Compare Islam with Christianity
With a world following of over 2 billion and 1.3 billion respectively, Christianity and Islam are without doubt the most popular religions that have had and still do have the most profound influence in the progression of history. Geisler and Saleeb state that even with the massive adherents, it is still astounding the menace of intolerance and mutual distrust among the two religions (207). While these differences inherentlyhave their roots in history, truth be told, many Christians and Muslims know little about their religions. Consequently, these misconceptions have been used as the basis to hold and propagate misleading and mistaken ideas about their religions without valid grounds.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the comparison between these two religions and by studying the two sacred books, hadiths and other sources of information with an intention of ascertaining that while there are many irreconcilabledifferencesbetween Christianity and Islam, ultimately, these two religions are by far the most similar of all religions and that their similarities in beliefs and values far transcend the differences in expansion that the world has witnessed over the years.
1.0 Similarities
1.1 Origins
Both Christianity and Islam originated from the Middle East.According to Broedel, the two religions have their roots in Judaism; a monotheist religion which greatly influenced not only Islam and Christianity but also other religions of the world (“The Koran, the Torah and the Gospel”).*
1.2 Beliefs
Among other beliefs, both religions inherently believe in the existence of one true God (King James BibleIs. 4.46; Al-Quran Surah 5:76).Moreover, Christians and Muslims believe that good deeds on eart...
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...adherents of the two religions. Whether it is Christianity or Islam that is the right choice should be left to God whom we both acknowledge to be the ultimate judge.
Works Cited
AL-QUR'AN: A Contemporary Translation by Ahmed Ali,NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
Print.
Broedel G. Brian. The Koran, the Torah and the Gospel. A brief examination of the Koran as it
Relates to Islam, Judaism and Christianity.12 June 2010.
Geisler, Norman L. and Saleeb, Abdul, Answering Islam: The Crescent in the Light of the Cross,
MI: Baker Books, 1993. 207-319.Print.
Gaudeul, Jean-Marie Encounters and Clashes: Islam and Christianity in History, vol.2.Rome:
PISAI, 2000. Print.
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71. Print.
The King James Bible, New York: American Bible Society, 1999. Print.
Islam and Christianity seem to have very little in common; however, the two actually show strong likeness, principally in the central areas. Both Muslims and Christians are monotheists, believing in one God. While both believe in the same God, He is called by two completely different names. He is referred to as "Allah" by Muslims and "God" by Christians. Although Islam and Christianity are two different religions, their similarities in beliefs and prayers make them comparable in many aspects.
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
Both Christianity and Islam mirror Judaism. From Judaism, Christianity and Islam derived the doctrines of monotheism, prophecy, resurrection, and a belief in the existence of heaven and hell. Both Islam and Christianity have a holy book. Christians consider the Bible the inspired word of God, however Muslims believe that the Koran is the literal word of God. Mohammed was merely transcribing the words of Allah, much as a court reporter does. Muslims therefore attribute greater spiritual
Rahman, Fazlur. Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1982. Print.
The points of contention the defenders of Christianity and Islam dwell on are the validity of their religions and prophets. This is the center of the debate between Al-Kindi, a Christian apologist that argues that Islam is satanic, and ‘Abd al-Jabbar, a Muslim who argues that Christianity is hypocritical. The discussion between the two apologists takes place in their works entitled The Apology of al-Kindi and The Critique of Christian Origins respectively. In both texts they discuss the validity of Christianity and Islam based on the prophecies, violent tendencies, and means of recruitment.
Throughout history it is evident that many religions have been tried, tested, and, for some, radically changed. Many religions have gone through periods of time in which the way they were run or enforced underwent changes in practice and leadership. In many cases disagreements and differing outlooks among members of certain religions were to blame for these changes. Christianity and Islam are two examples of religions that have experienced changes over the course of their existence. While these religions seem to have little in common at first glance, both have strikingly similar pasts that consist of radical splits due to disagreements among members of the Christian and Islamic churches, resulting in new branches within each religion.
The two largest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam, were implemented by two of religions most powerful leaders, Jesus and Muhammad. Without question, both Jesus and Muhammad have affected humanity powerfully. As religious leaders both men laid down the principles upon which Christianity and Islam are founded yet today. However, while Jesus performed miracles and arose from the dead, thus proving to his followers he was God, Muhammad performed no such feats, and made no such claims. In fact, Muhammad’s only claim was that he was the last prophet sent from God.
Although there are many religions in the world that have affected the lives and cultures of many people it is clear that most of the historical developments that have affected the way people now live seem to have been greatly influenced by the three religions with close relationships to each other resulting in being clustered together as the Abrahamic faiths. While there are many differences among the three most populous religions called the Abrahamic faith (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), there are a number of similarities that deserve a closer look. In this article will look at three major similarities. At times there may be more similarities between any two of them but dissimilarity with the third. For instance, on the personality and
However much Islam and Christianity would seem to share common ground, the discussion is not complete without noting the parallels between this two that have taken center stage. Some of the remarkable differences as they try to answer deep life complexities arise in the areas of religious practices by both their adherents and the clergy (Dorothy 13-28). “There is also a stark contrast to the belief system subscribed to, means of salvation, scriptures”. The most prominent difference present concerns the belief of life after death and practices of depicting the metaphysical
Christianity and Islam are two religions that grew from the same central idea of one divine being; they also originate from Jerusalem. However, the two religions bear great disparity but they also hold a few similarities. Both Islam and Christianity believe in Abraham as the forefather of both religions; they believe Him to be the founder of the two religions. The two religions have a holy book; Islam uses the Quran while Christians use the bible. Even though the two books do not bear the same teachings they are considered sacred in both religions. However, Christianity and Islam share a great deal of differences starting from the holy books, their beliefs, and the information contained in the respective holy book (Kavanaugh, 5).
At the first glance, Islam and Christianity appear to have nothing in common, however; as you go beyond the surface, they appear to have many similarities such as their beliefs of God, their beliefs of life after death, their holy scriptures, and their prayers. These religions, although are two entirely different beliefs, share a similar origin. Like many other religions, they both claim to be the one and only true way to God. In order to truly see and understand their similarities, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam. Throughout the course of this essay, I will compare the many facets that show the alikeness between these two growing religions.
The commonalities of Christianity and Islam center around the idea of believing in one God. The God of Christianity and Islam is separate from the world and creation. With numerous similarities a few that can be discussed pertaining to lifestyle include: both worship in community, believe in life after death, and put God as first priority. More so, we must not get the idea confused that Christianity and Islam worship the
There are many similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are also many differences that separate the three major religions of the world. This paper will delve into all three of them.
G. Esposito, John L (2002) Islam; What Everyone Should Know. New York. Oxford University Press Inc.
There are many religions today that people worship and adapt into their daily lives are their creed. Some may have a lot of gods, while some only have one god. But three of these religions are considered as the major religion practiced by most people in the world today. Although different in some senses in terms of history and other teachings, they all have things in common that most of their followers do not seem to realize. The similarities are very important to understand each religion better and be able to determine which parts they vary. In this paper, I like to discuss the similarities found in the three major monotheistic religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.