Parallels across the traditions.
Stories, figures, and ideas that recur across the world's sacred canons — shared elements highlighted, divergences set out honestly. Academic comparison, not polemic.
I.ChristianityJudaismIslamHinduismThe Great Flood
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.
II.ChristianityJudaismIslamThe Binding — Abraham's Sacrifice
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.
III.ChristianityJudaismIslamMoses and the Exodus
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.
IV.ChristianityJudaismIslamHinduismTaoismCreation
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.
- VV.ChristianityJudaismIslamHinduismBuddhismTaoism
The Golden Rule
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.
VI.ChristianityIslamJesus / 'Isa in the Qur'an
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.
VII.ChristianityJudaismHinduismBuddhismAwakening Under a Tree
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.
VIII.ChristianityJudaismIslamCovenant & Law on the Mountain
God gives law to a chosen prophet atop a mountain, forming the constitutional charter of a people.
IX.ChristianityHinduismTaoismThe Word, the Way, the Logos, the Tao
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.
- X.ChristianityIslam
Mary / Maryam
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.