Orthodoxy of Abrahamic Religions

Foundational Orthodoxy

The author of this report has been asked to assess at least three teachers of foundational orthodoxy and compare and contrast what they had to say and do when it came to their job and what they had to say. Indeed, even looking only within the Christian faith and its history, one can find some strong variations After all, there are three or four people that are clearly different and new from the prior orthodoxy that exist at the time. With that being said, Jesus, Mohammed and Martin Luther were all trailblazers or restorations to the prior proverbial line in the sand depending on whom one asks. While one or more of these men may be considered pariahs and blasphemers to some, there are others that completely agree with the path and faith that these men took even with the prior history and standards that existed.

Analysis

The first orthodoxy teacher or leader that shall be mentioned in this brief report is Jesus. While it may be jarring or unsettling to some to suggest that Jesus was teaching something new or different than was the standard before, he absolutely was. Indeed, the Old Testament mentions of things like the crucifixion, Hell and how to get forgiveness for one's ins was somewhat or entirely different in the Old Testament versus the New Testament. At the same time, a lot of what Jesus taught was a recitation or at least an echoing of what was in the New Testament. Even so, Jesus was not highly regarded by a lot of people and this would include the Pharisees and others. One can even compare and contrast what Jews believe about him to this very day even though he was hailed as being Jewish and the "King of the Jews" at the time of this death on the cross. Regardless, it is clear that not even everyone under the Abrahamic religion envelope was in lockstep behind Jesus when he merged just after the CE years that we remain within (Tabor, James) (STR).

Next up in term of chronological order is the time and orders of Mohammed. Coming to prominence in the 600's CE, it was clear that while Mohammed did not reject the words and beliefs of the Jews and the Christians outright, he clearly wanted to take a different path and he very much did not hold those other two Abrahamic religions in a very high regard. Indeed, while Judaism and Christianity are indeed exclusionary in some instances, Islam has been and remains much more so. Some of this is based on what is in print in the Koran and other instances are based on what has developed since. At the same time, there are some strands of Islam that have made major overtures to coexist and love their fellow man and woman even if they are not Muslim (Murdock, D.M.). Along those same lines is Martin Luther. Martin Luther had his own issues with Abrahamic religions, the Catholic Church in particular. Rather than reinvent the wheel, Luther insisted that the path of the Catholic Church was not a good one and that there needed to be a reversion to what was ostensibly taught in the Bible. To wit, that is where Luther's Catechism had its birth. At the same time, Luther was not a huge fan of the Jews during his day and there are many that assert that his level of disdain for the Jews rose to the level of anti-Semitic and bigoted (History).

Conclusion

In looking at Jesus, Luther and Mohammed, it is all clear that they all presented an evolution or restoration to prior standards for the Abrahamic religions. Jesus is held by many to be the literal son of God while others say he is a prophet not unlike what people say about Mohammed. Martin Luther never presented himself as a prophet and was instead focused on restoring the Christian faith as he felt it should be and that was supposedly based on what the Bible itself said. Regardless, all three men had a distinct and specific vision about how believers in God should behave and they did their best to implement that, with varying success.

Works Cited

History. "Martin Luther and the 95 Theses. History.Com, 2016,

http://www.history.com/topics/martin-luther-and-the-95-theses.

JVL. "Martin Luther - "The Jews & Their Lies" - Jewish Virtual Library."

Jewishvirtuallibrary.Org, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Luther_on_Jews.html.

Murdock, D. M. "Origins of Islam - Islamic History - Muslim Religion Roots."

Truthbeknown.Com, 2016, http://www.truthbeknown.com/islam.htm.

STR. "Why Don't Jews Believe in Jesus - The Difference Between Judaism And Christianity."

Simpletoremember.Com, 2016,

http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/jewsandjesus/.

Tabor, James. "The Jewish World Of Jesus: An Overview." The Jewish Roman World of Jesus,

2016, https://clas-pages.uncc.edu/james-tabor/the-jewish-world-of-jesus-an-overview/.