Saint_Paul

Analyse the importance of TWO schools of thought or an individual from TWO religious traditions in the peroid of early foundation in relation to: • Extent and significance • Continuing impact today Khalafa Rashideen and Paul are two schools of thought from the early foundation period. Khalafa Rashideen or otherwise known as the ‘Four Rightly Guided Caliphs’ have expanded and preserved the religion of Islam under their leadership. Paul’s teachings in Christianity have also been most significant as he challenged the religion and played a crucial role in establishing the Churches and developing Christian communities. After Muhammad’s death in 632CE Abu Bakr was elected as his first successor. He was the father of the Prophet’s third wife Aisha and one of his earliest followers as he accompanied Muhammad through Hirja. Abu was partially responsible for the expansion of Islam however his greatest achievement was in reinforcing the Zakat as he made sure that the people of Islam knew that there should be no distinction between the practice of Islam before and after the Prophet’s death. This has a huge continuing impact today as Muslims around the world still practice Zakat today and therefore the five pillars still exist. Abu also arranged for the collection of Muhammad’s sayings along with Umar, which helped preserve the religion. Abu was quite elderly when he became a caliph therefore his ruling was short and the next caliph elected after his death was Umar Ibu Al-Khattab in 634CE. Umar was the father of Muhammad’s fourth wife. He was a great military leader and therefore through his conquest he was able to expand Islam through Syria, Northern Africa, Israel, Egypt and Iraq. This has therefore still has a continuing impact today and Islam is one of the largest religions in the world. He was known as the “judger of the truth and falsehood” and under his ruling a significant number of political and religious situations began, such as a form of a welfare state, regulations for non-Muslims, the office of judge, military garrisons, civil and penal codes and Hijra calendar. Just like the other caliphs he also helped preserve Islam in every way possible and wanted to make sure it became a way of life. After Umar’s assassination in 644CE Uthmam B. Affan was elected as the next caliph. Uthman was a close friend of Muhammad and married two of his daughters. Even though Uthman attempted to continue the work of Umar he was unsuccessful but instead made some other very significant changes. He organized for a promulgation of the Qur’an in a universal dialect of Arabic, so that Muslims all over the world can use one text. This still has a significant impact today as Qur’an is still read in Arabic by Muslims around the world, and this text unites all Muslims. After Uthman’s death in 656CE Ali B. Abi Talib was appointed the position of the next caliph. He was a cousin of Muhammad’s and for this reason is the only caliph accepted by Shi’ites Muslims. Ali stiff effect Islam today as Sunnis and Shi’ites still remain splited today. Ali was a great teacher and was even called a “gate” of knowledge by the Prophet himself. Paul in Christianity was an innovator and interpreter, and is largely responsible for the expansion of Christianity. Paul challenged the religion of Christianity as he argued that salvation was for all and not only for Jews, the God’s ‘chosen’ ones. Paul’s conviction was that Jesus Christ came to bring salvation and freedom from the power of sin to all people on earth. This saw a dramatic shift from Rabbinic Judaism, and his most significant impact was made at the council of Jerusalem, where Christianity became distinct to Judaism. He also presented a major shift in theological thinking, as he was now introducing a new set of ideas to the gentiles, including beliefs on Christology, Eucharist, Ethical living, Salvation and Grace. This theology was then adopted by the early Christian communities and later on played a significant role in the later developments of the Church. For example, Luther used Paul’s theology, in particular the concept of ‘justification by faith’ to formulate his reforms in the early 16th Century, to show that Salvation is a result of faith, grace and good works to demonstrate that the church was indeed corrupt. Paul was also extremely significant in establishing Churches in areas such as Corinth, Galatia and Epesus and Phillipi. He believed that he had been given a divine mission in his epiphany to go to other nations and tell them about Jesus Christ and that the salvation that faith in him would bring. Paul’s practice was to enter a town, seek employment there and gradually get to know people and then start talking about the wonderful experiences he had in coming to know Christ. As people became attracted to his message he began to win followers for Christ and eventually formed the nucleus of a Christian community. As the community became strong enough to stand on its own he would move on and start the same work over again, and then would keep in touch with them through letters. Paul’s teachings still have a great significance and impact today on all denominations of Christianity, as we are all inheritors of Paul’s theology. His writings form a great percentage of the Canonical Christian Scriptures with a quarter of the scriptures in the New Testament accredited to him. These are often used in the readings at the Eucharist, this is especially important in the Catholic Church as in the liturgy of the word Christ is believed to be truly present. Paul’s letters and teachings also cover various aspects of life and are held up as a model, and because they are read at the Eucharist have a weekly impact on believers. His writings are also used at marriage and funeral ceremonies, as well as by some feminist in feminist theology. Therefore both Khalafa Rashideen and Paul have had a significant impact on the religions of Islam and Christianity respectively as they helped to expand their religions. They also continue to have major impact today in the lives of everyday believers.