What are the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam?

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Do they believe in the teachings of Jesus? Jesus did say that he was the Son of God. He said that He came to fulfill the prophesies.

And thanks for providing some good information in this thread. I am trying to learn and understand the basics. Much better than hating and bashing.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Do they believe in the teachings of Jesus? Jesus did say that he was the Son of God. He said that He came to fulfill the prophesies.

And thanks for providing some good information in this thread. I am trying to learn and understand the basics. Much better than hating and bashing.

All this discussion about religion with no flaming is rather boring. Can we get back on topic....

Seriously .. I agree it is an nice informative thread.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

In short, Muslims (not radicals) are normal people with families, jobs, kids, homes, just like everyone else.

indeed

[himher 634]

Do they believe in the teachings of Jesus? Jesus did say that he was the Son of God. He said that He came to fulfill the prophesies.

And thanks for providing some good information in this thread. I am trying to learn and understand the basics. Much better than hating and bashing.

What were the teachings of Jesus? Prayer, fasting, charity, humility. Yes they are believed. Unfortunately though what you say is taught in churches and there is secondary evidence that supports the idea that Jesus is the son of God it is actually inaccurate to say that Jesus, even one time, declared this in any of the four gospels.

http://delveintojesus.com/Articles/20/Did-Jesus-Claim-to-be-the-Son-of-God.aspx

Summary:

There is a great deal of secondary evidence that Jesus was the Son of God, such as his teaching, his miracles and the resurrection. Jesus did claim to have a very special relationship with God and claimed to have been alive before Abraham. Most importantly, on several occasions people asked if He was the Son of God or said that He was and Jesus either affirmed it or did not deny it.

Muslims believe that Jesus did claim and did have a very special relationship with God however differ from christians in the direction of the earlier post. If you wish to know the fundamental difference between the two beliefs I would think that this would be it.

From the standpoint of similarities as you know and has been discussed on the board Muslim women cover their hair and shoulders as well as cover through the wrists and ankles.

Sort of like the epistle to Timothy:

“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”

Or to the Corinthians:

"But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven."

Muslim households tend to have defined roles, sort of like the epistle of Colossians:

Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

Muslims believe that in the end you are judged by your deeds and that your deeds are added up / determine your reward.

As in Colossians: For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

Or Revelations: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Or the teachings of Jesus himself:

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' " "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

Edited April 13, 2013 by himher

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Jesus is referenced over 40 times in the Quran.

Some general teachings:

It is taught that he is a Prophet and a Messenger sent to guide Isreal. It is taught that he received / delivered a revelation but it was distorted and lost.

A reference from the Quran: That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-

The large number of discrepencies between the existing (4) gospels, especially those concerning the cricifixion story, are currently referenced to as evidence of the mentioned conjecture.

It is taught that Jesus is not God's "son" but was a man who ate, drank, and prayed to the same God that Abraham prayed to

A reference from the Quran:

Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah'?" He will say: "Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart . . ."

Christ disdaineth nor to serve and worship Allah . . .

They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ the son of Mary." But said Christ: "O Children of Israel! worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Whoever joins other gods with Allah,- Allah will forbid him the garden, and the Fire will be his abode.

Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food.

"O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an Prophet Apostle of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not "Trinity" : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah. Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth.

NOTE: Some christian faiths also teach this and gleefully condemn trinitarians to the depths of hell every sunday morning.

It is also taught, as it is in christianity, that Jesus will eventually descend on or near the final day of judgement

A reference from the Quran:

And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Way.

I find it a bit ironic that the person sent to lead is real... Christians believe in him, Muslims believe in him,,, not Jews .. odd ... MOST JEWS before it starts

[himher 634]

I find it a bit ironic that the person sent to lead is real... Christians believe in him, Muslims believe in him,,, not Jews .. odd ... MOST JEWS before it starts

Yeah well I left out all the dire warnings from the Quran towards the Jews due to their rejection of Jesus. What's the point, right? It's not like the bible doesn't have enough of them (dire warnings) that pretty much say exactly the same things.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

These seem to be fairly direct claims by Jesus that he is the Son of God.

Mark 14:61-64:

61

* But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, “Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?”

62

Then Jesus answered, “I am; and

‘you will see the Son of Man

seated at the right hand of the Power

and coming with the clouds of heaven.’”o

63

At that the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further need have we of witnesses?

