Characteristics Evident in Christianity and Islam - Report Example

Characteristics evident in Christianity and Islam A great percentage of people in the world today align themselves and their patterns of life to one religious faith or the other. This forms a basis for guiding, understanding or justifying their actions. Religious faiths can be traditional or modern. Examples of modern religious establishments include Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. Generally, religious faith entails a belief in a supreme being, transcendent reality, a set of teachings or a religious teacher. Despite the similarity in the basic characteristic, there are specific similarities and differences which exist among the various religious faiths. This paper gives an analysis two specific characteristics that are evident in Christianity and Islam by bringing out the similarities and differences between them. The two characteristics to be discussed are the understanding of God and worship and, prayer and worship. Similarities and differences between the understanding of God and, prayer and worship between Islam and Christianity Understanding of God Both Christians and Muslims believe in God and they all believe that there is only one God. The Muslims call him by the name Allah. In Christianity, evidence of this is found in the Ten Commandments that the Christians believe were given to Moses. These commandments are recorded in the Bible in the books of Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. In both the chapters, the first command states that “I am the LORD your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.” The testimony for Islam in regard to one God is ‘shahada’, the first clause. This clause states that “la ilaha illa Allah” meaning that there is no god but God (Rippin 124). McLean (113) states that Christians and Muslims also acknowledge that God is a totally different being whose nature is beyond human understanding. Despite acknowledging that there is only one God, there exists a difference between Christians and the Muslims in their understanding of God. Christians believe in the Holy Trinity. That is, God existing as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They believe that the three are one and therefore, they should all be worshipped and revered. On the contrary, Islamic theology of God emphasizes on absolute unity and this is expressed by the word “tawhid.” Muslims insist on the view that distinction on the Godhead does not exist. They believe that God is sublimely one. Therefore, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity forms the Islamic polemic against Christianity. The Muslims state that by believing in the Holy Trinity, the Christians are actually engaging in the belief or worship of three gods. This is expressed in the Quran 4:17 which states “Say not “trinity”, Desist. It will be better for you. For God is One God” and “They do blaspheme who say: God is one of three in a Trinity, for there is no God except One God” (5:76) (Bennett 101). This means that based on these scriptures from the Quran, Christians are perpetual blasphemers. Contrary to this, the Christian theology explains that the concept of the Holy Trinity was incorporated into their believes in order to oppose the idea of believing in three gods. As earlier stated, the Christian understanding of God is firmly rooted on the belief in the Holy Trinity. Contrary to the Islamic claims that the Christians worship three gods, the concept of the holy trinity was developed for purposes of opposing the idea of worshipping three gods. Christians believe that God revealed himself as Trinity hence we should completely submit to this even if our understanding of this concept is limited. Therefore, any attempt to reduce God to something we can understand is blasphemy. The most important part of the difference between Christians and Muslims in regard to the Holy Trinity is Jesus being the son of God. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. To the Muslims, such a belief is very blasphemous because they believe that God is far from having a son. Instead, they take him as any other ordinary prophet. According to Tyron 9, Christians also believe that Jesus is a link between man and God hence they present their requests through His name. They believe that Jesus died to make atonement for their sins hence by believing in Him, they will be saved and enter into heaven to be with God forever. Prayer and worship There are differences in worship between Muslims and Christians as well as its understanding. Christians are divided into denominations that present their worship in varied styles before God. The variation in denomination arises because of trying respond to varied socio-cultural contexts. On the contrary, Islamic worship is conducted the same way, throughout the world regardless of social-cultural context. Therefore, we can say that the Islamic way of worship emphasizes on uniformity whereas that of the Christian emphasizes on adaptability. According to McLean (134), Christians are more attentive to the interior aspects of worship unlike the Muslims who pay equal attention to both the external and internal aspects. Both Christians and Muslims show submission to spirits during worship as indicated by submissive gestures of the body. However, Muslims use their whole body in worship and prayers and this involves making prostrations. For many Christian congregations, worship involves standing and/or sitting in comfortable positions. In Christians, men and women participate equally and voluntarily in worship. Women are also given roles to play in the church including the conduction or overseeing spiritual matters, for example serving as church clergy. This is guided by chapters like Joel 2:29 where God promises to pour out his spirit to his servants both men and women. On the contrary, Islamic religion does not allow women to become active participants in places of worship and more worse, to serve at any spiritual position. Islam involves segregation of men and women. McLean (112) states that Muslims and Christians equally consider themselves as accountable to a community of faith. They all believe that it is not sufficient to worship in isolation hence we must link ourselves to brothers and sisters in the faith. Therefore, what "umma" is to Muslims is what the church is to the Christians. Despite the common believe on the necessity of a religious community, there is a difference in their visions of the religious communities. In Islamic umma, there is no hierarchy or ordained ministry as witnessed in the church. In the Islamic umma, homogeneity is stressed on. Homogeneity refers to a common pattern of life in order to achieve this homogeneity, Islam, this is regulated globally by the Sharia law. On the contrary, Christianity is presented as a local culture to the greatest extend possible. An example is the translation of the bible and hymns to the local language. They have also been adjusted to the local culture. The translation of the bible and hymns are evidences that Christians have no sacred language. On the contrary, Arabic is the sacred language in Islam hence one must learn Arabic language for them to be good Muslims. In fact, the Quran is considered as untranslatable hence any translation of it is only recognized as its interpretation. Origin and contemporary expression