Christianity Compared to Muslim Traditions - Research Paper Example

Christianity Compared to Muslim Traditions Introduction In the year 1689 John Locke argued that no citizen of a state should be denied rights merely based on their religious beliefs. On the basis of this argument, a radical change spread across the Western nations, beginning in the New World and eventually into the European states towards a tolerance and level of acceptance that was intended to provide everyone the same opportunities without regard to their religious affiliation (Lewis and Churchill, 1). Bias, on the other hand, is a very different sort of experience and the bias that exists against other belief systems has been a driving force for the evil that men will do for thousands of years. In recent history two religions that have come into conflict based on political ideologies are those of Christianity and Islam where neither people fully understands the other. If looked at from an observational perspective, however, the religions are not that far apart in their beliefs or in the practice of those beliefs. While aspects of the Islamic and Christian religion are very far apart, the central ideas that hold each of the religions together are very similar in practice. Perspectives on Christianity Christianity encompasses a number of different denominations that all have small differences in the way in which they worship. Denominational differences primarily occurred during the time of the Reformation after Martin Luther took exception to the idea of selling forgiveness by the Catholic Church. The Christian religion has undergone a long list of changes from its beginning. The followers of Christ were originally rebels against a polytheistic society. After centuries of spreading the word, European followers were suddenly the oppressors creating wars and hosting invasive organizations like the Inquisition which judged and harmed. The organization of Christianity into a political system created a spiritual world with one foot in the secular as it began to function as members of state and as a center of wealth. Catholicism There about 900 million Catholics in the world today, which comprise about half of the Christian population. A Catholic church is headed by the clergy who are mostly priests and bishops. There are ranks within the Church with the leader of the Church being the Pope. One of the more interesting practices of the Church is the event of electing a new Pope. As the Cardinals vote on electing a new Pope they will release black smoke form the chimney on days that they fail to vote in a new leader. On the final day that they choose a new Pope, the chimney will release white smoke, indicating to the masses that a new Pope has been elected (Penney 12). The most important celebration within the Catholic Church is the taking of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Communion, which means that the individual has confessed their sins and is in a state of forgiveness, opening them to communication with God through sharing in a symbolic meal with Him. The worshiper takes in a wafer that symbolizes the bread which is the body of Christ and drinks wine, believing that this symbolizes the blood of Christ. This practice had many tribal communities that missionaries had approached and tried to teach the ways of Christian worship believing that Christians were cannibals (Jones 62). This practice, however, is intended to symbolizing becoming one with God through sharing of food and drink. As well, the worshiper becomes connected to the divine, thus the requirement for having cleared the conscious before participating. There are many symbolic rites that are conducted in the Catholic Church. The sign of the Cross is made when entering into a Church as the worshiper kneels before entering a pew. As well, this practice, called genuflecting, is also conducted when the worshipper leaves the pew. The worshiper has dipped their fingers into holy water before making the sign of the cross, creating a a symbolic washing of the heart before touching the head, solar plexus, left shoulder and then the right as they kneel at the pew. Such developed symbolic methods of worship make the Catholic Church unique to subsequent versions of Christianity that developed. Although most of the rites are shared between Catholic and Protestant religions, the Catholic Church tends to conduct them with more ceremony (Penney 28). There are many practices that are shared between Protestants and Catholics. Protestants share the use of Communion with Catholics, but tend to celebrate this rite on fewer days of the year. Where in the Catholic Church worshipers can attend a Mass where the Communion rites are given, most other denominations will celebrate Communion at less frequent times. Baptism is something that is shared by Catholics and Protestants. Catholics believe that a child must be baptized as soon as possible so that should they die they will be able to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many other denominations believe that a choice must be made to be a child of God and that this choice can only be made when a person is older. Catholics will baptize symbolically by sprinkling water on the forehead of a baby while other