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Christianity vs. Islam By: Kelsey Jones Works Cited Adams, Cecil. "The Straight Dope: Why did Christianity become so popular?." The Straight Dope - Fighting Ignorance Since 1973. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1167/why-did-christianity-become-sopopular>. "Comparison Chart: Christianity vs. Islam - ReligionFacts." Religion, World Religions, Comparative Religion - Just the facts on the world's religions.. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/christianity_islam.htm>. Hallam, Gregory, and Iain Emberson. "Comparison between Orthodoxy, Protestantism & Roman Catholicism." Christianity in View: Emmanuel, God is with us!. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://christianityinview.com/comparison.html>. "Major Religions Ranked by Size." World Religions Religion Statistics Geography Church Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html>. Matthews, Alfred Warren. World religions. St. Paul, MN: West Pub. Co., 1991. Print. "SABBATH, What Is It's meaning?." Biblical Adventist Truths. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://dedication.www3.50megs.com/sabbathmeaning.html>. "Sharia Law › What is it?." Sharia Law › What is it?. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://sharia-law.info/>. Smith, Terrell. "What Christians Believe." Answering Islam, A Christian-Muslim Dialog and Apologetic. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.answeringislam.org/Basics/god.html>. Vu, Michelle A., and Jim Denison. "Why Do Radical Muslims Hate America So Much?." Christian News, The Christian Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.christianpost.com/news/why-do-radical-muslims-hate-americans-so-much56043/>. "What is Islam? A short history of Islam and its beliefs." Truthnet.org, What is your purpose and meaning?. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.truthnet.org/islam/whatisislam.html>. "Why do Muslims pray toward Mecca." The Q&A wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_Muslims_pray_toward_Mecca>. Wikipedia. "Israeli–Palestinian conflict - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict>. MLA formatting by BibMe.org. Christianity and Islam are two of the world’s largest religions, combining to make up “54% of the world’s population, which by numbers is 3.6 billion people in 2007 (Major Religions of the World, Adherents).” Christianity is primarily in “Europe, South America, Africa, North America, and Oceania (Matthews, 289).” Islam is concentrated in “Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Oceania (Matthews, 335).” I want to know the history of each, their beliefs, practices, similarities between them, and their differences. The history of Christianity begins with Jesus of Nazareth. According to the Gospel of Luke he was related to John the Baptist who was the son of a Jewish priest, Zechariah. In the book World Religions by Warren Matthews he states: John announced that the kingdom of God was at hand. He challenged hearers to repent and believe the good news. Then he used water as a symbol of washing away the sins of those who repented and accepted the message. When Jesus was about thirty years old, he participated in one of the gatherings and received baptism from John. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as he came from the water, and a voice came from heaven saying, “Thou are my beloved Son, with thee I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). (Matthews, 291) After this occasion, Jesus spent some time alone, spoke with Satan, and came out of hiding to tell everyone to believe in the gospel. Jesus then proceeded to choose disciples to help him preach the word of God. Jesus would tell people their sins were forgiven and would heal people. Because of this ability there were people who felt bitter towards him. This takes us to Jesus’ Teachings that which Matthews gives a description: The general theme of Jesus’ teachings was the kingdom of God. He announced standards of human conduct that would prevail in the lives of people who lived according to the will of God. Jesus established God’s perfection as the only standard by which personal conduct could be measured. The generous mercy of God set the pattern for the kind of generosity with which people were to treat one another, Jesus taught that the kingdom of God had come and is coming when God chooses. Jesus emphasized the personal side of religion, referring to God as “our Father.” He challenged men and women to fulfill their roles as children of the Most High. (Matthews, 291) Jesus as a person was against divorce, lust, murder, and adultery. He wanted everyone to get along and for people to treat others as they themselves want to be treated. He preached the word of God by telling stories or parables. Later, an event known to Christians as the Last Supper occurred. In this event, one of Jesus’ disciples, Judas, betrayed Jesus. An army of few came to