Christianity and Islam Religion - Coursework Example

Christianity and Islam Introduction Christianity and Islam are the religion that has followers all over the world. Islam and Christianity follow their Holy books and expects the followers to act according to the principles specifies in the book. Christianity Christianity and Islam are the religions that are followed by most of the people in the world. When compared to the other religions, Christianity has more number of followers all over the world. The followers of Christianity are known as “Christians”. They follow the preaching of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was born to Mary. People believed that he has supernatural powers. He travelled to almost all the villages and preached the importance of God and his powers. Many people started following his preaches and Jesus Christ’s philosophies became popular. Some of the Jewish priests crucified him, after which he was resurrected. The people who followed Jesus Christ’s formed a group called Christianity and the followers were named Christians. Christians believe that Jesus Christ was a human form of God who served the suffering people. (Farhadian 2007). They follow a holy book called “Bible”. Bible is composed of the writings from 9 BC to 1 AD (Christianity word.doc). It contains the teachings and philosophies of Jesus Christ. The holy book is divided into two categories, Old Testament and New Testament. Islam Islam is one among the religion that is growing rapidly. The Islamic religion follows the sayings of Holy Prophet Mohammed. They believe Allah has imparted the Holy message and the secret of Islam to Prophet Mohammed. This secret and messages from Allah was then stored in a book. This is said to be the Holy book of Muslims, “Quran”. The Holy book Quran encompasses several aspects of human life. Islam emphasizes the unity of God. People who follow are known as “Muslims”. They have their own beliefs and follow Quran and the messengers of God. This religion worships Allah and does not worship any other person separately. Allah is believed to be the creator who has created the other things. Islam was found in the 7th century. There are five principles that every Muslim should follow. (Abdul-Rahman 2007). The first principle says having faith in God and the messengers are the main pillar of Islam. Prayers have to be done daily at five times, which is the second principle. Third law states they should observe fasting for a month, that month is known as “Ramadan”. Fourth principle emphasizes on helping the poor and the needy. The last pillar explains that a Muslim must go on a pilgrimage trip to Mecca, which is considered to be the Holy place. Nature of God The nature of God is different in each of the religion. The nature of God and the form of worship depends on the religion and their beliefs. Christianity and Islam have a lot of difference in their nature of God and the way they worship. Islam Muslims believe that there is only one God, Allah. The religion of Islam imparts idol free worship. They believe Allah to be the creator and the one who saves them. They do not worship any idol or deity except for the almighty. This religion worships Allah and does not worship any other person separately. As oneness is the mission of Islam, any Muslim is not afraid of any superstitions because they believe Allah is universal and thus he will exist at any place. Islam is based on the philosophy, unity of God. Muslims oppose any attempt to derive God in a human form. Islam rejects depicting God to particular form or an individual. (Huda 2004). According to Islam, the God was born on the seventh day of the creation of the world. Hence depicting or incarnating God in any human form is considered to be a sin. Allah is referred as the name of God and emphasizes on the belief of God. The messengers of God are considered to be the holy people. Prophet Mohammed is also one among the servants and messengers of God. Due to this, Islam imparts that God cannot be compared or associated as a personality. Hence they do not follow idol worship. Muslims pray to the Allah without intermediary. In Islam, Allah is not referred by any other name. They believe nothing can be compared with Allah and they impose the worship of the creator, Allah. Muslims consider the creator as a person of different nature and not like human beings.(Huda 2004). He is eternal and self-sufficient. As they believe God does not depend on anything, they emphasize that existence of God does not have an end. God is considered as everlasting. Christianity Christianity and Islam differ on its thoughts and incarnation of God. Islam does not follow idol worship. They consider Allah to be the creator of the universe and their savior. Christianity considers Jesus to be the mediator between the God and the human beings. There are several groups under Christianity. One of them worship Jesus, the other category worship Mary, the mother of Jesus. The remaining Christians believe in worshiping God without any form. Christians follow the Ten Commandments which clearly explain the way of worship and describes about the Holy Spirit. According to the commandments, God must not be represented in any form or picture. They have certain principles on how to worship their God. (Arfaj 2005). These principles say that they can either follow the Bible, Jesus Christ or the direct form of Holy Spirit. Their place of worship is church where an idol of Jesus Christ or Mother Mary is placed. Jesus is considered to be the son of the God and hence they worship Jesus Christ and follow his preaching. Christians believe the existence of Satan and evil spirits. (Michael 2007). They believe that Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will protect them. Life after Death In the concept of life after death, Islam and Christianity have some principles in common. Christianity According to Christianity, the life after death is either in the Heaven or Hell. Heaven is considered to be a place of happiness and joy. Hell is a place where the people are tortured. After the death, the soul is believed to live. Then the soul rises to the God and then given a new life. God is considered to be fair with the human