Film_and_Culture

The word religion means a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny or an institution to express belief in a divine power. Religion plays an important role in the lives of most human beings of all races and nationalities. Religion for some serves as a place of hope in one’s life. Religion embraces a conception of faith, and it is common to see the association between the two when studying or discussing religion. The definition of faith is to have complete confidence in someone or something. Two of the most popular religions in the world are Christianity and Islamic religion. While these two religions have some similarities, they also have some significant differences. Both religions share a rich and somewhat similar history and development. This essay will explain the history, the differences, and the similarities of the faith between the followers of Christianity and Islamic Religion. The Islamic religion began during the early 7th century B.C. which makes the Islamic religion one of the youngest religions known to man. The word Islam means “submission” or to come to God. The Islamic religion is practiced by almost a billion people around the world called Muslims. Muslims believe that God sent different prophets such as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus to develop a way of life in human society. The Islam religion is based on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad who is believed to be the last of these prophets. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad the word (instructions) of Allah (God) over 1,400 years ago in Mecca (or in today’s location Saudi Arabia). Christianity was established somewhere around just before the 1st Century CE. Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ a Jew in the Roman province of Palestine (known today as Israel, Palestine and Jordan). It is believed that Jesus established this religion around the age of 30 years old as he taught and performed divine healing before His followers. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God making Him divine. Christians believe that Jesus mother was a virgin by the name of Mary who was impregnated by the Supernatural being God. However, Christians don’t teach nor believe that Jesus was part divine and part human, instead they believe that Jesus is fully God (divine) and fully human. Approximately one-third of all people in the world belong to the Christian religion meaning that the religion is about 2 billion strong. Christianity is one of the largest and most powerful forces in the world today. Muhammad was believed to have been at the age of 40 years old when he first answered the call to which he received while meditating in a cave just outside of Mecca. He was visited by the Angel Jibril who appeared to Prophet Muhammad and ordered him to read the name of his Lord; and this would be the first message received directly from Allah (God). The messages and instructions that were given to Muhammad directly from Allah were written in a book which is called the Koran. The Koran (Qur’an) is the holy book of the Muslim world. The word Koran literally means “reading” and was taken from the instructions that were given by the Angel Jibril which were that Prophet Muhammad should read the word of God. Muslims believe that the Koran was written by God and revealed to Muhammad. It consists of instructions on how to pray, organize society, and how to apply structure to one’s life and how to obtain oneness with God. Its lists of rules for the structure of family life and how individuals should behave otherwise there are penalties for sinners on Judgment Day. The Koran is only and always written and translated in its original Arabic language because the words are believed to be the actual words of Allah and translation into other languages may manipulate the instruction given by Allah. The Koran is treated with great respect and care and is only touched by those who have ritually cleansed themselves beforehand. Muslims believe that Islam is the basic monotheistic faith proclaimed by prophets throughout history. To Muslims, the Koran is not seen as presenting a new revelation but rather as providing a complete, accurate, and therefore final record of the message that had already been given to Abraham, Jesus, and other earlier prophets. The holy book for Christians is the Bible. The Bible is a diverse collection of traditional teachings written down by different people at different times. The Bible is divided into two parts; the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew while the New Testament was originally written in Greek. The word testament means “witness” therefore, Christians believe that the Old Testament contains the witness of God originally to the Jews while the New Testament witnesses are of people who knew Jesus or were closely associated with events in the early church. The bible is described to be “inspired by God” or “The Word of God”. Most Christians draw their inspiration from the Old Testament and the New Testament. Meanwhile, other writings have been used over centuries for teachings and meditation. Many of the teachings and miracles of Jesus Christ (founder of Christianity) are found in the New Testament. Jesus taught lessons that are still being taught to Christians today such as The Beatitudes which is a list of what type of attitudes Christians should have and how the individual is blessed in each different beatitude. Jesus also taught Christians in what manner that they should pray when praying to his Father (God). The most famous prayer recited by Christians is called The Lord’s Prayer which is found in Matthew 6:9-13 of the Bible. There are five main beliefs in Islam: belief in God, in the Koran, in the angels, in the Prophet Muhammad and the prophets sent before him, and they must believe in the Last Day. These are known as the Five Pillars of Islam. The first pillar is The Declaration of Faith which is the confession that “there is no god but God and Muhammad is His prophet”. Those words are repeated daily and are written on Muslim buildings. The Second Pillar is Prayer (Salah). There are five daily prayer times laid down which is before sunrise, after midday, late afternoon, at sunset, and during the night. Prayer at these times are mandatory for all Muslims. The Third Pillar is Fasting (Sawm). The ninth Muslim month, Ramadan, is recognized as a month of fasting. During the fast, an adult Muslim refrains from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual relations from dawn to sunset. The intent of this fast is to empty and cleanse the body completely and be filled with the spirit of piety and righteousness. The Fourth Pillar is Welfare (Zakat). This means that all Muslims must give charity in their Muslim community. Lastly the Fifth Pillar is Pilgrimage (Hajj); if it is affordable, it is expected that all Muslims in their lifetime take at least one trip to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca which is considered the Holy Land. Christians follow a list of laws that are listed in the Old Testament known to most as the Ten Commandments. These laws are believed to have been given to Moses directly from God during the time of Egypt’s deliverance from Pharaoh. The Commandments are 1.) I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me. 2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above. 3) You shall not take the Lord thy God’s name in vain. 4) Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. 5) Honor thy mother and father that your days may be long upon the earth. 6) You shall not kill. 7) You shall not commit adultery. 8) You shall not steal. 9)You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10) You shall not covet your neighbor’s belongings. These list of rules found in the Christians bible are used throughout this country. The Ten Commandments are posted up in judicial halls throughout the country. Some of the laws of this country resemble the laws that are believed to have been given to Moses for his followers and still followed by Christians today. Though the laws of the Old Testament are still expected to followed and carried out by Christians, the consequences of breaking a law is not as severe as they were before the coming of Jesus Christ who Christians believe died for the sins of the world. While performing this research for essay, I also noticed that there are some similarities between the Islamic Religion and Christianity Religion. I noticed that both religions have a set of rules or laws that the followers must go by. The First Pillar and the First Commandment were very similar. Both prophets received the message from God which is that followers must confess Him to be your God and have no other god or gods before Him. Both religions have a holy book that their followers read The Koran and the Bible. Both religions are two of the largest religions in the world. One of the major differences I noticed is that Muslims believe Jesus to have been of God’s Prophets who received direct messages from Allah (God) while Christians believe Jesus to be the son of God. Christians believe that Jesus is fully divine (or God made flesh) and fully human sent by God to earth while Muslims believe Jesus to have been a human who was a prophet of Allah. This is such a major difference because here is where one would learn of the major difference. Christians believe Jesus to still be alive in heaven while Muslims belief is that Jesus Christ was a prophet (or messenger) of God but no longer alive. In conclusion, there are some differences between Islamic Religion and Christianity Religion. There are also some similarities between the two religions. Both religions discussed in this essay are based on one’s faith and the true meaning of religion and faith. I hope that this essay has informed you and given you a good comparison between the Islamic Religion and the Religion of Christianity. Sources: 1) The Kingfisher Book of Religions (Kingfisher Publication 1999) 2) Religions of the World (Transedition Limited and Fernleigh books 1997) 3) www.islamicworld.com 4) www.christianity.com