arrest Jesus, Judas told them who Jesus was, and he was taken to a hearing where members of the council decided whether he should live or die. Jesus was chosen to be crucified. Soon after, Jesus was resurrected by God. From this day forward, Jesus was seen as human and of divine origin. The church allowed speaking the language of the angels as a way to pray because that was what you did when you did not know how to pray. However, not everyone accepted this practice. Jews for instance, were enraged by this. They reacted to this by dragging “Stephen, a deacon of the Greek-speaking congregation in Jerusalem, into the street and stoned him to death (Matthews, 298).” This act by the Jews sent many Christians away from Jerusalem. Paul, a Jew at the time, had plans to eliminate the Christian community, but on his way to Damascus to execute this plan, was struck blind and told by Jesus to enter the city. Christians helped him escape from other Jews who were after him for betraying them. At that moment, Paul became a Christian. Paul becoming a Christian was major because this created more and more converts. Judaizers believed “that Christians first become Jews (Matthews, 300).” Paul was fighting against that, he did not think there needed to be a conversion of that sort. The final act for acceptance for Christians came with the Roman Empire. “Jews informed the Romans that Christianity was not Judaism and not legally included within Judaism. After Rome burned, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire and labeled them enemies of the state. Romans thus began a history of persecuting Christians that lasted until Constantine came to power.” Persecution was seen as an “inevitable testing (Matthews, 302)” by God. They assumed that when the time came, God would rescue them. Matthews states: Emperor Constantine, ended Roman persecution of Christians. Under his leadership, Christianity became a legal religion, although not the only one. Constantine eventually became a catechumen, a student of Christianity, and helped it gain a measure of unity in the first ecumenical council held in Nicaea. His policy was a dramatic shift from the practices of Nero, Diocletian, Domitian, and others who had had Christians killed for refusing to worship the Roman emperor as divine. Christianity increased in acceptability and respectability until it had, by the end of the fourth century, gained a place as the official religion of the Roman Empire. (Matthews, 303) There is one more thing left to be mentioned about the history of Christianity, namely the Crusades which will be brought up later. In the modern era, there are many denominations of Christianity. The larger of these denominations include Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholicism. Each of these forms differ in their own viewpoint of Christianity. This chart from Christianity in View shows most of their differences: Topic Orthodox Protestant Roman Catholic Bible Composition of Accept the 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books, but also a collection of books not found in the original Hebrew Bible. These are known asDeuterocanonicals i.e. a second canon of scripture. Protestants reject the deuterocanonicals as not being inspired scripture and term them Apocrypha(Greek: 'Hidden Things'). Agrees with Orthodoxy as to the validity of these books. Eucharist Significance of Commonly termed the 'Mystic Supper' or 'Divine Liturgy' - This makes present Christ's sacrifice and therefore forgiveness of sins is obtained through it. It is also an encounter with the Risen Christ. The Eucharist, like Baptism is only a symbol of grace. The sacrificial nature of the Eucharist is also rejected. The position is similar to the Orthodox. The Eucharist is also known as the 'Holy sacrifice of the Mass'. Eucharist Presence of Christ in During the Eucharist, the Priest calls down the Holy Spirit (in Greek: epiklesis) upon the gifts (the bread and the wine). They then change into the actual body and blood of Christ. The precise way in which this happens is a divine mystery. The bread and wine, being symbols, do not change substance. There are however, a wide variety of views held within Protestantism on this subject (e.g. some Anglicans accept the Catholic view, whereas Baptists deny it). As in Orthodoxy, the Priest invokes the Holy Spirit during the Mass. However, the consecration becomes effective through the Priest, who acts in the person of Christ. The gifts change completely into Christ's body and blood and this change is termed 'Transubstantiation' i.e. the outward appearance remains the same, but the substance changes. Eucharist Distribution of The consecrated elements can only be received by members. Orthodox policy is to have communion in both kinds (i.e. both the bread and wine are given to those present). The elements are usually offered to all Christians who feel able to partake of them. The vast majority of Protestant churches have communion in both