Jesus in Christianity - Research Paper Example

Jesus in Christianity, Islam and Judaism It is quite obvious that the human civilization features a considerable number of features that make it unique and different from any other group which is formed by the living creatures. While it may make sense to put emphasis on such abilities as generating verbal interaction or performing economic activity, there is no doubt that they reflect the nature of the mankind on a superficial level. However, on a much deeper level the highly developed spiritual world as well as the notion of religion is what really defines our kind. That is why examination of different religious aspects is able to provide an insight into the nature of the people. This paper will analyze an important figure in three Abrahamic religions, namely Jesus Christ. The first aspect that will be used to compare and contrast the views of Christianity, Islam and Judaism is the attitude towards the nature of Jesus. It would be rather logical to begin with the point of view of Christianity as this spiritual tradition has devoted a considerable amount of attention to it, making Jesus one the key figures in its teaching. Thus, according to the Christian tradition, Jesus Christ is seen as the second Person in the Holy Trinity, which makes him God (Wuthnow 131). Indeed, the idea of Trinitarian God is rather difficult to grasp, but in the mind of true believers He is simultaneously God and Son of God which means that when Christians address their Lord they imply Jesus. The Muslim perspective on this Biblical figure is somewhat different. Just like Christians, the Muslims do acknowledge the contribution of Jesus Christ in the process of spiritual development of the humanity and believe that He enjoyed a close relationship with God. However, unlike their Christian counterparts, they do not consider him to be an incarnation of God which means that they reject His divine nature. This means that for the Muslims, Jesus Christ is a famous, respected and loved prophet who is called Isa, but nothing more (“Declaration on the Relation”). This is quite in interesting perspective as it may provide a common ground for these two religions. Finally, it may be rather important to analyze the point of view that is taken by Judaism as well. Keeping in mind that this is the only religion out of the above mentioned three that existed in the times of Jesus, it may provide an interesting perspective on His role and significance. Thus, those who adhere to the spiritual tradition of Judaism think that Jesus Christ was nothing but an ordinary Jew who claimed himself as a Messiah (Fieser 88). In other words, according to Judaism Jesus Christ was a person Who did not have divine nature or powers and, therefore, should not be considered to be an extraordinary figure. The next point which is of great importance to when it comes to analyzing the role of Jesus in the above mentioned religious is the mission that He had while living as a mortal on Earth. According to Christianity, His message as well as His life was dedicated to one particular goal: to reconstruct the positive relationship between men and God (Stark 312). Indeed, the key idea that is featured in the Gospels is that Jesus was willing to perform a sacrifice so that the original sin of the people was redeemed and so that they were able to enter the heavenly kingdom. It is quite obvious that this concept later became the foundation of the Christian teaching. If one takes a look at Jesus Christ as well as His mission from the point of view of Islam, one will be able to point out the following: just like any other prophet, Jesus came to the people to reveal the sacred truth that God told him. In other words, He was a messenger from God to the Jews who did not want to hear His message and decided to kill him instead. However, there is a peculiar detail about the message that He was spreading. It is largely thought that over the course of history it was distorted so much that at the present moment one can hardly reconstruct the original idea that Jesus came with. As for the third religion, namely Judaism, it does not have a certain defined attitude towards the ministry of Jesus on Earth. This can be easily explained by the fact that this spiritual tradition pays almost no attention to this figure. However, in any case, it would not be an exaggeration to point out that Judaism does not admit that Jesus possessed any kind of spiritual power or that he was sent with a higher purpose. In other words, his contribution to the history of the mankind is equal to the contribution of any other criminal of his time, nothing more. Finally, there is one more point which is able to reveal the difference in the attitude towards the legacy of Jesus between the three religions. Thus, it would not be a mistake to suggest that this historical figure is most known because of His death. From the Christian point of view, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ should be regarded as the turning point of the human history as from that moment the relationship between men and God was reconciled and the former could reach heaven if they live a pious live. Another point that should be noted is that special significance is paid to the pain that Jesus endured during His execution, as being God, we willingly exposed Himself to such a tremendous amount of suffering in order to show his love for the mankind. A rather surprising view is presented by the Islamic thought. The latter denies that Jesus was killed or that he was crucified. According to the Muslim tradition, this messenger of God was taken directly to heaven and is thought to remain there alive. This is an important difference, since the Christians believe that Jesus did die as a mortal human, but resurrected and this particular miracle may be considered to be the greatest proof of his divine nature. Contrary to that, the Muslims do not believe in it, but put emphasis on that he is still alive and never died. It is quite obvious that Judaism would not feature any kind of extraordinary ideas about death of Jesus. Thus, it claims that Jesus was crucified as an ordinary criminal who was encouraging people to organize a mutiny. Once again, this religious tradition did not take into consideration any elements of his life, there it would not be logical to expect it to provide any kind of positive or negative attitude towards death of Jesus Christ. Having examined all the evidence, one might suggest that the views of the above mentioned three religions might be compared and contrasted with the help of three aspects. The first of them is the approach towards the nature of Jesus Christ. Thus, Christianity considers him to be Son of God and the second Person in the Holy Trinity also makes Him God. Islam denied the divine nature of Jesus, but acknowledges him as a true prophet. Similarly, Judaism also does not see Jesus as some kind of a creature with supernatural nature, but rather a mortal human. The second point is the mission of Jesus. For Christianity, the Son of God came on Earth to free people from the curse of the original sin and show them the path to heaven; for Islam, Jesus preached a message from God to the Jew, but the latter did not want to hear it; for Judaism, Jesus was an ordinary mortal man. Finally, the death of Jesus also has different interpretations: crucifixion as the victory over the original sin for Christianity; Islam, on the other hand, denies His death; for Judaism He died as a criminal. Works Cited "Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-christian Religions - Nostra Aetate." Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-christian Religions - Nostra Aetate. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. . Fieser, James. Scriptures of the Worlds Religions. Ed. John Powers. 4th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print. Stark, Rodney. Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief. New York, NY: HarperOne, 2007. Print. Wuthnow, Robert. America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 2005. Print. Read More