denominations might be observed fully immersing the body of the worshipper in water, symbolically cleansing them of their old life so that they can be ‘born again’ as a follower of Christ. Denominations There are a wide number of different denominations in the Christian religion. Some of them choose a very different path than the mainstream. The Amish, as an example, live in almost isolation from the rest of the communities surrounding them, denying technology and continuing to use 17th century tools and devices, such as the horse and buggy, instead of allowing themselves to advance into the modern world. The snake-handlers of the Appalachian Mountains show their faith in God by focusing on Bible verses that suggest that through faith, God’s children can safely handle serpents without fear of their bite. Snake handling is against the law because it is a dangerous practice, but this does not stop this form of worship in the United States (Kivisto 923). Some worshipers in the Christian religion have a practice called ‘speaking in tongues’. There are a variety of denominations that believe in this practice. During the service one of the worshipers will be in deep prayer when they will be moved to speak in the tongue of angels a language that is not known by the speaker. The angels speak through them as another worshipper begins to interpret the language. The act of speaking and interpreting is done through the inspiration of God and not through having had any experience learning these languages for either (Chavda 5). Although there is a tendency to try to suggest that Christianity is not about the supernatural and nor is it about belief systems that are outside of what is reasonable, there is enough evidence of practices that are extreme and strange to suggest that the different sections of the Christian faith offer a wide variety and as much mystery and mysticism as any other religion. In comparing the religious beliefs of Islam to Christianity it is easy to find how they are actually very similar. Comparisons to Islam Just as there are different types of worship in Christianity, there are several different types of worship in Muslim religions. The basic concepts of Muslim practice can be seen in the various different groups, but just as in Christianity, there are unique aspects in some Muslim groups that make them unique in the world. There are a variety of different cursory belief systems that make up the various ways in which Muslim practices are expressed. Where the Bible is the literature that expresses Christian beliefs, particularly the New Testament, it is the Qur’an that represents the core of Islamic beliefs. A Muslim church is called a Mosque and the spiritual leader in the Mosque is called the Mullah. While it is Sunday which is the Sabbath for Christians it is Friday for Muslim worship. There are common roots in the Greco-Roman traditions as well as in the Judeo-Christian heritage that can be traced back through the Islamic histories. The Judeo heritage of Christianity based in the New Testament shares on obsession with the Islamic tradition which is on the restriction of food, especially pork. This is one significant place where Christianity diverges from its similarities to Islam. Since the Catholic Church has abolished the need to eat fish on Fridays, there are no more restrictions in any of the denominations of Christianity on what foods must be eaten (Lewis and Churchill 2). One of the most significant areas in which Muslim and Christian worship diverge is that Muslims form their core identity on their beliefs, but Christians have their religious nature as an aspect of their identity. Political identity is closely tied to their religious expression, where Christians may or may not belief along religiously aligned thought processes where political issues are concerned. A great majority of Christians tend to place their religious beliefs as an element of their identity rather than as an identity. Muslim men and women wear specific clothing that helps to identify them with their religious beliefs and do so with great risk to their person through bias and prejudicial expressions. While this sense of identity can cause problems in the external community, the unity that is created through conforming to the dress and behaviors that have been defined by Muslim tradition can be a cause of comfort for those who find themselves in a strong community (Neusner 148). The Five Pillars One of the strongest identifying aspects of Islamic faith is that of the five pillars of faith. The first pillar is the profession that God is God and that Muhammad was a prophet. When this profession is made, the individual becomes a part of the Muslim community. One of the animosities that the Muslim faith holds against Christianity is that both the Jewish and Christian faiths were corrupted somewhere in history, leaving only the Muslim faith as the one true faith. The Qur’an is the revelations by Muhammad of the true word of God and is left as the last uncorrupt message from God to His followers. This is referred to as shahada (Neusner 147). The second pillar for the Muslim tradition is prayer. Prayer is handled in very specific ways in Muslim traditions. At five times throughout the day Muslim