kinds. As with Orthodoxy, only members of the church may receive. The bread only is given to the congregation, the Priest receiving the wine. However, it is becoming common for churches to have communion in both kinds. Holy Spirit The third person of the Trinity, proceeding from the Father alone as in the original Nicene Creed. The Father sends the Spirit at the intercession of the Son. The Son is therefore an agent only in the procession of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The Nicene creed includes the filioque(Latin: 'and the son'). Agrees with the Protestant view. Ambrose of Milan (340-397) wrote: 'When the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, He is not separated from the Father, He is not separated from the Son'. Marriage and Divorce Marriage is a mystical union between a man and a woman. Divorce is generally only allowed in cases of adultery, though there are exceptions. Marriage is a contract, but is not unbreakable. Divorce is discouraged, but permitted as evidence of human weakness. Some denominations permit remarriage in church. An unbreakable contract and a type of Christ and the church. Divorce is not permitted unless there is some canonical impediment to the marriage. In this situation, an annulment may be granted. Mary Assumption and Immaculate conception of The Assumption is accepted and it is agreed that Mary experienced physical death, but the Immaculate conception is rejected. Orthodox belief is that the guilt of original sin is not transmitted from one generation to the next, thus obviating the need Both are denied. The claim that Mary was sinless is rejected only Christ was sinless. Both are dogmas of the church. The church has not as yet decided whether Mary actually experienced Physical death. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception states that Mary, was at conception 'preserved for Mary to be sinless. immaculate from all stain of original sin' and should not be confused with the virgin birth. Pope - Authority of As the Bishop of Rome, he has a primacy of honour when Orthodox, not of jurisdiction. At present, his primacy is not effective as the papacy needs to be reformed in accordance with Orthodoxy. His authority is thus no greater or lesser than any of his fellow Bishops in the church. The Pope is the leader of the Catholic church, having no authority to speak for the church as a whole. The Pope is the 'Vicar of Christ' i.e. the visible head of the church on earth and spiritual successor of St. Peter. He has supreme authority (including that over church councils) within Christendom (ThePower of the keys). Purgatory An intermediate state between earth and heaven is recognised, but cleansing and purification occur in this life, not the next. Purgatory is rejected Christ's death on the cross is sufficient to remove the penalty for all our sins. A place of cleansing and preparation for heaven. Also a place where the punishment due to unremitted venial sins may be expiated. Sacraments There are at least seven Sacraments (known as 'Mysteries' in Orthodoxy): Baptism, Chrismation, Eucharist, Holy Orders, Holy Unction, Marriage (Holy Matrimony) and Penance (Confession). The list is not fixed. Generally, only two sacraments (also known as Ordinances) are recognised: Baptism and the Eucharist (often called 'Holy Communion' or the 'Lord's Supper'). The number of Sacraments is fixed at seven and is the same list as that in Orthodoxy, with the exception of Chrismation, which is generally known as 'Confirmation'. Saints A special group of holy people, who are venerated. They may act as intercessors between God and Man and may be invoked in prayer. All Christians are saints, called to imitate Christ. Only Christ may mediate between God and Man. The position is very similar to Orthodoxy. For sainthood, it is also required that at least two verifiable miracles have occured as a result of the intercession of that person. Salvation Salvation is "faith working through love" and should be seen as a life long process. The Ultimate aim of every Orthodox Christian is to obtainTheosis or union with God. This is done through living a holy life and seeking to draw closer to God. Salvation is the free and unmerited gift of God to man. It is obtained by grace through faith in Christ alone. Through Christ's atoning sacrifice, we are rendered acceptable to God and judged righteous (justified) in his sight. We are saved by grace, specifically sanctifying grace, which is given initially through Baptismal regeneration and then maintained through the Sacraments, which are 'channels of grace'. Worship and Liturgy The 'Divine Liturgy' is the centre of Orthodox spirituality. Worship is usually in the vernacular, though Greek is also used. There are a wide variety of worship styles. Examples include the spontaneity of the Pentecostal churches, and the more traditional worship of the Anglican churches in the Catholic tradition. Worship is centred around the Mass. Following the Vatican II council (1962-5), greater emphasis was placed on worship in the vernacular, though the traditional Latin ('Tridentine') Mass is also used. Protestant Roman Catholic Topic Orthodox (Hallam, Comparison Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic) The problem for humans is sin and the solution is salvation. Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Christians believe in heaven and hell along with a belief in the devil. To become a Christian you must be baptized. Which is to be cleansed spiritually by a sprinkling of water; Christians are all about giving back to the community and donating money to charity. Marriage and celibacy are of high value to Christians. They worship on Sunday because Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday. Holidays celebrated by Christians include Palm Sunday which is the day Jesus entered Jerusalem, Maundy Thursday which is celebrated for the Last Supper, Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, Christmas- Jesus’ birthday, and the most important day for Christians is Easter, on this day God raised Jesus from the dead. When I attended a Mormon service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I had many unanswered questions. These questions were why do they believe in God, why do they believe what they believe, why is Christianity so popular, what religion means to Christians, and what is the taking of the Sabbath and what does it mean? The answer I basically received for why they believe in God and why do they believe what they believe is “it is written (Smith, What do Christians believe).” For why Christianity is so popular, I found out there are many reasons according to Cecil Adams from the site The Straight Dope: (1) The centuries-long Pax Romana that began around the time of Christ made it possible to spread ideas throughout the Mediterranean basin in a short time, (2) the old Greek and Roman pagan religions were by then completely out of gas, (3) the imperial court was run by such a collection of cutthroats and lunatics that people were desperate for a religion promising a moral order, it was the West’s first modern religion, coupling a coherent and attractive picture of how the world worked with a commonsensical moral code, and the idea of salvation. (Adams, The Straight Dope) That answered my next question in a way, what religion means to Christians? It means a chance to be forgiven for all of your sins. The Sabbath is a day of rest given by God to everyone. What it means is God created the world in six days and rested the seventh day, therefore, we are allowed to rest after six days of work (What meaning Does The Sabbath Have Today). The history of Islam starts with the prophet Muhammad in “his life he interacted with Arabs known as the Hanefites. Hanefites were Arabs who rejected idol worship and were searching for the true religion. They looked to the religion of the Jews and Christians as being close to the goal. The Hanefites abandoned their idols and would retreat to the caves of Mecca in meditation and prayer (What is Islam?).” When Muhammad was forty he had his first revelation on Mt. Hera and thought he was possessed by a demon. “Mohammad proclaimed Allah as the one true god and rejected the idol worship of Mecca (What is Islam?).” Muhammad had little success acquiring converts with the exception of his wife Khadija. Instead, people sought his life and he sought refuge for a little while. Arab tribes from Yathrob met Muhammad during the Hajj and believed he was the prophet. The next year the Hejira occurred. Muslims again were after Muhammad because they heard about his escape from Mecca to Medina. In Medina, Jewish tribes rejected Muhammad’s authority but he gained converts from Arab tribes. From this the “Muslim doctrine of Jihad was created (What is Islam?).” The war was still not over. Muslims gained reinforcements from other Arab tribes in the area and won the war and took control of Mecca. Muhammad destroyed idols in the Kaba and the Muslims accepted Islam as their new religion. Muhammad died sometime after that. The successors following Muhammad caused conflict between two sides, the Sunnis and the Shi’as. The Shi’as believe that Ali should have been the next leader after Uthman. The Sunnis accepted Mu’awiyah as the next leader after Uthman. The Shi’as are the more extremist group whereas the Sunnis are the more traditional group. Muslims live by Shari’a law which according to this site about Shari’a law it is defined as: For Muslims who are devout, living life according to the divine will is the basis for existence. Shari’a law is the anchor for society for devout Muslims and it is based on several factors in a complex web of history, religious texts, interpretation, modern influence, scholars, community, custom, public interest, regionalism and the conduct of the Prophet Muhammad. Shari’a law is more of a methodology. It is basically a way of arriving at decisions on how to live life by