beings. They will be treated based on the life they lived. (White 2004). The beliefs regarding life after death are different between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. According to Roman Catholics, the life after death relieves the human from his sins. The mortal sins are forgiven by reconciliation. Protestants believe that life after death entirely depends on the faith the person has on God. During his life on earth determines the life after earth. Salvation or resurrection is also based on the life on earth. Christianity emphasizes that a person should believe in God and must have complete faith on him. Heaven and Hell depends on the immortality of the individual soul. Christianity stresses on the concept of Resurrection. Resurrection is believed to be the returning back of the soul to the same body. Christians believe that every soul will be resurrected. The concept of rebirth is also a part of Christianity. After death the soul returns back to reside in another body. Salvation also forms a main part of Christianity. In salvation, the God saves the man who suffers due to his sins. God saves him from slavery and the adverse effects of his sin. (Farhadian 2007). Christians believe in salvation since Jesus was crucified and sacrificed his life for the well being of the people. After the crucifixion of Jesus, people started believing on salvation. Christianity emphasizes that souls do not determine their presence in the world. Jesus is considered to be the only mediator to God, since he attained salvation. (Arfaj 2005). Islam Islam emphasizes the concept of life after death. Prophet Mohammed preaches his followers to believe in life after death. They believe that the dead will be raised by the God. After death every human will be resurrected. Every person will be treated by God based on his good and bad deeds. Quran says that every Muslim must believe on life after death. If he believes in God then, he must have faith on life after death. Islam depicts God to be fair and equal to all the human beings. They will be punished for their sins. Quran states about the Judgment day when God decides about the fate of his soul. Resurrection is done when God will work on Justice and mercy. (Lapidus 2002). God will be merciful towards the people who worked for the God and lived believing him. Those who believe in God will be shown mercy and those who deny God’s sayings will suffer after death. Prophet Mohammed stated that life after death will be based on the charity a person has done and the knowledge he has given to others. Quran gives a different outlook on life after death. Life does not come to an end with death. Instead it paves the way to another form of life. (Abdul-Rahman 2007). It points out that there exists a set of Divine rules and it decides the fate of life after death. These rules are not known to the humans. After the life on earth, these rules take over the process of life after death. The actions and behavior during his life time will be the deciding factor of his resurrection. The concept of Heaven and Hell is followed in Islam. Heaven is considered to be the place of joy, where as Hell is considered to be a place regret and punishment.(Huda 2004). If a person has helped the poor, treated everyone as equal and has done good things will definitely be blessed by God. They will have a fruitful life after death. A person who has not done any good deed will get mercy. He will be punished and will not get justice. Islam and Christianity follow their own beliefs and sayings from their Holy books. The nature of God and they way they worship are entirely different. Islam does not support idol worship, where as one sect of Christians follow idol worship. Both Islam and Christianity follow the mediators or messengers of God. The striking difference between the two religions is the way of worship. Muslims consider Prophets as the messenger of God and they follow his principles and sayings. In Islam God is considered to be great and more merciful towards human beings. In Christianity God treats the humans as his children. The believers of Islam are said to be Allah’s slaves and they should work towards fulfilling the sayings of Quran. The religion of Christianity considers the followers as the children of God. The spirit is said to be a created form in Islam, whereas God himself is considered to be a Holy Spirit in Christianity. God in turn can create people with his spirit who are considered to be as angels. In Islam, Allah is the only God and the believers have faith and follow his principles as said by Prophets. In Christianity, Jesus is said to be the son of God and he works for the wellbeing of his followers. Life after death is almost similar in both the religions. The concept of Resurrection is the same in Islam and Christianity. Every human is resurrected and he is raised to God. His life after death is based on the life he leads in the earth. Heaven and Hell are the categories it is based on their activities and deeds done on the life in earth. Islam and Christianity have contrasting ideas on the nature of God and life after death. The beliefs and practices of each religion differ. Even though Islam and Christianity have certain things in common, most of the other criteria are entirely different. Hence Islam and Christianity have more number of followers around the world. References Arfaj, N., 2005. God in Christianity: What is His Nature?. [Online]. Available at: http://www.sultan.org/books/WhatisHisnature.pdf [Accessed 8 February 2010]. Huda., 2004.God in Islam: Who is Allah and What is His Nature?. [Online]. Available at: http://islam.about.com/od/godallah/a/god.htm [Accessed 8 February2010]. Michael, 2007. The Nature of God. [Online]. Available at: http://www.christian-faith.com/forjesus/nature-of-God [Accessed 9 February 2010]. Abdul-Rahman, M., (2007). Islam: Thoughts, Religions and Sects. U.K: MSA Publications. Lapidus, I., (2002). A History of Islamic Societies. New York: Cambridge University Press. White, M., (2004). From Jesus to Christianity. San Francisco: Harper Publications. Farhadian, C., (2007). Christian Worship Worldwide: Expanding Horizons and Deepening Practices. U.K: Eerdmans Publishing. Read More