Central Tenets Of Christianity Compare And Contrast

The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the messiah or Son of God and savior of humanity. Christianity like many other religions believes in only one omnipotent, and omnipresent God. In the beginning God created Adam and Eve, the most perfect human beings.
In the Garden were Adam and Eve lived, God allowed them to eat anything however, restricted them from eating from one tree. Despite this warning a serpentine or Satan tempted Eve to eat from the tree, who encouraged Adam. Upon surrendering to their desires, Adam and Eve became aware of their surroundings, became aware of their nakedness. Disobeying God's orders not only resulted in removal from the Garden, but also the pain of childbirth was placed on Eve while the pain
of labor rested on the shoulders of Adam. This original sin was passed along to every generation. The history of many Abrahamic religions begins with God choosing Abraham to create a great nation and lead his people down the right path. However, upon Abrahams death many of the people suffer and in these dark moments they looked to find hope in a messiah or a savior (it’s important to note that many of the Christians where in the beginning Jews, including Jesus himself).
According to the new testament, Mary, a virgin, miraculously gave birth to Jesus (making him essentially born pure). Jesus sacrifices himself for the sins of mankind, however three days later is resurrected and returns to heaven. The resurrection of Jesus is captured in Christian tradition through baptism. Baptism method to wash away original sin, in the water is death while out of the water is rebirth. It was interesting to see that many people within Christianity like all other religions have many differing views about Jesus. Some Christians believed that Jesus was both divine and human; others thought that he was divine and some says that he was 100 percent human. Another group of Christians insisted that Christianity was not distinct from, but part of it since Jesus Fulfills the Jewish Prophecy. A number of Christians accepted that Jesus died to bring salvation to humanity while others said that Jesus did nothing of the kind. Today some scholars characterize Jesus as an apocalyptic figure, while others say he was mostly a teacher of ethics.
Also I found myself very surprised by the fact that Christianity grew throughout the Roman empire even though the Roman had harsh rules about people following Christianity, One of the main successful and safe methods of spreading the message would have the usage of pictures and drawing. Illustrations helped those that were illiterate (the main part of the population) to understand. However this method also lead many Christians to fear idolatry, which is worshiping the object itself instead of the actual meaning in Christianity. Plus the usage of vague images allowed for open interpretations of the images rather than a direct an singular true understanding.
Islam is the world’s second largest religion after Christianity. Islam is centered around the belief in one God, Allah (the same God revered by Jews and Christians), and Muhammad, as God's final prophet. Islam’s fundamental statement of faith says, “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” Muslims respectfully call Jews and Christians “the people of the book.” Muslims say that these prophets received revelations from God that became scripture, Allah’s final word to humankind is preserved in the Muslim holy scriptures, the Quran (or Koran). I really like learning about the story of Prophet Muhammad in class, I felt like even though I am a Muslim with coming to the United State at a young age, I didn’t get the opportunity to fully develop an understanding of my religion. Compare to my cousins and friends who goes to the Madarasa everyday and learn about all the history and translation of what the Quran means, my knowledge of the Quran remains limited. The knowledge I have learned about Islam is through my parents and as I have adapted to the American style, I haven’t had the opportunity to develop or give them the chance to develop my understanding.
Islam is a religion that thrives on peace and acceptance, however through the singular focus of social media on terrorist groups like ISIS and the Taliban, who use the name of Islam incorrectly, the view of Islam in the eyes of the public has been tainted into one of violence and fear. This fear grew with 9/11, as many people became associating Muslims with the terrorist group and labeling them as such amidst fear. Even to this day this irrational hatred towards Muslims is displayed. Upon looking through social media I came across a letter posted in the UK and online (which allowed many people to access it all over the world), titled, "April 3rd Punish a Muslim Day,". This letter describe a game where certain points were given for brutal actions against the Islamic community. For example being rewards for point for taking off a girls hijab, beating up a Muslim, as well as shooting or throwing acetone of someone's face; the more cruel and inhuman the action, the greater the points. When I heard this news I found myself between shock and disappointment. I new of peoples potential for such cruelty and yet I never knew they would access it. I don't think I can ever understand how someone can harm an innocent human being for the purpose of person satisfaction. What I found really stupid about this was the fact that the reward was simply imaginary points that exist in someones head. Shakespeare once said, "Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied..." we see technology being used in a manner that will eventually, if it hasn't already, ruin humanity when its main purpose was to develop it.
After watching an Oprah series about Islam. I found myself moved by the way they so beautifully captured the nature of the Islamic religion through the story of a man that managed to forgive his parents lack of love as he found that love in Islam. His story not only alter his path, but also the path of his son as he managed to become the loving parent that his childhood lacked. Learning about Christianity I have realized that Christianity and Islam have a lot of similarities yet a few difference that makes them unique in their own ways.
Some of the similarities are: Islam and Christianity are both Abrahamic and Monotheistic religions and both show importance for all the prophets. The might have different views about the prophets and the stories might vary quite a bit, but they acknowledged the same set of people part of their religious beliefs. Another similarity is their beliefs about the Bible. Christian consider the Bible to be the holy book of all, but Muslims as well considered the Bible as a holy scripture. controversial to what many people believe, just because Muslims believe the Quran to be their holy book, it does not mean that they dismiss the Bible. Islam identifies three sets of the Bible as revelations of God which include the Torah (Jewish Holy book and part of the Old testament), the book of Psalms and the Gospels (the new testament). Both Christian and Islam acknowledge the Virgin Birth of Jesus, however in the Quran neither Mary or Jesus is divine, whereas in Christianity the main belief is that Jesus is divine. Another important similarity is the belief that Jesus will return on the judgement day, however vary in how, when and why. In conclusion, there are many similarities yet a few differences between Islam and Christianity, but the different interpretations of the similarities is the main cause of the conflict between Christians and Muslims. I believe everyone should have different opinions, because in the end no one actually knows a complete truth. However, we should respect each other differences and live a peaceful life because, in the end, we are all the same human beings trying to figure out our place in this
world.