Echoing off what popular historian Michael Grant once said, Christianity and Islam are, “one of the few revolutions in the world’s history that have lasted” (Nardo, 1999, p. 12).Christianity and Islam are currently the world’s two largest religions. At first glance, Islam and Christianity appear to be very different. However, these two religious movements share similar origin, concepts and values. It is important to note now that Christianity and Islam share similarities mostly because they were both technically derived from Judaism. In fact the Hebrew Yahweh of the Old Testament is the same God/Allah that Christians and Muslims worship. This paper seeks to illustrate the origin, concepts and values of ancient Christianity and Islam; illustrating …show more content…
The early Christians were primarily Jewish individuals who had converted to Christianity. Jesus himself was born and raised in the Jewish community. What separated Christianity from Judaism, and what furthermore distinguished Christianity from Islam is the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God, “a superhuman figure that the Jewish tradition had long prophesied would come to rescue the Jews from centuries of oppression” (Nardo, 1999, p. 16). Such a belief was dangerous to the Pharisees and Roman rule. So in the year 30 A.D Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified with the conviction of king of the Jews. Jesus Christ did not die however, he instead rose and ascended back to heaven. Though Jesus had predicted the spread of the gospel, evangelism did not truly begin till after his death. According to Nardo, despite the preaching of Philip, Peter, John, and others, the gospel did not progress in Palestine. This was because the gospel was at first preached completely within the Jewish community. Christianity began to spread outside Palestine when the apostle Paul began to minister to the gentiles. This growth was still relatively slow. Within and Outside the Roman Empire, Christians were persecuted and martyred for, “more than three hundred years after its (Christianity’s) birth” (Boer, 1976, p. 42). This period is known as The Great …show more content…
The Islamic Qur’an and the Christian Bible. During ancient times, believers basically memorized these stories. There was initially no written forms of the Qua’ran or the Gospel. The new testament was not compiled till AD 400 and the Qur’an around 600. Interestingly, the Qur’an can only be referred to as the Qur’an when it is in Arabic. All translations of the Qur’an are titled differently. Both religions believe that though written by mortal men, the texts come directly from God. The Islamic Qur’an somewhat parallels the Christian Bible. Characters found in the Bible and the Qur’an include: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus (Isa). Not found in the Bible is: Hud, Salih, Muhammed and Luqman. In the Bible God exist in three forms, God the Father, the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. Islam however understands this Trinity as father (Joseph), virgin (Mary), and child (Jesus). Islam identifies the angel Gabriel from whom the revelation to Mohammad came from as the Holy Spirit. The central message of the Gospel is that, Jesus the messiah, Son of God, was crucified and died for our sins but conquered death and was resurrected to heaven. The Qur’an’s central message is that there is only one God,Allah, and Muhammad is the last prophet and Messenger of God. Christians worship Jesus as a God while Muslims honor Mohammad as a prophet. Islam agrees that Jesus was indeed, born of a virgin, the Messiah, and a great
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.
Two of the world 's largest religious practices are Christianity and Islam. Christianity is the biggest religion in the world with 2.4 billion followers while Islam has 1.3 billion followers. Both religions have similar straits especially since the two histories begin with the first human creation of Adam and Eve and the Prophet Abraham. Despite their similarities, there has been intense wars between the two faiths and tension between the two religions exist today. Major similarities and differences between the two faiths are seen in how the religions view God, the understanding of heaven and hell, along with important prophets. Christians and Muslims believe in the same heaven and hell, same God despite different names, and same prophets however
Concerning sacred texts, the Christianity traditions use the bible to be their text. This bible text contains two sections the Old Testament and the New Testament. For example, in the Old Testament part, it contains the text words like: Tanakh that means the Hebrew bible, Tarah which means the Pentateuch, Nevism which means the prophet, and Ketuvin that means writings. All these Christian texts were believed to have been chosen from Greek translation that was done by the Jews in the Egypt in the third century BCE. The Christian people also believed that these sacred texts set the stage for the advent of the messiah who is called Jesus Christy. On the other hand, the Islamic sacred text is different; it is a Quran that is believed to be a sacred scripture and was recited by the Muhammad. The Muslim also alleged that the Quran contains the message from their prophet Muhammad. This sacred text contains 144 chapters called surah and it ranges from 280 to 6 verses. Another Islam sacred text is the hadiths. This is the collection of sayings that talks more about the deeds of the prophet Muhammad. The Islam religion also valued this hadiths not to be like the Quran which was written by Muhammad
Christianity and Islam continue to be the two fastest growing religions in the world. Men and women, both Christian and Muslim, are now asking the question, must these two religions collide? Is there no common ground between them? Many Muslims are taught that Christianity seeks to eliminate Islam; that Christians have no knowledge or understanding of their faith; that Christians condemn Islam, and hold the teachings of Islamic Fundamentalism responsible for many if not all the terrorist activities throughout the world.
