Critical Thinking - Assignment Example

Critical Thinking Assignment Islam as world view Islam is one of the most recognized religions in the world with its adherents referred to as Muslims. The word itself, Islam, is an Arabic word for “acceptance” or “submission. Acting as world view, it would help in answering most important questions about origin, identity, meaning, morality and destiny. The question of origin: The Quran records that every living thing was created from the water by Allah. A verse in the Quran describes this “Allah has created every animal from water…” (24:45).

Consequently, this world view tends to conform to the scientific belief that life forms originated from the oceans of the Earth. God created the seven heavens and the Earth solely for humanity.The question of identity: The Quran accounts that Allah created human beings in a unique way, giving them special gifts and knowledge. The creation of man started with that of two people, Adam and Eve, male and female respectively, who then multiplied to bring forth generations of the Earth. For Weirder and Gutierrez (2011), they state that Allah created man as a responsible and dignified agent to meet the purpose of his creator.

The question of morality: Through the adherence to study of Quran, the Muslims acclimatize with the ways of living of a moral life in their society. The world view has it that every aspect of life has three common goals: practicality, balance and moderation. Apart from the Islamic teachings, every Muslim has to choose what is tolerable for oneself and the society as a whole (Winter, 2008).The question of meaning and purpose: The Islamic teachings account that the meaning of the existence of humanity is revealed through worshipping and obeying the teachings of Allah.

Further, every Muslim has a purpose of involving in good deeds towards offsetting the bad deeds and correcting the mistakes made. Besides, the world view also offers its follower five pillars which acts as a platform for discerning their obedience.The question of destinyThe world view presents Paradise and Hell as the destiny of man, depending on dominance of bad or good deeds. Essentially, A Muslim achieves Paradise by having good deeds outweighing his bad deeds. Only after death does a Muslim determines the level of his good or bad deeds.

Hell is a destiny for the individual who do not follow Allah’s teachings besides not recognizing him as the one god. Comparison to Christianity The question of origin: Both of the world views agree that God is the creator of everything in the World. Islam accounts for theistic evolution as part of God’s creation plan while Christianity refutes this theory, evolution, by stating that the God completed the creation process within six days.The question of identify: Both believe that humanity is unique and special creator above all the other animals.

However, the Islam holds the view that animals pray to Allah indifferent to Christianity whereby only angels and humans worship the triune God. The question of meaning and purpose: For Islam, the major purpose of man is to involve in good deeds towards offsetting the bad deeds and correcting the mistakes made, in order to avoid damnation (Renard, 2011). Christianity holds the view that man has the sole purpose of knowing God and Christ and also to make other people to know Christ (Matthew 28:16-20).

The question of morality: In Islam, Quran accounts that humanity are able to redeem themselves through carrying out good deeds in the society. For Christianity, only by the Grace of God do humanity get reconcile themselves; otherwise, they remain hopeless sinners (Mt. 5:48; Rm. 3:28).The question of destiny: Islam defines Heaven as a destiny for only the good people while leaving out the wicked out of the equation. This implies that there is no love for people with more bad deeds than good deeds and their destiny is hell (Surah 3:139; 4:107).. Indifferent to this, Christianity does not discriminate and asserts that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ will have salvation and eternal life (Jn. 3:16). References Renard, J. (2011). Islam and Christianity: Theological themes in comparative perspective.

Berkeley: University of California Press.Winter, T. J. (2008). The Cambridge companion to classical Islamic theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Weider, L., & Gutierrez, B. (2011). Consider. Virginia Beach, VA: Academx Publishing Services, Inc.