Understanding between two religions

[rodeletters]

Greetings to all!
I am a student from the Netherlands and my school has assigned me to create a game to promote understanding between two religious groups, namely Muslims and Christians. Therefore I am asking you all the following: where are Muslim and Christian religious teachings very similar, and where do they differ a lot? Specific examples would be much appreciated!

I believe that when a person of a certain faith is able to relate to the ethics behind the teachings of another faith, it creates understanding and acceptance.

Thank you all in advance!
-Max

[McCulloch]

This might not help you, but from where I sit they are the same. They each claim, without much support, that they have a book given to them by the god. The rest is details.

[JehovahsWitness]

Greetings to all!
I am a student from the Netherlands and my school has assigned me to create a game to promote understanding between two religious groups, namely Muslims and Christians. Therefore I am asking you all the following: where are Muslim and Christian religious teachings very similar, and where do they differ a lot? Specific examples would be much appreciated!

I believe that when a person of a certain faith is able to relate to the ethics behind the teachings of another faith, it creates understanding and acceptance.

Thank you all in advance!
-Max

What an interesting assignment. I would design something around the Hebrew prophets and writings since both Christians and Muslims accept them as holy. Maybe a game of identifying them and their timeframe or something like that.

Or... concentrate on Abraham (accepted as the Father of Faith by both)... and the fact that the Arab and Israeli peoples are effectively cousins. Or something about the bible lands of the Prophets, locations that both Christian and Muslim will recognize, Abrahams travels from Babylon through Palestine...

As for specific similarities in teachings Islam does accept Jesus as a prophet so maybe some of the beautitude are echoed in the Koran, I don't know the Koran well enough to say.

Customs and traditions of Isam and Tradiitonal Christianity often miror each other in many ways, prayer beads/rosaries, bishops and Imans, pilgrams to holy sites etc

Steer clear of the Crusades.

[Peg]

the only similarities are that muslims and christians are both said to be an 'abrahamic' religion. so they both claim to worship the God of the hebrew bible.

They both revere the prophets of the hebrew bible...but muslims do not accept the current bible as legitimate...they think its corrupted so im not sure how much adherence they give to the writings of the prophets.

there are some huge differences between islam and christianity though, apart from some of the moral standards (which they take from the hebrew scriptures) so its going to be pretty difficult to find similarities.

[Jon Hall]

Where are Muslim and Christian religious teachings very similar, and where do they differ a lot? Specific examples would be much appreciated!
-Max

Great question.

Muslims, like Jews and Christians, believe in one God. They believe he spoke to Abraham and chose a people for himself. They believe he revealed a way that he wants his people to live, that he is merciful, and that he accepts those who come to him for forgiveness. They believe in judgment after death, and that God's people will be judged innocent and given eternal life in heaven, whilst the enemies of God will be judged guilty and punished in eternal hell. (Judaism is not entirely clear on this last part).

However, there are several extremely significant differences between Islam and Christianity. Here are three:

First, most mainstream Christians believe in the unity of Scripture, whilst Muslims believe that later revelation supercedes earlier revelation. Thus, the Koran, as the last revelation of God, overrides any part of the Hebrew Bible it disagrees with. Also, where the Koran is self-contradictory, the later teaching is correct.

Second, Muslims deny the resurrection of Jesus. They believe he was a good prophet sent from God, but not God incarnate, as Christians believe. The Koran explicitly teaches that Jesus' disciples stole the body and claimed Jesus had risen.

Third, Muslims believe that forgiveness is granted on the basis of good works. The five pillars of Islam, which include prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage, are the means by which a Muslim pays for his or her sins and earns Allah's love and favor. In stark contrast, Christians view sin as and offense against God which good works are utterly impotent to pay for. The reason that Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world was to give his life as a ransom for many (Mk 10:45). Nothing but the precious blood of God's own Son could pay the price for human sin. After Jesus died and was raised to life, God offered forgiveness freely to all men and women on earth. It is not based on any good works, but purely on God's love and grace.

So, despite significant overlap between the beliefs of Christianity and Islam, you can see that they disagree on a foundational level and are impossible to reconcile. Without the resurrection of Jesus, there is no Christianity, so Islam denies the most important belief of Christianity. Christians find no solution to sin other than the death of Jesus, so find the five pillars of Islam utterly useless as a path to heaven. Whatever we disagree on, we must all agree on this: at least one of these two religions is certainly wrong.

[Yusef]

..Second, Muslims deny the resurrection of Jesus.

