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My Orthodoxy Compared to My Fellow Muslims Both Islam and Orthodox Christianity are monotheistic religions, believing in the same god, referred to as Allah by the Muslims and, God by the Christians. In this sense, Islam and Christianity are considerably intertwined, appearing to come from the same beginning. For Christianity, the stories about the origin of the universe are found in the first two chapters of the book of genesis, in their holy book, the Bible. They show how God created the world in six days. The following quote shows how God created the world from nothing: In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. (Genesis 1: 1) Similar to Christianity, the Islamic stories about creation are found in their holy book, the Quran. Just like the Bible, the Quran states that Allah created the world in six days, out of nothing.
Your Guardian Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He settled Himself on the Thrown. (Surah 7: 54) There are two scientific theories about the origin of the universe, cosmology and evolution These have sometimes posed a major problem for Christian beliefs about creation. The Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christian groups disregard the scientific theories and take the accounts from the bible very literally. Protestants and Roman Catholics accept evolution as a hypothesis and teach that evolution was under Gods control and guidance. Unlike Christians, science has never been a problem for Muslim beliefs. Muslims would argue that science does not affect their belief in Allahs creation of the world, instead, it explains what the Quran teaches. Therefore scientific explanations are welcomed as they help Muslims to have a greater understanding of Allahs creation.
It is important to understand that everything we do is based upon the premise that the reek Orthodox Faith is founded upon the teachings of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and always. The belief in life after death is fundamental to both Islam and Orthodox Christianity. Both the Quran and the Bible contain similar teaching on this matter. The teaching for both Islam and Christianity is that the human being lives only a single life; that his soul survives his death, disembodied; and that, at some unpredictable future date, every soul will be re-embodied in order to undergo the last judgement and according to the verdict, to enjoy physical bliss in heaven or physical anguish in hell. Islam teaches that after death there will be a Day of Judgement.
When people die they remain in the grave until the Day of Judgement, and when this day comes, Allah will decide what happens to people and his decision is final. Much the same as Islam, Christians to believe that one day Jesus will return to earth and this second coming of Jesus is called the proosia. At the proosia God will judge everyone and decide whether they will be given eternal life with God or whether they are punished in hell. Heaven and Hell are also similar beliefs to both Islam and Christianity. Both believe that, according to how one lives their life, they will go to heaven which is a wonderful garden paradise where they will live for ever with God; or hell which is a place where people will suffer eternal torment and punishment.
The Quran states that: Those who have believed and acted righteously will be made happy in a splendid Garden. Those who disbelieved and rejected Our Signs and the meeting of the Hereafter will be brought face to face with punishment. (Surah 30: 15 - 16) Some Christians have different ideas about heaven and hell. Unlike Muslims and most Christians, the Liberal Christians reject the reality of hell as a place of punishment as they feel that a loving God would be incapable of creating such a place. Roman Catholics believe that, as well as heaven and hell, there is an intermediate place called purgatory. When people die most will go to purgatory where they will receive some punishment for their sins.
When they are forgiven they will go to heaven. Islam does not hold this belief. Both Islam and Christianity have practices or duties, which are central to the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly rhythms of life. The five pillars of Islam are the foundation of the way Muslims live. The first pillar of Islam is the Shahada h, the Declaration of Faith. This says; There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
The second pillar is salah, which says that Muslims should prey five times a day. This applies to all Muslims, except Ships are permitted to combine the 5 prayers into 3 sessions. The third pillar is zakat, which means giving money to people who are poor or in need. The fourth pillar is said, which means fasting. Every year, during the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast during hours of daylight. The fifth pillar is Hajj.
This is the pilgrimage to Mekkah, which every Muslim tries to make at least once in their lifetime. Unlike Islam, Christianity does not have these set patterns of worship in their life, except Catholics do have the Seven Sacraments, as well as the Protestants believing in only 2 of those sacraments, baptism and confirmation. Just as prayer is an important part of Islamic life, it is also relevant in Christian life. Many Christians say a prayer of thanksgiving at meal times, known as grace. Appendix 3 shows an Orthodox prayer which may be said throughout the day, including before and after meals. Both Islam and Christianity have one day a week set aside as a day of public prayer.
For Christians it is Sunday and is considered a day of rest. Friday is for Islam yet it is not necessarily regarded as a day of rest. Rather, the day is thought of as a day on which all business activities are temporarily suspended for an interval of communal prayer in the mosque. In both Christianity and Islam, there are a number of festivals celebrated throughout the year.
