My Brother’S Blood: A Comparative Study of Three Major Religions

By David Cataldi

Judaism, Christianity, and Islamare these faiths really that different? Take a journey of discovery as we compare God-inspired testimonies from the Tanakh, the Christian Bible, and the Koran. Each religion is properly represented by the amount of information and verses taken from their holy books. Common themes are explored to make studying easy. God told one of the prophets that His people perish for lack of knowledge. This statement is so very true, even to this day. Let us explore our common beliefs together. This book is meant to be a study guide as well as a bridge for peace. We must all strive for harmony, or we shall go before God with our brothers blood on our hands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524507763

David Cataldi

David Cataldi is fifty-five years old and has been studying the Word of God since the age of eight. Before he began studying, his mother would read religious stories to him and his brothers. With each story, she made a point to pass along the moral implications. From his earliest memory, he had a firm belief in God. He will admit that he was no angel by any means, but his faith was always well-rooted. He hopes that God has smoothed out most of the rough edges by now, but is aware that life is a continual learning experience. David had choices when it came to his religious upbringing. His father was an atheist who taught his children these views with as much enthusiasm as his mother shared her faith in God. Young David found himself at the crossroads of the biggest decision of his life. He had to decide whether or not to follow his father and believe in nothing but himself or to follow his mother’s example and believe in God and live a life of faith. David always looked up to both of his parents for different reasons. He saw his father as a physically powerful man. As a young boy, he watched his father lift automobile engines and transmissions. To a child, such shows of physical strength were awe-inspiring. In his mother, he saw a different strength. It was a quiet strength that seemed to have few limits. Yet as David looked at the world around him, he felt that God’s existence and the biblical teachings made far more sense. David grew up in a small town midway up the New Jersey coast. The group he grew up with was generally a rowdy bunch, and fights were commonplace. A fair number of them met with untimely deaths. It was only by the grace of God that David feels he survived childhood. It was in this setting that an eight-year-old boy chose a life of faith over a faithless life. David did not choose to become a teacher or a religious leader. As much as he enjoyed studying theology, he was still drawn to being a mechanic like his dad. He enjoyed manual labor, but he still tried to spread the word of God as much as possible. David has worn many hats and has had many jobs, but his faith and the word of God have been constant.

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Copyright © 2016 by David Cataldi.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2016909112

ISBN:       Hardcover       978-1-5245-0778-7

       Softcover       978-1-5245-0777-0

       eBook       978-1-5245-0776-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

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without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,

Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Rev. date: 07/22/2016

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CONTENTS

About The Author

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Names, Titles, and Descriptions of God

Chapter 2 Peace

Chapter 3 Praising God

Chapter 4 Path to God

Chapter 5 Angels

Chapter 6 God’s Creation

Chapter 7 History

Chapter 8 Sin

Chapter 9 The Last Day

Chapter 10 Paradise

Conclusion

Reference Page

Endnotes

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Cataldi is fifty-five years old and has been studying the Word of God since the age of eight. Before he began studying, his mother would read religious stories to him and his brothers. With each story, she made a point to pass along the moral implications. From his earliest memory, he had a firm belief in God. He will admit that he was no angel by any means, but his faith was always well-rooted. He hopes that God has smoothed out most of the rough edges by now, but is aware that life is a continual learning experience.

David had choices when it came to his religious upbringing. His father was an atheist who taught his children these views with as much enthusiasm as his mother shared her faith in God. Young David found himself at the crossroads of the biggest decision of his life. He had to decide whether or not to follow his father and believe in nothing but himself or to follow his mother’s example and believe in God and live a life of faith.

David always looked up to both of his parents for different reasons. He saw his father as a physically powerful man. As a young boy, he watched his father lift automobile engines and transmissions. To a child, such shows of physical strength were awe-inspiring. In his mother, he saw a different strength. It was a quiet strength that seemed to have few limits. Yet as David looked at the world around him, he felt that God’s existence and the biblical teachings made far more sense.

David grew up in a small town midway up the New Jersey coast. The group he grew up with was generally a rowdy bunch, and fights were commonplace. A fair number of them met with untimely deaths. It was only by the grace of God that David feels he survived childhood. It was in this setting that an eight-year-old boy chose a life of faith over a faithless life.

David did not choose to become a teacher or a religious leader. As much as he enjoyed studying theology, he was still drawn to being a mechanic like his dad. He enjoyed manual labor, but he still tried to spread the word of God as much as possible. David has worn many hats and has had many jobs, but his faith and the word of God have been constant.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to give special thanks and praise to my wonderful parents, Morris J. and Rose P. Cataldi. My father is that voice in my head that is always telling me to move it. My mother is that voice that compels me to study and draw my own conclusions. Between them, I inherited many fine qualities—qualities which were much needed while I finished this book. I consider myself truly blessed to have known them, and I will enjoy seeing them again when I get to Heaven. I would like to also give special thanks to my friend Cassandra and her husband, Mark. I thank Cassandra for her patience in working with me to edit my misuse of the English language. Her willingness to help me came at a pivotal time. I would also like to thank Mark for his patience while I monopolized his wife’s time.

My greatest thanks and appreciation goes to my wife, Ronda. Her virtues are too many to list, and yet she still knows when to call me out when she feels I may be procrastinating. She, above all, was the most patient, trusting, and understanding while I put this book together. I am blessed to be her husband. I thank the Lord every day for the joyous gift that is Ronda.

INTRODUCTION

Four thousand years ago, Abraham was called to learn of, acknowledge, and exercise faith in the God of Creation. This same God, who walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden two thousand years earlier, was, by the time of the Flood, almost completely ignored in favor of the perverted belief in countless false gods. On the day that God called Abraham to journey to a new land, an old and precious faith was reborn. The growing concept of this One Supreme God—the God of Abraham—would be a slow, sometimes painful process, but it would stand the bombardment of its enemies over the centuries to come.

Three major religions were born from the impassioned faith of Abraham, as seen through written testimonies. These testimonies are recorded in each religion’s sacred book. This comparative study concentrates on the common threads interwoven through the Hebrew, Christian, and Muslim faiths. While researching this book, I worked with great care and respect as I viewed God through these three perspectives. Join me now in a journey of discovery as we consider these God-inspired testimonies.

The first written religion to appear in chronological order (approx. 1500 BC–397 BC) is the Hebrew faith. Hebrews, also known as Israelites or Jews, use the Tanakh.i This book is also referred to as the Jewish Bible or the Holy Scriptures. The Tanakh consists of the Torah (the Law, given by God on Mount Sinai and contained within the first five books written by Moses); the Nevi’im (the Prophets, both major and minor); and the Kethuvim (the Writings—which encompass poetry, wisdom, and history). In the Tanakh, the first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis explains the process of Creation and the beginning of human history. In chapter 12, Abraham is called to be the father of a new nation. This begins the Hebrew story in all its triumphs and tragedies as seen through the Hebrew heart, mind, and soul. Interpretations of the Jewish faith range from very strict adherence to the laws set down in the Torah to varying