Christianity and Islam are two of the most significant religions since theircreation.
Islam means submission in Arabic, and a Muslim is one whosubmits to the will of God (Islam page 223). Christians were called so becauseof Jesus title Christos, which is Greek for Messiah (Christianity page 198). Both religions are very similar with only some of the beliefs and teachingsbeing different. They also give separate messages to outsiders as to what theirreligions stand for.
Both religions are monotheistic with a holy text and theyboth strive to conquer evil. Islam has a set of rules (5 Pillars of Islam) setforth to reach enlightenment while Christians basically just sin, repent, andthen are forgiven for their sins. Christianity is a much easier religion tobelong to because it is a lot more lenient to what you can and cannot do as wellas when and where you can do it. Islam is also more closed doors because the donot really send out missionaries looking for people to convert to Islam. ForChristianity, Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah (the anointed one) Godsdeliverer, whose coming the prophets had foretold (Christianity page 198). Jesustaught the good Word of the Lord, as was his duty as the Son of God.
He is alsosaid to have performed miracles such as curing leprosy and blindness as wellwalking on water. Roman and Jewish authorities were disquieted by the threat tothe establishment that Jesus and his followers seemed to offer, and theyconspired successfully to execute him by crucifixion (Christianity page 198). After Jesus was crucified for the sins of all men, he was believed by Christiansto have risen from the dead and then ascended to Heaven. After the death ofJesus, his life and teachings were written with many tall tales (as I liketo call them) about the great battles and accomplishments of Christians as wellas success stories about the followers of Gods Word. All of these stories andsome historical facts are written in the Bible, which is the holy text of theChristians. It explains how God created the Earth the creation of the Earth andman and it teaches how to be righteous.
The founder of Islam was the ProphetMohammed who was an orphan from the city of Mecca. Mohammed claimed to bevisited by the Angel Gabriel who gave him the basis for this new religion. TheFive Pillars of Islam are the basic laws to be a good Muslim. Declaring thatthere is no God but Allah, praying five times a day facing Mecca, fasting duringset times, tithing for needy, and a journey to Mecca at least once in yourlifetime. Some Muslims have a sixth pillar, jihad, which is translated intoholy war (Variety page 234). Mohammeds teachings were not written untilhis death because there was no compelling reason to set his words down in somedefinite form.
After the sudden death of Mohammed in 632, Caliph Abu Bakrordered one of the prophets companions to collect, from oral and writtensources, all of Mohammeds utterances (Quran page 225). They were writtenin the Quran which is basically the Muslim Bible. The Quran is thewritten version of the teachings that Mohammed preached while he was alive. Asecond source of guidance for most Muslims is al-Hadith (Tradition), a vast bodyof transmitted stories of what the Prophet said or did or what was said or donein his presence and therefore approved by him (Foundations page 225). Christianity is a very appealing religion because it seems to be so easy tounderstand and become a Christian where as Islam is very difficult. There arefive set times a day in Islam where you have to stop everything and pray facingMecca and Muslims go to church on Fridays.
Christians are free to pray any waythey want at any time they want and go to church on Sundays. The Bible isdifferent in that it contains the teachings of Jesus, the direct Word of God,and many religious stories. The Quran contains only the teachings of Mohammedwhich is said to be the Word of God spoken through man. The religious stories ofIslam are in separate sources such as the al-Hadith, The Six AuthenticCompilations, and Gardens of the Righteous (Tales page 230). The Bible and theQuran are similar in the simple fact that they were not written until theprophets of their religion were dead (although Jesus was resurrected and went toHeaven).
While Jesus and Mohammed were on Earth, their stories and teachingswere passed on orally, so the need to write them down was not necessary. Christianity is a religion where they welcome outsiders in to convert them andlove everyone, Christian or not, for they are all the children of God. Islamteaches to: Be mindful of you duty to Allah and try to promote accord betweenyourselves (8. 2).
All believers are brothers; so make peace between yourbrothers (49. 11). Fight the idolators all together, as they fight you alltogether, and know that Allah is with the righteous (9. 36)(Nawawi page232). Make peace between your brothers, means to make peace with otherMuslims. If you are not Muslim, you are not one of their brothers.
They also sayto fight the idolators, which means to fight against those who are notMuslim. This message to hate he who is not of the same religion is the completeopposite from that of Christianitys message. I believe that is why Muslimsfeel compelled to bomb other peoples and fight holy wars. This is another reasonwhy Christianity is more appealing. Both Islam and Christianity offer arewarding eternal dwelling if you live a righteous life here on earth anddo the duty of Allah or God.
Christians believe that their reward for arighteous life is to go to Heaven. For Muslims, the reward for following the 5Pillars of Islam is pleasant dwellings in Gardens of Eternity (Nawawi page 232). These are the sole reasons for having the religions in the first place. Thesupreme goal of both religions is to successfully reach a peaceful afterlife.
Asfar as bad afterlives go, Christianity has Hell for those who go against God andare not forgiven for their sins. Hell is an eternal damnation full of tortureand suffering. Hell is a deterrent from sin, which makes people more inclined tolive holy and righteous lives. As Heaven is a reward for living a righteouslife, Hell is the punishment for living a life of sin.
I am not sure aboutIslam, although the book does talk about Allah saving someone from theFire and Fire being defined as Hell (Nawawi page 232). I can infer thismeans that they both have a punitive home for the unholy and disbelieving. BothIslam and Christianity have dietary restrictions. Muslims cannot eat fromsunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Some Christians fast on GoodFriday as well as giving up their favorite food during the Advent Season.
Christians celebrate the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus while the onlyreligious celebration that Muslims have to my knowledge is the holy month ofRamadan. I do not know why they celebrate this but I do know they celebrate theninth month on their lunar calendar and that is the holy month of Ramadan. Ipersonally think that Christianity is a much easier religion to deal with beingthat it has just about the same outcome as Islam does. Christianity also has alot less work involved. I would say that Christianity is a much more convenientreligion.
Less time and effort is put into praying and being righteous withChristianity. Plus it is much more believable to me that Jesus was the Son ofGod than it is to believe that Mohammed was visited by an angel that told himwhat to do. They were both doing well although the Islamic message is not quietas nice as the Christian one. Loving everyone as your brother and sister is agood message to give and it is an exceptional way to keep the world peacefuleven if you are not Christian. That is why Christianity is a much moresuccessful religion and it is stronger than Islam will ever be. Christianity andIslam are basically one in the same.
They both have one God with and the samebasic beliefs. Both have a holy text with the teachings of their prophets alongwith some religious stories. Both religions are very successful althoughChristianity has a leg up do to its convenience and its willingness to takeothers and convert them. These religions have been around for almost twothousand years and will continue to strive throughout history. BibliographyChristianity: Conquering the World for Christ Alfred J. Andrea andJames H.
Overfield, eds. Human Record I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998),198-199. Islam: Universal Submission to God Alfred J.
Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
1998), 223-224. Nawawi, Imam. Gardens of the Righteous Reprinted in Alfred J. Andrea andJames H. Overfield, eds.
Human Record I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998),230-233. The Quran Alfred J.
Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. HumanRecord I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998), 225-226.
The Foundations ofIslamic Life Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I.
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998), 225. The Tales of Tradition Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I.
(Boston: Mifflin Co. 1998),229-230. Variety and Unity in Islam Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds.
Human Record I. (Boston: Mifflin Co. 1998), 253-234Religion