of understanding of God and prayer and worship among Christians and Muslims In Christianity the origin of the concept of Holy Trinity and Jesus as the son of God can be traced to the book of Genesis 1:26, where God says “Let us make man in our own image and likeness”. This means God was not alone before and during creation. This was rubberstamped during the baptism of Jesus as explained in the Bible in the four glorious gospels for example Matthew 3:16-17 and Luke 3:21-22. In these verses, it is recorded that heaven opened, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove and a voice said, “This is my son, with him I am well pleased.” This means God acknowledged Jesus as his own son. Tyron (10) states that Christians normally express of Holy Trinity and Jesus as the son of God by acknowledging the existence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as different entities operating under an unbreakable union. This is evidenced by the various hymns designed to worship the three separately. Their songs and prayer also denote the identity and authority of Jesus as God. Jesus also commanded the disciples to always make their prayers through his name and promises them that whatever they ask in his name, it shall be given unto them. Jesus also confirmed his identity as per the Holy Trinity through the many signs, wonders and miracles he performed for example healing the sick and calming the storm. Through this way, the earlier church was able to see the power of God in him and they worshipped him. Islamic opposition to the Holy Trinity can be traced back to the early interactions between Christians and Muslims. The main trigger factor here was the inadequacy in the understanding of the Holy Trinity among the first Christians. Misunderstanding made the Muslims to believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was part of this trinity as evidenced by 5:119 of the Quran. This clause states that “And behold, God will say “O Jesus the Son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, "Worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God?”. This means that the Islamic opposition to the Holy Trinity emerged from misunderstanding of this concept. The opposition of Jesus as being the son of God among the Muslims can also be traced to 610 CE, the time of Prophet Muhammad. The Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last of God’s messengers through whom the Muslims received a revelation of the Quran. They view him as a restorer of original uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Moses, Abraham, Adam, Jesus and pother prophets. Muhammad claims that from about 610 CE, he received revelations from God and this revelations are the contents of the Quran. According to his explanation, Muhammad does not state one point that God revealed to him about Jesus being his only son. This makes the Muslims to continuously view and proclaim Jesus as an ordinary prophet. The Muslims portray this culture by continuously noting and opposing anyone who claims that Jesus is the son of God. In Christianity, concept prayers and worship conducted in religious communities of can be traced to the periods just after Jesus ascended to heaven. During this time, the disciples and other converts begun to gather in groups in the home of any one of them hence forming small home-based churches. The type of Christianity that conforms to the socio-economic status of a society can be traced back to the renaissance period. During this time, the congregations realized a lot of faults in the Catholic Church and even among the church clergy for example corruption and living contrary to what they preach. As a result of this, people begun to break away from the catholic church and formed the first protestant church. These repeatedly broke into other smaller groups to give the many churches available today. How Christianity interacts with Islam in regard to their similarities and differences. This paper has brought out the understanding of God, and prayer and worship as the two similar and yet contrasting characteristics evident in both Islam and Christianity. In regard to the nature of God, the issue of the Holy Trinity and Jesus being the son of God form the main points of controversy. Basing on the believe that ‘Jesus is the way the truth and the Life as stated in the Bible in the book of John 14:6, the Christians believe that the Muslims do not have a destiny in heaven, where God (God the father) dwells because they do not believe in Jesus. They therefore insist that the Muslims must acknowledge Jesus as the son of God for them to receive any redemption. To them, this is important because the believe Jesus is equally God just as his father. Contrary to this ‘need for Jesus’, among the Christians, the Muslims view him as one of the prophets hence they are free to offer their prayers directly to God without mentioning the name of Jesus. These contradictions make it almost impossible for Muslims to pray together with the Christians. If it happens that they have to pray together, one group will be allowed to offer their prayers then the other. This is because the Christians must mention the name of Jesus in their prayers and the Muslims will never respond in agreement for such a prayer since they already consider it blasphemy. In regard to worship, Muslims worship in a way that contradicts the Christian way of worship to a great extent and this makes it difficult for them to worship together. Women constitute more than half of the Christian congregations whereas Islamic women are segregated. Islam could require that these women be locked out for them to integrate with the Christian men. The situation is worse where a woman is the clergy because in Islam, women are supposed to be passive by action and word. It is also difficult for them to worship together because Christianity is more static that Islam. It changes in its effort to adapt to the socio-cultural aspects of the people and yet Islam is resistant to changes. Conclusion Muslims and Christians agree on the view that there is only one God. However, the two groups seem to present two Gods who despite the shared similarities, but they have different standards. Other notable differences between the Christians are there way of worshipping and offering prayers. These differences are so pronounced that they do not allow for the mixing of Muslims and Christians for purposes of worship. These include how, who and when to worship as well as the gender composition of the congregations involved. This means that the cracks between the two religions should be clearly explained so that people can be able to engage in real spiritual issues. Works cited Andrew. Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (2nd ed). London. Routledge. 2001. Bennett Clinton . Interpreting the Quran: a guide for the uninitiated. London. Continuum International Publishing Group. 2010 McLean Collins (2007). The Differences and Similarities Between Christianity and Islam. Online: http://answering-islam.org/Intro/comparison.html. Retrieved on 10th August, 2011. Migliore Daniel. Faith seeking understanding: an introduction to Christian theology. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans. 2004. Tyron Inbody. The faith of the Christian church: an introduction to theology. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. 2005 Read More