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Muslim Religion Christianity and Islam share a few similar beliefs and practices such as belonging to the monotheistic family. Monotheism: (one-God-ism) belief that there is but one Supreme Being who is moral and who seeks a total and unqualified response from human creatures. This term emphasizes the belief in one God who is the Creator and Sustainer of life and that the universe demonstrates evidence of Gods design and order. Also, both religions believe that God is active in history, guiding and teaching his people.
Another similarity both religions have in common is that both religions give guidance on how to live and what is right and wrong; but each religion punishes its people differently. Christians follow the Ten Commands and the Golden Rule in which they are not allowed to commit murder or adultery. In the Old Testament, adultery was punished by death. The New Testament is much less severe; for example, regarding a woman caught in adultery, Jesus said that whoever is without sin should cast the first stone (Bible, NIV). In the Islamic law, called Shari'a, taken from the Quran, punishment involves flogging the woman and the man a hundred times if found guilty of adultery.
Last trait Christianity and Islam share is that they both believe in heaven and hell and the Day of Judgment. The Bible and Quran mention that there are two different outcomes for eternal life: heaven and hell. In the Bible, heaven and hell are described using these terms: a city built of gold in heaven and a lake of fire for hell. Some Christians believe that anyone who rejects Christ will end up in hell.
Similarly, Muslims believe that their religion is the true religion. It is common for religions to believe that this life is a test for each individual for the life after death. A day will come when the whole universe will be destroyed and the dead will be resurrected for judgment by God. This day will be the beginning of a life that will never end. This day is the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection). On that day, all people will be rewarded by God according to their beliefs and deeds.
Christians believe only those who depend upon Christ for salvation can be assured that they will pass this judgment. Like every other religion, Islam also claims to be the one and only true way to God. Muslims believe those who die while believing that There is no true god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of God and are Muslim will be rewarded on that day and will be admitted to Paradise forever, as God has said: But those who die while not believing that There is no true god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God or are not Muslim will lose Paradise forever and will be sent to Hellfire. The heart of Islam is not a person but the revelations, called Quran which literally means reading or reciting.
The revelation was received by Muhammad in the seventh century. He claimed neither divine power nor extraordinary knowledge, merely a man chosen by God or Allah to serve as His messenger. The word Islam means submission to the will of Allah. A Muslim is one who surrenders to Allah. Central to Islam is its confession of God as Creator and the only God. The oneness and unity of God is indisputable.
Quran is believed to have such lyrical beauty and power unsurpassed that it cannot and should not be translated. Allah had spoken to ancient prophets to convey messages and warning to humans who had rebelled against Him. Those earlier revelations, however, had been incomplete, and they had been obscured and confused in their passage through time. Muhammad was to be the last and the greatest of all prophets, the Seal of Prophets, and the message he received was the final and complete reminder to all people. If Christianity supercedes Judaism, then Islam supercedes both of them and Quran was the final corrective in the monotheistic tradition.
With the second largest number of followers in the world, the influence of Islam certainly cannot be underestimated too. Salvation is the ultimate goal of Christians as well as Muslims. Salvation essentially means freedom and the quest for freedom has always been the primary theme of humans history. That is why it is tremendously important for both believers.
Salvation plays a critical role in both religions and it has long been one of the major stage set of pros and cons between Muslims and Christians. Muslims and Christians believe that the gravity of humans sin is so severe that work alone can never save ones soul. Not only do people turn away from God but also from each other. Only God alone has the power to forgive men of their sin. He possesses the sole ability to redeem people from endless suffering in hell.
The waywardness of human saddens God. Muslims and Christians have faith that in spite of mens disobedience and wicked nature, God is most merciful and never cease to forgive them. He will never let His people keep on straying on the wrong path which will eventually lead them to a terrible end. That is why God intervenes time and again to bring His creation back to Him.
He made revelation to send His message and warning to people through ancient prophets. Both religions believe that by faith in the one God and obedience to Him, God will not let His people fall into irrevocable ruin. Their God is Most Merciful and Compassionate. Despite the same insight that Islam and Christianity share above, there is an enormously deep gulf which separates their perception of salvation.
The core of the conflict is Jesus Christ. For Christians, salvation can only be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ and accepting him as ones personal savior. Salvation means to be freed from bondage of sins and to receive promise of a secured place with God in the heavenly kingdom. On the other hand, the salvation concept of Islam is more about being saved from punishment in hell rather than slavery of sin.
To realize this, a Muslim must not only seek to submit totally to God but also to obey Shari'a or the central law of Islam: The Five Pillars of Islam. An important distinction between the Quran and the Bible is that the Quran does not speak of a covenant between God and a people but rather of the lives of all people before the face of God. For Islam, God is the God of all people. Quran does not concern a salvific history but obedience in faith among all people. That is the key point of salvation to Islam.
The Quran is set within that which is universally human. It is a message for all people; all people should become Muslims, for God is the sovereign God of all people. Hell awaits people who have turned down faith in and obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Unrepentant non-believers and sinners will experience the torments of hell. Those who have made covenant with Allah but then turn away from their promise to fulfill Shari'a, the divine law, cannot escape this grievous destiny too. It prescribes patterns of worship, The Five Pillars of Islam, as well as guidance for social conduct.
Muslims do not accept the divinity of Jesus. For them, Jesus is a great prophet, although the title of the greatest prophet still belongs to Muhammad. It is precisely Jesus cross that, in traditional Quranic exegesis, is incompatible with his status as prophet: God lifted him up (Quran). This is often interpreted as saying that God does not permit the one He sent to be crucified. The classic Muslim concept of Gods power is still at odds with the suffering and dying of Jesus Christ. The suffering Christ remains incomprehensible for Muslims.
Muslims are able to recognize the prophecies of Jesus as the words of God but because of the unity and exalted ness of God, the confession that God is revealed through the actions, dying and rising of Jesus Christ remains a stumbling block. Nothing can be associated with divinity except the one God. The first sentence a Muslim must know is the Shahada h: There is no God but God. (Quran) This means that ultimately there is only one Absolute Reality, one Divine Truth. The traditional explanation of the Quran happens to state that Jesus did not in fact die on the cross.
Denying the divinity of Jesus, Islam naturally denies the redemption through the cross and also the fact of the crucifixion. It can also be concluded that Muslims reject Christians conviction of salvation through faith in Jesus. The implementation of the Five Pillars of Islam is one of the most fundamental requisites to be a Muslim. The argument between Christianity and Islam regarding the issue of salvation is only part of the whole stage of discord between the two religions, which over centuries has been one of history's saddest stories. This dispute has continued to this very day and the effort to eliminate all the evils both religions abhor for each other is certainly going to be a huge uphill task to be accomplished. It is an unsurprising fact that the issue of religion has never been an easy one to be dealt with.
Bibliography Bible, NIV. Quran.
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Research essay sample on Five Pillars Of Islam Christianity And Islam
