Christianity And Islam Essays - Prophets Of Islam, Jesus In Islam

Christianity And Islam Essays - Prophets Of Islam, Jesus In Islam Christianity And Islam Christianity and Islam are two of the most significant religions since their creation. Islam means submission in Arabic, and a Muslim is one who submits to the will of God (Islam page 223). Christians were called so because of Jesus title Christos, which is Greek for Messiah (Christianity page 198). Both religions are very similar with only some of the beliefs and teachings being different. They also give separate messages to outsiders as to what their religions stand for. Both religions are monotheistic with a holy text and they both strive to conquer evil. Islam has a set of rules (5 Pillars of Islam) set forth to reach enlightenment while Christians basically just sin, repent, and then are forgiven for their sins. Christianity is a much easier religion to belong to because it is a lot more lenient to what you can and cannot do as well as when and where you can do it. Islam is also more closed doors because the do not really send out missionaries looking for people to convert to Is lam. For Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah (the anointed one) Gods deliverer, whose coming the prophets had foretold (Christianity page 198). Jesus taught the good Word of the Lord, as was his duty as the Son of God. He is also said to have performed miracles such as curing leprosy and blindness as well walking on water. Roman and Jewish authorities were disquieted by the threat to the establishment that Jesus and his followers seemed to offer, and they conspired successfully to execute him by crucifixion (Christianity page 198). After Jesus was crucified for the sins of all men, he was believed by Christians to have risen from the dead and then ascended to Heaven. After the death of Jesus, his life and teachings were written with many tall tales (as I like to call them) about the great battles and accomplishments of Christians as well as success stories about the followers of Gods Word. All of these stories and some historical facts are written in the Bible, which is the ho ly text of the Christians. It explains how God created the Earth the creation of the Earth and man and it teaches how to be righteous. The founder of Islam was the Prophet Mohammed who was an orphan from the city of Mecca. Mohammed claimed to be visited by the Angel Gabriel who gave him the basis for this new religion. The Five Pillars of Islam are the basic laws to be a good Muslim. Declaring that there is no God but Allah, praying five times a day facing Mecca, fasting during set times, tithing for needy, and a journey to Mecca at least once in your lifetime. Some Muslims have a sixth pillar, jihad, which is translated into holy war (Variety page 234). Mohammeds teachings were not written until his death because there was no compelling reason to set his words down in some definite form. After the sudden death of Mohammed in 632, Caliph Abu Bakr ordered one of the prophets companions to collect, from oral and written sources, all of Mohammeds utterances (Quran page 225). They were written in the Quran which is basically the Muslim Bible. The Quran is the written version of the teachings that Mohammed preached while he was alive. A second source of guidance for most Muslims is al-Hadith (Tradition), a vast body of transmitted stories of what the Prophet said or did or what was said or done in his presence and therefore approved by him (Foundations page 225). Christianity is a very appealing religion because it seems to be so easy to understand and become a Christian where as Islam is very difficult. There are five set times a day in Islam where you have to stop everything and pray facing Mecca and Muslims go to church on Fridays. Christians are free to pray any way they want at any time they want and go to church on Sundays. The Bible is different in that it contains the teachings of Jesus, the direct Word of God, and many religious stories. The Quran contains only the teachings of Mohammed which is said to be the