A separate hypothesis regarding the birth of Hinduism says that the religion started near 2000 BC. This may encourage us to invite them to be associated in some ways with our celebrations for the 2000th anniversary of the Birth of Christ. Elyse Schein, born and adopted in New York and living in Paris, was looking for information on her birth mother in 2004. Schein was stunned to find out through the adoption agency, since shuttered, that she had a twin sister. Moses, a Hebrew, was chosen by God to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt. Judaism began about 4000 years ago with the Hebrew people in the Middle East. At the time many people in the Middle East worshipped many gods. Allah mention in Quran : it is not virtue that you turn your faces to the East or West; but it is morality to believe in God and the Last Day and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your material, out of love for Him, for your kin, for children, for the needy, for the traveler, for those who ask, and for the freeing of convicts; to be staunch in prayers, and practice regular aid; to fulfill the agreements which you made; and to be firm and enduring in pain and hardship and through all periods of fright.

East Asian religions do not take personal models for ultimacy, although like the others they often refer to lots of supernatural agents. When speaking about Jesus with Muslims, it would seem preferable to take as a starting point his message and from here, work back to the person and mystery of Christ. There may be a temptation to seize some of the expressions used in the Qur’ an with regard to Jesus (“Word”, “Spirit from God”), and see them as pointers to belief in the divinity of Christ. Referring to the shape or outline of something, this word comes to English from the French, inspired (for mysterious reasons) by an 18th century French politician and writer, Étienne de Silhouette. The word Islam translates as “submission” or “surrender.” Surrender to the will of Allah – Arabic for God. Yet there will still remain a fundamental difference, for they accept Jesus as a wise Teacher, but not as a divine Person.

This very rapid look at different religious traditions will have shown that there are many different approaches to Jesus. Some religious traditions could be described as high demand, requiring strict adherence to rules and standards in order to maintain membership of the faith community. Abraham, a Hebrew man, is considered the father of the Jewish faith because he promoted the central idea of the Jewish faith: that there is one God. Jesus, who shares in this life in a very special way, presents himself as one who gives life and gives it in abundance (cf Jn 10,10). From this point of view Jesus can be considered as an Ancestor, indeed the Ancestor par excellence. There are thus similarities with the Christian understanding of Jesus, but there are essential differences. Some have come to admire Jesus, but without any feeling of commitment to him. In healing he calls for commitment. We may feel that, though they do not fully share our belief in Christ and our commitment to Him, they are able to walk part of the way with us. As Christians we are rooted in our belief in Jesus as Son of God, Lord and Saviour, and in our love for him.

It is against the law to discriminate against a worker because of their religion or belief. At Mt. Sinai, God gave Moses the Law which would guide the Israelites to today. It was adopted by numerous denominations and remains the translation of choice for some congregations today. Mariella Frostrup interviewed author Meg Rossof on BBC Radio 4 today about her new book, ‘There is no Dog’, which imagines what the world would be like if God was a petulant teenage boy called Bob, who spends the majority of his time sleeping or having sexual fantasies about the human women he has created and causing floods, geological disasters and much suffering in his wake. Having fulfilled their days, and having observed the traditions, social customs and family duties, the deceased come to be considered as protectors and intermediaries between God and human beings. Health lies in maintaining perfect harmony in the natural social and cosmic orders, both visible and invisible.