64

You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as deserving to die.

Matthew 16:13-20:

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, [h]Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are [j]the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon [k]Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 I also say to you that you are [l]Peter, and upon this [m]rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth [n]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth [o]shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He [p]warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was [q]the Christ.

Luke 22:66-71

66

m When day came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes,n and they brought him before their Sanhedrin.*

67

They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us,” but he replied to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe,o

68

and if I question, you will not respond.

69

But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”p

70

They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied to them, “You say that I am.”

71

Then they said, “What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth.”

25

Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.p

26

For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself.

[himher 634]

These seem to be fairly direct claims by Jesus that he is the Son of God.

Mark 14:61-64:

61

* But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, “Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?”

62

Then Jesus answered, “I am; and

‘you will see the Son of Man

seated at the right hand of the Power

and coming with the clouds of heaven.’”o

63

At that the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further need have we of witnesses?

64

You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as deserving to die.

Matthew 16:13-20:

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, [h]Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are [j]the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon [k]Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 I also say to you that you are [l]Peter, and upon this [m]rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth [n]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth [o]shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He [p]warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was [q]the Christ.

Luke 22:66-71

66

m When day came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes,n and they brought him before their Sanhedrin.*

67

They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us,” but he replied to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe,o

68

and if I question, you will not respond.

69

But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”p

70

They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied to them, “You say that I am.”

71

Then they said, “What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth.”

25

Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.p

26

For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself.

As noted earlier in the linked reference there is a great deal of secondary evidence but not necessarily a direct statement of such. As Jesus defers, time and again, to God as per the bible the Quran teaches that Jesus defers to Allah. Islam firmly holds to the ONE God standard outlined all the way back in the book to Exodus and Muslims defer to that God, who when Jesus prayed and taught others to pray also deferred to.

The fundamental difference between the faiths then lies in the interpretation of the literal bible/Quran vs. the interpretation of the implied message in the bible.

Edited April 13, 2013 by himher

[spookyturtle 9,465]

His answer to Peter sounds pretty direct to me. And of course all sources for both religions are open to interpretation. Nobody followed Jesus with a microphone and recorded what he said verbatim. Ditto for Muhammad. There's ample interpretation in both religions. Jesus also spoke of false prophets which leaves more to interpretation. I guess if it was all cut and dried we wouldn't be discussing it for 2000 years.

[himher 634]

His answer to Peter sounds pretty direct to me. And of course all sources for both religions are open to interpretation. Nobody followed Jesus with a microphone and recorded what he said verbatim. Ditto for Muhammad. There's ample interpretation in both religions. Jesus also spoke of false prophets which leaves more to interpretation. I guess if it was all cut and dried we wouldn't be discussing it for 2000 years.

LOL that is very true. Kindly be advised that the purpose of my answers is to point out general differences / similarities between the two faiths. There is much in common in spite of these fundamental differences and it was not that long ago that those who followed routine and normal church practices dressed and looked and held the same values and family structures as Muslims yet the routine practices, at the time, were not viewed as oppression then either.

I am also not sure that the subsequent changes have resulted in an overall improvement to the overall community and society and this may by why Muslim countries tend to reject (at times forcefully true) the changes that we currently consider progress. This to be logged as observation only as I also strongly view separation of church and state (no matter how many sentences Danno for instance puts together to recombine them) as necessary.

Edited April 13, 2013 by himher

[bsd058 296]

Not all Christians believe this. Various Non-trinitarian branches of Christianity do not.

These most Christian denominations consider non-Christian (for instance Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons are usually not considered Christian though they use the same terminology).

Oneness Christians are Modalists (non-Trinitarian) but they believe Jesus was God. Most Christian denominations do consider Jesus to be God in the flesh.

[bsd058 296]

Do they believe in the teachings of Jesus? Jesus did say that he was the Son of God. He said that He came to fulfill the prophesies.

And thanks for providing some good information in this thread. I am trying to learn and understand the basics. Much better than hating and bashing.

Remember that many Muslims believe that the writings of the apostles have either been corrupted by the church or the disciples themselves were corrupted by Paul.

I agree with you that Jesus did claim to be God's Son as I believe what the apostles (his close disciples and one convert who saw him after he was resurrected--Paul) wrote were legitimate teachings of Christ. But Muslims would probably disagree based upon the assertions that our current texts (the New Testament) are corrupt and that Jesus didn't really say those things ("Before Abraham was, I AM" or calling himself the Son of God, etc.).

