Christianity vs. Islam

Thesis statement

Islam and Christianity are indeed woven from identical fabrics.

Introduction

There are hundreds of religions in this world. Of them two are the most prominent. It is averaged that there are 750 million people practicing Islam, and another 1 billion practicing Christianity. The start of Islam is actually derived form Christianity, history books indicates that one night in the year 610, the first of many revelations came to Muhammad from God by way of the angel Gabriel. The message Muhammad received told him that there was but one God, not many gods, as most Arabs believed. This God was creator of the world, and He would one day judge mankind. Both of these religions share almost the same framework, but they also differ in many ways.

Discussion

The word Islam means "surrender" or "submission," submission to the will of Allah, the one God. Muslims are those who have submitted themselves. The basic creed of Islam is brief: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah. Islam teaches that there is one God, the creator and sustainer of the universe. This God, Allah, is compassionate and just. Because He is compassionate, He calls all people to believe in Him and worship Him. Because He is also just, on the Last Day He will judge every person according to his deeds. On the Last Day, all the dead will be resurrected and either rewarded with heaven or punished with hell (Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Adair, pp 14-28).

In Christianity one of the Ten Commandments states that "I am the Lord you God you shall have no other gods before me", also identical to Islam God is considered the creator of the universe, and he is also just. On the last day, or judgment day, the same holds true as in Islam in the Christian beliefs, the dead will be resurrected and either rewarded with heaven or punished with hell (Hope, Marjorie, and James Young, 180-193).

Mankind is regarded as the crown of creation, entrusted by God with management of the whole created order. In Christianity this was Adam, who had dominion over all the animals and beasts of the earth. Islam sees humanity as weak and prone to disbelief in God and to disobedience to His will. Humanity's weakness is pride. In the Christian religion it was pride that caused the downfall of man, Eve thought that God had no right to tell them what they could and could not eat. In Islam, God sent prophets to communicate His will (Erdur, pp 151-66). These prophets, all mortal men, were elected messengers to whom God spoke through an angel or by inspiration. Identical to Christianity, an example of that was God sending Moses to free his people out of Pharaohs hands. In Islam, they also believe in forgiveness, another basic Christina principle, Islam teaches that God is always ready to pardon the individual and restore him to the sinless state in which he started life. In Christianity this ...