Cortado 1 Word Count 1,034 Ciarra Cortado Professor Dambruch English 111 10 October 2013 Christianity vs.

Islam We live in a world where religions play a significant role in many peoples lives. There are many different religions throughout the world. Out of all of them, the two largest religions happen to be Christianity and Islam. Statistics show that around 2 billion people, in all different parts of the world, accept Christianity as their religion. Moreover, about 1.5 billion people around the world accept Islam as their religion. These two religions have many differences that distinguish them apart, but surprisingly they happen to have numerous similarities. Once you take a look at the origins of these two religions, you can see why they have their disagreements, while also seeing that they arent so different after all. One of the major similarities is that both Christianity and Islam are monotheistic. By definition, monotheistic means the belief that there is only one god. In the two religions, God is the creator of all things. However, although both religions believe in a singular god, Muslims argue that Christianity is a polytheistic religion. They have this belief because Christians believe in the Holy Trinity, three persons into one divine nature. On the contrary, Muslims only accept Allah, Islamic for God, as their creator. Jesus is an important part of both religions. Both religions recognize that he did exist as a sinless man, born of the Virgin Mary. Christians and Muslims recognize that he was a prophet who performed miracles, but how they see him varies. While Christians see him as God Himself,

Cortado 2 Word Count 1,034 Muslims simply see him as a very great prophet. Christians really focus on Jesus being the most important, while the most important prophet to the Muslims was Mohammed. It is known that each religion has a different book of faith, but make it known that they both use their holy books as their most important reference. The Muslims refer to their holy book known as the Quran, while Christians refer to their holy book known as the Bible. The Quran was written by the important prophet Mohammed. In Islam, he is the last prophet and therefore, what he wrote was the most recent word of Allah. Mohammed was said to be in contact with the angel Gabriel, who was a messenger for Allah. So it is also known that the Quran is the complete word of God, since it was told straight from him to Mohammed. Unlike the Islamic Quran, the Christian Bible is often accused of having mistakes. That is because it was written by humans, years after Jesus died. Nonetheless, both holy books spread messages to their followers about how to live their lives. For example, revealed in their messages are guidelines on how to reach salvation. Both religions believe in a heaven and a hell, there are just different ways to obtain salvation. This leads us to another similarity of the two, which is that sin is real and present in life. In Christianity, one can reach salvation through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Christians believe that God gave up his only son to die, to wash away all the sin of the world. In a Christians eyes, everyone is born into the world with sin, due to Adam, the original sinner. The only ones who were born into the world without sin are Mary and Joseph, the family chosen to bear Jesus. The grace of God and the crucifixion of Jesus is what allows Christians to be saved. The Muslims God, Allah, has a different perspective. He teaches that you are born into the world sinless. He says that it is your own responsibility to maintain this state, throughout your life. One is capable of reaching salvation by performing

Cortado 3 Word Count 1,034 good works. Even though both religions have a heaven and hell, the concept of what heaven is varies. For Christians, heaven is a place of serenity to share with God. The Muslim take on heaven is more of their own type of paradise, that doesnt include Allah in it. As a part of almost all religions, prayer is very important; this is true to both Muslims and Christians as well. On a daily basis, Muslims must pray five times, facing their holy land, Mecca. Christians arent required to pray, but when they do, they are having a conversation with God himself. Fasting during parts of the years is yet again another similarity. Muslims use a lunar calendar, and the ninth month on the calendar is known as Ramadan. During Ramadan, you are not allowed to eat during sunrise and sunset. Christians go through fasting too during Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Only water, one meal, and two snacks are allowed during those times. In addition, during lent, Christians are suppose to sustain from eating meat. Lastly, something that both Christians and Muslims believe in is making a offering to their religion. That is because when you give, you are essentially giving back to your God. Muslims are required to give one fortieth of their earnings each year, while Christians are to give ten percent of everything they earn to their church. Christianity and Islam are the two biggest religions in the world, having together over 3.5 billion followers. Many speculate the two are totally different religions, but when you analyze the roots of each religion you can see that they are quite similar in multiple ways. They both believe in strictly one god, see Jesus as important, seek their holy books for guidance, believe in heaven and hell, know that sin is in fact real and can be present, prayer is essential, fasting is required, and giving back through offerings is expected. Although they have their disagreements in certain areas pertaining to their faith, Christianity and Islam arent so different after all.

Cortado 4 Word Count 1,034 Works Cited "Adherents.com Home Page." Major Religions Ranked by Size. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. "The Differences and Similarities Between Christianity and Islam." Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. "Heaven." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Rodner, Dr. William. "Lecture During History 111." "Thesaurus.com." Thesaurus.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.