worshippers will stop what they are doing and pray. Prayer is a performance of prostration with the individual having a specific order to how they express their devotion. The five prayers are as follows: Fajr (sunrise), Dhurhr (noon), Asir (afternoon), Maghib (evening) and Isha (night) (Gulevich 142). The prayers are performed through facing toward Mecca (Gulevich 52). Zagat is the act of giving to others without the expectation of recognition for their effort. Part of the personal responsibilities that is laid on the individual in Muslim is the relief of suffering in their community. The typical amount of money spent on a Zagat is 2.5% of the earnings of a person for the year. This is given with the intention of relieving the social burdens in the community as this is a part of the overall lessons of character that the individual receives as a follower of Islam. The final two pillars of Islam are focused on creating awareness about the individual’s life and creating ways in which to express those frustrations. The fourth pillar of Islam is that of fasting. Fasting occurs as a ritual during the month of Ramadan, a religious period of time in which the fasting occurs from dawn until dusk, leaving them free to eat during the night time. The fifth pillar of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca, declaring the devotion that the individual has to his history and heritage. This occurs during the sacred period of Hajj. It can be made at other times but is considered Umran if that is the case (Gulevich 24). These structures provide consistency and responsibility for each other in creating a sense of identity and community. Where there is strong ritual and performance in a nation or group, there is a strong sense of identity. In some Christian factions, this sense of identity is hard to experience and the rituals do not have near the impact that is experienced in the Islam faith as they are so centrally tied to identity. Through externalized displays of faith that are meaningful for the individual and that places them as a member of the group, the five pillars provide structure and meaning to the performance of Islamic practice. Sufism Although there are many sects of Islam, the one most interesting sect is that of Sufism. Sufism is the mystic faction of Islam where the belief in the supernatural is at its highest. Although the beliefs in Sufism are basically the same as in most Islamic tradition, the belief in a connection to the divine is emphasized. This section of Muslim beliefs was intended as a reform through which the power of the political leadership was intended to be diminished (Neusner 147). The most popular understanding of this group is that of the Whirling Dervish. The Whirling Dervish occurs once per year and initiates new followers into the group. The event includes both the initiates and the audience with all of the participants whirling in an attempt to connect with God. The event is a dance to celebrate the existence of the connection to God with the intention of creating an open communication with the divine (Ivanovic 307). Sufism is an austere religions model. Just like the Christian ascetics, members of the Sufi religion have taken vows of poverty and live in a state of want and need. They are known for their wisdoms that have been part of the medical knowledge in Islam communities. Their lives are devoted to monastic style living, similar to the monks in Christian religious communities. The Sufi communities are mostly based in Turkey with the event of the Whirling Dervish taking place in Istanbul, although there are other places where smaller events take place. The event takes place at the site of their main shrine to Rumi who is the founder of their religion. One of the biggest problems every year is that the tourists who visit and observe the event do not always understand the significance of the physical movements so they become disruptive (Ivanovic 307). Discussion One of the places that Islam and Christianity diverge is through the worship of Jesus as the Son of God. Documents that come from the 7th century tend to condemn Islam because there is no acknowledgement of Jesus and therefore no Messianic foundation on which the religion has been created. Therefore, it does not fully fit into the Judeo-Christian heritage. This divergence led to the Crusades which in turn have been perpetuated throughout history as a means through which to deny Muslim communities peace from Christian condemnation (Renard xi). This animosity has simmered for centuries so it is no surprise that there is an uncomfortable truce that is periodically erupted into violence or aggression between the two religious communities. One of the areas that both followers of Islam and Christians are similar is in how they have placed divinity on their literature. Both the Bible and the Qur’an are considered divinely written. This has caused some problems in how the literature has been interpreted and the outcomes of actions that people have taken on the basis of those interpretations have included violence. William Scroggie of the Moody Institute in Chicago has framed this problem in relationship to the Bible by saying “Yes, the Bible is human, though some out of zeal, which is not according to