Timeline of Faith
From the age of the patriarchs in the Hebrew Bible to the spread and localization of faith, eight stages thread together the rise of the great traditions. Tap a figure’s badge to jump to its card.
Ⅰ · Creation and the Age of the Patriarchs
The earliest narratives of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible: Cain kills Abel, the first murder of humankind; then God chooses Abraham and makes a covenant, and through the generations of Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, and Joseph — their migrations, rivalries, and reconciliations — lays the shared starting point of the ancestral line for the three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Cain Kills Abel
Adam’s firstborn Cain, out of envy that God accepted his brother Abel’s offering, killed him in the field — the first murder in the Bible — and was condemned thereafter to wander for life.
Abraham Is Called and Enters a Covenant
God called Abraham to leave his land and kindred, promising him descendants and a land. He first bore Ishmael by his wife Sarah’s maidservant Hagar, and later, when Sarah was old, miraculously bore Isaac.
The Trial of the Offering on Mount Moriah
God tested Abraham, commanding him to offer his son as a burnt offering, and at last provided a ram in his place. Judaism and Christianity record the son offered as Isaac; Islamic tradition holds it to be Ishmael.
Ⅱ · The Exodus and the Kings of Israel
Moses leads Israel out of Egypt and receives the Ten Commandments; in the age of the Judges the strongman Samson fights the Philistines; the prophet Elijah opposes Baal worship on Mount Carmel; the prophet Jonah is swallowed by a great fish for three days; David founds a dynasty, and Solomon is famed for wisdom and the Temple. This history is the core narrative skeleton of Jewish faith-identity, and the shared source of the prophetic tradition in Christianity and Islam.
Moses’ Exodus, Aaron’s Golden Calf
With the help of his brother Aaron, Moses led Israel out of the land of Egyptian bondage and received the Ten Commandments at Sinai, while Aaron, under the people’s pressure during his ascent, cast a golden calf for them to worship.
Samson and Delilah
The judge Samson fought the Philistines with God-given strength, but infatuated with Delilah revealed the secret of it — his hair shaved, his strength gone, he was captured and blinded, and at his death pulled down the pillars of the temple to die with his enemies.
David Founds the Kingdom, Solomon Builds the Temple
David founded the united kingdom of Israel, and his son Solomon, famed for the "judgment to cleave the child," built the first temple in Jewish history in Jerusalem and received the Queen of Sheba, come from afar.
The Prophets Elijah and Jonah
Elijah publicly challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, proving the faith by fire from heaven, and was taken up in a whirlwind in old age; the prophet Jonah defied the command and fled toward Tarshish, was swallowed by a great fish for three days, and at last repented and went to Nineveh.
Ⅲ · The Vedic Gods and the Hindu Epics
The Hindu system evolved over thousands of years: in the Vedic period the gods under Indra fought the asuras; later the three-god system of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva took form; Vishnu’s avatar Rama led the monkey god Hanuman on a campaign to Lanka to rescue Sita; Shiva’s wife, as Durga and Kali, subdued demons; and the elephant-headed Ganesha became the remover of obstacles — narratives still central to Hindu religious life and festival to this day.
Indra Slays Vritra
The Vedic scriptures record that the demon-serpent Vritra imprisoned the world’s waters, and the king of the gods Indra slew him with the thunderbolt, releasing the rivers — a myth seen as a natural symbol of the thunderstorm breaking a drought.
The Three-God System of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
Hindu faith gradually established the standing side by side of the three great gods — Brahma (creation), Vishnu (preservation), and Shiva (destruction and rebirth); Ganesha, son of Shiva and Parvati, became the god of obstacles and wisdom.
The Ramayana: The Battle of Lanka
Vishnu’s avatar Rama was exiled to the forest by palace intrigue; when his wife Sita was carried off to Lanka by the demon king Ravana, the monkey god Hanuman crossed the sea to find her and helped Rama lead the monkey army to rescue her at last.
Durga and Kali Subdue the Demons
Durga, brought forth by the combined power of the gods, rode a tiger and subdued the buffalo demon Mahishasura; Kali, born of the wrath of Shiva’s wife, grew nearly beyond control in battle, and quelled her destructive force only on treading on Shiva and, startled, sticking out her tongue in self-check.
Ⅳ · The Buddha’s Awakening and the Early Order
Prince Siddhartha gave up his throne and, through asceticism and awakening beneath the bodhi tree, became the "Buddha," teaching as he wandered for over forty years, his constant attendant Ananda hearing his teachings with exceptional memory. After the Buddha’s passing, it was Ananda who recited the teachings at the first compilation of the scriptures, laying the foundation for their preservation and spread.
Awakening Beneath the Bodhi Tree
Prince Siddhartha, after six years of asceticism without liberation, turned to the "Middle Way," sat in meditation beneath the bodhi tree for forty-nine days, and at last awakened to the truth of the cosmos and of life, becoming the "Buddha" (awakened one).
Ananda Attends and Is "Foremost in Hearing"
The Buddha’s cousin Ananda served at his side for years, famed for his exceptional memory and for having heard the most teaching, honored as "foremost in hearing" — the Buddha’s most important attendant and witness in his later years.
The First Compilation, the Discourses Recited
After the Buddha’s passing, the disciples gathered five hundred arhats for a compilation, and Ananda recited from memory the Buddha’s lifetime of teaching, which the assembly confirmed and compiled into the "basket of discourses," the beginning of the transmission of the Buddhist scriptures.
Ⅴ · The Hundred Schools: Lao-Zhuang and Confucius
In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, Laozi left the Dao De Jing preaching "govern by non-action," Zhuangzi developed through fable the spiritual freedom of "free and easy wandering" and "the equality of things," and Confucius traveled the states to rebuild social order through "benevolence" and "ritual" — Daoism and Confucianism becoming the two traditions that most deeply shaped East Asian thought, politics, and everyday ethics, with later religious Daoism drawing heavily on Lao-Zhuang’s philosophy in building its system.
Laozi Rides West Out of Hangu Pass
Legend says that Laozi, seeing the house of Zhou decline, rode west to Hangu Pass and at the keeper Yin Xi’s request left the five-thousand-word Dao De Jing, expounding "the Dao follows nature" and "govern by non-action," then departed and was seen no more.
Confucius Asks Laozi About Ritual
Tradition records that Confucius once went specially to consult Laozi on ritual, and Laozi admonished him to shed his pride and his many desires; afterward Confucius sighed to his disciples that Laozi was "like a dragon," beyond fathoming — a famous anecdote of the early meeting of Confucian and Daoist thought.
Zhuangzi Dreams of a Butterfly, and the Equality of Things
Zhuangzi developed Laozi’s thought, exploring the boundary of real and illusory with "Zhuang Zhou dreams of a butterfly" and expressing a transcendent view of life and death with "singing and drumming on a basin," raising Daoist spiritual freedom to a new height.
Ⅵ · Jesus of Nazareth and the Early Church
John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan, and Jesus then gathered twelve apostles and preached as he traveled, until in Jerusalem he was accused by the Jewish council and crucified with the Roman governor Pilate’s approval; his disciples record his resurrection on the third day, with Mary Magdalene among the first witnesses. Thereafter Peter, Paul, and others spread the faith beyond Palestine, expanding it into an important religion of the Roman Empire and the whole Mediterranean world.
Baptism in the Jordan
John the Baptist preached a message of repentance in the wilderness and baptized the people; Jesus came to be baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, "this is my beloved Son."
The Call of the Twelve Apostles
Jesus called twelve to follow and preach — the fisherman Peter, the tax collector Matthew, and others — Peter standing out among the apostles for the promise, "on this rock I will build my church."
Betrayal, Trial, and Crucifixion
The disciple Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, the Roman governor Pilate approved the crucifixion under the crowd’s pressure, and Peter denied knowing Jesus three times in the courtyard.
Witness to the Resurrection
After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene first found the empty tomb, and the risen Jesus appeared to her; the apostle Thomas doubted at first, until he put his hand into the nail marks and fell down believing.
Ⅶ · The Rise of Islam
Muhammad received revelation in Mecca and spread Islam, later emigrating to Medina to found a Muslim community. After his death, his cousin and son-in-law Ali became the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph, and his son Husayn was martyred at Karbala, a memory that became the deepest point of the historical Sunni–Shia division. Aisha as an important transmitter of hadith and Fatima as the Prophet’s daughter were both women of great weight in early Islamic history.
The Revelation in the Cave of Hira
Muhammad meditated in retreat in the cave of Hira outside Mecca, where tradition records he received the first revelation, and thereafter spread the Islamic faith; his daughter Fatima and wife Aisha were both important figures in the early community.
The Emigration to Medina
To escape the persecution of his Meccan enemies, Muhammad emigrated to Medina, his cousin Ali volunteering to sleep in the Prophet’s bed to draw the eyes away and help him leave safely — the year set as the first of the Islamic calendar.
The Dispute Over the Caliphate and Karbala
After Muhammad’s death, Ali became the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph, and civil war broke out in his reign before he was assassinated. His son Husayn later opposed the Umayyad dynasty at Karbala and, outnumbered, was martyred — the origin of the Shia commemoration of Ashura.
Ⅷ · The Spread, Division, and Localization of Faith
Christianity matured in Europe through the theology of Augustine and Aquinas; Martin Luther’s Reformation gave rise to the Protestant tradition, and Francis inspired later ages with the ideal of poverty; in Islam, Saladin won cross-religious respect in the Crusades, and the Sufi poet Rumi spread mysticism through verse; Buddhism spread east along the Silk Road, Chan established the "sudden awakening" path from Bodhidharma to the sixth patriarch Huineng, and the Pure Land faith of Amitabha and the Bodhisattva Guanyin entered deeply among the people, long coexisting with China’s own popular deities such as the God of Wealth and the Kitchen God.
The Theology of Augustine and Aquinas
Augustine’s Confessions and City of God set the course of Western Christian theology, and Thomas Aquinas later united Aristotle’s philosophy with it to write the systematic Summa Theologica.
The Poverty of Francis and the Reformation of Luther
Francis gave up his property for a life of destitute preaching, inspiring later ages; Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses against indulgences, setting off the Reformation and giving rise to the Protestant tradition outside the Catholic system.
Saladin and Rumi
Saladin retook Jerusalem in the Crusades, winning cross-religious respect for his magnanimous conduct; the Persian Sufi poet Rumi expounded in verse the mystical experience of union with God, his influence enduring to this day.
Chan Spreads East: From Bodhidharma to Huineng
Bodhidharma came to China from the West, founded Chan facing a wall for nine years, and through generations passed to the sixth patriarch Huineng, who with the verse "bodhi originally has no tree" established the "sudden awakening" path, deeply shaping East Asian Buddhism.
The Pure Land Faith Coexists With the Popular Deities
The Pure Land faith of Amitabha and the compassionate figure of the Bodhisattva Guanyin entered deeply among the East Asian people, long coexisting with local popular deities such as the God of Wealth and the Kitchen God — embodying the "many gods worshipped together, each to his need" character of Chinese popular faith.