Religion is growing worldwide. Two of the fastest growing faiths are Islam and Christianity. Each of these faiths has a book that expresses their beliefs and gives rules or commandments to live by. Islam has the Quran, and Christians have the Bible. Many people in today’s world would deny that there are any similarities between the two books; however, two figures appear in both texts, Abraham and Jesus. The stories of Abraham and Jesus are incredibly similar but, the theological interpretation of these stories creates differences between the Bible and the Quran.
Abraham and Jesus were very important during their own lifetime as well as in today’s religious world. It is fitting that they connect the present with the past, Islam and Christianity, and are also connected to each other. Christians view the story of Abraham and Isaac as metaphor for the eventual crucifixion of Jesus. It is crucial to be objective when comparing religion. There are some though, who will ignore facts in order to believe what they want. For an example, a lack of objectivity and obscuring truths to fit their own beliefs comes from Hafiz Salihuddin who decided to ignore the asteroids and chaotic movement of the cosmos in order to believe that the universe was created by Allah. In his paper, he makes the entertaining leap that the universe was born in the big bang, and that this was controlled process. (Salihuddin pp. 212) When examining holy texts, it is imperative to keep an objective perspective.
The identities of Abraham and Jesus created by the Bible and the Quran are very similar. Jesus is a well-known person in almost every culture on earth. A portion of his fame is generated from the picture that history paints of him. For Christians, He is the Mess...
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...Isaac is the same in both texts. He goes to the mountain, starts the sacrifice and is stopped by either the Lord or Angels.
When comparing stories of Abraham and Jesus in the Quran to the same stories in the Bible, there are remarkable similarities. Yet despite them, the identities of Abraham and Jesus are very different in each text. Stunningly different interpretations of each person stemmed from reading the same stories. As a society we always feel the necessity to focus on the differences in our faiths while ignoring the glaring connections.
Works Cited
Dawood, N. J. The Koran. London, England: Penguin, 1990. Print.
Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1996. Print.
Salihuddin, Hafiz. "Creation Of The Universe: A Religious And Scientific Study." Dialogue (1819-6462) 8.2 (2013): 208-216. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
“Exploration of Similarities in Religious Texts: A Further Look at the Koran, the Tanakh and the New Testament”
Two of the world 's largest religious practices are Christianity and Islam. Christianity is the biggest religion in the world with 2.4 billion followers while Islam has 1.3 billion followers. Both religions have similar straits especially since the two histories begin with the first human creation of Adam and Eve and the Prophet Abraham. Despite their similarities, there has been intense wars between the two faiths and tension between the two religions exist today. Major similarities and differences between the two faiths are seen in how the religions view God, the understanding of heaven and hell, along with important prophets. Christians and Muslims believe in the same heaven and hell, same God despite different names, and same prophets however
The Quran and the Bible deal with Jesus during two different periods and with different purposes. It is interesting to note how the two largest religions of the world share so much in common and yet are so different. Yet for the purpose of their followers, both the religious texts are perfect in their own way.
Contained in the many intricate and poetic Surahs of the Qur’an are retellings of a number of famous stories of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. However, the Qur’an’s account of the lives of certain biblical characters often differs in significant ways from the Jewish version. While a believer in the divine nature of the Qur’an may claim that differences in facts stem from distortions of G-d’s message as recorded in Jewish holy books, both Muslims and non-Muslims might agree that the differences in emphasis are intentional. A more cynical observer might claim that the Qur’an changed the known Bible stories to suit its purposes. By choosing to include certain parts of a famous story and leaving out others, the story itself takes on a very different significance. Occasionally, the Qur’an will also discuss parts of the story which are entirely left out of the Torah, in which case a Muslim may claim the Torah did not deem those facts important for its own reasons. A cynical observer would claim the Qur’an made these additions to make its own message clearer.
Throughout history it is evident that many religions have been tried, tested, and, for some, radically changed. Many religions have gone through periods of time in which the way they were run or enforced underwent changes in practice and leadership. In many cases disagreements and differing outlooks among members of certain religions were to blame for these changes. Christianity and Islam are two examples of religions that have experienced changes over the course of their existence. While these religions seem to have little in common at first glance, both have strikingly similar pasts that consist of radical splits due to disagreements among members of the Christian and Islamic churches, resulting in new branches within each religion.
Islam and Christianity both come from a common foundation as religions of peace, both of these religious traditions share the foundational element of peace of their beliefs. In both the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity peace is a virtue and is seen more as a sense of wellbeing than just the absence of conflict and violence. Overall peace is found in unity with God, for Christians and Muslims are taught to live a life a life of peace with others, not only in their own communities but the entire of human society. The Qur’an in Islam and the New Testament in Christianity are respectively the principal sacred texts for these religious traditions. The Qur’an and the New Testament both express the importance of peace and peacemaking as evident in Jesus’ Beatitudes “Blessed are the peacemakers”. The search for inner peace is the core message of the Qur’an and the New Testament and the adherents of both traditions are taught that inner peace will come through faithfully devoting yourself to God.