Appendix 3 shows some important festivals celebrated by the religions. The Creed contains the Church's basic summary of doctrinal truths to which we adhere as Orthodox Christians. It consists of the twelve articles of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, or the "Pistevo, " which is recited at each Divine Liturgy. The central worship service of the Greek Orthodox Church is the Divine Liturgy which is celebrated each Sunday morning and on all holy days. The Liturgy is also the means by which we achieve union with Jesus Christ and unity with each other through the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
While the Orthodox Church considers herself the Mother Church of Christendom, she cooperates with other churches in programs of educational, philanthropic and social endeavors insofar as this is consistent with her theology. Orthodoxy has become a major force in the universal ecumenical movement of which she was a prime mover through the encyclical of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1920. The environment and its sustainability is a concern in both Christianity and Islam. Both the Bible and the Quran contain an ongoing theme about the protective relationship between humans and their environment (Genesis 2: 15 /Quran 33: 72). For Christianity, although it has been viewed as a biblical theme, it has not always been viewed as a top priority by most Christians. In Genesis 1 - 2, human beings were expressed as being superior to and in charge of all creation.
For many years Christians have had a misunderstanding of their role to the environment. They believed that because they were superior they could do what they liked to the earth. Only recently has the environment been a topic of concern in Christian churches. There is a living continuity between the apostolic community of the early Church and the community that succeeds it. The same faith, teachings, doctrine, and Christian life continue to be present and perpetuate themselves throughout the history of the Church. In this sense, the Church continues to be apostolic, that is, in living continuity with the early Christian, apostolic Community.
Tradition, as the life of the Church, is seen in terms of this living community with our Christian origins. The environment is a much more important issue in Islam compared to Christianity. Unity, trusteeship and accountability, that is taxid, khalifa and allah: the three central concepts of Islam, are also the pillars of the environmental ethics of Islam. The relationship between humankind and the environment is part of social existence, an existence based on the fact that everything on earth worships the same god. Humans are expected to protect the environment since no other creature can perform this task. Humans are the only beings that god has entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the earth.
Social responsibility is another area that is highlighted in both Islam and Christianity. Both religions believe that the concept of social responsibility entails that the individual members of society work together to fulfill the general needs of society as well as the individual needs of its members and that they work together to protect society from harm. Both God as Allah calls us to respect the earth, seek a fairer society, include the forgotten, be makers of peace and build up the common good. Christians as well as Muslims believe that social responsibility helps this to occur. Christian Social Responsibility includes subjects such as working to encourage ecologically, socially and economically sustainable lifestyles, speaking out against racism in church and society, respecting the richness of cultural diversity, supporting new approaches to criminal justice issues based on forgiveness, compassion and reconciliation, and promoting creative measures to reduce the harm caused by crime. Greek Orthodox Holy Tradition, of which Holy Scripture is a part, includes the writings, teachings, acts of the apostles, saints, martyrs, and fathers of the Church, and her liturgical and sacramental traditions throughout the ages, the oral tradition of the early Church and the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils.
All of this collective wisdom and experience through the centuries are combined to form this second great source of sacred authority. In Islam, the Quran repeatedly emphasizes the dual nature of humankind's obligations. For example, every verse that commands men and women to pray to God also urges them to pay zakat, the obligatory charitable contribution that every Muslim must pay to provide for those who are poor and in need. This social responsibility is a minimum legal requirement that is not found in Christian social responsibility, but is a successful way of eradicating poverty. Some Christian church services may have donation boxes for charities, yet it is not obligatory like in Islam, where it is the third pillar. Islam and Christianity are closely related religions that hold a number of similar and different beliefs and practices.
There are a number of reasons that bring about these similarities and differences. Firstly, both are monotheistic religions recognizing God/Allah as creator. Through this, the strong similarities about the origin of the universe between Islam and Christianity can be seen. Both religions have divine scriptures which are the primary source of religious knowledge: the Bible for Christians and the Quran for the Muslims.
Both holy books contain similar ethical teaching and stories, yet, there are some differences between the Quranic and Biblical versions in the details of certain stories. As these holy books are primary sources of teaching, the differences and similarities between the 2 can be considered a relevant reason for the differences and similarities between certain beliefs and practices in Islam and Christianity. Islam, unlike Christianity, does not treat law and morality as different things. Islamic law automatically covers and governs morality, where as in Christianity secular law and morality are often different things. This can be considered as a reason for the differences in ideas about social responsibility, for example the moral and legal requirement of zakat in Islam that is not featured in Christianity. This can also be considered as a reason for some ideas about the environment.
On the surface, Islam and Christianity appear to have very little in common, but as you delve deeper into areas such as beliefs, ethics, concepts and practices, the two show strong mutual similarities, while being different as well. Bibliography: Ludwig, T. (2001). The sacred texts of the west. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Stern, M. (1999). Stern's world religions study guide.
University of Manitoba. Holy Bible, NIV Version. Zondervan Publishing House, 1990.
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Research essay sample on Islam And Christianity Heaven And Hell
