Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening (Day 17:Abraham and the Buddha)

I don't know how many countless gospel songs and sermons I've heard that mentioned how Buddhists worship the Buddha and how Muslims worship Muhammad (Peace be upon him). For the record, Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion. In fact, there are no deities associated with Buddhism, and modern Buddhists are free to worship Christ, Allah or any polytheistic gods they choose. Although statues abound in most temples, Buddhists do not worship the material that the statue is made of. They do not bow to the substance used by the artist to create the inspiring object. They bow in remembrance of the Buddha’s qualities and teachings. They bow out of gratitude for the Buddha’s great kindness in teaching. They bow to themselves and to all living beings for each and every one has a Buddha Nature–the potential for enlightenment–within. Each one of us is a Buddha.
When it comes to Islam, you can still find articles that incorrectly and disrespectfully describe Muslims as “Muhammadans.” In Islam, there is only one God and His name is Allah (The God). Therefore, it is forbidden for any Muslim (One who submits to God) to worship anyone but Allah. Muhammad is highly respected in Islam as the “Seal of the Prophets” (Last Prophet of God), but please know that Noah, Moses, Abraham and Jesus are also highly revered and you’ll often read/hear a proper Muslim say “Peace be upon him” after uttering any of these holy names.

Let’s be clear: without Judaism there would be no Christianity. Without Christianity, there would be no Islam. Three is indeed a magic number, God's number. So let’s examine the three major Abrahamic religions in order of appearance: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism regards itself as the religion of the descendants of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism and was initially known as Jewish Christianity. It evolved into a separate religion with distinctive beliefs and practices, notably its replacement of the Jewish idea of an exclusive ethnic religious community with an inclusive, universal community of believers, the Christian Church. It replaced the idea of simple monotheism with a Triune God who is simultaneously one and three (different branches of Christianity have different interpretations, and some Christian religions don’t believe in the divinity of Christ). Islam was founded by Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century upon the teachings in the Qur'an. It retained the inclusiveness of Christianity, but reverted to simple monotheism with a central, but not divine, prophet.

On Day 17 your perspective of the Abrahamic religions and Buddhism will change forever.