There are many similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are also many differences that separate the three major religions of the world. This paper will delve into all three of them.
The two largest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam, were implemented by two of religions most powerful leaders, Jesus and Muhammad. Without question, both Jesus and Muhammad have affected humanity powerfully. As religious leaders both men laid down the principles upon which Christianity and Islam are founded yet today. However, while Jesus performed miracles and arose from the dead, thus proving to his followers he was God, Muhammad performed no such feats, and made no such claims. In fact, Muhammad’s only claim was that he was the last prophet sent from God.
The two stories follow the same general plot, but the different interpretations give varying underlying meanings, assumingly stemming from the differences in authorship. This difference in content is the major divide between the Qur’an and the Bible. Islamic believers claim that the Qur’an was divinely inspired and physically written by the prophet Muhammad in its entirety and the Bible contains many historical manipulations due to its varied authorship. Assuming the common belief in divine inspiration is true, the single author of the Qur’an would provide less room for error than the compilation style of the Bible. However, according to biblical tradition, the Torah was completed around 1500 BCE, and the Qur’an was written during the lifetime of Muhammad from 609 to 632 CE, meaning that the Qur’an was written many centuries after the events it chronicled and leave...
...did not die’. Islam belief in human nature is also different from Christianity; but the same in Judaism, that human nature has the equal ability to do good or evil. Means of salvation in Islam is closely the same to the other Abrahamic beliefs. In addition, good and bad afterlife beliefs are closely related as well. Interestingly, Christianity views Islam as a false religion and Islam views Judaism and Christianity as ultimately having wrong beliefs and ‘only partial revelation’. Ultimately, these Abrahamic religions are the most influential religions in the world. Their impact on the world is very deep and all trace their history to Abraham in the Hebrew Bible. The brief overview of the similarities and differences of the three monotheistic faiths enables people to enrich or at least receive a concrete vision of what can possibly come with death and the afterlife.
For the layman, familiarity with the major religions stems from the stories that are associated with them. Using the narratives that are derived from the sacred texts is the most prominent way in which our society identifies the Western religions. The Jewish tradition is best correlated to stories like the Exodus and the parting of the Red Seas, for example, as are the many tales of the miracles of Jesus connected to Christianity. This essay will present narratives as an easy method of providing the basic groundwork for the Western religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because of their simplicity and easily transmittable nature. Furthermore, narratives impart many of the rules, laws, and moral fundamentals for these faiths, and are used by religious writers as a novel method of initiating discussion or providing a parallel for other narratives.
The world had always been full of different religious beliefs, because there is probably no universal explanation of the origins of human creation. Since the ancient times, we all needed a symbol of faith and of the existence of the judge, who sees everything, thus, is always eager to price, or to punish. Depending to the extent to which we’ve followed his commandments. The two religions: Islam and Christianity are highly different, and their followers are people, whose worldview differs from the other’s. However, these two faiths both believe in the existence of the Jesus Christ. It makes the two different religions mystically connected, and create a view of the existence of one God, who has the different names, but, in reality, is unique for all the people. Never the less, the understanding of this significant figure is quite different: Christians believe the Jesus to be the son of the God, while the Muslims believe him to be the God’s messenger, who was born from a virgin mother and performed miracles.
Christianity and Islam are two religions that grew from the same central idea of one divine being; they also originate from Jerusalem. However, the two religions bear great disparity but they also hold a few similarities. Both Islam and Christianity believe in Abraham as the forefather of both religions; they believe Him to be the founder of the two religions. The two religions have a holy book; Islam uses the Quran while Christians use the bible. Even though the two books do not bear the same teachings they are considered sacred in both religions. However, Christianity and Islam share a great deal of differences starting from the holy books, their beliefs, and the information contained in the respective holy book (Kavanaugh, 5).
The religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are alike in many ways but they also share many differences. Judaism and Christianity use the bible in their holy scriptures, while Islam does not. Jesus Christ is a part of all three religions as Christianity and Islam developed from Judaism. Many believe that the three religions worship, pray to, and focus on the same god. They believe this as many of the prophets are they share much in common as they share many beliefs. However, the followers of the three religions pray differently and in different places. the religions believe that their god created the world and everything in the world. The three Abrahamic religions have different histories, yet they share many similarities and difference.
At the first glance, Islam and Christianity appear to have nothing in common, however; as you go beyond the surface, they appear to have many similarities such as their beliefs of God, their beliefs of life after death, their holy scriptures, and their prayers. These religions, although are two entirely different beliefs, share a similar origin. Like many other religions, they both claim to be the one and only true way to God. In order to truly see and understand their similarities, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam. Throughout the course of this essay, I will compare the many facets that show the alikeness between these two growing religions.