I believe he did say these things. I'm not up for debate, though, to tell you the truth, so I'll leave it at the mere assertions.

There is a lot of good literature out there comparing the religions and theologies of these two belief systems. I would encourage you to get some written by Muslims and some written by Christians so you can get a view of how both sides see each other. Lots of works exist that don't demonize the other religion.

I like listening to James White debates with Muslims. You can find them on Youtube. And I'm sure if you look up his opponents in those debates you'll find their literature. And James White has come out with some works on the topic of Islam. One recent one is on the Qur'an's relationship to Christianity and comparing the nature of it and other traditions in Islam with Christian scriptures and traditions. I intend to get this book.

Most of these debates are actually quite amiable debates. The debaters are friends and they show the utmost respect.

Edited April 13, 2013 by bsd058

[himher 634]

Remember that many Muslims believe that the writings of the apostles have either been corrupted by the church or the disciples themselves were corrupted by Paul.

I agree with you that Jesus did claim to be God's Son as I believe what the apostles (his close disciples and one convert who saw him after he was resurrected--Paul) wrote were legitimate teachings of Christ. But Muslims would probably disagree based upon the assertions that our current texts (the New Testament) are corrupt and that Jesus didn't really say those things ("Before Abraham was, I AM" or calling himself the Son of God, etc.).

I believe he did say these things. I'm not up for debate, though, to tell you the truth, so I'll leave it at the mere assertions.

There is a lot of good literature out there comparing the religions and theologies of these two belief systems. I would encourage you to get some written by Muslims and some written by Christians so you can get a view of how both sides see each other. Lots of works exist that don't demonize the other religion.

I like listening to James White debates with Muslims. You can find them on Youtube. And I'm sure if you look up his opponents in those debates you'll find their literature. And James White has come out with some works on the topic of Islam. One recent one is on the Qur'an's relationship to Christianity and comparing the nature of it and other traditions in Islam with Christian scriptures and traditions. I intend to get this book.

Most of these debates are actually quite amiable debates. The debaters are friends and they show the utmost respect.

They should be amiable. The link I posted however is from a christian site and in fact Jesus never said those words: I am God OR I am the Son of God. Jesus referred to himself as "Son of Man" many times however. In the gospels.

In discussing what Muslims believe vs. what christianity believes which is better in discussing these things with non-Muslims? I think the bible itself is appropriate and what is in the bible up to the time of Paul/Saul and even some of his writings is consistant with Muslim teachings.

Paul/Saul did not corrupt the bible. The Council of Nicea under Constantine did when they decided for christianity for all time what books were heresy and what books were not. Thus went the whole principle of "peace on earth" replaced with bloodshed (at least at that time) and book-burning in the name of the church. NOBODY knows who actually wrote the gospels. But if you read, for instance, the description of the resurrection (misspelled I know) of Jesus there are 3 completely different and conflicting versions. What were the last words of Jesus on the cross? The gospels conflict - read them. Only one speaks of dead raised and a great earthquake. The other three are silent on this what I guess would be noted as a significant event - right? Summary: There is a lot of doubt in the gospels themselves as to what actually happened at that time. Yet the bible is held up as infallable in many churches today? Something is wrong with that.

Edited April 14, 2013 by himher

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Remember that many Muslims believe that the writings of the apostles have either been corrupted by the church or the disciples themselves were corrupted by Paul.

It is not just Muslims. Many Christians believe the same thing, especially after the discovery of the dead sea scrolls. There are still many contemporaneity works alluded to in the New Testament that still haven't been found, although many of those holes were partially filled by that discovery. Jesus was well versed in the popular works of the time, and referenced them frequently, or rather, the writers of the four gospels did.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

It is not just Muslims. Many Christians believe the same thing, especially after the discovery of the dead sea scrolls. There are still many contemporaneity works alluded to in the New Testament that still haven't been found, although many of those holes were partially filled by that discovery. Jesus was well versed in the popular works of the time, and referenced them frequently, or rather, the writers of the four gospels did.

What was in the Dead Sea Scrolls that differs from the New Testament? I thought that the majority of the Scrolls were the Old Testament and that only a few of them made mention of Jesus of Nazareth?