The BIG 3 presented byMr. E. Taus Backwards by Design |||--------<To Foster Understanding Between Seemingly Conflicting Beliefs

2. Polytheists vs. Monotheists vs. Atheists • Polytheism is the belief in many god and/or goddesses. • Monotheism is the belief in only one god or supreme being or creator. • Atheism is the absence of belief in any gods and/or supernatural. • It is considered good form to identify individuals by their religious preferences. For instance; • The Hindu believe there are 333 million incarnations of Brahma, but only one God. • The Christians believe in one God through the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost). • Often, Christians perceive Hindus the way Jews & Muslims distinguish Christians as Polytheists. • Atheists just believe in one less god than monotheists.

3. THE BIG 3 • The “Big 3” are the three of the largest and/or most influential religions on this planet. • The “Big 3” are, in particular order; • Judaism (Jewish Jews) • Christianity (Christian Christians) • Islam (Islamic Muslims)

4. KnowWantLearn • What do you know about the Big 3? • What to you want/need to know about the Big 3? • What & How do you expect to learn about the Big 3?

5. The Basics Prophets;Certain religious teachers sent by God to serve as his voice to the people, often embracing a concern for social injustice. • Abraham reintroduced Yahweh/God/Allah to the world. He had two sons Isaac & Ishmael. • Isaac passed Jewish traditions through the tribes. Ishmael did not. The Jews had to fight to survive. • Jesus (a.k.a. Jeshua ben Joseph) was a Jew that came to fulfill prophesy, focusing on the spirit instead of the letter of the law. He spoke of love. • Muhammad established legitimacy as a descendant of Ishmael, & united the Middle-Eastern Bedouins under a Crescent & Star. The Muslims had to fight to survive.

6. Conversion Tables • Jews are born, not made. Jews trace citizenship to Israel through Jewish mothers. Conversion is frowned upon, but not forbidden. • Christians are born, and then born-again. To become a Christian, all one must do is accept Christ into their heart. • Muslims need only say, from the heart, “there is only one god, God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”

7. RULES!!! • Jews have 613 Halakhah (commandments) in the Hebrew Bible (subdivided - 248 rules). • Christian have 2 listed in the New Testament; Love God & Love Your Neighbors. • Muslims have more than 1558 Sharia (paths to the watering hole), as referenced in the Qur’an (a.k.a. Koran).

8. No Hand Jiving ! Hand Jiving Jewish Perspective of GodJews are God’s Chosen people.Heaven is for God, not mortals, life continues through one’s children. God must be respected & obeyed for continued prosperity. Five Pillars of Islam • Belief—(finger points up) Profess the belief in one god and that Muhammad is his messenger. • Pilgrimage—(two fingers walking) A pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime if one can afford it physically and financially. • Fasting—(hand rubs belly with three fingers, one for each meal of the day) Fasting in the month of Ramadan. • Charity—(four fingers open outward) Charity; the rich give to the poor. • Prayer—(hands together praying) Prayer 5 times a day. Two Christian CommandmentsLove God (one finger points up)Love Your Neighbors (two fingers, peace sign)

9. Fundamentalism vs. General Faith • Fundamentalists seek a theocracy by which the government’s laws are based on a literal interpretation of their Bible. • Normal followers of religion use it to flavor their lives rather than making it the focus of all their behaviors. • While fundamentalists make up 14-20% of a population, they get their power from those of general faith during a social crisis.

10. DRAWINGSa picture is worth a thousand words Worship the Same God Take out a sheet of paper & turn it “Landscape” style. You will draw as instructed; • Moses—holding two tablets of 10 commandments. • Jesus—crucified on the cross • Muhammad—without a face holding the Qur’an while a little angel (Gabriel) tells him to recite. • Each Prophet has and arrow pointing to a center point above them, titled “Worship the same God.” • On each side of the arrows, respectfully, students write; • 1. “Torah, New Testament, Qur’an” • 2. “YHWH, God, Allah” • Next to each drawing, identify the character represented with; • “Moses, Jesus, Muhammad”

11. Three Religions(sang to the tune of Three Blind Mice) ChorusThe three religions,Worship the same GodThe three Religions,Worship the same GodThe Jews call God YahwehThe Christians call God GodThe Muslims call God AllahChorusJudaism has Mo-ses, who led to the promised landChristianity has Je-sus, who died on the cross for themIslam has Muhammad, who conquered all of the lands Chorus The Jews wear a Star of David The Christians wear a Cross The Muslims look to a Crescent~Star Chorus Moses wrote the Torah, which means teaching to Jews Christians preach New Testament, that grants salvation to you Muhammad memorized the Qur’an, as Gabriel had him do Chorus Saturday Jews go to Synagogue, Sunday Christians grace Church, Friday Muslims attend a Mosque Chorus

12. Difference A Difference A Difference B Difference B Same 1 Difference C Difference C Same 3 Same 2 Difference C Difference A Difference B Triple Trouble

13. ESSAY • Examine the existing conflicts between Judaism, Christianity & Islam. Propose possible solutions to sooth tensions and apprehensions among the warring factions. • Guiding Questions: • What approach would you use to settle differences between cultures with conflicting religious beliefs? • How would you compare the beliefs of Jews, Christians and Muslims? • What would happen if, instead of a solid majority in the United States, there was an equal distribution between Jews, Christians & Muslims? • Essays must be in adherence with the E.L.A. writing format.

14. Essential QuestionsCopy Questions and then Answer (You need your TEXT BOOK) • The “Big 3” originated in what region of the world? • Who is credited with writing the Torah (the first five books of the Tanakha.k.a. the Old Testament)? • How many Commandments do the Jewish people have? • How many Commandments do Christians have? • Which branch of Christianity has the most members? • Where is the city in Israel where Jesus spent part of his life and was crucified? • Who does Muhammad claim to be his biblical ancestor? • What are the 5 Pillars of Islam? • How many Islamic laws are there? • How many common characteristics can you list, between Judaism, Christianity & Islam?

15. Brian Teasers(No Time Wasted) 1. Can you name five days of the week without saying (or writing) Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday? 2. Read this aloud right now: The cow ate thethe green grass. 3. What number, when added to the number three or multiplied by it, gives the same result? 4. Count every “F" in the following sentence (What could be easier than that?): Finished files are the result of years of scientific study combined with the experience of years. 5. I have three letters, and I read the same forward and backwards. I rhyme with a word that is important to everyone. What word am I? 6. How can you cut a cake into eight parts with just three cuts?

16. Brian Teasers(poor Brian) 1. The day before yesterday, yesterday, today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. 2. Most people read "The cow ate the green grass" when they first try this. However, "the" actually appears twice in the sentence, which is easily missed due to the way our brains look for and find familiar patterns - even when they are not there. 3. 1.5 (I didn't say it was a whole number.) 4. The letter F appears six times in that sentence. Most people think there are only four (although those who speak English as a second language seem to do better at this). For some reason the brain doesn't identify the Fs in "of". 5. Eye (rhymes with "I".) 6. Cut it as you normally cut a cake, in half with one cut, and again with another, resulting in four pieces. Then cut it horizontally in half. This third cut creates eight pieces total.