Jehovah’s Witness, Mormonism, Judaism and Islam
This essay will present a comparison between four religions namely Jehovah’s Witness, Mormonism, Judaism and Islam. The comparison will focus on the religion’s origin, the beliefs on God and the afterlife.
With regards to origin, Judaism was the earliest religion among the four religions being compared. It is the religion of the Hebrews which started in 1300 BC, after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. Next to Judaism, Islam is the second oldest religion among the four religions. It was founded by Muhammad in 622 AD in Saudi Arabia. Mormonism was founded in New York, USA by Joseph Smith in 1830. Jehovah’s Witness was founded in 1879 in Pittsburgh by Charles Taze Russell.
On the aspect of a God, both Islam and Judaism are monotheistic religions. Islams call their God as Allah while in Judaism, it is referred to as Yahweh. Jehovah’s Witness also believes that there is only one God whom they refer to as Jehovah. They do not believe in the Blessed Trinity. On the other hand, in Mormonism they believe in the existence of three separate individual beings in the person of God the Father, Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.
These religions differ with regards to their beliefs in the afterlife. Islams believe that there is either paradise or hell. Like the Islams, the Mormons also believe in heaven and hell and that each one returns to the spirit world after death. Jehovah’s witnesses believe that heaven is for 144,000 chosen witnesses and that eternity on new earth awaits other witnesses while others are annihilated. Hell does not exist for Jehovah’s witnesses. For Judaism, they believe in heaven which they refer as Eden and hell which they call Gehenna
References
Aubuchon, V. (2012, December 8). Religions summary - Compares major religions. Retrieved from vaughns-1-pagers.com: http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/religion/religions-summary.htm
ReligionFacts. (2013, May 1). The big religion chart. Retrieved from religionfacts.com: http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm
