Before I dive into this topic, I would first like to thank those people that have responded to my last blog entry and have been sending in questions for me to answer. There's been a good, steady flow of emails coming through but life, as you'd be aware, pulls you in different directions and if I don't answer your question immediately, you have my apologies. It will, however, not be ignored; I will get to it eventually!
The question being answered today:
"What are the similarities between Christianity and the Muslim faith? What is it that seperates our teachings?"
Let's begin with what Islam and Christianity have in common (in brief):
- both are monotheistic religions (they believe in one god/supreme being);
- both originated in the Middle East;
- both hold the Virgin Mary in very high esteem (the stories concerning the birth of Jesus differ substantially, however);
- both recognise Jesus as a great teacher (yet Islam does not recognise Jesus Christ as being divine, i.e. the Son of God/God incarnate);
- both recognise that Jesus died on the cross (was crucified);
- both believe that rejecting God will lead us to eternal punishment (Hell); and
- both believe in prayer, worship and fasting as essential elements of the faith.
There are more similarities I could list down, but that's enough to get us started for now.
As far as the differences are concerned, this table will easily point those out:
For Christians, acknowledging and believing in the divinity of Jesus Christ is essential. One cannot call themself a Christian if they do not believe that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, and that he and the Father are one.
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