Muslim religion versus Christianity (Essay Sample)

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Muslim religion versus Christianity Christianity and Muslim (Islam) religions are the most popular with Christianity having the biggest percentage in the world. According to statistic estimates done in the recent past, Christianity holds a percentage of 33% followed by Muslim religion which holds a good 19.6%. In this regard, it is imperative to outline the similarities and differences between these two religions. Similarities between Christianity and Islam Both religions are inherited from Judaism. This is a belief which has its basis on the existence of one God who cares about the welfare of human beings. The belief in one God is best known as monotheism. Another similarity is that both religions believe that God is the creator of all things. They also believe in the existence of angels. These are spiritual beings who are believed to be celestial attendants of God. The religions also believe in repentance, forgiveness and the judgment day. When looking at the judgment day, the two religions stress that there is paradise and hell. This is the eternal life that comes after the earthly death. There are certain acts which are highly forbidden in both cases. These include cheating, unjust killing, lying, robbery and adultery. Differences between Christianity and Islam The bone of contention between the two religions lies in the identity of Jesus. So much is related to the conflict in views since the Muslims hold a different view concerning who Jesus is. According to Christianity, Jesus is the savior. The Muslims highly differ on this point. According to them, Jesus was a prophet. This is where the aspect of salvation and what it entails comes into question. Despite the acknowledgement by both religions on Jesus being divinely born, the Muslims disagree on the holy trinity. They reject the belief that Jesus is the son of God and that he was God. On the contrary, Muslims view Jesus as a human prophet. They also hold the concern that there is only one divine God who is the creator. Muslims refer to God as Allah hence the difference in the existence of a holy trinity. Although Muslims acknowledge Jesus as one of the prophets, there is no place where Christians acknowledge Muhammad as one of the prophets. Another difference that is quite clear is the aspect of salvation and judgment (Badie and Bertrand). While the judgment day is common to all, they differ on the determinant of who goes to heaven or hell. Muslims believe that the net deeds determine whether one goes to heaven or hell. This implies that every person is solely responsible for their own deeds. Following the Islamic proposition, those who make net good deeds will enter paradise through God's mercy while those who make net bad deeds will be condemned to hell. On the other hand, Christians believe that every person is a sinner and that it is through the sacrifice of Jesus that people can be forgiven...