Why Christianity and Islam Became the World's Largest Religions: Part 1

Dafna asks: "Hello, I am 19 years old from a religious family. Lately, I've been going through a lot and started questioning my faith due to various exposures. Ultimately, I became convinced of Hashem's existence and the truth of the Torah, thank God, but one thing still bothers me: why haven't Christianity and Islam vanished from the world? They are such obvious falsehoods, so why do they persist? Isn’t a lie supposed to disappear? How is it that millions still believe in these religions and their stories? I would appreciate your answer."

Hello and blessings, Dafna, and thank you for your question. May Hashem grant you the strength to rise above life’s challenges and connect to a living source of wisdom.

1. Let's start with the basic fact that no other nation has "competed" with the revelation given to the people of Israel.

Hashem revealed Himself to the entire nation of Israel once in history to deliver the Torah and commandments. The Book of Books documented miracles on a national scale, unprecedented before or since. Only a revelation to an entire nation forms a covenant with Hashem. If this covenant were to change, it would require an even greater revelation.

The fact that no other religion in the last 3,300 years has challenged this mass revelation reflects the enduring and unbroken nature of this covenant. Therefore, the Torah demands that each generation remembers the revelation at Sinai and passes it to our children:

"Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day Hashem created humanity on the earth; from one end of the heavens to the other, has anything so great ever happened, or has anything like it been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of Hashem speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Or has any god tried to take for himself one nation out of another by testing, signs, wonders, war, a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or great and awesome deeds, like all the things Hashem did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? ...And observe His laws and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you." (Deuteronomy 4:32)

You pose a valid question: given such a simple truth, how can billions of Christians and Muslims exist in the world?

To correctly answer this question, we must first determine who these Christians and Muslims are, and who were their ancestors.

2. Who Did Christianity and Islam Persuade?

Christianity accepts all the teachings of the Jewish Tanakh but added their own stories about the crucified false prophet, through whom they claim the commandments are annulled. Islam also acknowledges our holy texts but added their faith in the Quran, avoiding Torah commandments in its name.

It's easy to see that Christianity and Islam are late imitations of Judaism, based on the giving of the Torah to the people of Israel. But how did these imitations originate? Here’s a brief history lesson.

Christianity began around 2,000 years ago with a very small sect of Jewish heretics who believed in the crucified man, thinking him to be a god in human form, but they never succeeded in converting the people of Israel. When they gave up, this sect sought a new audience: the pagans.

Their new leader claimed new visions negating all practical commandments, aiming to attract the non-Jews who had no desire for Torah commandments.

Still, the Christian sect gained few followers and nearly vanished until a Roman Emperor named Constantine joined their faith, spreading Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, eventually reaching all of Europe.

The Roman Empire, advanced in science and philosophy, was beginning to question their primitive ancestral beliefs of material gods warring amongst clouds and underground. Christianity offered a more logical faith, reuniting them with a singular purpose.

This is key: for idol worshippers previously believing in corporeal gods driven by desires, who worshipped statues—the concept of one eternal, infinite Creator marked significant progress.

Our scripture provided them with wisdom and ethics previously unknown. For the first time, they heard about the creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, the Tower of Babel, human history, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and his brothers, Moses and Aaron, the Exodus, the Ten Commandments, and commandments between people like caring for the poor, widows, and orphans, and more—exposure to Torah stories offered them a better understanding of the world according to Hashem’s will.

Until then, idol worshippers were trapped in anarchistic beliefs of selfish gods with personal vendettas, only occasionally attending to human requests, and even then, only out of interest. Consequently, they lived by a moral of might and strength dominating and suppressing the weaker, under a general sense of lawlessness in actions.

Only through their introduction to Jewish teachings did they suddenly encounter the astounding concept of Hashem, purpose in creation, and learned how all angels and forces operate harmoniously according to plan—mere agents of the King of kings. They understood there is divine providence for all humanity, reward and punishment, moral demands from humanity, hearing that "you are children of Hashem" and more. These ideas and concepts evolved their worldview, and the non-Jews gladly accepted them without the practical obligations of commandments.

