Christianity and Islam Compare and Contrast Essay

Introduction

Religion plays a vital role in society. It refers to the set of beliefs that are held by a particular group of people with the aim of praise and worship. Although religion is considered to be an integral part of the society, not all people view religion as an important aspect in their lives and therefore do not embrace any religious beliefs (Droeber, 2012). On the other hand, some people have embraced religion as an essential part of their lives. These various religious groups, therefore, have their defined beliefs that they hold passionately such that these beliefs influence their behavior and actions. While there are various religions in the world, the paper focuses on comparing and contrasting Islam and Christianity which are among the many religious beliefs that various groups hold. Christianity encompasses a group of people often referred to as Christians whose beliefs are based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Droeber, 2012). The Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God who is the savior of all the people. Islam, on the other hand, encompasses Muslims who also believe in God but focus their teachings on Muhammad as the messenger of God (Droeber, 2012). Looking at these two religions, it is evident that there are similar aspects while other aspects differ. Therefore, the paper will focus on providing both the similarities and contrasting fealties of Christianity and Islam with the aim of showing the impact of religion in the society.

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Similarities Between Islam and Christianity

Both Islam and Christianity operate as monotheistic religions. Both Christians and Muslims, therefore, believe that only one God exists who is supreme, the creator and sustains the entire universe (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012). Further, they believe that God is not only righteous and eternal, but also merciful to the people. According to these two groups, God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and his existence is vital in their lives. Another similarity is that both groups believe that God is supreme and has sovereign power over the universe. In this case, God is the creator of everything in the universe and has the power to sustain and destroy everything in any case whatsoever (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). This means that the entire universes depend on the mercy of God.

Both Muslim and Christians believe in prophets and their prophecy. In their teachings, both Islam and Prophet relate their beliefs to the teaching of their prophets. For example, in both relations, they believe that God sent his prophets such as Moses, Adam, Noah, John the Baptist, David, Joseph, and Jesus to spread his word to the people (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012). Therefore, both Muslim and Christian rely on the prophecies exhibited in the world and the New Testament as the divine scripture that guides their religious beliefs. Other than the prophets, both Muslims and Christian believe in Angels. In both sides, they belief that Angels are always on the call to carry and accomplish God's orders. Also, they believe that Satan is evil (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). In this case, while Christians refer to Satan as the Devil, Muslims know Satan as Iblis. According to Muslims, Satan is a Jinn who is considered to be a supernatural creature with demonic powers.

Consequently, Muslims and Christians believe on the judgment day such that they believe in life after death. In this case, they both believe that the dead will resurrect on the judgment day (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012). The judgment day will encompass retribution of reward or punishment based on the lives lived on earth. This process will, therefore, give people a membership either to hell or to heaven. This gives another similarity whereby both groups believe that heaven and hell exist. According to Islam and Christianity, after a physical, heaven is thus considered as a permanent sort of home for the people that lived a righteous life on earth. In heaven, these people will live in peace to eternity with constant peace and fellowship with God, the creator (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). On the other hand, people that lives evil lives will be sent to hell where they will face eternal condemnation and punishment.

Another similarity is that both Muslims and Christian believe a similar process is defining the birth of Jesus. Based on the teaching in both the Quran for Muslims and the Bible for the Christians, it is evident that both teach that a Virgin Mary conceived Jesus through a miracle from God (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). Although Mary was married to Joseph, God had Mary conceive Jesus before she had any sexual relationship. In this case, both groups believe that God performed this miracle because he is supreme and mighty. Since both groups believe that Jesus was a prophet of God, they affirm the second coming of Jesus in the judgment day where he will descend from heaven to earth (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012).

Difference Between Islam and Christianity

While both Islam and Christianity seem to be sharing various aspects, there is a significant attribute that greatly differs between the groups. For instance, the Christians believe that Jesus is divine and the son of God. He was born of the Virgin Mary as a savior to humanity. However, Muslims only believe that Jesus is only a prophet but not a Son of God (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012). The Christians believe that Jesus was crucified on the cross and died in atonement for the sins of his believers and this reason, he was the savior. After his crucifixion, Jesus resurrected and appeared to his disciples. According to christens, the death of Jesus on the cross thus acts as the focal point through which the believers reconcile with God (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). They believe that people reconcile with God by paying the ultimate price which was paid through the blood shed by Jesus in atonement for the sins of His believers. Therefore, if it were not for the death of Jesus, Christians would be hopeless in sin. The Bible teaches Christians that alms everything is cleansed through shedding blood, and it is through this cat that they get forgiveness (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012).

