Comparing Islam and Christianity

Comparing Islam and Christianity

Although they share several basic theological ideas, Christianity and Islam differ on countless key characteristics. The most prominent differences include atonement, the identity of God, heaven, view of Jesus, and the perception of the Christian Bible. It is these not-so-subtle contrasts of thoughts that separate the two most prevalent religions in the world.

One of the most important differences in Christianity and Islam is the concept of atonement. In Christianity, Jesus’ death on the cross allows Christians to repent from their sins and gain forgiveness from God. Conversely, in Islam there is no atonement from sins with Allah, though they still repent and confess their sins. While Christians believe that their sincere repentance provides them with a new, clean slate with God, Muslims believe that, despite their repentance, their sins will always be held against them when judged on the final day. These differing views on forgiveness set the tone for each respective religion, with Christianity seen as a forgiving, loving religion, and Islam being viewed as a hard-nosed, action-based religion.

Another important difference between Christians and Muslims is their views of God.

Despite the fact that Muslims claim Allah is the same as God the Father, Christians deny such claims, citing the fact that they worship the Holy Trinity. Christians follow a triune God, equal parts God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Though each has specific roles and responsibilities, Christians view them as one God. This differs from the Islamic point of view of a singular God, called Allah, holding a similar role as creator and maintainer as God the Father. Interestingly, Muslims apply a similar role ...

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...s the Hebrew Messiah, thus finally saving the Jews from their sins. His death on the cross and resurrection provided Christians with the opportunity to be forgiven from their sins and have a chance to live with God for eternity in heaven. While Muslims respect the teachings of Jesus, they view Him only as a great prophet, but not as great as Muhammad. They believe that God replaced Him with Judas on the cross, thus dispelling the Christian belief that His death saved them from their sins.

While they are conceptually similar, the major differences between Islamic and Christian theology become obvious upon further inspection. The aforementioned differences, most importantly each religion’s view of Jesus, prevent Muslims and Christians from agreeing on anything theological, and have created a chasm between the two cousin religions currently dominating world theology.