The First and last messages of divine religions

IV ABSTRACT THE FIRST AND LAST MESSAGES OF DIVINE RELIGIONS Sedat ALTUNKANAT MSc Thesis, Department of Philosophy and Religion Sciences Supervisor : Yrd.Doç.Dr. Kadir ALBAYRAK September, 2003, Pages, 307 The majority of the people in the world believe in Islam, Christianity and Judaism, which are divine and monotheist religions. The holy books of these religions have influenced and shaped the human history. However, there are sometimes problems among the members of these religions since the members do not have information about the other holy books. When we examine these holy books objectively, we will see that the reasons of those problems are not the holy books but people's interpretation of these books according to their philological and socio cultural values. We believe that this comparative study of the first and last messages of the holy books of divine religions will help the believers of these religions understand each other better. We have seen a historical evolution among the divine books. This opinion is confirmed by the fact that the Qur'an, the last divine book, refers to the previous ones and, approves some of their knowledge and mentions some wrong believing. In addition, while some judgments of divine books complement some others abolish previous judgments. Today a dialogue is beginning among divine religions. The common values mey presented to the humanity can be put forward again with their reduction criticisms. These studies will show that the religions are not the source of wars but the source of peace and brotherhood which will create solidarity not only among the members of divine religions but also among all the people of the world. Key Words: The Torah, The Bible, The Qur'an, Message