Essay on Differences between Christianity and Islam

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English 1101
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Differences Between Christianity and Islam While Christianity and Islam seem similar, they are different in several ways. These differences are important because they determine whether you are a Christian or a Muslim. Christianity and Islam are the two largest faiths in the world and while they are very different they many similarities. They are both inherited from Judaism which means they are both Abrahamic religions. They believe in One God who created the world and cares about the behavior and beliefs of human beings. The Prophet Muhammad knew Christians in his lifetime and respected them along with Jews as "People of the Book." Because of their monotheism and roots in the revealed Jewish Bible, the Prophet Mohammed and his successors extended conquered Christians (and Jews) more freedoms than conquered pagans. In Christianity, God is the eternal being that created and preserves the world. Christians believe God to be both transcendent. Christians believe in something called a trinity which is considered to be one of the most important doctrines in Christianity. This doctrine says that there are three distinct persons in One God. These three distinct persons are God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that God is three but one all in the same. The God in Christianity is a loving, gentle, stern, and forgiving God, quick to forgive and slow to anger. God depicted in Christianity is a God who loves all his children and wishes to have a close relationship with his children. He is also omnipresent, all powerful and all knowing. However in Islam, God is called Allah. They too believe that there is only one God who created the universe and everything in it. They believe he is infinite having no beginning or end. On the other hand, Muslims don’t believe that any human can have a close relationship with Allah. They believe that Allah is above all humans and that he would never stoop so low as to have a relationship with a mere human, and to even think in such a manner is blaspheme to Allah. In Islam Allah is a god who is quick to punish anyone who opposes him. As opposed to Christianity, Allah is a strict ruler who punishes anyone who turns their backs on him. Also Muslims are strictly monotheistic, denying the trinity. Muslims don’t believe that God can be three distinct persons in one. Muslims believe that view of God is blasphemous and polytheistic. So in short, the people of the Islamic faith reject the idea of the trinity. In Christianity, Jesus was born of a miraculous birth in Bethlehem to a virgin woman named Mary. Jesus in Christianity was the Jewish messiah, God Incarnate, and God’s Son. They believe that God the Son came to the earth in flesh to die for the sins of humanity and to intercede between God and his followers. Jesus was a sinless and pure man who was blameless. They believed that Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, made blind men see, and mute people talk. In Christianity, Jesus is also infinite having no beginning or end. They believe that Jesus and the Father are One in the same. Jesus in Christianity was humiliated publicly and killed on the cross for the shortcomings of mankind. Judeo-Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead with his flesh intact then ascended into heaven. Believing in these core beliefs of Christianity makes you a Christian. If you do not believe that Jesus was and is God then you are not a Christian and damned to the torment of hell. In Islam, Jesus is considered the Messiah and a great prophet who was sent to guide the children of Israel. In fact in the Islamic faith you must believe in all the great prophets including Jesus to be considered a Muslim. According to the Koran, if you don’t believe that Jesus was a great messenger of Allah, then you are not a Muslim. People of the Islamic faith also believe that Jesus was born of a miraculous birth from the virgin Maryam (Arabic
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