The Profound Differences between Jesus and Muhammad - Essay Example

The Profound Differences between Jesus and Muhammad So much have been written and debated about the Jesus of the Christian religion and the Muhammadof Islam. This paper presents the obvious differences of the two religious leaders. One of the Christian publications even says: “There is no comparison between Jesus and Muhammad. Muhammad falls so far short that he cannot be held on any level remotely close to Jesus. Muhammad is clearly inferior to Christ” (http://www.carm.org/religious-movements/islam/comparison-between-jesus-and-muhammad). This paper does not therefore attempt to put the two religious leaders on the same level for it would appear partial and very subjective but this paper will show the differences between the two prophets based on the different sources that have been consulted. The bulk of material and explanations are overwhelming, so this paper would simply come out to be a summary of what has been explored and declared by several religious scholars. Major Differences The first difference is: Muhammad was the prophet of war; but Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Muhammad adheres to Jihad, a holy or religious war. Second, Muhammads disciples killed for the faith while Jesus’ disciples were killed for their faith. Moreover, Muhammad promoted persecution against the "infidels" while Jesus forgave and converted the chief persecutor. In this case, Muhammad was the taker of life while Christ was the giver of life (John 10:27-28). In addition, Muhammad and his fellow warriors murdered thousands while Jesus murdered no one but saved many. Also, Muhammads method was compulsion while Jesus’ aim was voluntary conversion. They are so different because Muhammad practiced force while Jesus preached faith. Muhammad was a warrior while Jesus is a deliverer. Also, Muhammad conquered his enemies with the sword but Christ conquered his enemies with another kind of sword, the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. In addition, Muhammad said to the masses, "Convert or die!" but Jesus said, "Believe and live!" As a natural warrior, Muhammad was swift to shed blood but Jesus as the sacrifice shed His own blood for the salvation of many. Muhammad preached "Death to the infidels!" but Jesus prayed "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". Muhammad declared a holy war (Jihad) against infidels, however, Jesus achieved a holy victory on Calvarys cross and His followers share in that victory. In addition, Muhammad constrained people by conquest but Jesus constrained people by love. In guise of religion, modern terrorists derive their inspiration from Muhammad and carry out their despicable atrocities in the name of his god; however, Christians derive their inspiration from the One who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers". Moreover, modern day disciples of Muhammad respond to the terrorist attacks by cheering in the streets, while modern day Disciples of Christ are deeply grieved at past atrocities carried out by those who were "Christians" in name only like the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, etc. Truth is, many Muslims are peaceful and peace-loving because they do not strictly follow the teachings of their founder, on the other hand, many Christians are peaceful and peace-loving because they do strictly follow the teachings of their Founder. Muhammad said the Qur’an is authoritative only in Arabic, and only in his dialect but The Bible is authoritative in many languages around the world, for God knows all things and can inspire His Word in more than one language. In matters regarding music, Muhammad hated it, but Jesus and His disciples sang hymns, and the Apostles commanded the Lords Church to sing. With regards to religious leaders, Muhammad allowed that a Mullah, Imam, or Mufti of Islam can be a terrorist and a moral animal like Osama bin Laden, however, the Bible requires that a leader in the Church of the Jesus Christ must be above reproach, and when this is not true, Christians demand such a fallen leader to be removed from leadership. In addition, Islam calls on its followers to observe the Five Pillars, while all other aspects of life can be vulgar and not affect the Muslims prospects in Paradise; while the Bible calls on the Christian to submit to the total change of his/her life by the Spirit of God, that is, no area of life and thought is the choice of the follower. The Muslim looks forward to eternity in Paradise where there will be virgins who are used for eternal perpetual copulation; while the Bible believing Christian looks forward to being with Jesus Christ and is delighted with simply just that. There is also gender inequality in Islam because Muhammad said that the witness of a woman was half the value of the witness of a man and Muhammad said a woman goes to Paradise because she satisfies her husband sexually; however, the Bible teaches that a husband is to love his wife and be willing to die for her. In addition, Muhammad called upon his servants to fight; but Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight . . .but now is My kingdom not from here" (John 18:36). To prove this, Muhammad ordered death to the Jews (see A.Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press [1975], p. 369); but Jesus ordered that the gospel be preached "to the Jew first" (Romans 1:16). In matters of relating with others, the Qur’an says, "Fight in the cause of Allah" (Quran 2:244); while the Bible says, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood" and "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" (Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 10:4). Moreover, the Qur’an says, "Fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them" (Quran 9:5); but Jesus said, "Preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Moreover, the Qur’an says, "I will inspire terror into the hearts of unbelievers" (Quran 8:12); but Jesus says to “Love your enemies and pray for them” (Matthew 5: 43-47). In this case, the Muhammad’s Quran is a terrorist manual which condones fighting, conflict, terror, slaughter, and genocide against those who do not accept Islam; but the Bible is a missionary manual to spread the gospel of peace to all the world. Overall, Muhammads mission was to conquer the world for Allah; but Jesus’ mission was to conquer sins penalty and power by substitutionary atonement. In addition, Muhammad considered Jesus a good prophet; but Jesus pronounced Muhammad to be a false prophet (John 10:10; Matthew 24:11). Moreover, Muhammad claimed that there was but one God, Allah; on the other hand, Jesus claimed that He was God. Islam is geocentric: that is; the whole universe is centered on the Kaaba in the Grand mosque in Mecca in Arabia, and all Muslims pray facing that direction; however, Jesus Christ is the center of all Christian worship and fellowship, for He is "in the midst" where his saints meet anywhere on earth. Moreover, Islam must be received, or you can be killed for rejecting it; but the Faith offered by Jesus Christ is for "whosoever will" to receive, and all men are permitted to reject it. In addition, those who leave Islam are killed in most Islamic nations; but those who leave the true Church of Jesus Christ are allowed to do so with no revenge. One amazing difference is that Muhammads tomb is occupied but Jesus’ tomb is empty. Resurrection is one thing that greatly separates the two leaders. There are evidences of Muhammad’s remains in his tomb but nothing could be proven about Jesus’ remaining in the grave. To sum it all up, Muhammad and Jesus differ in many ways, such as in their views and experiences about Death, Fighting, Hearing from God, Identity, Instructions Received, Killing, Life, Marriage, Ministry, Ministry Length, Miracles, Prophecy, Sacrifice, Sin, Slaves, Virgin Birth, Voice of God, and Women (http://www.carm.org/religious-movements/islam/comparison-between-jesus-and-muhammad). Personal Reaction As a student of History, I find the aforementioned information overwhelming and indeed to much to take in at a short time. A person should have a huge background on morality and religion to avoid being biased. For me, I cannot totally believe that Muhammad could be so cruel as to resort to killing those who oppose him. With my Christian exposure, I look up to a spiritual leader who is more subdued and a peace-maker, that is, one who by all means, would avoid any form of violence. Life, for me, is so precious and so beautiful to be ended violently. I think Muhammad is too human to be compared to Jesus because Jesus exhibits a certain degree of holiness and morality that really elevates Him above humans. In other words, Jesus is too great to be compared to humans like Muhammad. Conclusion Much exposure and study should be done by students like me about matters like this. So much has been written about Jesus and Muhammad. The Bible and the Qur’an are two books that would demand so much time to study in order to be understood. By simply depending on what the critics and scholars say about Muhammad and Jesus would be insufficient and would not be considered very convincing. One has, at least, to go through the two books carefully in order to have a first hand experience at really seeing and analyzing if the claims written in these references do really have a fair bearing. I do believe though that people would not be so courageous enough about these matters without a deep knowledge about the two religions or else their lives may be in peril. Works Cited Slick, Matthew J. A Comparison between Jesus and Muhammad. Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. 1995 – 2009. Gabriel, Mark A. Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities (Kindle Edition). Charisma House/Amazon Digital Services (February 29, 2004) The Holy Bible (New International Version). New Jersey: International Bible Society. 1985. Life of Muhammad. (28 November 2009). . Muhammad and Jesus: Compare the Men - Compare the Religions. (29 November 2009). . Comparative Religion: Similarities between Jesus and Muhammad (29 November 2009). . Life of Muhammad. (29 November 2009). . Arlandson, James M. Jesus and Muhammad: Fifteen major differences. (28 November 2009). . A Comparison between Jesus and Muhammad. (27 November 2009). . StevenAU. Jesus and Muhammad: A Core Difference Between Islam and Christianity’s Central Figures. Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2004 2:24:28 AM. The Life of Mohammad. (28 November 2009). . Jesus’ Life: Questions about the events surrounding the life of Jesus.(28 November 2009). Read More