CGE, in part, wrote:
>>Modern biblical studies (from the 19th century) make it clearer in the sense I mentioned earlier, that Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, and Islam all stem (in that order) from the religion of ancient Israel.>>
I would say from and of the monotheistic, revealed, text-based religion(s) of what was called Judea (and carried elsewhere but often referred to as 'Judean'). BTW, as successful prosletyzing religions, it isn't much of a stretch to say that Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism and Islam are nearly co-emergent. For those who argue against the missionizing aspects of Rabbinic Judaism, one can simply counter with the many centuries since the middle ages of conversion and intermarriage (and the resulting two major branches of European Jews, the Sephardim of Arab and W. African heritage, and the Ashkenazi of Slavic origins). Also, in many ways Islam seems to invoke most the spirit of the more benign parts of the Abrahamic/Old Testament religions, though its Koran is actually rather respectful of the Prophet's contemporaneous leaders of Christians and Jews. Islam seems to be the actual 'glue' holding the 'tradition' together: it largely absorbed non-trinitarian Christianity while, like the Jews, rejects Jesus as Messiah (though in the Koran, unlike in some Jewish treatment of the subject, Jesus is treated as lacking in sin and perhaps even holy). Finally, has anyone else noticed that the foundation myths of American Mormonism steal shamelessly from Islam? F
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