I think it is thought-provoking that most of the ancient religions were polytheistic, or had more then one god. I don’t really believe in a god or gods, at least as such things are described in holy books. Until the time of the New testament god was viewed a wrathful, angry, and having favorite groups of people, much like the other religions of the day viewed their gods. I think the new testament has good morals, and that loving, helping, and not judging each other is what people should be doing like that book says. I just feel that most Christians still hate and judge some people, even though that is what Jesus said not to do to anyone. I feel organized Christianity warps it’s perspective of what the bible says to meet their ideas, and give them justification to hate others and have power over people. I believe on an individual level religion can be a good thing because holy books, if interpreted literally, have good standards on how to live and treat people.
It was interesting to see how Islam has the same foundation as Judaism and Christianity. I did not know that Muslims believed in the Torah, Old testament, and New testament as well as the Koran. I understand why Islam says Jesus did not die, and I think someone can get that idea from the bible as well, since it says Jesus was resurrected. The idea of a resurrection and judgment awaiting humanity is another similar idea that Muslims, Christians, and Jews share. I find it fascinating that Gibril, or Gabriel, is an angel from the bible that also visits Muhammad to give a message from god. 
There are some aspects of Islam that I think are very close to Judaism. I think it is interesting that Muslims don’t believe Jesus was the son of god and that he was a prophet, which is like what Jewish people believe. I also don’t believe in the Holy Trinity, if there is a god, but personally I don’t understand how that idea really works. I also note that many important figures of both Holy Books are the same people, with little change in the names of such figures. I feel the Koran builds on the Torah, much like the Bible or New testament builds on the Torah, or Old testament.
I have always wondered what the difference was between the Sunnis and the Shias, and was glad to learn more about them. I feel that focusing on love when it comes to religion is better then focusing on fear, so it was educational to learn that Sunnis feel this way too. I think the Sunnis’ way of trying to establish direct communication will Allah through emotional experiences is intriguing, One gets something out of an experience like this, which is different from a prayer that that I feel gets no direct reaction form god. Another important thing I learned about is the jihad, which I did incorrectly interpret as war. Knowing it is a personal struggle against temptation, and not war, I feel was important for me to understand Islam better. I think everyone goes through such a struggle, but there is just not one word in English that describes such a thing. 
Overall I think I have learned a lot of new concepts about Islam and religion in general. Though I did know of the belief in sprits, I did not know the correct terms associated with such views. Seeing the numbers of how many people are religious was surprising, though I did know Christianity was the biggest one. Since there are so many Muslims in the world I am glad I had the opportunity to get a better understanding of Islam, since I knew nothing about it beforehand. This lecture has given me a lot to think about personally, and I have found it very insightful. 
