Enemies of the cross and the qur'an the end of the soul - Essay Example

The influence of liberalism has had a profound impact with regards to the way in which modern thought has developed. Ideas of capitalism, laissez-faire economics, Marxism, humanism, atheism, and a litany of other means of interpreting the world have come to fruition as a result of liberal ideology. Interestingly, even though it might be assumed that liberalism, and by extension liberal ideology, has had a standard and normative effect upon interpretations of Islam or Christianity, the fact the matter is that Christianity has fared far worse as compared to Islam with regards to the overall level of impact that it is felt based upon the liberal ideologies that it has come in contact with.

Chapter 35 of the text specifically discusses the disproportionate level of impact that liberal ideology has had within Christianity as compared to Islam.One of the underlying reasons for this level of disproportionate impact has to do with the fact that a large portion of Christian ideology is predicated upon the ethos of miraculous occurrences. Whereas it is true that Islam is largely based upon an understanding of miraculous intervention as well, Christian dogma and doctrine loses a great deal of legitimacy when faced with a situation in which these miraculous occurrences might not in fact be true.

Moreover, as a direct result of the liberal ideologies that came to pervade Christianity in the early 18th century, the overall extent to which learned individuals integrated with a belief in miracles began to decline rapidly; providing a situation in which the backbone and fundamentals of the Christian faith radically different from an interpretation of science or ideology of the early modern era.By means of contrast and comparison, Islam has fared rather well from the influences of liberalism.

This has mainly to do with the fact that the tradition of Islam is not predicated upon the occurrences of miracles or the many different diverse approaches towards religious interpretation; that exist to such a wide degree under the umbrella of Christian denominations. The text further illustrates the fact that Islam has been able to incorporate key changes in technology, sociology, science, and other key fields without losing an inherent level of relevance to the lives of those who practice it.

This can again by linked back to the fact that Islam is fundamentally different than Christianity in the fact that it is a more personal religious experience; as compared to the more group relevant dynamics that Christianity holds. Further, rather than relying upon miraculous occurrence as a rational for an individual to integrate with the faith, Islam promotes Shariah and submission to an Almighty power as the greatest rational for obedience and further integration with the faith. This factors, combined with Christianity’s unique weaknesses cause it to be more resilient to the threats of liberal ideology and thinking that have so profoundly influenced the world over the past several hundred years.