studying religious texts to determine divine will. It is a moral system. (Shari’a Law) The Crusades involving the Muslims and the Christians occurred over religious land. Muslims took control over Jerusalem and other holy land and the Christians were basically forced out. “A pope took leadership in calling for crusades of Christian soldiers to journey to the Holy Land and free the Christian places of worship from the so-called Muslim infidels (Matthews, 353).” Christians believe that the Muslim leader, Saladin waited past an agreed upon deadline and beheaded all his Christian prisoners. Muslims believe that “Saladin had arranged a payment in three parts over a month’s time to redeem Muslim hostages (Matthews, 353-354).” The problem for humans is refusal to submit to the will of God. The solution for humans is salvation. The ideal way for Muslims would be for everyone to unite no matter the circumstances. However, this is not the case they have been at war with surrounding cities. The Israeli-Palestinian struggle is one of the wars they have been involved in. Their unsettled issues consist of “mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Palestinian freedom movement, and finding a resolution to the refugee question (Wikipedia).” According to Wikipedia sources: Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution, involving the creation of an independent Jewish state or next to the state of Israel. In 2007, a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls, preferred the two-state solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the conflict. A majority of Palestinian and Israelis view the West Bank and Gaza Strip as an acceptable location of the hypothetical Palestinian state. (Wikipedia) Every Muslim follows the five pillars of Islam. “They must declare in the Shahada, that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his rasul, or messenger. They must participate in salat, five periods of prayer each day. They must pay an obligatory tax called zakat, to the needy. They must fast during the daylight hours in the month of Ramadan, known as sawm. If able, they should make a pilgrimage to Mecca, a Hajj, once during their lifetime (Matthews, 344).” Their holy book is the Qur’an. Group prayer for Muslims is on Friday. Marriage between a man and a woman is accepted along with polygamy but the husband has to treat all of his wives equally. They are against gambling, drinking alcohol, lying, and stealing. They are also not allowed to eat pork. Women have to dress modestly, they have to cover their hair. During prayer women and men are to be separated. Before prayer there has to be a ritual cleansing; Charity is of high value to Muslims. When I attended the Friday service at the Khadeeja Mosque, I had a couple of questions. For instance, what do they have against America and why do they face in the direction of Mecca during prayer? I learned that not every Muslim hates America, only the Islam extremists. And they are against America because these Muslims “claim that the West has been attacking Islam since the crusades (Denison, Why do Radical Muslims hate the U.S.).” “The second major reason is based on their understanding of democracy. Because the American people elect the U.S. government and our taxes support the military, Muslim extremists hold American civilians accountable for the war on Islam (Denison, Why do Radical Muslims hate the U.S.).” For why they face in the direction of Mecca during prayer, I learned is because they cannot go physically before God, so it is used as a means of praying to God (wikiAnswers). Similarities between Christianity and Islam include they are both monotheistic and are westernized religions. They both believe in angels and demons. The birth of Jesus being born of a virgin is also a similarity. The second coming of Jesus, predestination of salvation, and eternal hell in the afterlife are the other similarities (Religious Facts). Differences between Christianity and Islam include the day of prayer. Muslims have communal prayer on a Friday, whereas Christians have it on a Sunday. Muslims have their head covered during prayer, Christians do not. Christians pray in a church, chapel, cathedral, etc and Muslims pray in a mosque. Resurrection of Jesus, Christians believe it, Muslims deny it. Jesus’ death, Christians believe it was by crucifixion, Muslims believe he did not die but ascended bodily into heaven and a disciple died in his place. The nature of god, Christians believe he is one substance but three persons (trinity), Muslims believe in unity, one person, one substance. The holy book is also different for both, it is the holy bible for Christians and the Qur’an for Muslims (Religious Facts). Before researching these two major religions, I believed there would be a lot more similarities between the two rather than the differences. Learning about each of these religions and attending their services has taught me more than I would have known otherwise.