Do the various Jewish, Christian and Muslim sects truly worship the same Deity?

[onager]

8. Well, they're sort of like sleazy insurance sellers that way...

You know - it probably won't help you make a sale if you knock the other guy's product.

In my experience, the Big Three of Monotheism only play the "same god" card when they are trying to be all ecumenical and stuff, and temporarily make nice with somebody from the other team. We see this on DU a lot, in That Other Group.

I don't think any of them really believe it for a second. e.g., imagine a Xian walking into a mosque during Friday prayers and announcing that. Or a Muslim ranting about the wonders of Allah at a Franklin Graham Crusade.

I'm also such a cynical old curmudgeon, I suspect when back among the in-group, they have a good laugh about what those other stupid infidels believe.

In fact, I've actually seen that. When I lived in Saudi Arabia, the holidays of Passover, Easter and Eid al-Adha (the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice) all happened at roughly the same time.

The Saudi Gazette, the local English-language paper, decided to print a special edition honoring the Big Three - yes, including Judaism. Since the Jewish myths of Moses, Abraham, etc. also feature in Islam.

(To fully appreciate the irony of that - this newspaper NEVER datelined a story as coming from "Jerusalem." Stories from that city were datelined as coming from "Occupied Palestine.&quot

In Saudi Arabia, I lived\worked among Americans, naturally mostly Xians. When the big special Easter Etc. edition of the paper came out, they were FURIOUS.

Because the paper naturally printed the Islamic version of the Jesus myth - he was crucified and went straight to Paradise, but never rose from the dead. Therefore denying...er, um...the central belief of Xianity.