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Islam vs Christianity comparison introduction
Similarities between christianity and ancient egyptian religions
Comparison between Christianity and Islam
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Christianity first emerged in mid-1st century CE, from Palestine and Israel. Christians believe that God is the sole creator of the universe, and that his son, Jesus, died for humans on the cross to save them from sin. Christians believe in an eternal life after death, in either a Heaven or a Hell, and that the way to Heaven is accepting God as the only God, and leading a holy life. Christians also acknowledge the existence of Satan, the spirit that personifies all evil and malice in the world. The holy book of Christianity is the Bible, which is believed to be the word of God. The Bible tells tales of fights between good and evil. The Bible says that God gave humans the Ten Commandments, and that those who follow the Commandments will gain access to Heaven. In many religions, the theme of good against evil is apparent. One of these religions is Zoroastrianism, which is believed to be the first religion to use this concept of good against evil. Another of this religion that is similar is the mythology of Ancient Egypt. The teachings of Buddhism is also full of teachings that relate to the theme of good against evil. The stories within the Bible are similar to those within Zoroastrianism, Egyptian mythology, and Buddhism.
The story of the creation of the world is similar to the story of creation in the Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrianism. In the Bible, the first part of the world that was created was the Garden of Eden. God created the world in six days, and then rested on the seventh. He also created the first humans, a man and woman, named Adam and Eve. Eve tempts Adam with an apple from the forbidden tree, and once they eat it, they notice that they are naked and become embarrassed. After God finds out, they are forced to...
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...ered an original work simply because there are too many similarities to other literary works and religions.
Works Cited
"10 Ways The Bible Was Influenced By Other Religions - Listverse." Listverse. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
"The 10 Commandments Are a Copy from Chapter 125 in the Egyptian Book of the Dead." Edward De Leau. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and the New. Cambridge: Printed by John Field ..., 1668. Print.
Majjhima Nikaya. S.l.: General, 2010. Print.
Radhakrishnan, S. The Dhammapada. London, NY: Oxford UP, 1950. Print.
Borg, Marcus J., and Ray Riegert. Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings. Berkeley, CA:
Ulysses, 1997. Print.
The Holy Bible: containing the Old and New Testaments. Trinitarian Bible Society, 2010. Watt, Donald A. "VOLUME 2: SERMONS and NARRATIVES on RELIGIOUS LIFE: A Model of Christian Charity." ["Defining Documents: Exploration & Colonial America (1492-1755)"]. Defining Documents: Exploration & Colonial America (1492-1755), 12/1/2012, pp. 457-465.
American Bible Society. (2000). The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments. New York: American Bible Society.
The Bible: The Old Testament. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Sarah Lawall et al. Vol 1. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 47-97.
The English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.
The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and the New. Cambridge: Printed by John Field ..., 1668. Print.
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomenons in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life sprouting from a seed. But all share a common themes, such as a form of chaos or nothingness before life is created. Joseph Campbell notes that “... the idea of an absolute ontological distinction between God and man – or between gods and men, divinity and nature - first became an important social and psychological force in the near East, specifically Akkad, in the period of the first Semetic Kings, c. 2500 B.C.,” showing another similar trait – a god or set of gods exists to create in each story (626). Joseph Campbell makes a comparison of how both Genesis and the Book of the Dead of Egypt share the same idea of their bodies belonging to their god in some way, or being reabsorbed into them at death (630-631). Others, like the Japanese and Iroquois creation myths, claim the Earth was once covered entirely of water before land was formed. Adam and Eve of Genesis and Izanagi and sister Izanami of Shintoism provide examples of myths that share both a passive and active pair of people who eventually create the Earth's population. In any case, certain popular creation myths, some closely tied to prominent religions, share more common characteristics than others. An entire sub-study, called comparative mythology, gives insight into this subject.
Robinson, B. A. (2008, March 30). Books of the Hebrew Scripture . Retrieved May 7, 2011, from Religious Tolerance: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_otb3.htm
Mythology is the study of a compiled group of stories that describe the culture’s practices and past experiences. Mythology is a valuable aspect of every culture. It communicates the culture’s truthful everyday experiences or fabricated details of past events, roles, and traditions such as family, sexuality, art, religion, philosophy, laws and marriage. A culture’s collective group of stories help communicate loyalty, ethical and rational teachings, and social models. Ancient Greece and Egypt are two cultures that we’ve studied in this course so far that I will discuss the Creation Myth associated with each culture.
Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion that is the first religion to develop a monotheistic belief system. Zoroastrianism is heavily influential in the formation of the many religions, but more specifically, Christianity. For example, both religions believe in dualism, which is the concept that there are two original spirits: good and evil. In Zoroastrianism the good god is Ahura Mazda with the evil god being Angra Mainyu (Oxtoby, 5). In Christianity the good god is just referred to as God or Lord while the evil god is simply referred to as the Devil. In class we learned about the founder of Zoroastrianism, Zoroaster who was born into the warrior class who travels from his hometown to convince King Vishtaspa of his message who then converts his kingdom to Zoroastrianism. Mirroring this in Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, known as Christ is the founder of Christianity spreading his message of resurrection and monotheism (Oxtoby, 143). Additionally, both religions believe that Ahura Mazda and God were the creators of the world, respectively, and how it came to be and also sharing the monotheistic belief that these two gods are the only ones to worship. Both religions have an emphasis on morality and good ethics, with Zoroastrianism having five particular points while Christianity stemmed from this which also has a moral code which is known as the Ten Commandments (Oxtoby, 5). While both religious share the importance of death and reincarnation the two differ on burial rites. In Zoroastrianism the belief is that the dead should be disposed of in the “towers of silence” so that birds of prey can eat their remains (Oxtoby, 5). In Christianity, the belief is to give the person a proper burial ceremony and then to bury the body in a gra...
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Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1995. Print. (BS195 .C66 1995)
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Bibles, Crossway. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version: Containing the Old and New Testaments. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010. Print.
The Holy Bible: giant print ; containing the Old and New Testaments translated out of the original tongues ; and with the former translations diligently compared and revised, by His Majesty's special command, authorized King James version ; words of Chri. Giant print reference ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House, 1994.