Muhammad, who established Islam around 1,400 years ago, also based it on Jewish scriptures, like the Christians seeking to void Torah commandments, creating a limited set of new commandments. The Ishmaelites during Muhammad’s time consisted of primitive, scattered tribes worshipping various idols and deities for centuries prior, unaware of the truth behind their ancestor’s idolatry, living divided, each with its own baseless beliefs and statues.

Muhammad learned from Jewish teachings and began disseminating the primary belief in our Judaism, belief in one Creator of the world, commanding the destruction of all idols in His name. For these barbaric Ishmaelite tribes, recognizing a world Creator marked a vast advancement!

Remember: Christianity and Islam managed to persuade only primitive idol worshippers to believe in them. Although they sought to spread their teachings to the people of Israel—the Christians and Muslims could not convert Jews who are wise and discerning, not swapping pure gold for cheap wood and stone.

However, for the millions of non-Jewish idol worshippers, gaining exposure to some Torah truth represented monumental progress. Both Christianity and Islam used our texts and taught gentiles the wisdom of Israel’s prophets. They translated into their writings Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and even our Pirkei Avot!

The sages said: "Any lie without some truth at its beginning cannot last" (Sotah 35a). The lies of Christians and Muslims are initially based on our true Torah, hence they survived and spread more than any other religions worldwide. Being grounded in truth, this element of truth propelled them across human consciousness.

Moreover, these false religions did not demand from non-Jews to observe Torah commandments and transform their lifestyles, facilitating their rapid spread in the "secular" world of idol worshippers. As they required little practical change, they were readily adopted across diverse countries and cultures, serving as a unifying force.

Non-Jews do not wish to convert, nor do they generally harbor affection toward Jews, taking offense at the obligation of commandments. Up to this day, though, they find themselves rallied around the truth of Jewish faith—both Christians and Muslims. This is why even when the wisest among them recognize the illogical nature of their beliefs, they fear losing their connection to the Creator should they discard them.

Rabbi Yaakov Segal once shared with me that he traveled abroad and, to his astonishment, was seated next to a Catholic priest. Irony took its course, and a lively conversation ensued in English. Being a proponent of proofs and evidence, for hours, he clarified to the priest the falsehoods in Christianity, the errors in the New Testament, and the vast irrationality of their central beliefs. At the flight’s end, the Rabbi was surprised by his reaction. The priest, overwhelmed, exclaimed in a burst of confused emotions, "What do you want us to do then?! To be left with nothing? If Hashem appeared to you at Sinai and gave you the Torah, why shouldn't He give us something? Why begrudge us the belief that He sent us the crucified one? Even if not entirely true, it still provides us a link to Hashem!"

Perhaps the Rabbi did not have time to discuss with the priest the seven Noahide laws, or becoming a righteous non-Jew without Christianity. Nevertheless, I learned from this story an important lesson: why educated Christians and Muslims persist in these religions despite apparent falsehoods and significant distortions. In their view, leaving these religions involves tossing the baby with the bathwater. Even they identify within their false religions the core truths of our holy Judaism, fearing losing them because they do not seek official association with Jewishness and Jews...

This is why Christianity and Islam spread through the world, persisting despite inherent lies, because they grasp foundational truths of our Torah. However, this will not remain eternally. Maimonides wrote about Christianity and Islam: "(Due to Christianity and Islam) the entire world is filled with the words of the Messiah, and the words of Torah and commandments, and these matters have spread to distant islands and people of uncircumcised heart... And when the true king Messiah rises and succeeds, he shall be exalted and lifted up—immediately all of them will return and know that their ancestors have inherited lies, and their prophets and forefathers have deceived them" (Laws of Kings, Chapter 11).

In the next article, we will delve deeper into the concept of world redemption, and the awakening of humanity toward the great truth of the Torah.