Compare and Contrast Essay on Two Western Religions: Christianity and Islam

Christianity is believed to have found its course in the 1st century from Judaism, which is approximately 2000 years ago. The founder of the religion was Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. In the present world, Christianity is the most widespread religion in the world, with over 2billion followers. The topmost leader of Christianity is known to be Jesus Christ, believed to have died and resurrected. Christians use Bible teachings as their spotlight. Jesus embraced the use of the parable's teachings known to be short and endowed with hidden teachings. Some of the parables include love for God and the love for enemies (Cooper,2016). In Christianity, there are certain rituals practiced in different periods of time. Some of the rituals which were practiced in the old testament are still being embraced in the New testament. It includes Baptism, the lord's supper, prayer, and confirmation. In Christianity, the scriptures are compressed into two main parts, the old and the new testament. The old testament constitutes law books, prophets as well as writings, while the new testament is composed of mainly letters and gospels. The common holy days includes lent, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, ester, Pentecost, Advent and finally the Christmas celebrated towards the end of the year. The religion has caused a wave of influence in different parts of the world, whereby people have been converted into it. The bible is even being used in legal practices such as taking an oath and can also be used to swear in court.

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On the other hand, Islam religion is believed to have originated in the year of the 7th century in Saudi Arabia, i.e. approximately 1400 years ago. It then spread to different parts of the world. It started from then holy mecca as a result of prophet Mohammed who was known to have grown as an orphan, and he is also believed to be the last prophet in the line of Moses. The religion is mostly practiced by the middle east inhabitants. Muslims believe in their leader known as Mohammed; The Islamic teachings are based on the beliefs of Allah, prophets, angels, holy books, judgment day and the predestination.

Muslims usually passes through some special rituals in their spiritual life which include the informal birth ceremony (Akikah), the marking of a young Muslim entering into Islam (Shahada), marriage rituals, funeral and mourning, and Ramadhan usually celebrated in the 9th month of the Islamic days for a period of 40days. The primary scripture in Islam is the holy Quran, which is divided into 114 chapters and was revealed to Mohamed in Arabic. Holydays in Islam varies depending on the type of Islam religions, namely Shia and Sunni. It includes the Muslim new year (Muharram) celebrated in the first lunar month, fasting day (Ashura) for the Sunnis while for Shias, it marks an event circa, and finally the celebration of Mohammed's birthday (mawlid al-Nabi).

Islamic religion, since it first evolved, has spread to different parts of the earth resulting in a wave of impact on the human civilization. Many people have been converted into accepting the religion and application in their lives at large. Some countries embrace the use of Islamic law to run the government and control the legal practices (Peel,2016).

In regards to the interview on Christianity, it basically deals on the teachings, life of Jesus Christ and his death. Its also about the belief that God created heaven and earth, mankind and all intangible and tangible things on earth.

What I have found to be interesting is the Christianity teachings is the teachings on life after death as well as the eternity. Certain verses in the bible vividly describe the notion of life after death. It explains that after a human being dies, his soul departs to wait for resurrection.

Practicing Christianity is basically the most straightforward thing ever since it has majorly pined on the spiritual context rather than the physical law. It is all about believing on the unseen rather than the visually seen.

There are some of the scriptures in the bible that usually energizes and refreshes the universal life which includes salvation, how Christians are supposed to lead a righteous life, assurance and temptations in life, and finally prayer scriptures. The Palm Sunday, Easter and Christmas are some of the holy days that are important to Christian life and the general replenishment of spiritual well-being (McDowell et al.2013).

Both Christians and non-Christians should respect the religion at all times so as to attain the tranquillity and peace of mind. Moreover, people should accept God as the source of salvation as well as the leader in their daily lives. Finally, religion is not scientifically tested but basically deals with believing on the unseen forces and cannot be experimented in any scientific approach.

References

Cooper, D. (2013). Christianity and world religions.

McDowell, J., & Walker, J. (2013). Understanding Islam and Christianity

Peel, J. (2016). Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-religion: Three traditions in comparison and interaction.