knowledge, have rejected this. Those books have passed through the minds of men, are written in the language of men, were penned by the hands of men, and bear in their style, the characteristics of men” (Asadi1). In other words, for all their divine inspiration, the literature that is used to support religious belief was still written through the perspectives of human interpretation. Truth, Reality, Living and the Afterlife The basic belief of both Christianity and Islam is that there is one true God. That God is the same God in both religions. The truth that is shared through this monotheistic perspective also diverges at the point where the leadership is concerned. There is no Messianic perspective in Islam, as stated, thus the concept of redemption is not the same. The truth is not founded on the idea of forgiveness for sin, which may contribute to the austerity with which the rules of social life in Islam are so oppressive. This leads to a reality for most of those who live under Islamic traditions that is hard for Western and Christian people to understand. The reality of Islam is that it is a very strict patriarchal society. Christianity was founded on patriarchal principles, but there is some recognition that this was created through the interpretations of the books that eventually became the Bible as they were defined by a society that was very anti-women at the time. This recognition allows followers the latitude to interpret the Bible for the freedoms that Christ actually gave to women. This is not found in modern Muslim where the feminist perspective is not available. In some nations women are so oppressed that they cannot drive, leave the house without a male escort, or act on their own behalf in legal matters. What lies as an undercurrent in Christianity is fully expressed in the Muslim tradition where women are concerned. This is the Muslim reality for women. As described earlier, the sense of identity for Christians is less central than it is for people who follow Muslim traditions. This does not mean that Christians do not take their beliefs seriously, but it means that they do not define their existence in an external way. Muslims have a presence and identity that is a lifestyle. Muslim religious design is intended to support structure and rules, where Christ came and told his followers that the rules did not apply and that they should follow their heart. This has not always gone well, but the sentiment was intended for good. It is in the end that the greatest differences can be seen. The beliefs in the afterlife, while both mythically filled with riches and peace, are attained through different avenues. In Christian belief systems, it is through the simple act of belief that a Christian enters into Heaven. It is not through the works that are done neither on Earth nor through anything that one can do, but only in believing that God has created salvation and in accepting that salvation is entry made. In Muslim tradition, actions pave the way to Heaven (Samovar, Porter, and McDaniel 132). This has allowed for suicide bombers to operate under the idea that they will purchase their way into Heaven by dying for the cause of Islam. It would be hard to believe that this is the intention of God and this misguided belief system is no less dangerous than was the Inquisition and the power of the Church to condemn and murder those who were considered ‘blasphemers’. In the end this one truth must hold, that we are all God’s children and that harming each other is not the way. Salvation comes from love, not from hate. If both religions could come to this agreement then peace has a chance to flourish between the people of Islam and Christianity. Resources Asadi, Muhammed A. Islam & Christianity: Conflict or Conciliation? a Comparative and Textual Analysis of the Koran & the Bible. San Jose [Calif.: Writers Club Press, 2001. Print. Chavda, Maheesh. The Hidden Power of Speaking in Tongues. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishing, 2003. Print. Gulevich, Tanya. Understanding Islam and Muslim Traditions. Detroit, Michigan: Omnigraphics, 2004. Print. Penney, Sue. Christianity. Chicago, Ill: Heinemann Library, 2008. Print. Ivanovic, Milena. Cultural Tourism. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta, 2008. Print. Jones, Lois. Cannibal: The True Story Behind the Maneater of Rotenburg. New York: Berkley Books, 2005. Print. Kivisto, P. Them That Believe: The Power and Meaning of the Christian Serpent?Handling Tradition. By Ralph W. Hood, Jr., and W. Paul Williamson. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2008. Pp. ix+ 301. $24.95. The American Journal of Sociology, 115.3, 922-924, 2009. Print. Lewis, Bernard. E. and Churchill, Buntzie. E. Islam: The religion and the people. Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education, 2009. Print. Neusner, Jacob. World Religions in America: An Introduction. Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. Print. Renard, John. Islam and Christianity: Theological Themes in Comparative Perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. Print. Samovar, Larry A, Richard E. Porter, and Edwin R. McDaniel. Communication between Cultures. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Read More