An Examination of Religious Doctrines: Comparing Christianity and Islam
Nearly one-fifth of the world's population claim to belong to thereligion of Islam, including over 80,000 Muslim U.S. foreign exchangestudents, while Christians account for the greatest sector at 33%, or twobillion people. The religions of Islam and Christianity both maintain tobelieve in the same God and accept the Old and New Testaments, but thereligious views differ greatly. With so many religious differences rootedin the same God, it is important to examine the teachings of each doctrineto understand the varied religious perspectives of the Word of God,Godhead, the Divinity of Christ, and views on judgment and salvation. The major points of similarity between Christianity and Islam arefound in their core beliefs. Both faiths believe in the same God, called"Allah" by the Muslims, as the God of Abraham spoken of in the OldTestament. The prophets play an important role in both religions withMuslims recognizing Jesus, but as a prophet rather than the Christian viewof "The Lord our God." While both accept the Old Testament, Christiansconsider the New Testament is its inspired replacement, and Muslims seetheir book, the Koran, as the successor to both the Old and New Testaments.
Eternal judgment exists for both Christianity and Islam, with a Heaven(Christian) or Paradise (Islam), and Hell. Islam denies that Jesus was crucified, that He died as a sacrifice forsin, and that He arose from the dead (Koran 4:156-p60), while the NewTestaments attests that Jesus "claimed that He would shed His blood for theremission of man's sins" (Matthew 26:28), and he "predicted He would becrucified, then rise again" (Matthew 20:17-19). Christians believe in a triune God consisting of the Father, Son,and Holy Spirit, claiming Jesus to be God, as cited throughout the NewTestament. Christ Jesus sees neither male nor female, but domestically, the womanis expected to submit to the man. Bothfaiths believe in the virgin birth of Christ, however the Muslims view thatChrist did not pre-exist creation. The basic belief in God and the consideration of the Old and NewTestaments are interestingly expressed in different contexts amongChristians and Muslims. This drastic differencein respect for others, regardless of faith, also sees dichotomy in moralvalues. Similarities and differences also existwith respect to eternal judgment and salvation. Christians believe that the Word of God includes only the Old and Newtestaments, and that God's Word should not be added to (Proverbs 30:6 andRevelation 22:18). Hell is considered the greatestof punishments for those not believing in Allah, for Muslims, or JesusChrist, for Christians, while heaven is free from pain or sorrow, existingas an eternal state of bliss, and paradise is a state of lustful pleasuresfor those who kill or are killed by non-believers. Themajority of the world's people realize religious faith, with most believingin God, but religious doctrines carry a disunity in perspective of themeans of God's will. Islam also teaches that men hasauthority over women, yet goes to the extreme of promoting beatings ofwomen who are disobedient. Thegenerated views on Godhead and perspectives on Jesus Christ are the primarydifferences between the books. The views on the Godhead and the divinity of Jesus Christ incorporateinitial ideological similarities, but also differ greatly with respect tofaith.
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