First, Muslims don't deny the resurrection of Jesus(a.s.).

They believe he was a good prophet sent from God,

Ok.

..but not God incarnate, as Christians believe.

It's not a logical/wisely possibility which the logic accepts that

get more information about the most differences between Christianity and Islam look this topic the same website: Some very Important Questions for Christians[/quote]

[Jon Hall]

You are right - I was slightly mistaken. The Quran does not explicitly deny the resurrection of Jesus. The sura I was thinking of was 4:157,

"And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the apostle of Allah, and they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him"

So Islam denies the crucifixion of Jesus, not his resurrection. (Although since Christianity relies on the resurrection of Jesus not merely as a theoretical principle but a fact of history, denial of the crucifixion amounts to denial of the resurrection - so I was not entirely wrong!)

[TheTruth101]

You are right - I was slightly mistaken. The Quran does not explicitly deny the resurrection of Jesus. The sura I was thinking of was 4:157,

"And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the apostle of Allah, and they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him"

So Islam denies the crucifixion of Jesus, not his resurrection. (Although since Christianity relies on the resurrection of Jesus not merely as a theoretical principle but a fact of history, denial of the crucifixion amounts to denial of the resurrection - so I was not entirely wrong!)

The verse means they (pharicees) did not kill him nor crucify him.

As in, he never died, he got eternity.

Seems like a few posters make this mistake.

[bjs]

Similarities between Islam and Christianity:

Both are ethical monotheisms. That is, both claim that there is only one God, the maker of heaven and earth. Both say God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Both say that God desires and people to have a relationship with him, and that God has certain ethical commands for his people. Both consider God to be that ultimate authority of morality. Both trace their roots back to Abraham.

Differences:

Trinity:
Both religions say that there is only one God. Christianity claims that this God exists in three person: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Islam strongly opposes this idea, usually claiming that this violates monotheism.

Ethics:
There is a great deal of similarity in the ethical teachings of these religions. There are some differences. One difference is their central virtue. Both Islam and Christianity hold several virtues to be important, but for Islam the most important virtue of obedience, while in Christianity the most important virtue is love.

Scripture:
Christianity uses the Bible, Old and New Testaments, as their scripture. Islam also values the Old and New Testaments, but claims that they were at some point corrupted and that only the Koran is the uncorrupted revelation of God.

Founder:
Christianity was founded by Christ Jesus. Christianity claims that God became a man in Jesus, died for the sins of his people, and rose from the dead. Islam was founded by Muhammad, who received a revelation from an angel. Islam holds Jesus in a high regard as a prophet, but strongly opposes the claim that he is God in the flesh. Christianity, on the whole, has a lower view of Muhammad. Most Christians appear to think that there is some value in his teachings, but have serious issues with the some parts of the life and teachings of Muhammad.[/u]

[Goat]

Similarities between Islam and Christianity:

Both are ethical monotheisms. That is, both claim that there is only one God, the maker of heaven and earth. Both say God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Both say that God desires and people to have a relationship with him, and that God has certain ethical commands for his people. Both consider God to be that ultimate authority of morality. Both trace their roots back to Abraham.

Differences:

Trinity:
Both religions say that there is only one God. Christianity claims that this God exists in three person: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Islam strongly opposes this idea, usually claiming that this violates monotheism.

Ethics:
There is a great deal of similarity in the ethical teachings of these religions. There are some differences. One difference is their central virtue. Both Islam and Christianity hold several virtues to be important, but for Islam the most important virtue of obedience, while in Christianity the most important virtue is love.

Scripture:
Christianity uses the Bible, Old and New Testaments, as their scripture. Islam also values the Old and New Testaments, but claims that they were at some point corrupted and that only the Koran is the uncorrupted revelation of God.

Founder:
Christianity was founded by Christ Jesus. Christianity claims that God became a man in Jesus, died for the sins of his people, and rose from the dead. Islam was founded by Muhammad, who received a revelation from an angel. Islam holds Jesus in a high regard as a prophet, but strongly opposes the claim that he is God in the flesh. Christianity, on the whole, has a lower view of Muhammad. Most Christians appear to think that there is some value in his teachings, but have serious issues with the some parts of the life and teachings of Muhammad.[/u]

Now, I am not too sure that Jesus is the 'founder of Christianity'. I am not sure that he would approve of being made into a God, or 'the first adam' (if, indeed, he even existed).I I think the founder of modern Christianity is Paul/Saul.