For the layman, familiarity with the major religions stems from the stories that are associated with them. Using the narratives that are derived from the sacred texts is the most prominent way in which our society identifies the Western religions. The Jewish tradition is best correlated to stories like the Exodus and the parting of the Red Seas, for example, as are the many tales of the miracles of Jesus connected to Christianity. This essay will present narratives as an easy method of providing the basic groundwork for the Western religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because of their simplicity and easily transmittable nature. Furthermore, narratives impart many of the rules, laws, and moral fundamentals for these faiths, and are used by religious writers as a novel method of initiating discussion or providing a parallel for other narratives.
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.
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).
Although Islam and Christianity differ in major ways, they also share some similarities in their belief of God. First of all, Christianity and Islam are both monotheistic religions; worshipping only 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. The basic creed of Islam is brief: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah”. Islam teaches that there is one God: the creator and sustainer of the universe, whom is compassionate and just. He calls all the people to believe in Him and worship Him. When someone disobeys the Lord, they may be forgiven if they are sincerely repent. In Christianity, the first, and most important of the Ten Commandments states that "I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Identical to Muslims, Christians also believe that their God is the creator and sustainer of the universe. The Bible begins with the creation of the Earth by God in seven days.
Islam and Christianity have a vast amount of similarities as well as differences. Islam searches for guidance from the Qur’an and Christianity depends on faith in Jesus. Islamic faith believes in the God, Allah. Above anything else, all religious Muslims obey Allah and his commandments to obtain peace. On other hand, Christianity puts faith in Jesus who is the son of God. A major concept that separates both of the religions is the fact that the God of each faith has different qualities. This means Islam and Christianity don’t worship the same God. Islam and Christianity are two separate belief systems in which two separate Gods exist.
The Christians have their book known as the Bible. Lastly, the Islamic people have their book known as the Quran. All three of these books have scriptures. These three major religions also share a belief that there is one major area that they claim as their Holy Land. The Jews and the Christians claim Jerusalem, Israel as their Holy Land while the Islamic people claim Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The Bible is a collection of sixty books that was written by diverse of authors, including the apostles and the disciple of Jesus. The Bible divided into two Testaments; the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament or the old contract is a collection of thirty-six books and the New Testament has twenty seven books. The New Testament is a contract between God and the humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Koran was written by Muhammad, a prophet of God. Muslims believed that he received a message from Angel Gabriel and wrote the Koran. However, Both the Bible and the Koran are the words of God. The Christians believe in the resurrection of Christ Jesus has the son of God while the Muslims do not believe Jesus Christ as the son of God.
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.
Although Islam and Christianity are two different religions they have many things in common and the differences they do have are also similar. Both religions believe that there is one god in the universe and they also each have similar prophets that they believe in. Muslims believe in their god referred to as Allah and one prophet that they as a religion believe in named Mohammad while Christians believe in their god that they refer to as God and prophets such as John the Baptist along with other prophets that the Islam faith, along with others, believe in as well. Each Islam and Christianity also have a book or guide that they use in their religions for teaching their faith. It has a set of “rules” that they are supposed to follow and includes rituals that believers should take part in. Christians look to the bible for prayer and Muslims look to the Qu’ran. For those