On the other hand, Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified in atonement for the sins of his believers. Instead, someone else was crucified, and Jesus hid whereby he later went to meet his disciples. Muslims believe that God saved His messenger from such a humiliating death and in its place took Jesus in Heaven to Him (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012). Since Muslims do not believe in the crucifixion and death of Jesus, they, therefore, do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. However, to Christian, the resurrection of Jesus signifies the victory of God over sin and death (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). It is through the death and resurrection of Jesus that human beings saved from the sins that were committed by Adam and Eve who were the forefathers and the first humans to be created by God.

The Quran is the religious book that guides and acts as a source of truth for the Muslims. They believe that the net testament which they refer to it as Injil is the original revelation that was made to Jesus by Allah (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012). On the other hand, Christians are guided by the Bible guides which is considered to Bible inspired by the word of God to His people through the prophets (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012). While Christians believe that the Bible is intact and should not be altered, Muslims believe that Christians have corrupted the original scriptures claiming that the Bible is therefore not reliable (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). According to Muslims, the Quran is the original version of the religious scriptures and the message from Muhammad. These scriptures are the truth and have accounted for the alterations and errors that have been exhibited through the Christian Bible. Despite the claim that the Bible is not reliable, Christians fully depend on the Bible including the Old Testament and the New Testament as their only source of truth and religious guidance.

While both Muslims and Christian believe in one God, Christians that God is eternally revealed in three supreme beings which are God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. Muslims, on the other hand, consider the Trinity of the three gods as a blasphemy. Since God gave His Son Jesus to die and save His people from sin, Christians that engage in sinful acts, therefore, rebel and against Gods will (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012). Such actions, therefore, anger God. In this case, Christians believe that humans were created in the image of God and that man is created as sinful in nature (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). Muslims, however, view sin as disobedience to any set rules and regulations. They thus believe that Sin does not cause any grieve to Allah. Also, they believe that although human beings were created by Allah, they are sinless in nature.

Lastly, Muslims hold the belief that there is no relevance in believing that Jesus died for the sins of His believers. According to them, there is no assurance of salvation, and therefore, it was not important that Jesus had shed blood and die in atonement for the sins of people. In this case, they believe that every person has the mandate to suffer and pay for their sins without relying on Jesus for salvation as Christians believe (Carson, Sweeney & Netland, 2016). Further, Muslim holds that punishing Jesus in the attempt to pay for our sins is unjust and lack of responsibility. They hold that people should not hold someone else responsible for their sins. On the other hand, Christians believe that human beings do not have the ability and power to atone for their sins. Without the mercies and grace of God through the death of Jesus, Christians would, therefore, be hopeless, powerless, and lost. Christians, therefore, view that God gave His Son as a precious gift to his people which is the only way to save them from sin (Miner, Ghobary, Dowson & Proctor, 2012).

Conclusion

From the discussion above, it is evident that religion plays a vital role in defining the actions within a particular group of worship. Looking at Islam and Christianity, it is clear that although they share various attributes, significant differences prevail. The significant similarities that define Christians and Muslims are the belief in one God, prophets, Jesus, Angels, Satan, death, judgment day, as well as life after death in hell or heaven. Despite these similarities, disparities in the book of Quran guiding Muslims and the Bible guiding Christians are evident. Major diverse attributed include the death and resurrection of Jesus, Jesus as the son of God, the Holy Trinity, and Jesus as the savior.

References

Carson, D., Sweeney, D., & Netland, H. A. (2016). The Message of Islam vs. The Gospel of Jesus. Retrieved from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-message-of-islam-vs-the-gospel-of-jesus/

Droeber, J. (2012). 'We are different!' Similarities between Christian and Muslim women in Jordan. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, 23(1), 59-78. doi: 10.1080/09596410.2011.634597

Miner, M., Ghobary, B., Dowson, M., & Proctor, M. (2012). Spiritual attachment in Islam and Christianity: similarities and differences. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 17(1), 79-93. doi: 10.1080/13674676.2012.749452