https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/ Short comparative studies of shared stories and teachings across the world's scriptures — flood narratives, golden rules, throne visions, and more. en-us Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/great-flood/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/great-flood/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A worldwide deluge sent as divine judgment, from which a single righteous man saves his family and representative life aboard a vessel. Versions appear across Mesopotamian, Hebrew, Christian, Islamic, and Hindu traditions — evidence of shared cultural memory or independent theological convergence is debated by scholars. ancient-near-east, christianity, judaism, islam, hinduism https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/abrahams-sacrifice/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/abrahams-sacrifice/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A father is commanded to sacrifice his own son as a test of faith; at the last moment a substitute is provided. Central to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic identity, though the identity of the son differs between the Bible and the Qur'an. christianity, judaism, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/moses-exodus/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/moses-exodus/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A Hebrew infant is hidden, raised in Pharaoh's household, flees to the desert, encounters God at a burning bush, and returns to lead his people out of Egypt through parted waters. The foundational liberation narrative of Judaism; honoured in Christianity and Islam. christianity, judaism, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/creation/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/creation/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT How the cosmos came to be. Compare the Genesis six-day account, the Qur'anic sign-motif, the Rigveda's famous hymn of cosmic uncertainty, and the Tao Te Ching's nameless origin. christianity, judaism, islam, hinduism, taoism, zoroastrianism https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/golden-rule/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/golden-rule/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT The ethical principle of reciprocity — treat others as you wish to be treated (positive form) or do not do what you would not want done to you (negative form). Found in virtually every major religious tradition, sometimes called the most universal religious teaching. christianity, judaism, islam, hinduism, buddhism, taoism, confucianism https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/jesus-in-quran/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/jesus-in-quran/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT Jesus (Isa) is the second-most-mentioned prophet in the Qur'an. He is honoured as the Messiah (al-Masih), born of a virgin, worker of miracles, recipient of the Injil (Gospel). Crucial differences: the Qur'an denies the crucifixion and the divinity of Christ. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/awakening-under-tree/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/awakening-under-tree/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A motif of enlightenment arriving beneath a sacred tree — most prominently, the Buddha's awakening under the Bodhi tree. Compare with the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life in the Abrahamic traditions, and the Ashvattha (cosmic fig tree) of the Bhagavad Gita. christianity, judaism, hinduism, buddhism https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/covenant-law/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/covenant-law/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT God gives law to a chosen prophet atop a mountain, forming the constitutional charter of a people. christianity, judaism, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/word-way-logos-tao/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/word-way-logos-tao/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A cosmic principle by which the universe is ordered — personified, spoken, or named as unnameable. Read John 1 next to Tao Te Ching 1 and the Rigveda's Nasadiya for the most striking comparative moment in scripture. christianity, hinduism, taoism https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/mary-maryam/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/mary-maryam/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT The only woman named in the Qur'an, and more often than in the New Testament. Surah 19 bears her name. A powerful comparative lens: the same figure, two scriptures, very different Christologies. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/job-and-suffering/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/job-and-suffering/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT Both traditions recount the story of a righteous man tested by severe affliction. He ultimately restores his fortune after remaining faithful through trials. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/ten-plagues/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/ten-plagues/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT Divine punishments sent to compel the release of the Israelites from bondage. These events demonstrate power over nature and false gods. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/solomon-temple/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/solomon-temple/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT King Solomon builds a magnificent house of worship for the deity in Jerusalem. This structure becomes central to religious identity and history. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/daniel-lions-den/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/daniel-lions-den/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A faithful servant is thrown to beasts for praying to God instead of the king. He survives unharmed due to divine protection. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/jonah-and-yunus/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/jonah-and-yunus/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A prophet flees his mission and is swallowed by a great fish or whale. He repents and is sent to preach to a hostile city. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/joseph-yusuf/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/joseph-yusuf/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A favored son is sold into slavery by jealous brothers but rises to power in Egypt. He eventually forgives his family during a famine. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/lot-sodom/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/lot-sodom/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT Angels visit a righteous man in a wicked city before destroying it. His wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/tower-of-babel/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/tower-of-babel/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT Humanity attempts to build a tower reaching heaven to make a name for themselves. God confuses their languages and scatters them. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/the-fall/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/the-fall/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT The first humans disobey a divine command in a garden setting. This act introduces sin and separation from the divine presence. 1 Enoch's Book of the Watchers expands the account into a cosmic drama of fallen angels teaching the forbidden arts. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/cain-and-abel/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/cain-and-abel/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT Two brothers offer sacrifices, but only one is accepted by God. Jealousy leads to the first murder in human history. christianity, islam https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/throne-vision/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/throne-vision/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT A prophet or seer is drawn up into heaven and beholds God enthroned in fire, crystal, and light, surrounded by radiant attendants. The vision consecrates the seer as witness and messenger — a pattern that recurs from Isaiah in the eighth century BCE to Lehi on the 1830 American frontier. judaism, christianity https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/divine-incarnations/ https://sacredatlas.org/parallels/divine-incarnations/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:16:03 GMT Heavenly beings cross the boundary between worlds and are born as men — sometimes as heroes, sometimes as tyrants, sometimes as teachers sent in every age. The motif recurs in the Torah's Nephilim, Enoch's Watchers, and the Hindu doctrine of avatāra — 'the descent' — that underwrites the whole Mahabharata. judaism, christianity, hinduism