The Birth and Rise of Christianity and Islam

As of today, the world’s two largest religions Christianity and Islam share an estimated 3.6 billion members, more than half of the world’s population. On the surface, they appear to have almost nothing in common, however, as one goes beyond the surface and examines the other factors such as the rituals, beliefs, ethics, founders, and convictions, the two religions share many similarities. However, in order to truly see and understand these similarities and differences, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam.

Jesus, the founder of Christianity, and Muhammad, the founder of Islam, were both considered prophets of God. Although they only had a few followers in the beginning, the majority thought they were crazy or dangerous. This is one similarity between the two. Jesus was a Jewish boy born in Bethlehem and raised in the city of Nazareth. As a boy, Jesus studied the Torah and history of Jews, as well as memorizing the laws, prayers, psalms, and sayings of his people. In the Christian’s eyes, Jesus was a prophet, or Messiah, because he spoke the words of God and created miracles. According to the Old Testament, the role of a prophet was to foretell the future and the truth about God, in which Jesus did, as he spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem and the common basics of Christianity. Although some Jews welcomed Jesus as the Messiah who would save Israel from oppression, the Roman religious leaders did not. They believed that Jesus was just another false Messiah disrespecting the Jewish religion, or to the Roman Authorities, a revolutionary who would lead a Jewish revolt against Rome. Therefore, a crucifixion was ordered against Jesus. This left many Jews unhappy, but the Messiah spoke of a resurrection ...

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... trials and tribulations that both religions faced in the beginning of their birth to society, Christianity and Islam both managed to defeat all obstacles and doubts that once shadowed their followers. As of today, both Christianity and Islam have grown tremendously, however each religion has grown within themselves allowing many divisions and disagreements within the religion as well. Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant are some examples of religions within Christianity which somewhat differ and disagree from each other, while the Sunni and Shi’ites are divisions of Islam that argue about their beliefs and rules. As the chaotic world continues to live, Christianity and Islam continue to grow farther and farther apart. But in order to truly see the similarities and differences of these two religions, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam.