A Theological Critique of the Abrahamic Religions

A Theological Critique of the Abrahamic Religions

By: Evangelos Dim. Kepenes (December 5, 2025, 13,05)

1. Rabbinic Judaism
Modern Judaism is Rabbinic Judaism, which originated from the oral tradition of the Pharisees after the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE). The Rabbinic tradition emphasized the Oral Torah and the Talmud. Alongside the Law, a strong internal or mystical literature developed, the pinnacle of which is considered to be Kabbalah.
This Judaism has a primary historical and spiritual affinity with Islam, as both are based on strict monotheism and the legal framework of Revelation (Torah).

2. Islam
Islam (or Mohammedanism) emerged with the aim of renewing and redefining the principles of both Judaism and Christianity, considering itself the final and complete revelation of God.
The holy book Quran, which for Muslims is considered the immutable word of God (Allah), revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel, and the early Islamic tradition were shaped in an environment where contact with Jewish and Christian communities was a given. The prophet Muhammad (meaning "praised one") was influenced by the monotheistic traditions of the region. Muhammad was an Arab member of the Quraysh tribe and was born in Mecca or Makkah, a city in the Hejaz region of present-day Saudi Arabia, which was then an important commercial and religious center. According to some historical sources (such as those of Archimandrite Char. Vasilopoulos), Muhammad's immediate circle included individuals such as the monk and Jewish cousin of his wife, Waraqa ibn Nawfal, who had knowledge of the Old Testament and Hebrew mystical traditions, elements that contributed to the formation of a religion that sought to redefine the principles of monotheistic Judaism and modernize it with Arab thought which also incorporated Hellenistic influence.

3. Patristic Helleno-Christianity
Between the two mystical Abrahamic religions lies Patristic Helleno-Christianity, which, together with its various later offshoots (e.g., certain Protestant and Zionist doctrines), are considered second-degree spiritual relatives of Judaism and Islam, mainly due to the common Old Testament foundation and the Father of carnal Israel, Abraham.
Politicized Patristic Helleno-Christianity shaped the fulfillment of Biblical Judaism (which is the heavenly man Christ Jesus, the Seed of the Promise) through the prism of Greek philosophical thought. This process led to:

• The adoption and reformation of philosophical terms for the formulation of the philosophical Christian Trinity.

•  The development of the doctrine of the Incarnate Word through an interpretive deviation from the biblical phrase "the Word became flesh" (John 1:14). According to critics, the interpretation "became incarnate" instead of "became" aligns with the ancient mythological model of the God-Man. Endangering the primary Biblical truth, which preserves intact the antinomies between God – man, Immortal – Mortal, Spirit – Matter, and Immortality – Death.

Note on the Biblical Basis: The address of Jesus by the Jews as "Son of David"—which refers to the address "Son of man"—arose from the legal system of Judaism, as Jesus was considered a member of Joseph's family, who was of the lineage of David (Matt. 1:20).

• The adoption of practices and doctrines, such as the organized priesthood, the teaching of the "Immortal mortal" (immortality of the soul), and specific eschatological views (final reckoning, conflagration of the world, final sorting into places of eternal bliss or torment), which are not purely biblical and are found in various ancient religious traditions.
  These specific dogmatic beliefs deny the completed work of the sacrifice and resurrection of the Son of God, the end of the ministry of death [which is connected with the Law of the Old Testament (2 Cor. 3:7)] and the Jewish eschatological framework of the Last Days to which they belonged (Gen. 49:1). By erroneously translating the New Testament words, they constantly engage in eschatological speculation, spreading religious fear and announcing impending calamities and metaphysical torments.

Mysticism and the Tendency for Unification
The study of the evolution of the Abrahamic traditions reveals a common, central, deviation from the primary biblical truth of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the person of Jesus Christ (Matt. 5:17).
Simultaneously, all three Abrahamic religions maintain strong mystical currents (Kabbalah, Hesychasm, and Sufism). These currents, focusing on the internal, mystical, supra-dogmatic experience of the divine, and not on the radiance of the illumination of God's glory in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6), constitute the common denominator and the ideal vehicle for the ambition of Pan-Religion. The impending convergence, driven by political necessity and with mysticism as its vehicle, aims at a new, manipulative re-spiritualization that is unable to bridge the gap between the Truth of God and Religion.

The only answer to this problem remains the living relationship offered by the Risen and Living Jesus Christ—"Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me’" (John 14:6).

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